Chimtarga (5489 m) is the highest peak in the Fan Mountains. Located near the Mutnye Lakes, it has no trivial walk-up route to the summit. The ascent routes start either from the Mutnye Lakes or from the Right Zindon valley. The Right Zindon valley can be reached either by hiking in from west via the Big Allo Lake, or from east via the Mutnye Lakes by crossing over the 4750 m high Chimtarga pass, which lies between the peaks Energia (5120 m) and Chimtarga.

Alpenglow on Chimtarga (in the middle) as seen from the high camp on Zamok.

On the upper northern slopes of Chimtarga, looking towards the summit.

The south face of Chimtarga, as seen from the summit of Energia (5120 m).

Chimtarga as seen from east.

Climbing towards the Chimtarga pass (4750 m) below the SE face of Chimtarga.

Getting There

A usual starting point for climbing in the area is the mountaineers' camp "Vertical-Alaudin"(2641 m) in the Chapdara Valley near the gorgeous Alaudin Lakes. From there it is an easy 7 km hike of about 3 hours up to the Mutnye Lakes (3519 m). There is a possibility to hire donkeys at "Vertical-Alaudin".

A panoramic view of the Chapdara valley near mountaineers' camp "Vertical-Alaudin".

Route from the Big Alaudin Lake to the Mutnye Lakes.

Camping at the Mutnye Lakes (looking south).

Camp sites at the Mutnye Lakes with Chimtarga in the background (looking west).

For more information, see the chapters "Getting There and Getting Around" and "Accommodation - Places to Stay - Camping" in the Fan Mountains page.

Routes

The established routes vary from Russian grade 2b to 6a (description of the Russian climbing grades can be found here). The website of "Vertical-Alaudin" contains detailed information about the more difficult routes on Chimtarga (in Russian only). These links are included in the following table.

Grade (Russian)	Characteristics	Orientation	First Ascent (Leader, Year)	Starting Point
2b	mixed	from north via the Mirali pass	A. Mukhin, 1937	Right Zindon valley
4a	ice-snow	from east via the Don (Avlo) pass		Mutnye Lakes
4a	ice-snow	from SE	A. Sibirtcev, 1936	Mutnye Lakes
4b	mixed	east buttress	A. Mineev, 1986	Mutnye Lakes
5a	mixed	NW face	I. Barkhatov, 1967	Right Zindon valley
5a	mixed	SW buttress	L. Kaluzhskii, 1967	Right Zindon valley
5b	rock	south face	V. Ianov, 1976	Mutnye Lakes
5b	rock	south face-SE ridge	V. Stadnik, 1983	Mutnye Lakes
6a	rock	west face	S. Prusakov, 1974	Right Zindon valley
6a	rock	west face	S. Soldatov, 2006	Right Zindon valley

Approaching the summit of Chimtarga: a 180° panorama from S to N, looking west.

Red Tape

No fees (environmental, climbing, etc.) as for 2011. Travellers (with a tourist visa) staying maximum 1 month are exempt from the OVIR registration as for 2011. As the conditions are vulnerable to change please check with the Tajik embassy and/or your local agency in Tajikistan.
For visas and registration, see also the chapter "Red Tape (Visas, Border Crossing, Registration etc.)" in the Fan Mountains page.

When to Climb

The mountaineering season is from June to September (July and August being the most popular months), when the weather is usually stable, warm and dry.

External Links

Maps

A topographic map of the Fan Mountains
A map of the area by V. Kopylov. Mountaineers' camp "Vertical-Alaudin" is marked as "Base camp" on this map.
1:100 000 topographic map of the Fan Mountains by EWP
Russian military topographic maps (scale 1:100 000 and 1:200 000) at Mapstor.com
Russian military topographic maps (scale 1:50 000 and 1:100 000) at Poehali.org

Images