Success on Lenin in 2015
I had the opportunity to lead a Mountain Madness expedition last August, as we staged our second trip to Pik Lenin, in the Pamir Range of Kyrgyzstan. Where exactly is that, you ask? Well, that's the first thing you will notice when going to a place like Kyrgyzstan; nobody knows where it is. Heck, I didn't know exactly where it was before doing the research prior to my first trip over there. Kyrgyzstan is situated in a mountain rich zone with the Pamir Mountains, known as "the Roof of the World," forming a junction between the Himalaya and Karakoram with the Tian Shan. Sharing borders with Tajikistan, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang (China), Kyrgyzstan is truly an untamed land and tends not to be a very popular place to visit - especially given it's location in the "-stans." Pakistan and Afghanistan are only one country away and I think many people assume it is a dangerous place to travel. However, I have always found Kyrgyzstan safe, yet wild a