Learn about the tragic 1990 avalanche on Lenin Peak in Tajikistan that claimed 43 lives. This account sheds light on the disaster that shook the mountaineering world.
In July 1990, a hike to Lenin Peak was planned as part of the selection process for the Soviet Himalayan expedition. The top climbers in the USSR, including members of the Leningrad Mountaineering Club, commanded by Leonid Trishinenko, were to compete for a spot in the expedition. Everyone on the hike was a seasoned climbing veteran, however, Mother Nature can be cruel. This is how an Avalanche claimed 43 souls on Lenin Peak.
Lenin Peak, which stands at 7,134 meters, was first described in scientific literature in 1871. It was named in 1928 in honor of Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary and first leader of the Soviet Union. The mountain remained known by this name until 2006 when it was renamed Ibn Sina Mountain after the medieval Persian polymath Avicenna. However, most people in the post-Soviet countries still refer to it by its previous name. The peak is in Tajikistan, Central Asia's smallest country, amid the foothills of the Pamir Mountain range.
