![Snowleopard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Snowleopard.jpg)
The Snow Leopard award () was a Soviet
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
award, given to highly skilled mountain climbers. It is still recognized in the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
. To receive this award, a climber was required to summit all five peaks within the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
with elevation greater than .
The peaks
![Peak Korzhenevskoi Pamir from Borodkina ridge at sunset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Peak_Korzhenevskoi_Pamir_from_Borodkina_ridge_at_sunset.jpg)
The Snow Leopard peaks include:
#
Ismoil Somoni Peak
Ismoil Somoni Peak ( Tajik: Қуллаи Исмоили Сомонӣ, ''Qulla-i Ismō‘il-i Sōmōnî/Qullaji Ismojili Somonī''; fa, قلّهٔ اسماعیل سامانی; russian: Пик Исмои́ла Сомони́, r=Pik Ismoíla Somon ...
#
Jengish Chokusu
Jengish Chokusu ( ky, Жеңиш чокусу, , ; en, Tomur Peak, zh, s=托木尔峰, t=托木爾峰; russian: Пик Победы, ''Pik Pobedy'', ) is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at . It lies on the Kyrgyzstan– C ...
#
Ibn Sina Peak
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak ( ky, Ленин Чокусу, ''Lenin Choqusu'', لەنىن چوقۇسۇ; russian: Пик Ленина, ''Pik Lenina''; tg, қуллаи Ленин , ''qulla‘i Lenin/qullaji Lenin'', renamed қулла ...
#
Peak Korzhenevskaya
Peak Ozodi (russian: Пик Озоди), (until 2020 Korzhenevskoi Peak, russian: Пик Корженевской) is the third highest peak in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. It is one of the five " Snow Leopard Peaks" in the territory of the ...
#
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mounta ...
In Tajikistan's
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world ...
there are three Snow Leopard peaks,
Ismail Samani Peak
Ismoil Somoni Peak ( Tajik: Қуллаи Исмоили Сомонӣ, ''Qulla-i Ismō‘il-i Sōmōnî/Qullaji Ismojili Somonī''; fa, قلّهٔ اسماعیل سامانی; russian: Пик Исмои́ла Сомони́, r=Pik Ismoíla Somon ...
(formerly Communism Peak) ,
Peak Korzhenevskaya
Peak Ozodi (russian: Пик Озоди), (until 2020 Korzhenevskoi Peak, russian: Пик Корженевской) is the third highest peak in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. It is one of the five " Snow Leopard Peaks" in the territory of the ...
, and
Ibn Sina Peak
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak ( ky, Ленин Чокусу, ''Lenin Choqusu'', لەنىن چوقۇسۇ; russian: Пик Ленина, ''Pik Lenina''; tg, қуллаи Ленин , ''qulla‘i Lenin/qullaji Lenin'', renamed қулла ...
(formerly
Lenin Peak
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak ( ky, Ленин Чокусу, ''Lenin Choqusu'', لەنىن چوقۇسۇ; russian: Пик Ленина, ''Pik Lenina''; tg, қуллаи Ленин , ''qulla‘i Lenin/qullaji Lenin'', renamed қулла ...
) on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border.
In the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
there are two Snow Leopard peaks,
Jengish Chokusu
Jengish Chokusu ( ky, Жеңиш чокусу, , ; en, Tomur Peak, zh, s=托木尔峰, t=托木爾峰; russian: Пик Победы, ''Pik Pobedy'', ) is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at . It lies on the Kyrgyzstan– C ...
(formerly Peak Pobeda) in Kyrgyzstan (divided by the border with China), and
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mounta ...
on the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border. Khan Tengri's geologic elevation is but its glacial cap rises to . For this reason, it is considered a peak.
In order of difficulty, Peak Pobeda is by far the most difficult and dangerous, followed by Khan Tengri, Ismail Samani Peak, Peak Korzhenevskaya, and Lenin (Ibn Sina) Peak.
Recipients
There are more than 600 climbers, including 31 women, who have received this award between 1961 and 2012 (although not all of them completed the five peaks).
Records
*
Boris Korshunov
Boris may refer to:
People
* Boris (given name), a male given name
*:''See'': List of people with given name Boris
* Boris (surname)
* Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...
(Russia) – nine times Snow Leopard (1981 – 2004)
* Boris Korshunov (Russia) – last award at the age of 69
*
Andrzej Bargiel
Andrzej Leszek Bargiel (; born April 18, 1988 in Rabka, Poland) is a Polish ski mountaineer, backcountry skier, mountain runner and climber. Raised in Łętownia, he is a three-time Polish ski mountaineering champion and held third place in the ...
(Poland) – all five ascents in 29 days 17 hours 5 minutes (time counted from leaving the Advanced Base Camp under Lenin Peak, 15 July 2016)
Further reading
The Snow Leopard mountains at Summitpost
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow Leopard Award
Mountaineering awards
Soviet awards
Mountaineering in the Soviet Union