As we approached the trailhead, we saw that the snow-capped peaks of the Alay range in Southern Kyrgyzstan were completely engulfed in a snowstorm. We were faced with a challenging question: should we continue or return?
I checked multiple forecasts, and all seemed to agree on one thing: a sudden clearing just before sunset. I pressed on through the kaleidoscopic colours of the grasses, mud, and rocks. Indeed, several kilometres later, the snow stopped, the mist lifted, and the lower northern faces of the towering, 7,134-metre tall Lenin Peak/Ibn Sina began to reveal themselves. Moments later, the summit was visible for mere fleeting seconds before the storm returned, battering us all the way back to the yurt camps in the valleys below.
