Snow Leopard award
The Snow Leopard award was a Soviet mountaineering award, given to very experienced climbers. It is still recognised in the Commonwealth of Independent States. To receive this award, a climber must summit all five peaks of 7000m and above located in the former Soviet Union.
In Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains there are three Snow Leopard peaks, Ismail Samani Peak , Peak Korzhenevskaya, and Ibn Sina Peak on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border. In the Tian Shan there are two Snow Leopard peaks, Jengish Chokusu in Kyrgyzstan, and Khan Tengri on the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border.
Khan Tengri's geologic elevation is but its glacial cap rises to. For this reason, it is considered a 7000m 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 Peak.
There are more than 600 climbers, including 31 women, who have received this award since 1961 till 2012Records
Snow Leopard lass peaks according to one source:
- Ismoil Somoni Peak
- Jengish Chokusu
- Ibn Sina Peak
- Peak Korzhenevskaya
- Khan Tengri
