Vakhyo Traverse

Darvoz Range

This section has three sub-sections:

  • First Darvoz Ridge Crossing

  • Vakhyo Traverse

  • Second Darvoz Ridge Crossing

Vakhyo Traverse

The next section is entirely about navigating the ridge that come north from the Darvoz Range — the Mazor Ridge — and its spurs, ridges and gorges. Soviet climbers named this area after the ridge, calling it the Mazor Ridge, the Mazor Knot, the Mazor Region, etc. But the local people don’t use that name. They call this area Vakhyo.

After Sagdar-Takaist Pass you will descend to the Burs Glacier (also labelled as Sagdar Glacier on climbers’ maps) and choose a trip along the moraine or on the glacier itself. You will need to have experience with glacier travel to make an informed decision on this. Photo below looking up the Burs Glacier (photo by 1899 Lipsky expedition).

The route you choose next may vary. First of all, you will in the future (hopefully) come across the Pamir Trail, and a predictable route that is fully scouted. In 2021 the the Pamir Trail team was stopped by a flooding tributary river. See the story and photos here. So they weren’t able to make a clear route through this area. But another group reporting to them did make it through this area and onward to Starghi Pass and the Vanj Valley. Keep an eye on the Pamir Trail website for future updates.

My planned route is more exploratory, versus the Pamir Trail which is more about direct routes. But before I discuss my proposed route, I should discuss something that seems obvious. If you look at your hike along the Burs Glacier, it appears that you can continue downriver along the right bank of the Bokhud River for about 20km with no obstacles (there are no cliffs or tributary rivers to cross). But as you go downriver the Bokhud River gets bigger and bigger as tributaries join from the opposite side. It may be that you can’t cross the lower Bokhud River until winter, or possibly never. This would be a very risky route.

My plan is to cross the Sagdar River, or the Burs Glacier, whichever seems safer, and get on the left bank of the Sagdar River. Photos below by the 1977 Rudakov expedition show the upper reaches of the Sagdar River, and the lower reaches, right before it joins with the Obi Starghi river.

As you approach the confluence of the Sagdar RIver and the Obi Starghi River you will see that river crossings here are not possible (the Russian group above used a Tyrolean traverse). You can see the view they had below (from down the Bokhud River, looking up with the Sagdar Gorge on the left and the Obi Starghi Gorge on the right). And further below you can see how they crossed the Bokhud River (indicated in the top photo with the dotted purple line). Obviously, no hiker will be crossing the Bokhud river here, or anywhere downstream where the river only gets progressively bigger.

You will need to go up the right bank of the Obi Starghi River and look for an avalanche bridge. Looking at satellite imagery from mid-September between 2017 and 2022, it appears that there is only avalanche bridge that remains year round, and it is only about 1km upriver from the confluence of the Sagdar and Obistarghi. If, in the future this bridge no longer exists (due to climate change), then you will need to go farther up the Obistarghi until the river braids and you can cross. Or perhaps you will have to go all the way to the Starghi Glacier (photo below by 1899 Lipsky expedition) to make a crossing.

Once you are successfully on the opposite bank of the Obistarghi, you will go downstream past the confluence of the Sagdar and Obistarghi (the start of the Bokhud River) to where the Zardi-Birauso River flows into the Bokhud River. The main obstacle here is an eroded scree slopes that slides into the river. Several groups have been able to navigate that section without any complaints. Eventually there is a flat meadow at the confluence called Dashti Burs, seen in the center-right of this aerial photo.

The next problem is the Zardi-Birauso River. There are no avalanche bridge, so you will need to look for a crossing or hike all the way up to the glacier in order to cross. I have no first-hand accounts, but a group that reported to the Pamir Trail organizer hiked all the way up the Bokhud River, crossing every tributary. The only tributary they had problems with was the Minadu River. They did not mention Zardi-Birauso River as a problem. That does not mean it is easy or safe.

Next you will need to not go down the Bokhud River as the team mentioned above did, because they had a terrible time along the Bokhud between the Zardi-Birauso River and the Suraysha River. If they had had access to old maps, they would have know about the bypass. Specifically the unnamed 4105 meter pass that connects to the abandoned village of Suraysha. The ascent up and to the west begins about 2km up the Zardi-Birauso River. My destination is the abandoned village of Suraysha, of which very little trace remains.

From here you will need to go to the very easy Minadu-Suraysha Pass (3380 meters). As for the crossing of the Suraysha River, I assume it will be easy as the few groups who have come through here did not mention it as a problem. Of course, I will be coming through here after the high meltwater season has ended.

After going through the pass, you will be confronted by the Minadu River. One of groups above (hikers, not climbers) reported difficulties crossing this river, but that was at its lower reaches. Hopefully upriver there is a flatter, wider and maybe even braided section that can be more easily crossed. Or, go up to the glacier to cross. It’s not too far. It may be worth it to hike up the moraine on Minadu Glacier to get a view of the upper reaches of the gorge. Photo below by the 1987 Rastegaeva expedition (showing a mountaineering only route).

The next stage is through the Skogach-Minadu Pass, a technically easy but 4030 meter pass. You descend to the Skogach River, right next to the glacier. The river here looks flat and braided. I’m confident that this will not be a difficult crossing in the late season. However, the only account of a crossing here is by the 1987 Rastegaeva expedition, and they went up to the nearby glacier to cross (photo below) on August 19th.

From here you go through the very easy Batrud-Skogach Pass (3600 meters, grassy saddle). Soviet climbers who passed through this area attempted to name these passes after their girlfriends (Nina, Vera, etc.), so you may see this as “Nina Pass“ on some old Soviet climbers maps.

From Batrud-Skogach Pass I plan to go up a ridge or traverse laterally to get a top view of the East Batrud Glacier icefall, and then descend the pass to get a view from the bottom. The view from the bottom is shown in this 1899 photo from the Lipsky expedition. Glaciers in this area have receded, as you can expect from the terminus of the Batrud Glacier (compared to 1899 Lipsky photo further down ), but this icefall is still as it was in 1899.

The next stage depends on how you are feeling, and how high the water is. The Batrud River is reported to be relatively easy to cross at its lowest reaches as it braids widely and then joins the Khingob River. If you cross late in the season (e.g., late September) and early in the morning, this may be a simple crossing. So you could then descend along the Khingob River. From here you just need to cross the Bijou River tributary and you can hike an easy trail to the hamlet of Daraikalp, where a road begins. However, the Bijou River was crossed by one group, but it blocked the Pamir Trail team while the meltwater was at its highest. See the story and photos here. Hopefully there is an easy late season crossing when the water is lower.

What is the option here if the Bijou or lower Batrud River blocks you? You will need to follow this route: across the upper Batrud RIver or the Batrud Glacier, up and over the Bijou-Batrud Pass, across the upper Bijou River and then the Nusoyak River right below the glacier, and finally over an unnamed pass at 3845 meters and down to the village of Daraikalp.

From Daraikalp the Pamir Trail route goes a completely opposite direction - towards the Rasht Valley, while my route goes to Qalai Khumb on the Pamir Highway. Check for updates at PamirTrail.org, and they will hopefully eventually have a route through this area.

Once in Daraikalp you have a choice: cross the road bridge over the Khingob River and walk on car roads, or follow goat trails down the left bank of the Khingob River (but with a major obstacle in the form of an eroded steep scree slope). Either way, your destination is the village of Sangvor. The reason I will go on the left bank of the Khingob River is to avoid the apocalyptic gold mine zone on the opposite side. No recent high quality satellite or aerial imagery shows this zone, but I was here in 2021 (in a car) and its not a place I want to walk through.

I do not plan to go through Daraikalp, neither by way of the river crossings nor the 3845 meter pass. I plan to take a look at the Nusay Pass at 4225 meters. This pass has a 2A rating on the Soviet/Russian scale, which should mean that it is impassable for a hiker. However, this grade was given in 1978 (by the Baybakov expedition). The 2A rating reflect the steep, broken glacier travel on the north side glacier. However, this is a small and relatively low glacier, and it has shrunk and receded quite a bit since 1978. There may be a way through this pass that is easy and safe. It may also be possible to scramble safely on rock to the west of the glacier. There is no way to tell until I am there personally. However, it should also be noted that less ice and snow have also made some passes and routes harder. So if you go, expect to be turned back at the top of the pass (the south side looks easy).

The two photos below are looking up the glacier on the north side of Nusay Pass, and standing in the pass looking down and to the south. The panorama shot further below is looking south from Nusay Pass.

If you successfully pass through Nusay Pass it is straight down the Guf Gorge to the goat trails along the Khingob River. The group above said they needed to cross the Guf river once, and it was medium difficult. But they were there at the peak of summer. You may not have the same level of difficulty. The group above also reported that they had to travel through some difficult brush and forest, and to go up and down the slope at the bottom of the gorge to find their way. However, when they were there the area had been abandoned after the mass kidnappings of the mid-Soviet era. But people have now moved back and it appears (from satellite/aerial imagery) that shepherds have returned to the Guf Gorge. Hopefully there is now a clear shepherd trail to the bottom.

Very soon after coming down to the Khingob River you will pass through the hamlet of Nad, home to about six houses. From here there is a road to the village of Sangvor. One source online says there is a village shop in Sangvor, but I didn’t see anything here in 2021 (but I didn’t stop and ask).

If you are feeling anti-social and you don’t want to walk through two villages and past the gold mine, you can, from the mid-Guf Gorge, go south-west through Khurjin Pass (not to be confused with the pass of the same name that connects Bartang and Yazghulom), skipping the villages.

This is the end of the “Vakhyo Traverse“ section, but you are still in the heart of the Vakhyo region.