Yazghulom Range
There are three main historically used passes over this range: Khurjin Pass, Rosht-Jirkutal Pass, and Odudi Pass.
Khurjin Pass is too far north for where I want to go (but that’s likely going to be part of the Pamir Trail route, images here), and I was at Rosht-Jirkutal Pass in 2023. It is only possible with a team of climbers. I think that anecdotes from 100 years ago of easy historical travel were due to a much larger glacier. I believe it has shrunk/receded, resulting in a steep icy drop on the west side.
That leaves Odudi Pass at 4460 meters. This pass is very close to a regional center town: Rushon (AKA Vomar). So you would be able to resupply and sleep in a guesthouse before attempting the pass. The pass is a glacier to glacier route and its historical use was to avoid paying the toll fee to use the “ovring” bridges along the Panj River, and to avoid being grabbed by Afghan slave raiders. The problem with old passes that are glacier to glacier is that we have no good information on when they can be used, what the exact dangers are, and what has changed (shrinking glaciers have drastically changed some glaciers).
In the 1890s it was reported that pack horses could make it through Odudi Pass. Captain Vannovsky reported, based on secondary information:
There are glaciers on this pass and the path in most cases goes through rocky landslides and screes. Descent to the village of Motravn is a little steeper and more difficult to climb, but nevertheless this road is possible for pack traffic [e.g., horses, donkeys] and is open almost all year round. The most difficult time for moving along this pass is the end of autumn, when the glaciers crack due to the strong summer heat. With the fall of snow, these cracks are filled and then the road is set up again until next autumn. The main communication between Rushan and Darvaz goes along this road and it is considered the best. [But] Information about this pass is questionable…
Due to needing to do this full route when rivers are at their lowest, you will need to be on this pass in autumn. I don’t think the old Odudi Pass route is a good idea anymore. I think the glacier has shrunk and has less snow on it, and is more likely to be full of open crevasses compared to 100 years ago. At that time, the caravans likely easily passed through on top of the frozen summer/autumn snow (in early morning) or along a path that was made through the snow. Now you will be presented with many crevasses and even small icefalls. Basically, maybe too dangerous for a hiker.
Update: In August 2023 I hiked through Odudi Pass.
As an historical aside, this is the area where a plane crashed in 1942, leading to an infamous case of cannibalism by a passenger and cowardice by the survivors (NKVD officers). One of the peaks nearby was named “Aeroflot Peak“ in honor of the airline, but this naming happened in the 1980s and never made it onto official maps due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. You can read more in Russian about this crash here and here. There is nothing left of the crashed plane, as a 1985 helicopter operation removed the remains of the plane down the mountain and onward where it was to be reassembled in a museum. There is, however, a memorial plaque installed on a nearby ~4900 meter peak.
The Yazghulom Range is not the only obstacle. My route also goes across tributaries on the Yazghulom River that may not be passable until September. The Ghijovasi Gorge is impassable, despite being an old historical route. It relied on three bridges that no longer exist. The nearest obstacle to the Ghijovasi Gorge is the Darai Barnovaj River, which the Kovalev group reported great difficulty crossing (by use of rope and chest harness). And in the opposite direction the right bank of the Yazghulom is almost completely impassable farther downriver from Ghijovasi.
But I’m committed to coming to the upper Yazghulom to scout out the area. My first plan is to go up the Shabuk Gorge to see if I can connect to the Sungad Gorge on the Vanj side. But the passes here will most likely be mountaineering only. I may also try to get into the easier upper Ghijovasi Gorge by scrambling over a ridge. But that may take as long as the hikers who had a bad experience in the lower gorge.
But even before this there is another unknown obstacle: the river that comes out of the Kaddakht Gorge. On satellite it looks much bigger that the other tributaries you will need to ford.
Realistically, you’ll probably have to retreat down the Yazghulom Valley to the Gushkhun Pass if you want to go to Vanj.
My full Yazghulom route: I don’t plan to descend from Odudi Pass straight down to the the village of Motravn in the lower Yazghulom Valley. I will just have departed the town of Rushon and I will have plenty of food and battery life. Plus, I want to avoid dusty car roads at the bottom of the valley as much as possible.
My plan, after getting through Odudi Pass (I hope) is this route: Zirdara-Sayegighor Pass —> down Kamochdara Gorge —> village of Andarbag —> up road to Zhamag —> up road to Zaych (end of road) —> up Zaychkhov Gorge —> Yagodka Pass —> Anderkhiv Pass —> Vichug shepherd camp —> down Yazghulom River to Basid bridge —> up Yazghulom River to abandoned village of Ubaghn —> fords of Darai Ubaghn River and Darai Kaddakht River —> rough open terrain to old bridge over Raghzov River —> up Mazordara River to natural stone bridge…
After the natural stone bridge is where your trip may end. I have no clear advice after this. I will try a pass at the top of the Shabuk Gorge, or try to cross a couple of ridges to the upper Ghijovasi Gorge…or go back down the valley and go over Gushkhun Pass.
As for the natural stone bridge, it is a boulder wedged into the top of a narrow slot canyon. One source refers to it as “Puli Sangin“ (Stone Bridge in Tajik), a common reference name for natural stone bridges or boulder crossings. But the linguist Julia Edelman, who did he fieldwork in the Yazghulom area gives its indigenous name as “Gharin Tau“ (do not confuse the Yazghulomi ‘tau‘ for the Turkic word ‘tau‘). The photo below shows the bridge in 1991 (left) via Lebedev 1991 and 1964 (right) via the Penza group. In these photos there is some work done to make the bridge safer with some wood and rock. Whether this bridge is still being maintained, or if it exists at all, is unknown. Note also that the two groups that took these photos passed by the bridge but did not walk across it. The Kovalev 1959 group did cross the bridge, but they provide no photos.
Note that if the water level is still high, you will likely be stopped by the Darai Ubaghn or Darai Chaddasht rivers.
As for the bridge over the Raghnov River, I can see “something“ on satellite in the same place that old maps show a crossing. And the natural bridge does not have any accounts since the 1991. These bridges may not be there anymore, or they may be too dangerous to cross. The Raghnov bridge has as an alternative the possibility of avalanche bridges upriver being available (at your own risk). Photo below looking east up the Raghzov River by Kovalev 1959.
Another serious obstacle is the Shabuk River, especially near the confluence with the Mazardara River. See the photo by the Lebedev group - 3:00pm, July 9th, 1991 (note the use of a rope and harness):
Cultural notes: the names on the Vanj ridge and in the Vanj valley itself suffer from “vowel invasion,“ meaning far off bureaucrats added vowels to indigenous names. So Gushkhun/Gishkhun Pass/Village is “Gshun” according to the indigenous people. Same for many other names, Ghijovasi = Ghjovasi, Shirgovad =Shrgovad, etcetera… Vanj no longer has its own language. The people here adopted Tajik.
In Yazghulom they have their own indigenous language. It’s not a dialect, but rather a completely separate language from Tajik. Yazghulom, or Yazgulem from Russian, is what Tajiks called this valley. The local people call the lower Yazghulom “Yuzdom” (where everybody lives now) and the upper Yazghulom “Bahrzdom“ (destroyed by Soviets, now used for grazing only) The locals call the Yazghulom river “Zgamenj.“
When you leave Rushon and arrive in Yazghulom, you have left Shia Ismaili areas and are now in Sunni Muslim areas. The same goes for Vanj and Darvoz - Sunni (except for one Ismaili village of Yoged in the Darvoz district).
Alexander the Great Shrine? Yes, that’s its name. It’s on the right bank of the Mazordara tributary to the Yazghulom River. Likely it belongs to a shepherd who died here, or perhaps it is an older shrine that was given a creative name change. It’s probably very unimpressive, as multiple Russian climbing groups have passed by the shrine location along the Mazordara and only one group mentioned it by adding it as a reference to their map. The groups carried cameras but probably didn’t see anything worth using film on. So lower your expectations. As for Alexander, the respect shown for him in much of the Muslim world comes from Arab culture, which had zero experience of Alexander’s invasions (compared to the Persian world). Yazghulom is unique in Tajikistan for the hatred expressed for Alexander - at least when a linguist visited 70 years ago. The legend is that the red tint to the river (from the Raghzov tributary) is the blood of Alexander, who was slayed by the locals. The root of the disdain for Alexander is that this area was a recent convert to Islam, and previous Zoroastrian influence viewed Alexander - a destroyer of Zoroastrianism — very unfavorably, referring to him as “the Accursed.“ The shrine is where the locals tossed his body. Or maybe he died of illness in Babylon…
Note that there is another shrine of the same name lower in the valley that is likely better know by the locals.
The river (Mazordara) very likely takes its name from this mazor (mazar), a familiar naming scheme throughout Tajikistan. Almost every mountain region has one.
Lower Yazghulom Valley (Yuzdom)
My route takes you through several villages. What is it like here? Almost zero tourists visit, on average. The one thorough account of meeting and staying with locals is from Ilya Bunovsky, who visited in 2016 (but only as far upriver as Motravn). Read his account here, and view some of his photos below:
There are no hotels or formal guesthouses here, but like Ilya Bunovsky, you will likely be invited to stay as a guest. It will be a sincere invitation, and the more prosperous people in the village can easily host you comfortably. They will absolutely refuse payment. This is not a situation as with some very poor mountain villages where you must try your best to pay for your stay.