At the top of the Double Pass (northern), my brother Firuz asked me about our estimated plan of when we will be reaching the finish. Based on the information we had, I said: “Best plan is we reach by 7 PM, given or taken plus/minus 1 hour.” Little I knew how things could go wrong so fast.
At the top of the Double Pass (northern), my brother Firuz asked me about our estimated plan of when we will be reaching the finish. Based on the information we had, I said: “Best plan is we reach by 7 PM, given or taken plus/minus 1 hour.” Little I knew how things could go wrong so fast.
“The Loop of 3” is what I like to call the three of the highest mountain passes in the Fann Mountains: Double Pass (4260m above sea level), Chimtargha pass (4700m above sea level) and Kaznok pass (4070m above sea level). Total distance around 31 kilometers with total ascent of around 3300 meters. Average ascent inclination at 11% while at max 53%. Average descent inclination at 13% while at max 43%.
These are unique mountain passes in itself. Double Pass for example is named Double, as it is possible to descend either to the upper reaches of the Kaznok, or to the Akhbasoy gorge. Chimtargha is famous for it being the highest mountain pass of the Fann mountains. Kaznok is known for its flimsiness at the end compared to the other two mountain passes which makes it little harder to ascend.
Anyway, so the Loop of 3 has been in the plans for over a year when I was course marking the Tajik Mountain Traverse in 2024 (https://tajikmountaintraverse.com). As I ascended the Kaznok back in 2024, peaks such as Moscow and Sakharnaya Golova (Sugar head) were prominent and I was caught by their beauty. I wasn’t interested in that direction before then Double Pass was a route that could get me closer to those peaks. I thought one day I want to go there and reach all three mountain passes in one day.
For over a year, I would pan and zoom various maps for various locations and at times stumble on Double Pass and my interest will grow more. Around June-July, Sirius who is an avid hiker sent a message in the group asking we should try it. Him and Victor Mukhanov from the group completed the loop in 22 hours and 25 minutes in two days (links to their activity on Strava: DAY 1, DAY 2). Doing it in one go and in less than 12 hours was totally doable because they camped overnight at Chimtargha, while I planned to go ultralight and run it.
Actual planning of ascent of all three started at the end of the August of this year. I sent the route to my brother Firuz and asked if he is recovered after TMT course marking this year, so we can give it a try. He said he is up for challenge. I was excited🤩
We packed our items and decided on a date - August 30, 2025. We reached Iskandarkul lake and dived in for a quick shower.
Plan was to go to the foot of the Kaznok mountain pass where the mining road is and get acclimatized overnight and start the early and finish before 7 pm of the same day.
We drove until the end of the mining road and found flat spot for our tent near a water source and camped overnight. It was very beautiful and peaceful night. We decided we won’t cover our tent with rainfly and sleep under sky full of stars.
Sleeping in a tent without a rainfly in the mountains, beneath a sky overflowing with stars, is a must for any mountain-lover. It strips away the layers of modern life and reconnects you with something remote and essential — the raw beauty of nature and your place within it. The cold night air, the sound of water stream, and the unfiltered view of the cosmos all combine to create a sense of awe and peace that’s hard to find anywhere else. There’s something incredibly freeing about being so exposed yet completely at ease, wrapped in a sleeping bag while the universe unfolds above you. It’s a reminder of how small we are, and yet how lucky we are to witness such wonder.
Next morning we woke up at 5 AM and drank a coffee and drove down to the button of the Kaznok pass, so we don’t have to hike up to the car. We drove 2 km down the road, changed our clothes and started the day at 6:20 AM.
The first ascent wasn’t difficult at all. Couple hills and a smaller mountain and we reach Brizovoe Lake. It’s a unique lake. Unique in a way that not many people know or come here, compared to other lakes in the Fann mountains, like Aloudin lake or Kuli Kalon (Big lake). I am glad few people know about it otherwise they would litter the place with all the garbage they leave after themselves.
It took us around 1 hour 44 minutes to reach the top of the first mountain pass - Double Pass (northern).
We were super happy that we made it relatively easy without spending too much energy and both of us were feeling well.
The view from the Double Pass is majestic.
One side of the pass has drier land and no glacier, while the other side of the pass you can experience glacier and prominent peaks. Two contrasting sides - both so wonderful that you get caught by it’s beauty.
Without wasting further time, I asked we start descending to Big Alo lake and take up our next challenge - Chimtargha pass. We put on our steel spikes in our shoes and started quick descend. I think in our mountains, one must have some form of shoe spikes or grippers to descend safely. We slid through the rocks at times like skiers ski. The descend wasn’t bad at all.
Firuz likes to chit-chat with shepherds and tourists while I like to keep conversation short and move. At one point before we reached Big Alo lake, I noticed our distance between us has grown to more than 500 meters. Luckily, both of us had radio communication and we were in touch asking if everything was okay. Firuz exchanged one of is “Snickers” chocolate bar with honey from a shepherd and I was surprised how he can be so relaxing in the mountains.
We reached Big Alo at 11:42 and in my head worst case scenario was that we start moving from Big Alo lake at 12 PM, to be able to ascend Chimtargha, descend it and finish Kaznok before 7 PM. But as time was passing, I was doing Plan B, Plan C, Plan D as to when we will reach the finish. At that time, I was certain that we will be making on time.
In Big Alo lake, we dipped ourselves in the water and got refreshed.
I asked Firuz if we can start move quicker as I was getting worried we might actually not make it before sunset. My fear was that we weren’t equipped with the right gear to stay overnight, no sleeping bags, no tents, no air matts or down jackets. All my plans were around finish time of within 12-18 hours at my car where all our equipment and food were. I was too confident in my plans and didn’t know and didn’t anticipate that Firuz might catch high altitude sickness.
As we started our ascend to Chimtargha, our distance between us started to grow again. It didn’t come to my mind that Firuz might have caught high altitude sickness. I thought he might be out of energy and he should be able to re-bounce back sooner but once we reached the bottom of Chimtargha, when I asked him if he was feeling okay and if he was drinking and refueling on time, he said he has stomach issues. Then I realized, things might be more serious than I thought. Stomach issues and feeling slightly down are signs of high altitude sickness. I read a lot about and had fear of two things in the mountaineering: one is high altitude sickness, the other is hyperthermia. From what Firuz described: loss of appetite, nausea, feeling of vomiting, tiredness, and dizziness - I immediately knew he had high altitude sickness. It was around 4-5PM and we were around 2km down from the mountain pass and I thought what we should do. Should we go down to Big Alo, but then we don’t have proper equipment to stay there. It’s going to be cold at night and we might both get hyperthermia. Should we continue going up? That means it will be much difficult for Firuz with each climb to get to the top.
I asked Firuz what he would like to do but got no response as he was feeling very down and nauseous. I was getting worried as I was comprehending that it will be much worse if his situation gets out of control. I tried to help him counting down how many times we need to make stops before we reach the top and his dream of reaching Chimtargha will be realized. I knew it will be better if for him if we descended because when a person gets high altitude sickness, first thing to do is to get to lower elevation, not higher. But we had to pass Chimtargha because I knew if we started descending immediately, Firuz will start feeling much better and we will reach Ali’s place at Aloudin Lake. By this time, I didn’t care what the plan B, C, D, E…. plan Z was. It was beyond any of my plans. The thought was to reach Aloudin lake before it gets cold so we don’t get hyperthermia.
At 7 PM we made it to the top of the Chimtargha mountain pass.
Peak Energia
Peak Chimtargha
Firuz at Chimtargha pass
From the top of Chimtargha to Aloudin Lake it was around 11-12 km. I thought descending now should be faster as lower elevation will help Firuz feel much better. We descended to Mutniy lake and it was well dark. It was very hard for me to accept why we were moving so slow because we were going down, and on a descend - I thought, we should have been flying. But Firuz’s blisters and headache in around Mutniy wouldn’t let him move any faster. It was combination of both that we couldn’t move faster. It was even harder for my brother to keep moving.
We walked all the way to Aloudin lake and reached Ali’s place at around 12:30 AM of the next day. We knew this option will guarantee us shelter and food. Reaching from Chimtargha at 7 PM until Aloudin lake took us five and a half hours (around 5 hours 30 minutes) to cover 11km of descent. We were moving with our flashlights all in dark. I thought how unique experience to move in the mountains in the dark but I didn’t want that kind - unplanned. I can move in the dark but when I know what I am getting into, not in life threatening situation. We would sometimes just turn off our lights and gaze at the sky full of stars. Unbelievably beautiful. Our total time was 18:13:01 (Strava link) and distance 37K.
The next morning, we started at 8:20 am after a good hot tea with honey Firuz exchanged with shepherd the day before. I had two boiled eggs with me but it turned out I took the raw ones instead of boiled ones. I love eggs and I was so happy to have them with me in the mountains. We were surprised to see raw eggs survived in my Salomon vest. Firuz found a watermelon from Ali and enjoyed his favorite fruit.
Next up was Kaznok. We reached Mutniy in 1 hour and 50 minutes. This is my 4th time doing Kaznok and I think it was much easier than other times, though during TMT 2025 many racers said it was one of the most difficult part of the race.
At 11:48 am we were in the top of the Kaznok. Firuz felt much better this day as he seemed to be fully recovered.
After we reached Kaznok, I wanted to see how fast I can descend the Kaznok. I had my shoe spikes on and wanted to just test myself. It took me 30 minutes 25 seconds. As I was descending, I wondered what was Luke’s time (last year’s TMT participant from Australia). His time was 30 minutes 35 seconds.
All in all, it was worthy experience as I think we tend to learn more from our failures than from our successes. One of the most important lessons I drew for myself:
Never overestimate someone’s capabilities in the mountains. You can always underestimate but don’t overestimate. At one point when we were going up to the Double Pass, Firuz asked wouldn’t be nice to have more of our friends to join us? I said, I don’t take people unless I know their physical abilities. With each person comes responsibilities and so much burden. Goodness forbids something happens and it would be devastating to coupe with it.
Always have control check points before leaving. Meaning, have plan every designated kilometer and have plans for each sections in case someone gets injured, high altitude sickness, or other form of unexpected circumstances.
Have proper communication. Garmin text messaging or satellite communication back with family. Both of our families were super worried because we told them we would be back by Saturday evening, when in fact we returned Sunday evening. Having satellite communication would have given us a chance to message our family and let them know we are okay and we will be late a little bit.
Forgot to send my wife all the technical information and plan to Google Docs. I usually prepare detailed list of all contacts, coordinates and important deviations from Plan A, Plan B but this time, I thought I shared the link with my wife but only after I was out of service, I checked my Telegram to realize she didn’t have it.
Have proper overnight equipment regardless of what is the plan to prevent hyperthermia. I need to learn more and prepare.
In retrospect, I think I should be more agile. In my mind there are certain number of possibilities that a situation can turn into but once it gets out of all those predicted number of possibilities, I get upset and it’s hard for me to even understand someone’s troubles and be more compassionate toward them. Improving ability to be calm and understanding at hard times is a skill I still need to further hone.
That’s all I wanted to share. You can download GPX files from my Strava links mentioned in the above text.
What began as nothing more than a spark of a thought has now taken shape before us, alive and undeniable. We didn’t just imagine it, we lived it, we felt it, and we proved that a simple idea can become something powerful when we dare to believe in it. This journey reminds me that every dream starts quietly, almost invisibly, yet with courage, effort, and heart, it grows into something that touches our lives and inspires us to keep reaching for more.
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