A story about the discovery of the largest glacier and the highest peak in heart of the Pamirs

Рассказывается об открытии в конце XIX в. крупнейшего на Памире ледника Федченко и о запутанной истории восстановления реальной орографии Центрального Памира. Главная заслуга в этом принадлежит Таджикско-Памирской экспедиции, работавшей на Памире в 1928–1932 гг. Высочайшая точка Памира (7495 м) была обнаружена при съёмке геодезистом И.Г. Дорофеевым, письмо которого к автору и обсуждается в этой статье.

The paper describes how at the end of 19th century the largest Fedchenko Glacier had been revealed in the Pamirs, and about an intricate history of recovery the real orography of the Central Pamirs.The credit for that was given to the Tadzhik-Pamir expedition which worked there in 1928-1932.This highest peak of the Pamirs (7495 m) had been found by geodesist I.G.Dorofeev during his surveying of the mountains.His letter to the author is discussed here.

Summary
The paper tells a story how the «blank spot» at the Pamirs center was puzzled out.In 1878, a small party of explorers headed by V.D. Oshanin had found here a big glacier about 30-40 km long and named it for Fed chenko.In 1884-85, known investigator G.E. Grumm Grzhimailo made his important proposal about oro graphic structure of the Pamirs central part.In 1890, expedition headed by topographer N.I.Kosinenko investigated the lower part of the Fedchenko Glacier and, for the first time, saw a separate high peak.In 1916, astronomer Ya.I.Belyaev had put on a map a great pyramidal summit but he had mistaken it for the Garmo Peak well known to local Tadzhiks (Fig. 2).
In 1927, N.L. Korzhenevsky published a chart of arrangement of ridges near sources of the river Muksu (Fig. 3) that became a basis for work of the Tadzhik Pamir expedition of 1928-1932. In 1928, Ya.I.Belyaev determined a true length of the Fechenko Glacier that was 70 km, and geodesist I.G.Dorofeev mapped the whole basin of this glacier (Fig. 4) including also a high irregular truncated pyramid of 7495 m in height (as he believed).But earlier this summit was identified as known the Garmo Peak.And only in 1932, it was established that definitions made by Dorofeev in 1928 were related to this highest peak of the Pamirs and also of the whole Soviet Union.The chart of real Central Pamir orography constructed by I.G.Dorofeev is presented in the paper together with his letter addressed to the author (Fig. 5).
Thus, the «Garmo peaks» which were observed by the above mentioned explorers were actually three dif ferent summits.One of them does tower on the north of the «knot being puzzled out» and reaches 7495 m, and namely this «onetooth» peak was repeatedly seen by N.V. Krylenko from valleys Gando and Garmo.It was named then the Stalin peak, and later -the peak of Communism.Another one is located in 18 km south ward, and this peak is actually the true Garmo Peak 6595 m high known to local Tadzhik people.And the third summit is located between the two others, it is the Belyaev Peak 6852 m high that once Ya.I.Belyaev, and next N.L. Korzhenevsky confused as the Garmo Peak.
So, at the beginning of 1930s, orography of the Central Pamirs had been finally ascertained.A group of distinguished wellknown scientists and travelers of the first third of 20 th century (Fig. 7) participated in this outstanding investigation that was followed by a number of geographical discoveries.And, the highest peak of the Pamirs does now bear the name Ismoil Somoni (Fig. 8).

Fig. 2 .
Fig. 2.Compass survey by Ya.I.Belyaev in the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society