Britons Climb Soviet Union’s Highest Peak

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29903, 17 August 1962, Page 11

Britons Climb Soviet Union’s Highest Peak

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright)

MOSCOW. August 16. Members of * BritishSoviet expedition to the Pamir “mountains of mystery” have successfully scaled 24,590-foot Mount Communism, the Soviet Union's highest peak. The final bid on the summit was made on Saturday and the news reached the British Embassy in Moscow by telegram this morning. The party of six British and six Soviet climbers continued the expedition after the death of the Britons. Wilfred Noyce and Robin Smith, in the mountains on July 24. Mount Communism was formerly Mount Stalin. The expedition was headed by a Scottish doctor, Malcolm Slessor, and a veteran Soviet climber. Anatoly Ovchinnikov. The summit party included four Britons, Dr. Slessor, I. M. Davis, Dr. G. Nichol, and J. Brown. With them were four Soviet climbers. Dr. Slessor is a 35-year-old lecturer at the Glasgow College of Technology.

Tlie expedition’s first attempt was on the 20,000-foot Mount Garmo, and Noyce and Smith were killed during the descent. Before the expedition began, Sir John Hunt said in Moscow last month that it was also intended to climb Mount Moscow, another 20,000-foot peak in the Pamirs. The Soviet news agency Tass said the flags of Britain and the Soviet Union had been planted on the summit of Mount Communism. Tass said Anatoly Ovchinnikov, described by Tass as the leader of the ascent, reported by radio: “Mount Communism was first conquered nearly 20 years ago by a group of Soviet climbers led by Evgeny Abaikov. Since then several more Soviet expeditionshave climbed the mountain. Now foreign sportsmen —the British .climbers—have for the first time climbed Mount Communism.” Reuter said the Britons were the first foreigners to climb the peak.