Free Korea Peak (), is a mountain in the

Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range The Kyrgyz Ala-Too also known as Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyz Range, and Alexander Range (until 1933) is a large range in the northern Tien-Shan. It stretches for a total length of 454 km from the west-end of Issyk-Kul to the town Taraz in Kazakhst ...

of the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

. It is located in

Ala Archa National Park The Ala-Archa Nature Park (, ) is an alpine national park in the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, located approximately 35 km south of the capital city of Bishkek. Established in 1976, it currently covers 16,485 hectares. Name The nature ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. It is one of the most famous peaks in the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, with a 900m wall on its northern face that is famously challenging to climb. Sources differ on Free Korea Peak's elevation, with both 4740m and 4777m quoted. To its north and slightly to the west lies the Ak-Sai Glacier.

History

The first ascent along the northern wall was made by an expedition led by V. Andreev in 1959. Prior to the discovery in the late 1980s of the 4810m Peak 4810 in

Karavshin The Isfara is a river of the Syr Darya basin in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In its upper course, it is called ''Ak-Suu'', in its middle course ''Karavshin''. It rises in the Batken Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is fed by the glaciers on the ...

, Free Korea Peak, together with

Ushba Ushba ( ka, უშბა) is one of the most notable peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. It is located in the Svaneti region of Georgia, just south of the border with the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. Although it does not rank in the 10 highe ...

and Chatyn-Tau in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, were considered some of the most difficult and prestigious peaks to climb in the former

References

{{reflist Mountains of Kyrgyzstan Chüy Region Four-thousanders of the Tian Shan Mountains of Ala Archa National Park