Who was Slava Topol?
The Slava Topol Project is named after the late Slava Topol. (Vyacheslav Sheiko)
Slava was, in the very real sense of the word, a local legend on Lenin Peak. His athletic ability was evidenced by his participation in the Lenin Peak Sky Marathon (4,400 to 7,134m) and his 26 ascents of Lenin Peak and his ski-descents of the steepest lines on the mountain’s north face.
In addition, he had an astonishing capacity to porter huge loads to the mountain’s high camps and he invested his considerable earnings in establishing Topol Camp on the mountain in addition to a ski-mountaineering business located in Ak-Suu in the Terskey-Alatoo mountains near his home town of Karakol, Kyrgyzstan.
Slava Topol tragically died on the mountain in 2022 while guiding.
His family continue to own and operate Topol Camp and they are generously hosting the volunteer medics from the BMMS while they are on the mountain.
About the Slava Topol Project
The Slava Topol Project is a joint Anglo-American initiative between American ski-patroller Dave Wade and British mountaineer and academic Stephen Taylor.
The pair first met on Lenin Peak back in 2019 and teamed up in 2023 to revisit the mountain.
During their time on the mountain in 2023 they found themselves evacuating a dangerously ill climber with a cerebral oedema from the camp at 5,300m. While this proved successful, the experience underlined to them the inadequacies of current resources and practices on the mountain to respond to accidents and medical emergencies.
Following this incident, the pair resolved to try and improve the existing situation by introducing an appropriate PSAR system on Lenin Peak. To that end, they have established a non-profit organization to fund the development of the required rescue and medical supports to improve safety on the popular Central Asian mountain.
Dave Wade
Dave Wade is a Wyoming-based skier and mountaineer, with decades of experience guiding and climbing throughout the United States, including Denali in Alaska, as well as the Volcano Orizaba in Mexico. He has also made expeditions to central Asia, namely the Pamir and Tien Shan ranges, trekking and ski mountaineering above 6000 meters. Dave has worked as a guide and porter for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides since 2005, and works winters for the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol. In 2019, Dave participated in an international exchange to China, where he trained medical and rescue protocols to his Chinese colleagues, as well as providing support for a World Cup event.
Stephen Taylor
Stephen Taylor is based at the University of Cumbria and has a doctor in natural area governance. His main research concerns the governance of mountain tourism. Stephen started climbing in his native Scotland as a schoolboy and has been climbing ever since. Since 2008, he has been climbing in Kyrgyzstan every summer exploring unclimbed alpine summit across the Tien Shan and the Pamirs. Having first visited Lennon Peak in 2017, Steven has become fascinated by the challenges of addressing the impacts of commercial tourism on popular high mountains.
Jeremy Windsor
Jeremy Windsor is a Consultant in Anesthetics and Critical Care at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. He is also trustee of the British Mountain Medicine Society, (BMMS) and Director of the Center for mountain medicine at the University of Central Lancaster (UCLan). For many years he has taught on Diploma in Mountain Medicine courses, and more recently developed MSc and MD programs in Mountain medicine. He is a section editor for Wilderness and Environmental medicine and has more than 100 publications in the field of mountain medicine.
As an avid climber, cyclist, mountaineer, runner, and swimmer, Jeremy has explored much of the UK. Further a field he has visited mountain ranges across the world. From bouldering on small rocky outcrops to 8000 m peaks he has enjoyed every moment!
Vladimir Komissarov
Vladimir Komissarov has a PhD in Geology and Mineralogy and has been climbing since 1967. During this time, he has ascended over 500 Alpine peaks (with 12 above 7000 m) and he is a recipient of the "Snow Leopard "aw he has been a mountaineering instructor since 1976, and IMFGA mountain guide since 2012. Vladimir has been President of the Kyrgyz Alpine Club since 1998 and was President of the Kyrgyz Mountain Guides Association from 2007 until 2021. He is the founder-director (1996 to present) of the Kyrgyz Public foundation "rescue in the mountains”.