Report

on the ascent to the summit of Pik Kavkaz Tsentralny (4105 m) - the first ascent of the route via the North slope, category 3B, by the team of alpine club "Tekhnolog" on August 2, 2019. Participants:

• Barabashov A.A.
• Shabelnikov S.V. St. Petersburg, 2020

I. Ascent Passport

Report

on the ascent to the summit of Pik Kavkaz Zapadny (4037 m) — first passage of the route via the North-Eastern wall, cat. diff. 3A by the team St. Petersburg-2 from February 2 to 3, 2020.

I. Ascent Report

1. Climbing type — rock climbing
2. Central Caucasus. Shkhelda gorge (Double Glacier area)
3. Peak Kavkaz 4037 m via the SE buttress.
4. Difficulty category — 4A
5. Route characteristics: a) elevation gain — 320 m; b) length of section R1–R2 — 40 m; c) average steepness — 60–65°
6. Number of pitons hammered — 26 pcs.
7. Climbing hours — 14 (including approach through Double Glacier)

RUSSIAN MOUNTAINEERING FEDERATION

ROUTE SCHEME

Peak Kavkaz, 4037 m via NW wall, left

113. Peak Caucasus via the Southwest Ridge (Route 2A cat. difficulty). The path from the Shhelda alpine camp (group of 4-20 people) to the Double Glacier is described in route 111. Across the Double Glacier straight up to its bifurcation. Then ascent (with crampons!) up the steep icefall of the right glacier branch. At the end of the ascent, exit left onto the easy rocks of the ridge dividing the glacier into two parts, and ascend to the sites (there is water). From the sites (without backpacks):

• Exit to the upper ice-snow plateau
• Movement across the plateau and a small snowy slope
• Ascent to the Shheldinsky Pass (0.5 hours from the sites; 8-10 hours from the Shhelda alpine camp). From the pass:
• Left and up a snowy couloir to ascend to the Southwest Ridge of Peak Caucasus East.
• Movement along the easy, in places moderately difficult, broken and snow-covered rocks of the ridge - to a site below the pre-summit wall.

п.­ Volnaya Ispania — в.­ Vjedukh. 4А cat.­ diff., traverse, to route 3. Nefedova, 47 The exit to the traverse of п.­ Volnaya Ispania starts with the approach via the normal route to пер.­ Kashka-Tash. The first overnight stay is at the pass. (From AUSV “Dzhantugan” — 6–7 hours). From the pass, ascend a steep icy slope, partially covered with snow (2 hours). After crossing the ice slope, continue along the rocky ridge to the summit. Initially, the path traverses несложным скалам (easy rocks), followed by a snowy ridge where simultaneous movement is possible, requiring careful attention to avoid cornices hanging towards the Kashka-Tash glacier. The first major жандарм (boulder) is bypassed on the right (in the direction of travel), the second — on the left. The rocks along the bypass route are loose. Beyond the жандармы, a significant descent follows, succeeded by a fairly steep ascent up the snowy ridge. This ascent leads to a paired базальтовому жандарму (basalt boulder), ascended directly along the ridge. The descent from it involves a 5–6 m abseil. Immediately beyond the basalt жандарм, after a short narrow saddle with a snowy cornice to the north, begins the “ascent” to the предвершинный гребень (pre-summit ridge) of the “Gogol” жандарм. The ascent is from the left side of the жандарм, exiting onto the ridge just below the highest point. The rocks are difficult, quite brittle, with плитами (slabs), зацепками (holds), and полочками (ledges) of черепичного характера (a tiled nature, facing downwards), averaging 65° steepness. The ascent from the saddle to the top of the жандарм (about 60 m) takes 3 hours. In total, from the pass — 12–13 hours of work. An overnight stay is possible somewhat below the upper жандарм.