REPORT ON THE FIRST ASCENT TO MURUDZHINSKAYA NEEDLE VIA THE WEST RIDGE, CATEGORY 2A, BY THE "FREELINE" MAC TEAM, OCTOBER 1-2, 2022

Climbing Report Form

№	1. General Information
1.1	Full name, sports rank of the team leader	Donskov Andrey Mikhailovich, 1st sports rank
1.2	Full name, sports rank of the participants	Ankudinov Alexey Ivanovich, 2nd sports rank Popova Varvara Valeryevna, 2nd sports rank
1.3	Full name of the coach	Motienko Nikolai Ilyich
1.4	Organization	MAC "Freeline", Essentuki
2. Characteristics of the Climbing Object
2.1	Region	From Marukh pass to Nakhar pass

ASCENT PASSPORT

1. Ascent class — rock climbing
2. Ascent area — Western Caucasus (from Marukh pass to Nakhar pass)
3. Peak, its height, ascent route — Semyonov-Bashi peak 3602 m via the central bastion of the southern wall
4. Expected difficulty category — 3A
5. Height difference — 1100 m
6. Pitons driven (rock anchors for belaying) — 4
7. Number of travel hours — 5
8. Participants — Abarbarchuk Georgy Samuilovich, CMS, 2nd sports category. Boyko Viktor Viktorovich, CMS, 3rd sports category.
9. Date of team's departure on the route and return — July 8, 1981

Report

On the ascent of the KCR team to the summit of Semenov Bashi 3602 m

via the counterfort of the North-Eastern wall. Presumably 3B cat. dif. Second ascent. Semenova E. A. — 3rd sports category, leader Semenov M. A. — CMS, participant Alpclub — "Gornoye Bezumiye"

2. Caucasus

To the Classification Commission of the USSR Alpine Federation

REPORT

on the first ascent to the Sofruju peak via the southern wall on July 27-29, 1972

I. Group Composition:

Gubanov Yu. D. — leader, Candidate for Master of Sports, senior instructor of the Dombay region Climbing School, unattached, "Burevestnik" Sports Society, Dombay settlement. Prima Yu. V. — participant, Candidate for Master of Sports, radio instructor of the Dombay region Climbing School, unattached, "Burevestnik" Sports Society, Dombay settlement. Khamtsov A. P. — participant, 1st class, junior instructor, unattached, "Burevestnik" Sports Society, Dombay settlement, Alibek alpine camp worker. Support group led by Candidate for Master of Sports Vorobyev D. G., parallel route on the Main Amanauz peak via the southern wall, category 5B difficulty.

II. Alpine and Geographical Overview of the Sofruju Massif.

Dalar via Northwest ridge, peak Shokoladny, combined, cat. 4B

Route description:

From the bivouac, traverse the plateau to reach the foot of peak Shokoladny. Ascend the snow and scree slopes, transitioning to broken rocks in the upper section, to reach the peak (category 2A difficulty). The ascent from the bivouac takes approximately 1.5 hours. From the peak's summit, descend steep rocks to the left and downwards, circumventing the first drop of the ridge via chimneys and internal corners. From the second drop of the ridge, perform a rappel to a narrow saddle adjacent to the "Palets" gendarme. Bypass the gendarme on the left, then rappel leftwards to a ledge and follow it to regain the ridge. Subsequently, descend 25 meters down steep rocks and perform another rappel down an overhanging wall. The broken rocks lead to a saddle between peak Shokoladny and Dalar. Bivouac sites are available on the left, beneath the overhangs. The descent from the peak's summit takes around 2 hours. From the saddle, traverse rightwards along ledges that cut through Dalar's western wall, eventually leading to the main ridge beneath the summit tower. The ledges vary in width and have a general inclination to the right. From R8, a narrow cleft ascends upwards, culminating in a ledge beneath a couloir with a waterfall. Ascend via the couloir-chimney and a series of ledges (R10), overcoming a gendarme on the ridge "head-on," to reach a snowy and icy ascent leading to the junction of the north-eastern and north-western walls of the summit tower. From R13 (end of the ascent), a series of ledges traverse along the wall to R16 (avoid the edge of the ledges due to loose rocks!). From the upper ledge, ascend a narrow crevice to a vertical wall (R17–R19), then again via a crevice to reach a gap in the summit ridge (R21).

Gvandra East Peak

Ascent from the col between Srednyaya and East peaks, cat. II. For the approach to the col, see the description of the traverse of Srednyaya and Main Gvandra. From the col, ascend the snowfield to a snowy gendarme and descend from it to a lowering in the ridge. Bypass the first rocky "finger" on the right via an inside corner, 5 m — piton! Descend into a gap to the 2nd "finger" along the snowy ridge. Bypass the next "finger" on the left along the snow. Careful belaying — the snow layer is very thin on the slabs and on the rolled-in ice! The third "finger" is a monolithic rocky block of reddish color — pass it on the left along a chip — pitons! Belay! The rest of the group members can go left of the chip using a fixed rope. From the "finger" top, descend along the snow to the col to the last gendarme-"finger". Bypass it on the left along a ledge with an overhanging slab — belay! Piton! — and reach the rocky ridge, which leads to the eastern peak. From the col to the summit — 3–3.5 hours.

Brief Characteristics of Dalar Peak

Dalar Peak (elevation 3981 m above sea level) is located in the western part of the Central Uplift of the Main Ridge. It is 25 km west-southwest of Elbrus. The chain of peaks (Filter, Zamok, Dvoinyashka, Dalar, and Shokoladny) bounds the cirque of the Bolshoy Kichkinokol glacier from the south, east, and west, giving rise to the eponymous river, which flows into the Uzunkol River. The first ascent to Dalar Peak was made in 1937 via route 3B cat. sl. After 1960, other routes were climbed and classified on Dalar:

• 5B on the North Face;
• 5B on the NE ridge;
• 4B from Shokoladny Peak;
• 4A from the south. The ridge from the east remained, which was traversed in the reverse direction (on descent) by a group from CSKA in 1962 during the traverse of the Kichkinokol horseshoe. The route along the Eastern ridge is very logical.

Sports Group Composition

Team Composition

The MGS DSO "Spartak" team was formed in 1961. During 1961-1963, team members completed a series of climbs up to category 5B difficulty. Already in 1963, the team considered it possible to participate in the All-Union team competitions in the class of technically complex ascents. In July 1963, the team completed part of the declared route, but an earthquake forced the group to return. They completed a route on East Dombay-Ulgen via the south wall, which took 1st place in Moscow. The team composition, as per the application submitted to the judging committee, was determined to be 10 people. As a result of training ascents, the following group composition was determined:

• Kavunenko V. D. — Master of Sports of the USSR — leader
• Shataev V. N. — 1st sports category
• Polyakov L. D. — 1st sports category
• Magomedov Kh. K. — 1st sports category

Dolomit Severny from Dolomit Severny Pass, 2A

Route description:

From Chat bivouac, ascend via the right moraine and large talus slopes into the talus cirque between Chat-bashi Peak (left) and Dolomit Severny Peak (right). From here, take a straightforward snowy-talus slope to reach Dolomit Severny Pass. From the pass, traverse a 300-meter crumbling ridge to its sharp depression. From this point, descend leftwards to a ledge, then follow a chimney (R2) and a ridge composed of slabs to approach a large slab (R4) overhanging the ridge. Bypass it on the left via talus (loose rocks!). Continue via rocky terrain to a large "roof" slab lying edge-upwards, a key landmark. Bypass the "roof" on the left through a couloir and then ascend to the summit ascent via the ridge (beware of cornices early in the season!). From the ascent, descend via straightforward rocky terrain to a large talus saddle, then ascend the summit via a straightforward talus slope. The ascent takes approximately 5.5 hours from the bivouac. The descent from the summit follows the "Dоломит Северный по центру бастиона Западной стены" route, exiting onto Okhotnichy Pass. Then, descend via talus and snowy slopes to the bivouac in the Chat-bashi cirque (40 minutes from the pass).

Fig. 57

2. Traverse of Perednyaya and Zadnyaya Chotcha (3640 m) with ascent via the north-eastern edge to Perednyaya Chotcha — category 4B difficulty (see Fig. 57)

From the Northern refuge, cross the Hokel river via a log, then follow the trail and scree to the crest of the north-eastern edge of Perednyaya Chotcha. The crest is jagged, with numerous sharp gendarmes that are overcome head-on; the descent from the last two gendarmes to the col is via rappelling (protection on the crest via protrusions and pitons!). The col offers a bivouac site. The journey from the Northern refuge to the col takes 6–7 hours. From the col, ascend 90–100 m up a steep snowfield (65°) to smooth rocks (protection on the snowfield via ice axe, on rock outcrops via pitons!). From the snowfield, traverse left along ledges for 65–70 m to a steep gully, then ascend 60 m up the right side of the gully via moderately difficult rocks (protection!). The gully is prone to rockfall! Continue ascending 110–120 m up steep slab-like rocks (protection via pitons!) to a sloping snow ledge, then traverse 100 m left and upwards to the start of the second pitch of the edge (protection!). From the start of the second pitch, ascend 50 m right and upwards via an inclined crevice, then 40 m via a moderately pronounced chimney to a steep wall (75–80°). Ascend 130 m up the difficult rocks of the steep wall to a horizontal ledge (protection via pitons!). This is a suitable bivouac site. The journey from the col takes 4–5 hours.