TO THE MAIN JUDICIAL COMMISSION
OF THE ALPINISM FEDERATION OF THE USSR
Report on the ascent to the summit of Dalar via the northeastern wall with an exit to the summit tower via the northern edge, as entered in the 1969 USSR Alpine Championship by the team from the Leningrad Mountain Sports Committee.
Team captain and ascent leader — B. KORABLIN
Leningrad, 1969
Northeastern wall of Dalar peak.
Due to various reasons, STEPANOV V.V. and CHERNOSLIVIN Yu.I. were unable to travel to the Caucasus this year, and therefore they did not join the assault group. KORSHUNOV D.M. could not be replaced at the time the team started the ascent (he was working as an instructor), and VELIKANOV V.P. was included in the main team.
After several discussions and preliminary reconnaissance of the route, it became clear that we would proceed with four climbers instead of the initially planned six.
The movement along the route proved the correctness of our decision to go in fours. The third rope would have significantly slowed down our progress, greatly increasing the time taken, and most importantly:
- if we were able to "build" bivouac platforms now, otherwise all nights would have been hanging ones.
Order of passage on the route
August 23 — the team and three observers left the "Uzunkol" camp at 12:15 and approached the bivouac under the wall by 16:00. After setting up tents, the group began to sort out the equipment, while the observers, along with Yu. BELYAEV, made a final check of the group's observation points on the route.
August 24 — wake-up at 2:30. Observers made coffee, and at 4:00 we started our journey through the glacier towards the wall. KORABLIN led the way in a rope team with BELYAEV. They were followed by the rope team of SHESTIPALOV–VELIKANOV with a small gap. We were under the wall by 6:20. We stopped at the edge of the snow to sort out the equipment. We glanced at the left variant of the proposed path and decided to double-check the feasibility of crossing the huge steep couloir or finding a way to traverse it somewhere in its upper part.
During preliminary reconnaissance and viewing of the route, we became convinced that crossing the couloir was associated with a high risk of being hit by constant rockfall. We stayed at this spot until around 8:00, and during this time, large rocks repeatedly passed through the couloir, as if confirming our decision. So, the decision was made to go straight up the wall, which could be called northeastern. The route we had planned earlier began with rocks resembling "ram's foreheads," and at exactly 8:00, BELYAEV started off in a rope team with KORABLIN. After this section, the first complex rocks appeared. BELYAEV continued to lead. The "trikoni" boots were left in the backpack, and galoshes were put on. On the 80-meter slab, we had to try out a pulley system for pulling up backpacks. It worked perfectly!
Beyond the slab, which BELYAEV passed using ladders, a chimney with smoothed walls began, with niches and pockets in the walls, where live rocks seemed to be placed. The first climber had to toss them down to the glacier, otherwise, they could be knocked down by the rope onto the team members below. At the top of the chimney, Yura suddenly found himself facing a sheer wall, and immediately, the sound of frequent hammer blows was heard — he was drilling a shlymbur. A short rope throw, and again hammer blows — another shlymbur.
As we passed through the chimney, we confirmed the wisdom of deviating onto the sheer wall: the upper part of the chimney was flowing with water, making it impossible to climb even in galoshes. A short stop. KORABLIN and SHESTIPALOV packed away their "Vibram" boots and pulled out galoshes — it seemed to be the only suitable footwear for this route.
After exiting the chimney, we had a brief "lunch," and the group continued upwards. By around 18:00, we began to worry about finding a place to bivouac. The terrain was very complex, and neither to the left nor to the right could we see anything resembling a ledge. The prospect of a hanging bivouac didn't appeal to us, so BELYAEV suggested we continue through an internal angle with a cornice, beyond which the rocks seemed to be flattening out.
We reached the cornice around 19:00 and immediately started building a platform. Several large blocks lying on an inclined slab served as our building material.
Meanwhile, VELIKANOV went up from the so-called platform to process a short section of the route for the next day. He managed to climb about 40 meters before we called him back down — the platform and dinner were ready.
We exchanged signals with the observers. We could clearly see the lights of our observers' lanterns and those on the other side of the gorge.
August 25 — we quickly covered the previously processed 40 meters on a rope and reached a large block-cornice. A review of the route revealed that the only possibility was to bypass it on the left. The first steps of the bypass led across wet rocks — an unpleasant prospect for climbing under a "shower." It was puzzling where the water could be coming from so early. The entire bypass was done on ladders. The rope disappeared behind the cornice, and from above came the voice of VELIKANOV, who was leading: "Come up to me — more chimneys ahead."
By 11:00, we had covered only 140 meters of the route. At this point, we managed to gather everyone together on a very narrow ledge, which could hardly be called a ledge. We hammered in hooks for belaying and some for hanging backpacks. Only after that did we have breakfast.
From here, a smooth monolithic wall with very fine cracks was visible above. The wall diverged widely to the left and right in this section. No possibility of bypassing it was visible, so we prepared shlymburs and thin hooks just in case.
The smooth wall turned into a slightly more gentle section after 80 meters, but one that was more dangerous. There were many wedged and loose rocks in the appearing cracks and fissures. Climbing here was not so much difficult as tense and dangerous.
And again, about 60–70 meters of practically vertical wall with small holds, transitioning into a vertical internal angle. VELIKANOV continued to lead. Our task today was the unenviable job of pulling up the backpacks.
As we approached this spot, one of the participants couldn't help but exclaim: "Oh, these angles! How many are there on this wall?"
Indeed, it felt like the entire route was composed of:
- steep internal angles;
- chimneys, occasionally interspersed with monolithic walls.
Considering the high tension of the previous day, we decided to stop for the night much earlier today. Around 18:00, on steep inclined slabs, we began to build a platform. We managed to construct something resembling a platform before dark, but we had to hang the tent on ropes. Each participant thoughtfully hammered in one or two safety hooks for the night. As soon as it got dark, we had another "session" of communication with the observers. On the opposite side of the gorge, we saw new lights — a group of "dispatchers" had joined the observers there. Our observers now had 30 more people.
Involuntarily, we recalled the words spoken by someone during the day: "It's hard to climb badly under such observation!"
August 26 — KORABLIN led the way across large-block rocks, while BELYAEV put on his "trikoni" again. Beyond the rocks, something resembling an ice couloir came into view — it was clear that it would be hard to climb in "Vibram" boots.
Upon approaching this section, we saw that the couloir's structure was quite original: it was the junction of a steep rock wall and an equally steep ice slope. BELYAEV went first, and after a couple of hours, VELIKANOV took over. After 40 meters of very complex and tense climbing on an overhanging wall, KORABLIN took over, reaching the steep upper part of this wall, where the small holds were covered in lichen.
The climbing was difficult and very tense, as there were practically no places to hammer in hooks — very few cracks.
Although we had a hunch that this wall should lead us to the northern shoulder, the shattered rocks that followed 60 meters later quickly brought us to the main ridge. Here, we allowed ourselves a short rest before rappelling down into the breach in the ridge. After exiting the breach, we started building a platform right behind the ridge, and by the time we signaled with a flare, the bivouac was ready.
In the sunset's rays, the northern edge of the summit tower was clearly visible. To some extent, we knew about the complexity of this part of the route, but it was impossible to view it in detail from below or from the side. However, it seemed simpler than we had anticipated, although SHESTIPALOV's opinion was expressed much more concisely: "The edge is very similar to the first mirror of Krummkol."
August 27 — immediately from the bividing, we traversed across large-block rocks to the ice ascent, beyond which the summit tower rose steeply upwards. BELYAEV led the way across the ice in "trikoni" boots, followed by KORABLIN on the slab-like rocks.
(Incidentally, this section very much resembled a huge roof — all the slabs had an inverted slope and were laid out in very even rows).
Having become accustomed to climbing through internal angles and chimneys on the main wall, we were not at all surprised by another 60-meter internal angle that menacingly overhung the entire wall. VELIKANOV led through the internal angle, followed by SHESTIPALOV, and after an 80-meter monolithic wall, we reached a short chimney, from which we suddenly emerged onto the summit ridge.
Along the shattered rocks of the summit ridge, after 40 minutes of movement, we reached the summit of Dalar.
After a short lunch on the summit, we began our descent along the usual route of category 3B complexity, returning to the "Uzunkol" alpine camp late that evening.
Table of main characteristics
Ascent route
The ascent route — Dalar via the eastern wall, with an ascent to the summit tower via the northern edge of the tower. Height difference — 990 m, including the most complex sections — 780 m. Average steepness of the route — 80°.
| Date | № | Average steepness of the section | Length of the section | Characteristics of the sections and conditions of passage | Technical difficulty | Method of overcoming, belaying | Weather conditions | Stops for bivouac | Time of departure | Working hours | Number of hooks (rock) | Number of hooks (ice) | Number of hooks (shlymbur) | Bivouac conditions | Weight of daily food ration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 24 | R1 | 60° | 150 m | Ice slope of medium difficulty with a bergschrund | Medium difficulty | Simultaneous and alternating belaying, ice axe steps for bergschrund | Good | – | 4:00 | 2 h 20 min | 4 pcs. | – | – | – | 1.2 kg |
| August 24 | R2 | 55–60° | 120 m | Smoothed "ram's foreheads" | Medium difficulty | Alternating movement, hook belaying | Good | – | 8:00 | 2 h 30 min | 12 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 24 | R3 | 75–100° | 80 m | Slab with a smooth internal angle. Very few cracks. Overhanging section — 20 m ladders. Until the rock grotto — pulling up backpacks. | Difficult | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 10:30 | 2 h 15 min | 14 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 24 | R4 | 80–100° | 70 m | From the grotto, traverse across a 45° slab into a chimney. Smoothed walls, the chimney overhangs, with a rock plug in the middle. Ladders. Pulling up backpacks. | Very complex friction climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 12:45 | 2 h 30 min | 18 pcs. | 2 pcs. | – | – | – |
| August 24 | R5 | 75° | 45 m | Upper part of the chimney with few holds. Rockfall hazard. | Difficult free climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 15:00 | 1 h 00 min | 7 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 24 | R6 | 75–100° | 40 m | Overhanging rocks. Few cracks. Smoothed ledges. Almost no holds. Pulling up backpacks. Ladders. | Very tense climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 16:00 | 2 h 00 min | 8 pcs. | 2 pcs. | – | – | – |
| August 24 | R7 | 80–105° | 50 m | Smoothed internal angle — upper part overhangs with a cornice. Ladders. Pulling up backpacks. | Very difficult climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 18:00 | 2 h 00 min | 9 pcs. | – | 2 pcs. | Bivouac stop at 20:00. Platform "built" on a ledge. | 1.8 kg |
| August 25 | R8 | 70–100° | 100 m | Internal angle with an overhang in the middle. Traverse across a steep slab into a 3-meter vertical chimney. Pulling up backpacks. Ladders. | Very complex free climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 6:30 | 3 h 30 min | 16 pcs. | – | 1 pc. | – | 1.8 kg |
| August 25 | R9 | 80–85° | 40 m | Smooth monolithic wall with very fine cracks. | Complex climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 10:00 | 1 h 00 min | 7 pcs. | – | 2 pcs. | – | – |
| August 25 | R10 | 85–90° | 40 m | Smooth monolithic wall — continuation of the lower wall, only steeper. Traverse across the wall for 10 m and exit under the base of the next wall. | Very complex climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 11:00 | 2 h 15 min | 6 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 25 | R11 | 60° | 60 m | Wall with rocks wedged in wide cracks and fissures. Rockfall hazard. | Tense climbing | Alternating movement, belaying through hooks and ledges | Good | – | 13:15 | 1 h 00 min | 4 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 25 | R12 | 85–90° | 60 m | Wall with few holds, transitioning into a vertical internal angle. Pulling up backpacks. | Very complex climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks. Part of the section on ladders. | Good | – | 14:15 | 3 h 00 min | 13 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 25 | R13 | 60° | 30 m | Inclined slabs | Medium difficulty | Hook belaying | Good | – | 17:15 | 40 min | 2 pcs. | – | – | Platform built under an overhanging rock for the tent. | – |
| August 26 | R14 | 60° | 60 m | Large-block rocks | Difficult climbing | Alternating movement, belaying through ledges and hooks | Good | – | 6:30 | 1 h 30 min | 3 pcs. | – | – | – | 1.0 kg |
| August 26 | R15 | 70° | 40 m | Ice couloir | Complex climbing | Hook belaying. Ice axe steps. | Good | – | 8:00 | 2 h 15 min | 5 pcs. | 2 pcs. | – | – | – |
| August 26 | R16 | 90–100° | 40 m | Monolithic wall with overhanging sections. Ladders. Pulling up backpacks. | Very complex climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 10:15 | 3 h 00 min | 11 pcs. | – | 2 pcs. | – | – |
| August 26 | R17 | 80° | 30 m | Upper part of the monolithic wall, composed of separate slabs. Small holds covered in lichen. The wall leads to the northern shoulder of the summit tower. Two ladders. | Very difficult climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 13:15 | 1 h 30 min | 5 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 26 | R18 | 10° | 60 m | Shattered rocks | Simple movement | Belaying through ledges | Good | – | 14:45 | 30 min | – | – | – | – | – |
| August 26 | R19 | 80° | 35 m | Breach in the ridge | Rappelling | Belaying through a hook | Good | – | 15:15 | 1 h 00 min | 4 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 26 | R20 | 65° | 40 m | Ascent from the breach onto the ridge across slab-like rocks | Medium difficulty | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 16:15 | 1 h 00 min | 4 pcs. | – | – | Platform built on the ridge. | 0.2 kg |
| August 27 | R21 | 60° | 60 m | Large-block rocks before the ice ascent on the northern edge of the summit tower | Medium difficulty | Alternating movement, belaying through ledges | Good | – | 5:30 | 1 h 00 min | 2 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 27 | R22 | 45° | 45 m | Ice ascent on the edge | Medium difficulty | Hook belaying. Ice axe steps. | Good | – | 6:30 | 45 min | 2 pcs. | 2 pcs. | – | – | – |
| August 27 | R23 | 80–90° | 50 m | Slab-like rocks with an inverted slope. Few holds. | Very complex climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 7:15 | 2 h 00 min | 18 pcs. | – | 1 pc. | – | – |
| August 27 | R24 | 90–100° | 60 m | Internal angle with a general overhang. Ladders. Pulling up backpacks. | Very tense climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 9:15 | 2 h 00 min | 16 pcs. | – | 1 pc. | – | – |
| August 27 | R25 | 80–90° | 80 m | Wall of slab-like rocks. Monolith with small holds and blunt cracks. Ladders. | Very tense climbing | Alternating movement, belaying only with hooks | Good | – | 11:15 | 2 h 30 min | 13 pcs. | – | 1 pc. | – | – |
| August 27 | R26 | 80–85° | 20 m | Chimney leading to the summit ridge. | Medium difficulty | Belaying through hooks | Good | – | 13:45 | 45 min | 2 pcs. | – | – | – | – |
| August 27 | R27 | 15–30° | 120 m | Summit ridge — shattered rocks | Simple movement | Belaying through ledges | Good | – | 14:30 | 40 min | – | – | – | – | – |
Descent from the summit via a category 3B complexity route, return to the "Uzunkol" alpine camp.
Team captain B. KORABLIN www.alpfederation.ru↗