ASCENT LOG

1. Type of ascent — sport climbing. First ascent.
2. Region of ascent — Caucasus, Adyrsky spur of the Main Caucasus Range.
3. Ascent route with indication of peaks and their altitudes — Sullukol-bashi 2nd eastern peak via the South face, altitude 4259 m.
4. Proposed category of difficulty — 4B cat. diff.
5. Route characteristics: height difference — 510 m average steepness — 47° Length of sections:
   • R1 — 80 m
   • R2 — 60 m
   • R3 — 100 m
   • R4 — 100 m
   • R5 — 50 m
   • R6 — 120 m.
6. Pitons hammered in: for belay:
   • rock — 27,
   • ice — 0,
   • bolt — 0; for creating artificial terrain (ИТО):
   • rock — 1.
7. Number of climbing hours — 14 hours.
8. Number of bivouacs and their characteristics — 0.
9. Surname, name, patronymic of the leader and participants, their sports qualification: leader — Sitnikov Nikolai Nikolaevich, 1st sports category; participants:
   • Khatskevich Igor Georgievich, Master of Sports
   • Korostylev Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich, 1st sports category
   • Kuznetsov Vladimir Vasilievich, 1st sports category
10. Team coach — Popov Viktor Pavlovich.
11. Date of departure on the route and return: departure from "Dzhailyk" alpine camp — June 21, 1977, return to the bivouac under the Sullukol-su western glacier — June 22, 1977

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Description of the route to Sullukol-bashi 2nd eastern peak via the left part of the South face

From "Dzhailyk" alpine camp, we descend down the road. Not reaching the bridge over the Adyr-su River, we start ascending up the trail leading to the Sullukol gorge. Under the glacier, on the shore of a small lake, there are bivouacs.

The path from "Dzhailyk" alpine camp takes 3.5–4 hours.

From the bivouacs, we move:

• up the moraine to the Zapadny Sullukol-su glacier,
• across the glacier, leaving the slopes of the Kullumkal-bashi peak to the right, to the start of the route.

The route begins from the glacier. We ascend from the glacier via the left couloir with a steepness of 20–25° for about 80 m, to a wall that leads right to a ledge (R0–R1).

The first 8–10 meters:

• steep rocks (80–85°),
• complex,
• with a small number of cracks.

Further:

• along the ledge up and to the right,
• under the overhanging reddish tower.

Under the reddish tower — a control cairn (R1–R2).

From the control cairn, bypassing the tower, left-up along the ledge for about 40 m. At the end of the ledge — smooth rocks under the visible upper vertical inner corner. From the smooth rocks to the inner corner — a vertical section of about 15 m, then:

• at the base of the inner corner and up the inner corner — 3 m up,
• followed by an exit from it to the left onto monolithic smooth rocks,
• and up-left along them via an oblique cleft.

The section from the ledge to the end of the cleft is 100 m, climbing is complex.

Further:

• vertically up to a ledge (R2–R3).
• On the ledge — a control cairn.
• From the ledge — up under the overhanging rocks (20 m).
• Bypassing the overhanging rocks on the left, we move along the ledge with a large niche in the right part (very convenient place for a bivouac) to vertical rocks (R3–R4).
• Further up the snow with stones (6–7 m) up to vertical rocks and along them left-up through a fragment to monolithic rocks — exit to the ridge. Climbing is complex (R4–R5).
• Then we move along the ridge, consisting of simple rocks alternating with snow, to the summit (R5–R6). The section is straightforward.

Descent:

• right along the ridge to the second wide couloir,
• and down it to the Sullukol-su glacier.

Appendix 2

Section R4–R5