Russian Mountaineering Championship 2020 Class of High-Altitude Technical Ascents.
Report
on the ascent to Chegem peak 4351 m via the NE wall, NE ridge (Forostyan's route), 6A category of complexity by the team from Samara region and Moscow for the period from August 12 to 13, 2020.
1. Ascent Passport
| 1. General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Team Leader | Varlamov N.O. — 1st sports category |
| 1.2 | Team Members | Erokhov I.Yu. — CMS, Yablokov E.A. — 1st sports category |
| 1.3 | Coach's Full Name | Knyazeva M.A., Kutkin S.A. |
| 1.4 | Organization | FASS and FandS Moscow |
| 2. Characteristics of the Ascent Object | ||
| 2.1 | Region | Central Caucasus |
| 2.2 | Valley | Chegem |
| 2.3 | Classification Table Section No. (2013) | 2.11. |
| 2.4 | Peak Name and Height | Chegem 4351 m |
| 3. Route Characteristics | ||
| 3.1 | Route Name | NE wall, NE ridge |
| 3.2 | Proposed Category of Complexity | 6A |
| 3.3 | Route Development Level | - |
| 3.4 | Route Terrain Type | combined |
| 3.5 | Route Elevation Gain | 1160 |
| 3.6 | Route Length | 1880 |
| 3.7 | Technical Elements of the Route | IV cat. — 255 m, V cat. — 148 m, VI cat. — 138 m |
| 3.8 | Average Steepness of the Route, (°) | 40° |
| 3.9 | Average Steepness of the Main Part, (°) | 80° |
| 3.10 | Descent from the Summit | Via Tal's route variant, 2A cat., southward, to Chegem Glacier |
| 3.11 | Additional Route Characteristics | Water was only available in the upper part of the route in the form of snow. |
| 4. Team Actions Characteristics | ||
| 4.1 | Travel Time (in hours and days) | 19 hours, 2 days |
| 4.2 | Overnight Stays | Uncomfortable ledge, had to build a platform for the tent. |
| 4.3 | Route Preparation Time | 8 hours, 1 day |
| 4.4 | Route Start Time | 6:00, August 12, 2020 |
| 4.5 | Summit Reach Time | 16:30, August 13, 2020 |
| 4.6 | Return to Base Camp Time | 14:00, August 14, 2020 |
| 5. Weather Conditions | ||
| 5.1 | Temperature, °C | From 0° to +12° |
| 5.2 | Wind Speed, m/s | Moderate, 3–5 m/s |
| 5.3 | Precipitation | Moderate in the evening of August 12, 2–4 mm. |
| 5.4 | Visibility, m | From good 10,000 m to poor 100 m. |
| 6. Report Responsible | ||
| 6.1 | Full Name, e-mail | Varlamov N.O. VarlamovNikita@yandex.ru |
General route photo.
Route profile. (lower part of the bastion marked with red dots)
Lower part of the bastion profile. (lower part of the bastion marked with red dots)
Route profile.
Average steepness:
- main part of the bastion — 80°
- entire rock bastion — 60°
- entire route — 40°
Area panorama photo. (taken from Kenchat peak in August 2020)
Area map.
Technical route photo
| Section No. | Pitons | Nuts | Bolts | UIAA Symbol Scheme | Length | Steepness | Cat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R18 | 2 | 4 | - | 10 | 90° | 5 | |
| R17 | 1 | - | - | 5 | 70° | 3 | |
| R16 | 6 | 4 | - | 20 | 90° | 5 | |
| R15 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 80° | 6 | |
| R14 | 4 | 2 | - | 15 | 80° | 6 | |
| R13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 80° | 6 | |
| R12 | 6 | 6 | - | 20 | 70° | 5 | |
| R11 | 4/4 | 2/2 | - | 12 | 85° | 6 | |
| R10 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 80° | 6 | |
| R9 | 2 | 2 | - | 10 | 85° | 6 | |
| R8 | - | 2 | 1 | 10 | 90° | 6 | |
| R7 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 85° | 6 | |
| R6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 80° | 6 | |
| R5 | 3 | 1 | - | 10 | 90° | 6 | |
| R4 | - | - | 2/1 | 3 | cornice | 6 | |
| R3 | - | 2 | - | 10 | 80° | 5 | |
| R2 | - | 1 | - | 10 | 70° | 5 | |
| R1 | 1 | - | - | 20 | 60° | 4 | |
| R0 | - | - | - | 5 | 80° | 4 | |
| R29 | - | - | - | 50 | grass | 3 | |
| R28 | 2 | 5 | - | 40 | 60° | 4 | |
| R27 | 2 | 2 | - | 10 | 90° | 6 | |
| R26 | 2 | 2 | - | 25 | 60° | 4 | |
| R25 | 3 | - | - | 25 | 60° | 4 | |
| R24 | - | - | - | 70 | grass | 1 | |
| R23 | 4 | 2 | - | 15 | 60° | 5 | |
| R22 | 6 | 6 | - | 25 | 85° | 6 | |
| R21 | 4 | 7 | - | 25 | 85° | 5 | |
| R20 | - | - | 1 | 3 | 90° | 6 | |
| R19 | - | 2 | - | 8 | 80° | 5 | |
| R36 | - | - | - |  | 40 | 40° | 2 |
| R35 | - | 3 | - |  | 60 | 50° | 4 |
| R34 | - | - | - |  | 130 | 30° | 3 |
| R33 | 2 | 1 | - |  | 60 | 50° | 3 |
| R32 | 5 | 3 | - |  | 70 | 45° | 4 |
| R31 | 2 | - | - |  | 10 | 30° | 4 |
| R30 | 6 | 6 | - |  | 30 | 70° | 5 |
| R38 | - | - | - | 15 | 45° | 3 | |
| R37 | - | - | - | 950 | 20–50° | 1–2 |
3. Team Actions
August 8, 2020
At 9:00, the team left the base camp (TB "Bashil") in the Chegem valley. At 16:00, they arrived at the overnight stay on the moraine opposite the route. The weather was good that day.
August 9, 2020
Preparing three ropes took 8 hours. The weather was good during the day, and it rained in the evening.
August 10–11, 2020
Rain. Waited out the bad weather at the bivouac.
August 12, 2020
5:00 — started on the route. By 16:00, they climbed over the edge to the eastern side. At 20:00, they stopped for the night. Darkness caught them on a rocky ledge; there was no place for a tent — they spent two hours building a platform. The weather was good during the day, and it rained in the evening.
August 13, 2020
Started working late:
- 13:00 — began the snowy-icy part of the route.
- 16:30 — reached the summit.
- 17:00 — began descending on the southern side via Tal's route variant, 2A category.
- 19:00 — descended to the overnight stay on the moraine near Chegem Glacier.
August 14, 2020
10:00 — began descending from the bivouac; 14:00 — the team returned to the base camp at TB "Bashil".
Results, conclusions, comments:
The route left a good impression; interesting climbing, fairly monolithic terrain. The route is quite safe. There is a lot of old "iron" that needs to be checked before use.
We consider this route to be combined since the upper part requires a full set of ice climbing equipment:
- crampons
- ice axes
- ice screws
4. Weather Conditions
| August 8, 2020 | Night | Good weather, clear. |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | ||
| Day | ||
| Evening | ||
| August 9, 2020 | Night | |
| Morning | ||
| Day | Overcast. | |
| Evening | Rain. | |
| August 10, 2020 | Night | |
| Morning | ||
| Day | ||
| Evening | ||
| August 11, 2020 | Night | |
| Morning | ||
| Day | ||
| Evening | Overcast. | |
| August 12, 2020 | Night | Good weather, clear. |
| Morning | ||
| Day | Overcast. | |
| Evening | Rain. | |
| August 13, 2020 | Night | Overcast. |
| Morning | Good weather, clear. | |
| Day | Overcast. | |
| Evening | ||
| August 14, 2020 | Night | Good weather, clear. |
| Morning | ||
| Day | ||
| Evening |
First rope preparation.
Second rope preparation.
Third rope preparation.
Erokhov I. ascending via the fourth rope.
Note from the second control tour.
Night stay on the "roof" of the bastion.
Snowy-icy part of the route.
Yablokov E. and Erokhov I. on Chegem peak 4351 m.
Note from the control tour on the summit.