Ascent Record

1. Category of first ascents.
2. Region 2.10, Caucasus, Dagestan Mountains, Shalib ridge.
3. Dul'tydag, 4127 m, via the East Ridge, combined route.
4. Category 2B, first ascent.
5. Route characteristics: height difference 900 m, average slope 25°, length 3250 m. By sections: category 1 – 1350 m, category 2 – 980 m, category 3 – 820 m, category 4 – 200 m.
6. Belay points used: rock outcrops – 5, placed protection – 2.
7. Climbing time – 5 hours.
8. No overnight stays on the route, overnight stay in ABC near the confluence of Nukkura and Bodonai rivers (2700 m).
9. Dorro Konstantin Eduardovich – Candidate Master of Sports, Voronin Sergey Valer'evich – 1st sports category, Maksimov Evgeny Vladimirovich – 2nd sports category.
10. Departure, summit, return – July 3, 1995.
11. Organization: Mountain Club "Eos".

"Photo: general view of the summit: Dul'tydag (4127 m). Route via the East Ridge – category 2B. (1) Route via the North Ridge – category 2A (A. Sayapin-78). (2) Route via the North-East buttress – category 2A (approximately K. Dorro-94). Photo taken on July 3, 1995, from 2850 m."

Photo 2. Sections R9–R14 from R1.

Photo 1. Sections R4–R10.

Route Description

The East Ridge of Dul'tydag starts with a steep ascent, rocky steps, slabs, and small gendarmes. Around 3600 m, the ridge becomes more gentle and even loses height with a smooth "hump". Move to the left of the ridge. After point R4, the ridge becomes steeper (use rope protection!).

Bypass three dangerous "triangle" ascents on the left along the edges, with snow cornices. The steepness increases, and the ridge turns into a buttress, with large blocky rocks, steep, requiring belaying. Before the gendarme R0, bypass to the right and cross the couloir R1, then along the rocky slope to the firn ascent, through a snow cornice to the South-East Ridge (R2, point R9). Control cairn.

Move to the right along the ridge: slabs, gendarmes, overlapping rock formations. Dangerous in snow (use belay!). At the junction of the East Ridge and North-East buttress, on the shoulder (4000 m), cairn, point R11.

Descend along the rocky ridge (point R12) to a more gentle ridge and continue to the next ascent. Here, the ridge is not clearly defined, with large blocky rocks in the middle section. Exit to the sub-summit via snow. To the right along the rocky ridge, transitioning into an inclined snowy field (cornices to the right!), reach the summit, cairn, 4127 m.

Descent via the North Ridge (in the classifier: North-East, this is incorrect, does not match the exposure – an error in the description of category 2A by A.K. Sayapin):

• through two rocky steps
• to the right into the cirque (in summer, the glacier is exposed, crevasses)
• cross it in the direction of the gentle talus ridge
• then down to the valley.

The ascent route is long, with diverse terrain, filled with challenging sections, the most difficult of those on Dul'tydag. The route was attempted by K. Dorro + E. Maksimov on January 2, 1993, but due to harsh weather conditions, they were forced to turn back (from point R10).

2.10. Caucasus, Dagestan Mountains, Shalib ridge

Map-Scheme of the Ascent Area

Approach to the Route Description

• From the village Khulisma (1900 m), Laksky district, Republic of Dagestan, south along a dirt road to the confluence of the Burshi and Kazikumukhskoe Koisu rivers (2080 m, 2–3 hours). Slightly below is the "Burshinsky" bridge. From it, along a trail, on the left bank of the Kazikumukhskoe Koisu river, after a large left tributary (Charihnenkh river), having walked about 1.5 km along the floodplain, exit to the right and up to a terrace. Along it, across three left tributaries, to the confluence of the Nukkura river on the left (2457 m, 4 hours). There's a bridge at the confluence. Then along Nukkura to the confluence of the Bodonai river on the left (2700 m, 2 hours). Cross Bodonai and set up camp at a summer pasture near a large cairn. Further, to the SW, up along the wide glacial valley of Nukkura, on its left bank, with a gradual gain in height. To the west, the pyramid of Dul'tydag, the highest point in the area, becomes visible. The valley is as if blocked by the long East Ridge of Dul'tydag descending from the right. Gradually, talus slopes begin, and along the ridges, approach the first rock outcrops in the left part of the East Ridge. This is the start of the route (3230 m, 3 hours from the Bodonai river).

Photo 3. Sections R9–R12. Photo from July 1994 (S.V. Voronin).