FIRST ASCENT DOCUMENT
I. Climbing category — rock climbing
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Climbing area — 2.9. Eastern Caucasus
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Peak, its height, and ascent route — 2nd Zap. Yarydag via the 10-3 buttress (3900 m)
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Proposed difficulty category — 3B category
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Route characteristics: height difference — 500 m; average steepness — 65°; Length of sections: R1–150 m, R2–250 m, R3–40 m, R4–40 m, R5–60 m, R6–180 m.
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Pitons used: for belaying: Rock — 15 Ice — 0 Bolt — 0 for creating artificial anchors: Rock — 0 Ice — 0 Bolt — 0
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Total climbing hours — 9 hours.
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Number of nights and their characteristics — overnight stay at the base camp near Kurush village.
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Names of the team leader and participants, their sports qualification: Sidorenko A.I. — 1st sports category (newly qualified) Melnikov V.M. — 1st sports category
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Team coach — Dubov K.K.
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Date of departure and return — September 15, 1979.
TABLE
| Date | Designation | Average steepness (°) | Length (m) | Terrain characteristics | Difficulty | Condition | Weather conditions | Rock | Ice | Bolt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.09.1979 | R0–R1 | 45 | 142 | easy rocks | 1 | broken | clear | ledges | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | 8 | chimney | ||||||||
| R1–R2 | 50 | 130 | easy rocks | 2 | broken | — | 1, ledges | |||
| 10 | 120 | ledge | ||||||||
| R2–R3 | 75 | 40 | crack | 5 | solid | — | 7 | |||
| R3–R4 | 70 | 40 | wall | 3 | solid | — | 3, ledges | |||
| R4–R5 | 60 | 60 | wall | 3 | solid | — | 4, ledges | |||
| R5–R6 | 10 | 180 | scree | 1 | — | 0 |
Route description
From Kurush village, after crossing the bridge, follow the trail leading to Kurush Pass. After 45 minutes of walking, turn left from the trail towards the wall of 2nd Zap. Yarydag. Move towards the ridge leading to the second tower from the right edge of the wall.
The route starts with:
- a steep, compacted scree cone overgrown with grass (this is where the cairn is);
- then move up and to the right, and ascend through easy rocks on the left side of the couloir to reach a scree-filled depression;
- then move left onto a saddle between the red wall and the grey "patch" (section R0–R1).
From the saddle, descend 3 meters to the left and then move up and to the right through an 8-meter chimney and easy rocks (130 m) to beneath the steep red wall (belaying via ledges). Then, move right along a ledge to a scree shoulder (60 m, simultaneous belaying). From this shoulder, a narrow ledge leads to the next shoulder (60 m, belaying via ledges). Section R1–R2.
From here, ascend through a discontinuous vertical crack to a narrow ledge (40 m). Climbing is difficult, with category 5 rocks, and piton belaying (section R2–R3).
From the ledge, move right onto the shoulder of a narrow ridge. Then ascend along the ridge for 20 m to a counter-cairn. Then, from the ridge, move up and left across the wall to the next shoulder, with rocks of moderate difficulty and piton belaying via ledges (section R3–R4).
From the shoulder, ascend through an internal corner (60 m, rocks of moderate difficulty) that leads to the upper edge of the wall. Then, ascend along a scree slope to reach the summit, which is directly in front of the main summit (see route photo). Section R5–R6, 180 m.
Descent is via the 2A category route. Excerpt from the protocol of the first ascent discussion for 2nd Zap. Yarydag via the 10-3 buttress
Conclusion by the reviewer: Korkin I.V. — The ascent is confirmed and recommended to be submitted to the classification committee as a 3B category route.
Additional information about the route. The route was ascended wearing galoshes. The rocks are highly fragmented with many wide cracks. Thin cracks are absent. The route made extensive use of chocks.
We consider this route to be more challenging than:
- the route to Cheget-Kara-Bashi peak via the W. wall, 3B category;
- the route to Alaudin peak via the ridge, 3B category.
Approximate time breakdown for the ascent:
- Section R0–R1 — 35 minutes.
- Section R1–R2 — 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Section R2–R3 — 1 hour.
- Section R3–R4 — 30 minutes.
- Section R4–R5 — 45 minutes.
- Section R5–R6 — 30 minutes.