Climbing Passport

1. Climbing category — high-altitude
2. Climbing area — Central Pamir
3. Climbing route — p. Rossii (6878 m) via the southeastern wall
4. Climbing characteristics: altitude difference — 2200 m average steepness — 62° length of complex sections — 1400 m
5. Pitons used: rock pitons — 104 ice pitons — 32 bolt pitons — 0
6. Total climbing hours — 43
7. Number of nights and their characteristics. 7 nights on the route in tents, sites are inconvenient.
8. Team name: team of CS SDO “Burevestnik”
9. Surname, name, patronymic of the leader, participants, and their qualification: Bozhukov Valentin Mikhailovich — MS, leader Kosmachev Oleg Semenovich — MS, deputy leader Akopdzhanyan Yuri Arshaluysovich — MS, participant Vanin Vyacheslav Vasilyevich — MS — «—» Vinogradsky Evgeny Mikhailovich — CMS — «—» Nadbakh-Kiedesa Vladimir Mikhailovich — CMS — «—» Nevoroтин Vadim Kirillovich — CMS — «—» Krotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich — CMS — «—» Berkovich Yuli Aleksandrovich — CMS — «—» Smirnov Rudolf Nikolaevich — CMS — «—»
10. Team coaches Kuzmin K.K. — HMC, Honored Coach of the USSR Puchkov L.N. — MS, senior instructor
11. Date of departure to the route — August 3, 1974 date of return — August 12, 1974

The areas around p. Kommunizma are the most visited high-altitude stages in our country. However, until recently, the peaks of the Academy of Sciences range, which feed the lateral tributaries of the upper reaches of the Bivachny glacier, were rarely visited by sports expeditions. And the attention of expeditions was mainly focused on p. Kommunizma (high-altitude class) and p. OGPU (high-altitude-technical class). The mass ascents to p. Kommunizma (more than 600 people) and other seven-thousanders in the country (p. Korzhenevskoi – 400, p. Pobeda – 150, p. Lenin – 1000) show that the further development of the high-altitude class of the USSR alpine championship will go by way of conquering six-thousanders via complex rock-ice walls.

1. Brief geographical description of the climbing area. Sporting characteristics of p. Rossii.

Pik Rossii is the highest peak of the meridionally located Academy of Sciences range in the Central Pamir. Modern maps indicate its height as 6878 m. The first ascenders knew it as the “6852 m” peak. From the north and east, p. Rossii is surrounded by a common ice cover with p. Kommunizma, descending to the east with powerful icefalls of the Stalin and Rossii glaciers, feeding the Bivachny glacier. To the northwest and west, there are rock-ice counterforts and walls visible from the Belyaeva and Garmo glaciers. To the southeast, the snow-ice pyramid of p. Rossii is supported by several counterforts and a ridge, including p. Glukhontsev (5781 m) and ending with one of the numerous “shirm” on the left bank of the Bivachny glacier. To the south from p. Rossii towards p. Patriot (6350 m) and further, there is a ridge of the Academy of Sciences range. The nearest powerful counterfort, the icefall of p. Patriot, and the southeastern ridge of p. Rossii form a closed cirque, at the bottom of which lies a rather gentle three-tiered glacier, named by tourists the Kruтoy glacier.

Towards this glacier, p. Rossii is bounded by two sheer walls, oriented to the southeast and south. The base of the walls is located at an altitude of 4800–4900 m, and the length of one of them, the southeastern wall, is close to two kilometers.

Obviously, these walls have remained untouched so far only due to their powerful neighbor — p. Kommunizma, from which p. Rossii is separated by a 700-meter gap — a peak that attracts the attention of athletes not only in our country but also abroad.

Even HMC V. Kisel, summarizing the results of 1958–1961 in the collection “Pobezhdennye vershiny,” wrote: “...one wants to look a little into the future... There are many opportunities in the Central Pamir... It is possible to ascend p. ‘6852’ (to the south of p. Pravdy) from the Bivachny glacier and from the plateau between this peak, p. Pravdy, and p. Kommunizma.”

The first to set foot on the Bivachny glacier were the companions of surveyor N.I. Kosenko in 1908. In 1926, the Tashkent geographer N.E. Korzhenevsky discovered a powerful mountain node of the Meridionalny (now Academy of Sciences) and Peter I ranges. In 1928, the heights of the peaks in the area of p. Kommunizma were first measured.

Mass sporting development of the area began from the Garmo glacier side. On August 17, 1955, nine Georgian climbers led by Maksim Gvarliani first ascended to the summit of “p. 6852” via the northern snow-ice slope from the “6200” plateau (route category 5A, second place in the USSR high-altitude class championship).

Since then, three more routes have been laid on p. Rossii:

• The path via the northern ridge from the Belyaeva glacier — category 5B
• Category 5A — from the “6200” plateau under p. Pravdy.
• Route category 5B — via the southeastern ridge.

The last route was climbed in 1972 by a team of CS “Spartak” led by O. Abalakov, as part of the USSR Championship. Moreover, the team had initially planned to climb the southeastern wall of p. Rossii but had to abandon the attempt and choose an easier route.

In 1969, a team of Leningrad climbers led by Yu. Kuzmin traversed from p. Patriot to p. Rossii via the southern ridge (route category 6B — first place in the USSR Championship, traverse class).

Pik Rossii was subjected to a real siege last year, in 1973. The USSR high-altitude team, preparing for a planned trip to the Himalayas, conquered p. Rossii simultaneously with several groups via known routes from the Rossii glacier. The Bivachny glacier area has always been of interest to climbers from the “Burevestnik” society. Teams of CS SDOS “Burevestnik” worked in this area in 1961, 1972, and 1974.

We believe that p. Rossii, despite the lack of captivating names like “ruler of spirits” or “bloody mountain,” will move from the category of “routine” to the category of sportingly interesting high-altitude peaks. And this will happen as teams combine the experience of high-altitude climbers and the audacity of rock climbers to conquer its southern walls, so surprisingly similar to the southern walls of its northern neighbor.

Chronicle of the Ascent

August 3, 1974. At 10:00, the group left the base camp on the Bivachny glacier (3900 m). The path to p. Rossii is well-known to us — we had traversed it twice during acclimatization exits. After 7 hours of walking along the moraine, we approached a large stone at the end of the median moraine of the upper reaches of the Bivachny glacier. From here, our path lies to the right onto the glacier of the southern cirque of p. Rossii. We took equipment and products left from the previous exit and began the ascent to p. Rossii at 13:30, tied together in groups of 3–4 people. Initially, the glacier was open, but then more and more closed crevasses appeared.

In the middle part, the glacier is heavily broken, so we moved along the right side. Here, there is a small moraine with a steep ice rise at the end (50 m). We had to cut steps and pass the ice rise with variable insurance through an ice piton, then a snowfield, and move to a more calm middle part of the glacier.

It was getting dark, and we were a bit tired; the whole previous day, the group had participated in transporting Komarov, a participant of the Ukrainian high-altitude rescue expedition.

The weather had deteriorated slightly: snow, fog, reduced visibility to 100 m. Under these conditions, we overcame another 2 rises of the glacier. Our goal was to reach the cache thrown under the wall of p. Rossii on August 2 by helicopter. By 22:00, already in twilight, we approached the parachute darkening on the snow. We quickly set up tents and prepared dinner.

August 4, 1974. The morning was clear and sunny. We were standing under p. Rossii. The route was perfectly visible. We observed the wall, noted stone-dangerous sections, clarified options for passing individual sections, and planned bivouac sites. We had plenty of food in the cache, so we fortified our strength with delicious and nutritious meals and rested. After lunch, visibility worsened — fog rose, and the wind strengthened.

August 5, 1974. At 9:00, we left the bivouac and moved along the closed glacier (section R0–R1). After 30 minutes, we approached the beginning of the wall. We started climbing the firn slope to the bergschrund (section R1–R2). Ahead was the связка Nadbakh–Vinogradsky. Volodya was in crampons and quickly approached the bergschrund with a bridge-probe in the middle part (section R2–R3). The bridge did not inspire confidence. We hammered an ice piton, and Zhenya Vinogradsky carefully insured Nadbakh. On top, Volodya cut a “trough” and hammered a second ice piton. Now it was possible to pass safely.

On section (R3–R4), the связка Krotov–Vanin–Berkovich moved forward. We moved along the rocks of the black triangle to the right-up, first along a randkluft with step-cutting, and then along the rocks. Having passed the rope, we climbed up a 15-meter steep rise (section R4–R5) to the right onto a snow-firn slope with a slope of 45° (section R5–R6).

Technically, this section is simple but requires significant physical effort to cut steps, so over a distance of 100 m, three leading climbers changed, and in the end, the связка Bozhukov–Kosmachev moved forward.

We traversed to the right-up along the ice-firn slope (section R6–R7) towards the rocks of the gray triangle. An unpleasant spot — the firn crust on top of the ice did not hold well. We cut steps and hammered ice pitons for insurance.

Since from below the section between the black and gray triangles was not visible, we considered two options for ascending to the gray triangle:

• either to the right along the ice couloir to the level of the “funnel” and then traverse to the left,
• or to the left to the top of the black triangle and then along the wall of the gray triangle.

Nearby, it turned out that the right option was stone-dangerous, and to the left, there was a safe ice couloir (section R7–R8) leading to the rocks of the bridge between the top of the black triangle and the wall of the gray triangle. We passed this section alternately with piton insurance, and in some places, we cut steps.

Before the bridge, there was a wall. The lower part of the wall (section R8–R9) was icy, and rocks were barely visible. Here, we moved with free climbing and step-cutting; we hammered ice pitons for insurance. This difficult spot was passed by Oleg Kosmachev (section R9–R10).

The upper part of the wall — steep, unreliable rocks with ice — we hammered 2 rock pitons and alternately passed this place without dislodging a single stone.

The bridge is a rocky ridge (section R10–R11) with snow and a small rock shelf on the right. The time was 16:00. The weather worsened: it got colder, wet snow, low clouds. According to the tactical plan, we were supposed to bivouac here — above the wall of the gray triangle. We dropped our backpacks and began to make a site. The связка Kosmachev–Bozhukov started processing the wall of the gray triangle.

The height was 4950 m. It seemed incredible that it was possible to set up even one tent here, but the experience gained in the construction brigade on laying mountain trails helped us. We loosened and dismantled part of the ridge, poured stones onto a small shelf, and after 2 hours, we got 2 sites where we could even lie down. By 19:00, the first связка returned — they hung 120 m of rope. The weather was deteriorating — everything around was shrouded in clouds, wet snow, but there was no wind. Silence.

4th day — August 6. At night, we woke up from the loud flapping of the tent. Outside, there was a hurricane wind and a snowstorm. By dawn, the weather had not changed. It was impossible to go on the route. The whole day, the storm did not subside.

5th day, August 7. The wind did not stop for a minute. Visibility was zero. In the middle of the day, the clouds parted a bit. Visibility — 80–100 m. We tried to go out, but due to the snowstorm, movement was impossible. Hands and feet began to freeze immediately. Snow clogged the goggles. After 15–20 minutes, we returned to the tents and, having stood around them for another half hour, climbed inside. We had to wait for the weather.

6th day — August 8, 1974. This morning greeted us with sunshine. There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was very quiet. A little later, avalanches began to rumble in the distance. A review of our food supplies, conducted the previous day, showed that 10 people had consumed a significant part of the food reserve in 2 days, which was intended for just such a case. Since we were at the very beginning of the route, it was risky to continue without a food reserve. The leader decided to send the связка Berkovich–Krotov–Smirnov down to the cache.

Meanwhile, the main part of the group passed the sections processed two days earlier: R11–R12 — a gentle ridge of very destroyed rocks; R12–R13 — a complex 20-meter wall with a small number of holds; R13–R14 — a relatively gentle (45°) destroyed rock shelf with a steep wall (R14–R15); R15–R16 — a complex rock ascent with an inner corner, passed with free climbing. These sections are characterized by destroyed rocks, making them stone-dangerous and complicating insurance. The sections were passed with mandatory variable insurance. Ahead was the связка Bozhukov–Kosmachev.

After the rock ascent, there was a traverse to the right along rocks of medium difficulty (R16–R17) and an exit to slabs, partially covered with ice (R17–R18). These sections were passed with free climbing and careful insurance. At 15:45, on section R17–R18, the main group was caught up by the связка that had gone down to the cache. Further, the group continued the ascent without gaps between the связка.

After the slabs, there was a 100-meter rocky, snowy ridge (section R18–R19) going to the right-up to a black 30-meter wall (section R19–R20). The wall turned out to be very complex, with small holds, and was passed by Vadim Nevoroтин first, without a backpack, with free climbing. The lower part of the wall was passed:

• along an oblique crack going from left to right towards a vertical inner corner,
• then straight up along the inner corner,
• and traversed left-up to a ledge in the upper part of the wall.

5 rock pitons were hammered on this section. The whole group passed the wall on the перила without backpacks; backpacks were pulled up.

Before us, a long ice slope with rock outcrops opened up (section R20–R21). Ahead was the связка Vanin–Akopdzhanyan–Nevoroтин; hammering ice and rock pitons, they passed the slope:

• first straight up,
• then traversed left-up to a snow-covered bridge.

Here, we began to trample and pile up sites. By 18:45, we were already lying in tents. The weather was clear and cold. The height was 5350 m (according to the altimeter).

7th day — August 9. The morning was again clear and cold, but the horizon was covered with a strip of clouds. We planned to start at 9:00 when the rocks would warm up. We began climbing the firn couloir (section R21–R22), leading to an icy rock ledge with a groove on the right side (section R22–R23). The rock groove was steep (70°), but it was the only way up. V. Nadbakh was the first to pass this key section with free climbing in the связка with E. Vinogradsky. Insurance was piton. The other связки overcame the groove on the перила. After the ascent, there was a snow-ice slope (section R23–R24) going to the right to a destroyed rock ridge (section R24–R25) with a low жандарм in the middle (section R25–R26). The жандарм was composed of destroyed rocks and was passed alternately. Behind the жандарм, the ridge continued (section R26–R27) up to a 15-meter steep rock wall (section R27–R28). The wall was snow-covered in the lower part, and the rock was unreliable. E. Vinogradsky was the first to pass this section with free climbing. Then there was a gentle section of the ridge R28–R29 and further, an 80-meter ascent with a steep snowy and icy wall (sections R29–R30 and R30–R31). Section R29–R30 was passed straight on with free climbing and piton insurance. Snow-covered rocks of section R30–R31 were passed obliquely from right-up and left. It was a cold and difficult section. The next section of “grapes” was a long inclined ice-rock shelf going to the left under the black sheer wall with a slope of 45° (section R31–R32). We had difficulty finding a place to hammer pitons. The organization of insurance was somewhat facilitated by the presence of ledges on the right side of the wall, around which the insurance rope could be looped. From the end of the shelf, along a complex 10-meter wall (section R32–R33), we exited onto the wall (R33–R34) formed by the black sheer wall and, above, the left side of the “knife.” Here, there was a high risk of stonefall because the wall had numerous shelves and terraces with freely lying stones. The first to move was the связка Nadbakh–Vinogradsky; the rest had to wait under the 10-meter wall — stones were falling. Finally, with free climbing and piton insurance, the first связка moved to the right-up, and the movement of the others began. Having passed the 100-meter wall, we found ourselves on a gentle shoulder in the form of a rocky ridge with an inclined shelf (section R34–R35). We were already in the lower part of the “knife.” Above was a rocky ridge (section R35–R36), ending in a steep long wall of p. Rossii, leading to the “edge.” The first 15 m of the steep wall (section R36–R37) was a steep rocky groove going to the right-up (section R37–R38) and a traverse to the right along a snowy overhang (section R38–R39). The связки Vanin–Nevoroтин and Nadbakh–Vinogradsky processed this section until dark. The others were engaged in construction work:

• carrying stones,
• sprinkling snow from above,
• to build a site. The spot was inconvenient, but there were no flat areas suitable for setting up a tent visible above. We decided to stop at 16:00. By 18:30, the tents were set up, and everyone gathered at the bivouac. The height was 5850 m.

8th day — August 10. At 8:30, during packing, we heard the sound of a helicopter and then saw it. It was pleasant to feel that we were not alone in this deserted and wild region, that friends remembered and were worried about us. We began to wave a bright anorak to catch the pilot's attention and established contact with the helicopter via radio. The helicopter flew by several times close to the snow ridge with a steepness of about 25°. It was 14:00; the weather was tolerable — variable cloudiness, moderate wind. We could continue forward. Upon examining the route from below, it was noted that above the “edge,” the slope became gentler again in one more place — on the upper shelf of the zigzag. After a short discussion, we decided to move forward to this shelf. Ahead was the связка Bozhukov–Kosmachev. From the front, the shelf represented a rocky wall of the “edge” (section R50–R51), which we passed along a ledge on the left-up towards a gap between two rocky boulders. The gap (section R51–R52) was steep (70°) and was passed “in spread.” The height was about 6500 m, so the physical effort expended on complex climbing on the last two sections was felt. It was 14:45; we were standing on a small stony shelf under an overhanging rock. We noted in the diary that it was possible to make a site for one tent on the shelf. The stony shelf turned into a rocky one (section R52–R53) and, bypassing rock protrusions to the left-up and to the right, led us again to the “edge.” To the right of the “edge,” a slope (section R53–R54) rose, composed of destroyed steep rocks with terraces and freely lying stones. It was very stone-dangerous; we moved with utmost caution, right behind each other, insuring ourselves on individual rock protrusions. After 30 m, we reached the top of section R53–R54 and saw a long ice slope with rock outcrops (section R54–R55) going towards two rocky “islands.” The gentle section of the zigzag visible from below turned out to be just the beginning of a transition from rocks to a steep ice slope with stones, where making a site was practically hopeless. There remained hope to set up tents on the rocky “islands” visible 100–150 meters ahead. The связки Kosmachev–Bozhukov and Smirnov–Nevoroтин–Akopdzhanyan climbed with piton insurance to the first rocky “island,” then along the ice slope (section R55–R56) to the second and found it extremely difficult to make a site. It was 17:25. The leader asked the participants to comment on the further route. Opinions were divided. Some guys thought it was possible to reach the rocks of the pre-summit ridge visible 200 m above the rocky “islands” before dark. Under these rocks or on top of them, there were flat areas where it was possible to stop. Others, led by the leader, insisted on descending down to the second bridge of the “edge” zigzag (section R49–R50) because the ice slope was steep and stone-dangerous, and there was no time reserve. As disappointing as it was to lose the gained height, we had to descend quickly. We left two ropes hung and, in связки of 3 people, reached the “edge” bridge at 6500 m. It was almost 19:00. It took us an hour and a half to make sites and set up tents. Tired, we quickly had dinner and fell asleep.

August 11, 1974. The weather was not bad, although the wind had picked up, and cloudiness had increased. Everyone was healthy; the mood was штурмовой (assault). Having eaten the usual portion of vitamins and methionine tablets issued daily by Dr. Zhenya Vinogradsky, we had breakfast and quickly gathered our bivouac. At 9:15, the first связка Kosmachev–Bozhukov moved up. We quickly passed the processed section and reached the second rocky “island.” Behind it continued a steep ice slope (section R56–R57), leading to the pre-summit northwest ridge. 70 meters to the left was the “edge” of the wall. Choosing the most gentle path, we moved 150 m straight up with insurance through ice pitons. In some places, we cut steps and used rock outcrops in the ice for movement. Further, we decided to move to the left towards the rocks of the “edge” of the southeastern wall because this route was less stone-dangerous.

With a complex traverse (section R57–R58), we approached a site under the rocks of the “edge.” Kosmachev and Bozhukov organized перила here — a very complex spot. Further, there was a steep rock ascent of the “edge.” While the Bozhukov group was approaching the site on the перила, the связка Berkovich–Smirnov conducted a reconnaissance of the further path. A rock shelf on the left along the southeastern wall led to a sheer 50-meter smooth inner corner, so we decided to pass the ascent on the right.

Having overcome with free climbing a sheer 5-meter wall (section R58–R59) at the beginning of the ascent, the first связка reached an inclined rock shelf (section R59–R60), behind which steep rocks with a crack went left-up, heavily snowed and icy (section R60–R61). We passed this section by traversing the crack and then moving to the right-up. The rocks led us, finally, to a very sharp “aжурный” ridge with a high snowy overhang. It was a very dangerous spot — extreme caution was required because under our feet was an almost 2 km deep abyss.

The ridge gradually widened (section R62–R63) and became gentler (section R63–R64). And finally, we were on the pre-summit ridge. It was wide, mostly covered with scree, and in some places, there was ice with snow. With great pleasure, we walked simply on foot — simultaneously, unhurriedly, without nervous tension. The main difficulties of the route were behind us.

At 14:00, we were on the summit of p. Rossii. We took the note left by the group of the special team of CS “Burevestnik” led by Mosin on August 3, 1974. The clouds had dispersed; the weather was clear. Right in front of us was p. Kommunizma. All other peaks were far below. We took photos, left our note. The southeastern wall of p. Rossii was passed. At 15:20, we began our descent along the snowy northwest ridge of p. Rossii via the route of category 5A. By 20:30, we had descended to the Temma saddle between the glaciers of p. Rossii and p. Kommunizma. There were excellent warm bivouacs.

August 12, 1974. We left the bivouac at 10:00 and descended to the Rossii glacier, then along the Rossii glacier to the Bivachny glacier, and arrived at the base camp at 20:30.

Table of main characteristics of the ascent route:

• Ascent route: p. Rossii 6878 m via the southeastern wall
• Altitude difference from the base to the summit: 2200 m
• Altitude difference from the base to the exit on the “edge” (wall part): 1400 m

Evaluation of the Ascent Route

The пройденный маршрут по юго-восточной стене пика России can be compared with some routes of category 6B climbed by the group members on peaks such as p. Revolyutsii, Khan-Tengri, p. Kommunizma, and p. Tadzhikistan.

The route is mainly rock, with snow and ice sections encountered rarely.

In terms of technical difficulty, the passed route is significantly more complex than the контрфорс Воронина on p. Kommunizma, considerably more challenging than the path of K. Kuzmin on Khan-Tengri, and the route of L. Myshlyaev on p. Revolyutsii. While уступая по технической сложности скал маршруту, пройденному в 1971 году командой Спецотряда на пик Таджикистан, — the southeastern wall of p. Rossii differs in the worse due to the комплекс условий: удаленность от баз, погодных, суровости климата, заледенелости и заснеженности скал, – making the ascent equally difficult.

The пройденный маршрут is logical, objectively safe, aesthetic, and can be recommended for repeated passage by expedition groups on the Bivachny glacier.

Our group, based on our personal experience, оценивает маршрут 6Б кат. сл.

Evaluation of Participants' Actions

The ascent leader has no complaints against the participants. The physical, technical, and moral preparation of all participants соответствует маршруту.

However, we would like to highlight the extremely high usefulness of the selfless activity of Yuri Akopdzhanyan during the organization of the expedition, Oleg Kosmachev, Slava Vanin, and Zhenya Vinogradsky during the preparation and progress of the ascent.

It is pleasant that the “high-altitude youth”: Yulia Berkovich, Rudolf Smirnov, and Slava Krotov, and the “high-altitude veterans”: Vadim Nevoroтин and Volodya Nadbakh — reliably coped with the complex route.