Report

On the first ascent to the summit 6231 m via the south-west edge from the Ayudzhilga valley on the Central Pamir, made by alpinists from Leningrad's “SPARTAK” on July 27–30, 1966.

The summit was named: “Peak YAKIR”

In the summer of 1966, Leningrad alpinists from the Spartak sports society went on an expedition to the Central Pamir to climb peaks in the unexplored Ayudzhilga river valley - a left tributary of the Muksu river. The first team of the expedition traversed the peaks of Pik Voroshilov - Pik Evgenia Korzhenevskoi, participating in the 1966 USSR championship. The second team, consisting of alpinists with 1st and 2nd sports categories, made several first ascents to unnamed peaks surrounding the Ayudzhilga glacier cirque during the same period.

Dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, the alpinists decided to name the newly conquered peaks after prominent commanders of the Red Army: Tukhachevsky, Blyukher, Yegorov, Yakir, and Uborevich. The peak with a height of 6231 m, described in this report, was named after Yakir.

Geography of the area and characteristics of the peaks

15 km west of the Altyn-Mazar weather station, at the confluence of the Muksu and Ayudzhilga rivers, the base camp of the Leningrad "Spartak" alpinists was set up on a wide terrace.

The picturesque Ayudzhilga valley in the Central Pamir had not been used as a base for ascents until this year. N.V. Krylenko, who had done much to explore the Pamir, wrote that it was impossible to descend into Ayudzhilga after visiting the valley from the Moskvin glacier. Indeed, the surrounding peaks drop to the Ayudzhilga glacier with walls ranging from 1 to 2 km in height. The peaks bordering the valley to the west and south: Pik Evgenia Korzhenevskoi (7105 m), Pik Chetyrekh (6399 m), Pik Voroshilov (6666 m), and Pik Kalinin (6565 m) had already been climbed by alpinists via more accessible routes from neighboring valleys. To the east, unconquered peaks with heights exceeding 6000 m rise, presenting a significant interest for ascents. This row of peaks is part of the Academy of Sciences Range and stretches from Pik Kalinin in the south to the turn of the range eastwards towards the Muzzhilga peak. The western slopes of the 6231, 6340, and 6128 m peaks descend to the Ayudzhilga glacier with steep rocky edges, sections of sheer walls, and snow-ice couloirs. To the east, beyond these peaks, lies a completely unexplored region, bounded by the Maly Tanymas glacier to the south and the Mazarske Alps to the north, where no human foot has yet trodden. The first ascents made by Leningrad alpinists to the 6231, 6340, and 5182 m peaks allowed them to glance into this region and begin deciphering the system of ridges and peaks lying east of the Ayudzhilga valley.

Reconnaissance during the training period revealed that there were no easy ascent routes. Among the few most accessible options, the route along the south-west edge to the southernmost peak - 6231 m - seemed the most feasible.

The Ayudzhilga valley stretches 20 km from the Muksu river to the walls of Pik Voroshilov. Half of this distance is occupied by the glacier, intersected by numerous medial moraines and glacial lakes. Below Pik Kalinin, the glacier receives a lateral glacier from the right, originating from a depression in the Academy of Sciences Range between Pik Kalinin and the 5861 m peak - the only more or less accessible path eastwards to the Maly Tanymas glacier area.

The lateral glacier wraps around the southern slopes of the 6231 m peak, whose south-west edge descends to it with steep scree slopes. Above 5000 m, the scree gives way to a snowy shoulder. From the shoulder, a wide snow couloir rises steeply, branching into two couloirs with a slope of up to 60° in the upper part. Above, after a rocky ascent, a narrow snowy ridge begins, with cornices, interrupted in several places by rocky walls. The ridge drops steeply (up to 80°) on both sides with rocky walls and snow-ice couloirs, posing an objective danger when ascending.

The rocks in the Ayudzhilga valley are primarily composed of schistose rocks at various stages of weathering:

• from crumbling into powder under hand
• to monoliths.

The rocks on our route proved sufficiently durable for organizing piton belays, although the suitability of spots for piton placement had to be carefully checked for monolithicity.

During the preparatory period of the expedition, on July 17, a group consisting of three alpinists: Kolchin, Korkin, and Borodin ascended the scree of the south-west edge to 4900 m, examining possible ascent routes to the 6231 m peak.

Organization and tactics of the ascent

The ascent plan provided for a two-day approach from the base camp to the snowy shoulder on the peak's edge, with overnight stays on the lateral moraine of the glacier and on the shoulder at an altitude of 5300 m. The nature of the ridge suggested that higher camps were possible, but with greater effort required to set them up. On the third day, in good weather, the group was to ascend to the summit and descend to the shoulder for the night. The fourth day was for returning to the camp.

This plan was fully executed. During the ascent days (July 27–30), excellent stable Pamir weather prevailed. Considering the nature of the rocks on the route, the group took 5 large (box and thickened titanium) pitons from the total of 10 pitons.

The group's composition, finalized before departure, was as follows:

Description of the ascent

Day 1 (July 27)

The group left the base camp at 8:30 and, after crossing to the left bank of the Ayudzhilga river, ascended along the turbulent watercourse. After 3–3.5 hours of walking, the narrow valley, overgrown with juniper and birch, narrowed further into a canyon.

The canyon could be bypassed:

• along the left bank with an ascent of 200–250 m;
• followed by a traverse along grassy slopes and a descent to the river via a steep sandy couloir.

At low water, it was possible to pass through the canyon with several crossings of the stream.

After the canyon, it was possible to continue along either the left or right banks of the river. When moving along the left bank, one had to cross to the right bank upon reaching the glacier and continue along the stream beds between the slopes of the peaks and the lateral moraines. After 10 hours of walking from the base camp, having covered 18–20 km and gained 1.4 km in altitude, the group stopped for the night on the lateral moraine of the glacier at an altitude of 4100 m under the western slopes of the 6340 m peak.

Day 2 (July 28)

They left the moraine at 7:30. The first hour continued the ascent along the glacier, and then they began to ascend the middle scree, reaching the broad crest of the south-west edge of the 6231 m peak within the second hour. Medium and fine scree with a slope of up to 40° alternated with short snowfields of similar steepness. They ascended these, bypassing rocky sections of the crest to the right. After bypassing rocky outcrops, they turned left and, via a steep scree slope, found themselves back on the crest at the level of the snowy shoulder. Along the gentle snow, they continued upwards to the first rocky bastion on the crest. Having worked for 9 hours this day, they decided to stop here for the night to use the remaining daylight to prepare the further route. Altitude 5300 m.

While some participants worked on setting up platforms - a laborious task due to ice with embedded rocks - the Korkin - Sekretarev rope, tied together, bypassed the rocky bastion to the left and entered a broad snow couloir with a slope of 40–45°. Before entering the couloir, they hammered in 2 pitons.

Alternating leads, the rope climbed 200–250 m in the couloir, treading steps in the deep, sun-softened snow. Movement was mostly simultaneous, with occasional belays via ice axe.

After advancing 50 m in the left-hand, narrower couloir - a branch of the wide couloir, with a slope of up to 60° - the rope returned to the campsite (R1).

Day 3 (July 29, 1966)

They departed in ropes at 6:30 and, following good tracks in the snow, passed through the wide and narrow couloirs, approaching the second rocky ascent on the crest.

R2: Semi-destroyed rocks of medium difficulty with a slope of 70° were ascended directly (2 ropes), using 3 pitons. The first rope was Korkin - Borovikov, the second was Sekretarev - Zakharenko - Zaitsev, and the third was Borodin - Kolchin. During the ascent, the second and third ropes swapped positions, and within the first rope, the leads alternated.

Further, to the left, bypassing rocky walls (2 ropes, 1 piton), they proceeded along snow with a slope of 30–40° to a sharp snowy ridge.

R3: The sharp snowy ridge, dropping steeply on both sides and partially crowned with cornices, required chopping the upper snow layer and treading steps in deep, waist-deep snow. Belays were either ridge-top or via ice axe. This section was 600–700 m long.

R4: A rocky ascent with sheer walls. Initially, a 10 m traverse to the right (1 piton) along a sheer face with minor holds, followed by a 3.5 m ascent upwards on an overhanging wall to a piton. Along a 30° slope (another piton), they exited left onto the crest. They reached this point by 13:00.

R5: Again, a sharp snowy ridge, 500 m long, with walls dropping on both sides and several cornices. They overcame it similarly to the R3 ridge.

R6: Bypassing a rocky gendarme on the right via a narrow ledge on a sheer wall, and ascending left onto a snowy ridge (1 rope, 2 pitons).

R7: The fourth rocky ascent begins with an external corner featuring sheer walls. A 5 m traverse left along the smooth wall of the corner (1 piton), followed by an 8 m ascent up a sheer chimney. Then, 40 m along a 40° ice slope to exit left onto the crest. At the end of the slope, a narrow couloir with sheer rocky walls, 8 m (1 piton).

R8: Ascending destroyed rocks on the crest with a slope of 30–35° to the summit. The summit is a snowy dome with outcrops of very destroyed rocks. They reached the summit at 16:00, left a note in a cairn, and named the peak "Pik Yakira". On descent, ropes were hung at all rocky ascents for rappelling. A total of 5 ropes.

They descended exactly along the ascent route in 4 hours.

Day 4 (July 30)

On this day, departing at 8:00 from the campsite on the crest, the group returned to the base camp by 19:00.

Evaluation of the route's difficulty category

The group believes that this route's technical difficulty can be compared to the well-known route to Shkhara summit from the Dykhni-Aush pass, categorized as 4B. Considering that this first ascent was made on a peak over 6000 m, they believe it should be rated 5A–4B.

Table of main characteristics of the ascent route

Evaluation of participants' actions by the team leader and coach

During the ascent, all team members acted correctly and proactively, demonstrating themselves to be physically well-prepared for climbing "six-thousanders" and technically competent for ascents of the highest difficulty categories.

September 27, 1966