Report on the Ascent of
Peak Korzhenevskaya via the Left Bastion of the Southwest Ridge, Category 5B, by the "Black Ice" Team from July 23 to July 28, 2022
I. Route Passport
| № | 1. General Information | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Full Name, Sports Rank of the Leader | Mikhail Aleksandrovich Polyakov, 1st sports rank |
| 1.2 | Full Name, Sports Rank of Participants | Mikhail Vladimirovich Grishin, 1st sports rank, Sergey Valerievich Nasedkin, 1st sports rank up to 6300 m |
| 1.3 | Full Name of Coach | Vasily Yuryevich Gordeev |
| 1.4 | Organization | "Black Ice" |
| 2. Characteristics of the Climbing Object | ||
| 2.1 | Region | Pamir |
| 2.2 | Valley | Akademii Nauk Range (western slope of Fedchenko Glacier from Yazglemsky Pass in the south to Muksu River in the north with all lateral spurs) |
| 2.3 | Number according to the 2013 Classification Table | - |
| 2.4 | Name and Height of the Peak | Korzhenevskaya, 7105 m |
| 2.5 | Geographical Coordinates of the Peak (latitude/longitude), GPS Coordinates | - |
| 3. Route Characteristics | ||
| 3.1 | Route Name | via the left bastion of the southwest ridge |
| 3.2 | Proposed Category of Difficulty | 5B |
| 3.3 | Degree of Route Exploration | 2nd ascent |
| 3.4 | Relief Characteristics of the Route | Combined |
| 3.5 | Height Difference of the Route (altimeter or GPS data) | 2739 m |
| 3.6 | Route Length (in meters) | 5000 m |
| 3.7 | Technical Elements of the Route (total length of sections of various difficulty categories with relief characteristics) | 1st cat. rock – 0 m, ice – 0 m. 2nd cat. rock – 70 m, ice – 1600 m. 3rd cat. rock – 120 m, ice – 1250 m. 4th cat. rock – 150 m, ice – 20 m. 5th cat. rock – 150 m, ice – 0 m. 6th cat. rock – 0 m, ice – 0 m. |
| 3.8 | Average Steepness of the Route, (°) | 35° |
| 3.9 | Average Steepness of the Main Part of the Route, (°) | 60° |
| 3.10 | Descent from the Summit | via the classic Tsetlin Route, category 5A |
| 3.11 | Additional Route Characteristics | Water available up to 5100 m from the glacier; snow above 5100 m. |
| 4. Characteristics of the Team's Actions | ||
| 4.1 | Time of Movement (team's travel hours, in hours and days) | 45 hours, 6 days |
| 4.2 | Overnight Stays | 1st (bivouac) — moraine plateau at 5100 m. 2nd (bivouac) — ledge on the ridge at 5500 m. 3rd (bivouac) — plateau on the ridge at 5700 m. 4th (bivouac) — plateau on the ridge at 6300 m. 5th (bivouac) — glacier at 5500 m. |
| 4.3 | Route Processing Time | - |
| 4.4 | Start of the Route | 7:00, July 23, 2022 |
| 4.5 | Summit Ascent | 9:45, July 27, 2022 |
| 4.6 | Return to Base Camp | 12:00, July 28, 2022 |
| 5. Person Responsible for the Report | ||
| 5.1 | Full Name, e-mail | Mikhail Aleksandrovich Polyakov [email protected] |
II. Climbing Description
1. Characteristics of the Climbing Object
Fig. 1. Map-scheme of the area
Fig. 2. Peak Korzhenevskaya from the south, taken from a height of about 6000 m, from the Borodkin Ridge.
- Blue line — Tsetlin Route, 5A.
- Green line — Markelov Route, 5B.
- Red line — route taken by the team.
2. Route Characteristics
Fig. 3. General photo of the technical part of the route. Taken in 1989 from a helicopter, from a height of about 4500 m. Yellow line — Tsetlin Route 5A. Green line — Markelov Route 5B. Red line — route taken by the team.
Fig. 4. Route after R1 (initial dotted line — section to R1). Taken from the Borodkin Ridge. SCHEME OF THE MAIN PART OF THE ROUTE (up to 6100 m) IN UIAA SYMBOLS
| Section № | Rock | Nuts | Friends | Ice Axes | Bolts | Route Line in UIAA Symbols | Section Difficulty in UIAA Symbols | Section Length, m | Steepness, ° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 2–3 | 1000 | 30 | ||||||
| 12 | 1/0 | 3/0 | 3–4 | 500 | 60 | ||||
| 11 | 2 | 800 | 35 | ||||||
| 10 | 2/0 | 2 | 100 | 20 | |||||
| 9 | 18/0 |  | 3 | 200 | 45 | ||||
| 8 | 2/0 |  | 3 | 30 | 30 | ||||
| 7 | 3/0 | 2/0 |  | 5 | 60 | 70 | |||
| 6 | 1/0 | 2 | 20 | 20 | |||||
| 5 | 2/0 | 4/0 |  | 5 | 60 | 80 | |||
| 4 | 2/0 | 1/0 | 4–5 | 60 | 55 | ||||
| 3 | 2/0 | 3/0 |  | 3 | 120 | 40 | |||
| 2 | 1/0 | 2/0 | 2 | 50 | 30 | ||||
| 1 | 25/0 | 3 | 250 | 45 |
Fig. 5. Drawn profile of the main part of the route (5100 m – 7105 m)
3. Characteristics of the Team's Actions
3.1 Brief description of the route.
Route description by sections:
| Section № | Description | Photo № |
|---|---|---|
| Approach to the route from the Moskvina camp to the camp at 5100 m is done via the Tsetlin Route. | ||
| 1 | From the camp at 5100 m, cross the glacier and move towards the snow-ice slope opposite the camp. The slope is climbed in the middle with alternating or simultaneous belays, exiting to a small ledge. The left part of the slope is occasionally hit by rocks from the southwest ridge. | 6 |
| 2 | From the ledge, descend into a couloir. Traverse the couloir along the left wall, exiting to an internal angle. Climb 10 m up the internal angle. After the internal angle, exit to a small ridge. Station on the ridge. | 7 |
| 3 | From the station, move left along the ridge into a couloir. Move up the right part of the couloir with simultaneous or alternating belays. The couloir ends at a wall. Station on the wall. Be cautious of "live" rocks while moving through the couloir. | 8 |
| 4 | From the station, climb left up an internal angle and wall to a small ridge. Traverse 10 m right along the ridge to a wall of large blocks. | 9 |
| 5 | From the station, climb up large blocks. The wall transitions into an inclined ledge and ends at a small wall, standing across a small ridge. Station on the ridge. A cork (rock formation) to the left of the station serves as a landmark. | 10 |
| 6 | Climb over the ridge and traverse to a small ledge. The ledge can accommodate one tent. Secure equipment on the ledge as there are large drop-offs on both sides. | 11 |
| 7 | Climb up the right part of an internal angle to a ledge. Station on the ledge. | 12 |
| 8 | Traverse left across a snow-ice slope to a wide ledge. The ledge can accommodate several tents. At the end of the ledge, station on a wall. The rock on this section is heavily deteriorated, making the station unreliable. | 13 |
| 9 | From the ledge, traverse the snow-ice slope 50 m right. Then climb 100 m up. Traverse left with a slight gain in height to a 3 m snow-ice wall leading to a snow ridge. | 14, 15 |
| 10 | Climb along the left part of the ridge with a slight gain in height to a suitable bivouac site. | |
| 11 | Continue along the ridge towards the south ridge. Reach the south ridge and traverse 100 m under the bergschrund to approach the Tsetlin Route. Continue on the Tsetlin Route. | 16 |
| 12 | After crossing the bergschrund, climb along the western wall of Peak Korzhenevskaya towards the south ridge, gaining 200 m in height with slopes up to 60°. Approach the "SAIL" rock and traverse along the wall to the south ridge with a slight gain in height but with steep sections. At the end of the traverse, exit to the south ridge at 6100 m. Climb 50 m up a ledge on the south ridge with about 70° steepness, exiting to a snow-ice ridge of about 50°. Traverse 200 m to a height of 6300 m and exit to a small shoulder where several tents can be set up. | 17, 18 |
| 13 | Climb up the snow ridge to 6700 m. Then climb 50 m up rocky terrain along the contact line of the snow deposit. Maintain movement along the rocks. Climb under the summit tower and traverse left 500 m with a slight gain in height to the east ridge. Turn left and after 70 m, exit to the summit at 7105 m. | 19 |
Fig. 6. Section 1. Snow-ice slope. Taken from the direction of the camp at 5100 m.
Fig. 7. Section 2. Couloir ending in an internal angle.
Fig. 8. Section 3. Wide couloir.
Fig. 9. Section 4. Exit from the couloir left through an internal angle.
Fig. 10. Section 5. Wall of large blocks.
Fig. 11. Section 6. Bivouac on a ledge at 5500 m.
Fig. 12. Section 7. Internal angle leading to a ledge.
Fig. 13. Section 8. Traversing towards a snow-ice slope.
Fig. 14. Section 9. Snow-ice slope.
Fig. 15. Section 9. Exit to a snow ridge.
Fig. 16. Section 11. Southwest ridge.
Fig. 17. Section 12. Snow-ice slope.
Fig. 18. Section 12. Small rock section on the south ridge.
Fig. 19. Section 13. South ridge.
Fig. 20. Team photo at the summit.
3.3 The rock section has many "live" rocks. Caution is necessary while passing the rock section. The snow-ice section is generally safe. Belays on ice screws are reliable, and there are few crevasses. Communication with the base camp on Moskvina camp is done via radio. It is more practical to use medium-sized friends and bent hook anchors as protection. Stopper nuts can be avoided. No protection equipment was left on the route. The weather was consistently good throughout the ascent: clear, light wind, warm. Sections 11 and 12 are best climbed early in the morning as the snow on the ridge and slope becomes soggy in the afternoon, significantly slowing progress. The descent from the summit is done via the Tsetlin Route, category 5A. The team assessed the route category by comparing it to the Markelov Route, category 5B, which passes through the right bastion of the southwest ridge and has similar characteristics. Additionally, the team's route, unlike the classic Tsetlin Route (category 5A), includes a rock section of category 5, making the route more challenging and requiring additional qualifications and equipment.
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