1. Climbing type — high-altitude technical
2. Climbing area — Pamir, North spur of Darvaz Range
3. Peak 5256 (unnamed), central buttress of NE wall
4. Proposed difficulty category — 5B
5. Route characteristics:

– height difference — 1900 m – length of sections with 5–6 cat. diff. — 1135 m – average steepness — 60°

6. Pitons hammered: for belaying, for creating ITO (Intermediate Technical Object)

– rock 152 17 – ice 6 — – bolted —

7. Total walking hours — 55
8. Number of overnight stays and their characteristics — 6, in a tent on built platforms
9. Participants:

Sedov German Konstantinovich, Candidate for Master of Sports — team leader Shchegolev Yuri Konstantinovich, Candidate for Master of Sports Arkhireev Alexey Ivanovich, 1st sports category Ovechkin Alexander Ivanovich, 1st sports category

10. Team coach — Penchuk V.L., Master of Sports of the USSR
11. Date of departure — July 22, 1978, date of return — July 28, 1978 www.alpfederation.ru↗

Brief description of the approach to the route

The upper base camp was located at the confluence of Mazarsky and Arnavad glaciers. From the base camp along the right (in the direction of travel) side of Mazarsky glacier. After 30 minutes, the slopes of peak 5256 m begin on the right.

Along the glacier, and then along the lateral moraine — exit to the upper cirque of Mazarsky glacier.

On the right is the eastern wall, representing three buttresses converging at the top into a single ridge leading to the summit.

The path to the central buttress goes:

– first along an open section of the glacier, – then along a broken closed glacier with numerous large crevasses, which are traversed along snow bridges.

The buttress stands out clearly on the wall and is easy to find. Further path does not require a detailed description, as once on the buttress, it is impossible to deviate from it: the couloirs on the right and left have almost continuous rockfall, even at night.

| I | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | | :-: | :-: | :-: | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----: | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | 26.07.78 | 33 | 55 | 40 | Chimney | 4A | Stoppers, "live" rocks | clear | 3 | | | | | 34 | 40 | 90 | Ridge, snow cornice on the right | 3B | Wet rocks | | 2 | | | | | 35 | 85 | 40 | Vertical wall 8 m, chimney 6 m, wall, very narrow chimney with a stopper, wall | 5B | | deteriorating weather | 8 | | | | | 36 | 80 | 50 | Wall | 5B | Many "live" rocks and large blocks | clear | 8 | | | | | 37 | 50 | 50 | Ridge, short walls | 4B | | | 3 | | | | | 38 | 85 | 30 | Slab, overhanging wall with two inner corners. Backpacks are pulled up | 5B | Initially monolithic, in the upper part complex climbing — "live" blocks | | 9 | 1 | | | | 39 | 60 | 120 | Rocks of medium difficulty (left side of the ridge) | 3B–4A | "Live" rocks, wet rocks | | | ledges | | | | 40 | 85 | 50 | Wall (left side of the ridge) — traverse | 5B | Wet, partly icy rocks, waterfall, complex climbing | | 2 | | | | | 41 | 60 | 120 | Ridge | 3B–4A | Climbing of medium difficulty | | 2 | | | Departure time — 9:00, bivouac stop — 19:30. Total walking hours for the day (excluding rest, food, etc.) — 10 hours. Overnight conditions: platform built in 1.5 hours.

Brief explanation for the table of sections

July 22. Departure on the route immediately after radio communication, which established that "all is well" with the groups on the route. Along the snow slope — exit to the left part of the buttress. To the left is a steep ice slope; exposed to rocks falling from the left couloir of the wall. To the right, the lower part of the buttress is exposed to rockfall from the right couloir. Rockfall, as observed over two days, occurs both day and night at irregular intervals.

Almost immediately — a short section of complex climbing. Further exit to a snow slope and along the edge of rocks and snow (sometimes open ice) — exit to talus. From the talus along a wall of complex climbing — exit to the buttress. The route further goes along the buttress — the safest ascent option, as the right and left couloirs have almost continuous rockfall.

– At 17:30, we reach a steep talus shelf, where a good bivouac platform was built in 2 hours 30 minutes.

July 23. The buttress is in the shade of the Mazarsy ridge and is lit up at 8:00 am. Very cold, clear weather. Immediately — very complex climbing with a short overhanging section. The first climber's backpack is lightened, and further along the route, the first climber went either without a backpack or with a lightened backpack. Often, all backpacks are pulled up.

– At 18:00, we stop on a sharp ridge before a complex wall with overhanging sections. – Processing the wall and building a platform for the tent continues for another 3 hours.

July 24. We depart late — at 9:30. Cold, but clear. We pass the section processed the day before. Further — steep, destroyed rocks. Sometimes short, gentle sections provide psychological relief. Great difficulties are caused by overcoming huge "live" blocks. Steep slabs with fine talus on them (literally — sand) also present a significant difficulty, as it is almost impossible to find cracks for a piton, and organizing belays here is a problematic task.

– At 19:00, we stop for a bivouac under a steep ascent of the buttress on a sharp ridge shelf. – After 2 hours of work, a decent platform was built, almost under the tent.

July 25, 1978. After three steps — ascents of complex climbing — we exit to a couloir on the left side of the buttress. In the couloir — wet rocks, sometimes waterfalls. Rapid progress does not save us from a cold shower. Exit from the couloir to slabs, and on one of the small shelves, we manage to build a bivouac in just 1.5 hours.

July 26. Departure at 9:30. Immediately — a chimney with pleasant climbing. A relatively small (compared to other sections) number of "live" rocks creates an illusion of monolithic rocks: we are already accustomed to a huge number of "live" rocks. Exit to a snow cornice on a very steep ridge. Further — usual combinations of steep, complex ascents — walls and short simple sections. The snow cornice is bypassed on the left (in the direction of travel). Here, a traverse to the left is impressive, bypassing the overhanging cornice. One has to climb along complex, icy rocks under a waterfall from the cornice. In some places — complex, psychologically difficult climbing.

July 27. On this day, the passage of the buttress was almost completed, and at the end of the day, the group reached the ridge of the "curtain" subpeak. The route tested us on two complex walls with wet, partly icy rocks, but it was already clear that the summit ridge would be significantly easier.

July 28. A long, but relatively easy ridge leads first to a subpeak and then to the summit (11:55). After a one-hour rest — descent to a snow plateau and further — exit to icefalls. Along the right (in the direction of travel) part of the icefalls (2 sports descents and 1 rappel) — exit to the glacier and further to the upper base camp.

Team captain Team coach

44.32

44:38. Pulling up the backpack