Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class — combined
2. Ascent area — Pamir, Muzkolsky Ridge
3. Peaks: 5860–5980 along the E ridge
4. Proposed category of complexity — 5A, first ascent
5. Height difference — 885 m

Of which:

• along the E ridge to the saddle — 545 m
• along the S ridge of p. 5860 — 110 m
• along the N ridge to p. 5980 — 230 m

Route length 1480 m. Length of sections of 5th category of complexity — 200 m.

6. Pitons driven: rock 4, chocks 9, ice 24
7. Moving hours — 12 hours
8. Group from St. Petersburg
9. Leader: Kolchanov Evgeny Vladimirovich — 1st sports category

Participants:

• Ortyashova Irina Viktorovna — 1st sports category
• Vasilyeva Evgenia Yuryevna — 1st sports category
• Grigoryev Alexander Sergeyevich — 1st sports category

10. Group coach: Semiletkin Sergey Alekseyevich — Master of Sport
11. Departure to the route — August 10, 1994, 8:00 AM

Peak 5860 — 3:00 PM, p. 5980 — 6:30 PM. Descent — 8:30 PM.

Brief overview of the ascent area

The Zortashkol valley is located on the northern slope of the Muzkolsky Ridge (western part of the Eastern Pamir). 10 km to the south, across the pass, lies the well-known wall of g. Bitkai, on which 2 "gold" and 1 "silver" route of the USSR championship have been climbed. In total, up to 1994, 3 mountaineering expeditions were conducted in the Muzkolsky Ridge, all of them were based from the south. One can reach the Zortashkol valley by three paths:

• the first and simplest — by helicopter from under p. Lenin (1 hour), but in modern conditions (high cost, borders between different states) this path is not the safest.
• the second, by which our expedition was transported: by car Osh — upper reaches of the Ak-Baital River (480 km), then through the pass 1B category of complexity Baytal — 5200 m into the valley of the Zortashkol River. This path is physically very difficult, but it is the cheapest.
• the third, by car to Lake Karakul, then turn to Kudara and on foot (40–45 km) along the valley of the Zortashkol River.

Technical description of the route

B 2 3 4 5 5 7 d Description of the route by sections

Section R0–R2: ascent along the firn slope to the right of the ridge, 50 m, through a series of bergschrunds with a slight increase in steepness from 35° to 40°. 145 m. Belay via ice axe.

Section R2–R3: slope becomes steeper, ice 50°, 60 m. Belay via ice screws leads to a ledge on the ridge.

Section R3–R4: ledge 10 m. After it, a new rise of the firn slope 80 m, 45° leads to the shoulder.

Section R4–R5: 60 m along the snow, 15° to the left of the ridge, 120 m.

Section R5–R6: 120 m along the firn slope to the bergschrund crossing the ridge. Belay via ice axes. 45°. The bergschrund is overcome from right to left, the route leads to a steep ice-and-snow slope to the right of the ridge.

Section R6–R7: 135 m, 50°, ice-and-snow slope. Belay via ice screws, ascent to the bergschrund, movement along the ridge. It's dangerous to cling to the rocks — they are loose.

Section R7–R8: crossing the bergschrund, further advancement along the ice slope 55°, after 130 m leads to a large bergschrund. It's bypassed to the left, after 30 m leads to the saddle between p. 5860 and p. 5980.

Section R8–R9: 10 m of ice, leading to heavily damaged rocks. Along the wall 25 m, 80° with further exit to the ridge.

Section R9–R10: heavily damaged ridge. Belay via outcrops 30 m, 60°.

Section R10–R11: exit along the ridge to the pre-summit rise 20 m and 40 m, 70° along the slab to the summit.

Descent along the ascent route

Section R8,1–R9,2: from the saddle, we move along simple snowy rocks along the ridge 40 m.

Section R9,2–R10,3: then begins a sharp ridge 160 m, with small, heavily damaged rock walls.

Section R10,3–R11,4: lower rise 40 m, 40° to the ledge.

Section R11,4–R12,5: along the ledge 10 m and further along the snowy ridge 100 m, 25° to the rock wall.

Section R12,5–R13,6: damaged rocks 30 m, 40° lead to a flattening section 40 m, 10°. Exit to the "gendarme".

Section R13,6–R14,7: the "gendarme" is bypassed to the right along the movement through a series of bergschrunds.

Section R14,7–R15,8: 100 m along the snow field to the right of the ridge to the summit rise.

Section R15,8–R16,9: 20 m ice rise, 50° leads to the summit 5980. Descent along the northern ridge to the pass is not particularly difficult and takes 2 hours.

Total: route length without descent — 1480 m. Average steepness of the E ridge — 46°. Height difference of the route — 885 m. Moving hours — 12 hours 30 minutes.