Ascent Passport

1. Class of ascents — high-altitude and technical.

2. Area of ascent — North-Western Pamir, Peter the First Ridge.

3. Peak, its height, and ascent route: p. Kirova, 6371 m, along the Eastern ridge from Walter Glacier.

4. Proposed category of difficulty: 5B cat. diff.

5. Characteristics of the route:

   Height difference 6371–4200 = 2171 m, average steepness — 50°, length of sections: R2 — none, R3 — 800 m, R4 — 1000 m, R5 — 700 m, R6 — none.

6. Number of pitons driven:

   for belay: rock — 44 ice — 29 for creating ITO: rock — 2 ice — 2

7. Number of moving hours — 40 hours.

8. Number of nights and their characteristics:

   • 1st — 5000 m, on rocks
   • 2nd and 3rd — 6000 m, on snow.

9. Surname, name, patronymic of the leader and participants, their sports qualification:

   1. Alferov Vadim Alexandrovich — 1st sports category — leader
   2. Zaev Eduard Fedorovich — Master of Sports
   3. Perelygin Sergey Ivanovich — Candidate for Master of Sports
   4. Tarasova Tatyana Ivanovna — Candidate for Master of Sports
   5. Korenyugin Igor Konstantinovich — Candidate for Master of Sports
   6. Korovnikov Rostislav Ivanovich — Candidate for Master of Sports

10. Team coach Zaev E.F.

11. Date of departure to the route and return:

    Departure to the route July 24, 1980, return to the base camp July 27, 1980.

Brief geographical description of the area. Description of the approach to the route.

In the North-Western part of the Pamir, at the junction of the Akademiya Nauk and Peter the First ridges, lies the country's high-altitude pole — Peak Kommunizma (7495 m).

In one of the northern spurs of the Peter the First Ridge lies Peak Kirova — 6371 m. The northern slopes of the peak drop down to the Traube Glacier, the southern slopes partly descend to the large Pamir plateau and to the Fortambek Glacier.

Three routes to Peak Kirova are currently classified:

• via the 3rd wall — 5B cat. diff. (V. Rusanov);
• via the Central counterfort of the 3rd wall — 5B cat. diff. (M. Konkov);
• traverse with ascent along the N. ridge of Kirova-Kommunizma — 5B cat. diff. (G. Kastrovich).

In 1957, an attempt was made to storm Peak Kirova (as confirmed by a note taken from the ridge) via the eastern ridge by a group from the Tajik Medical-Biological Expedition, but due to the route's considerable length, the group did not reach the summit.

The base camp was set up at an altitude of 4200 m near the moraine lake of the Moskvin Glacier. The location for the base camp is very convenient, with areas suitable for helicopter landing.

Participants of the Voronezh expedition were delivered by helicopter from the Frunze aviation unit on July 19, 1980.

On July 24 at 8:00, the ascent participants left the base camp in the direction of the northern rocky counterfort of Peak Kirova. This counterfort is clearly visible from the base camp.

The further route consists of snow ascents alternating with gentle sections with a steepness of 20°–30°. Crevasses are bypassed via snow bridges with thorough belay. Under the bergschrunds, the steepness increases to 50÷70° (sect. R8–R9); the counterfort ends with a two-headed "cap" (6200 m) — the beginning of the eastern ridge of Peak Kirova. Here, in a snow hollow, assault camp No. 2 was set up. The group arrived at the overnight stay location at 15:00.

July 26. At 7:00, the team set out to storm the summit. Movement along the ridge required increased attention and thorough belay — many crevasses and cornices. After 1.5 hours, they approached a gap in the rocky ridge (sect. R9–R10), leading to a snow col. A "dülfer" descent of 80 m was organized onto the col.

Further ascent was made along a steep, icy slope using ice screws (sect. R10–R11). The subsequent route consists of a sharp snow-ice ridge, alternating with steep ascents and descents:

• Southern slopes are avalanche-prone.
• Northern slopes, for the most part, end in cornices, which were traversed with thorough belay (sect. R11–R12).

At 14:00, they approached the summit tower. The tower represents a steep rocky ascent (sect. R12–R13). It was traversed with thorough piton belay. The group reached the summit at 15:30. Descent was made via the ascent route. At 21:00, the group descended to camp No. 2.

July 27. They departed at 9:00 and began descending. At 19:00, the team descended to the base camp at an altitude of 4200 m.

Group leader