Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class — high-altitude and technical;
2. Ascent area — Pamir, Academy of Sciences Range;
3. Peaks, their height, ascent route — Traverse of p. Kirova (6372 m) — p. Khokhlova (6701 m) — p. Kommunizma (7495 m) with ascent from Walter Glacier via the East Ridge;
4. Expected difficulty category — 5B;
5. Route characteristics: height difference — 3400 m, length of sections of 1st difficulty category – 1500 m, 2nd difficulty category – 1900 m, 3rd difficulty category – 6680 m, 4th difficulty category – 2200 m, 5th difficulty category – 120 m, average steepness — 30°;
6. Pitons hammered: for creating ITO — none; for belaying — of which rock — 24, ice — 28, bolt — none;
7. Number of travel hours — 38;
8. Number of nights and their characteristics — 3 nights, lying down;
9. Full name of the leader, participants, and their qualification: Krasnoukhov Yuri Vasilyevich — Master of Sports of the USSR, leader; Terekhov Alexander Nikolaevich — Candidate for Master of Sports; Kritsuk Alexey Georgievich — 1st sports category; Golovin Alexander Viktorovich — 1st sports category;
10. Team coach — Master of Sports of the USSR Stepanov Igor Vasilyevich;
11. Date of departure on the route — August 21, return — August 24, 1983  → route (visible part) ... route (invisible part) Р — bivouacs Δ — Peaks. → route of traverse p. Khokhlova — Kommunizma (5B difficulty category)

Ascent Chronicle

August 21, 1983. The group left the base camp at 7:00. They followed the trail to Walter Glacier, then crossed the glacier and approached the start of the route by 9:30. The weather is good. By bypassing a rock buttress on the left, they reached a rock ridge leading to a steep wall — a 160 m rope with 10 rock pitons, with Yuri Krasnoukhov leading. They reached the bivouac site at 5200 m by 12:10, where the rock part of the "Borodnin" ridge ends. They changed into valenki boots, put on gaiters made of waterproof tent fabric, and crampons. During this time, tea and snacks were prepared. At 13:15, they began traversing the ice part of Borodnin's edge to the east ridge of p. Kirova. The steepness of the edge is 30°. At an altitude of 6200 m. All ice walls are bypassed on the right as they ascend. They used 2 ice screws for belays. The east ridge of p. Kirova is an alternation of snow-ice and rock ascents and descents. The path along the ridge starts with a sporty descent (40 m) from a rock section to the right (belays through ledges) onto a small snow plateau leading to a saddle between ascents. The ascents to the next peaks are icy. They stay on the left side of the ridge as they ascend since large snow-ice cornices hang to the right. Yuri Krasnoukhov and Alexey Kritsuk lead. Steep ascents are traversed on the front teeth of crampons, with belays through ice screws. They reached the summit of p. Kirova by 20:00. The summit is a rock outcrop with a cairn. They found a note left by Nikolai Totmanin's group. The weather is good. They descended to BPP (6000 m) via a snow-ice couloir with a steepness of 30°–40° (belays through ice screws, 400 m of rope), located between two rock buttresses coming from the pre-summit ascent. Along BPP, they approached a rock outcrop "Vostok". Here — bivouac, 23:00. August 22, 1983. The group left the bivouac at 12:00 after a good rest. 40 minutes were spent approaching the north ridge of p. Khokhlova. The ridge is rocky, with rocks of medium difficulty, and some icy sections, belays through ledges, steepness 30°–40°. The descent from the "tooth" is sporty. They reached the summit (6701 m) by 19:00. They descended to the saddle between p. Khokhlova and p. Kommunizma via simple, broken rocks. By 20:00, they set up a tent. Altitude 6500 m. August 23, 1983. Departure from the bivouac at 6:00. It's cold, with increasing wind. The movement initially follows a fairly steep snow-ice ascent on the north ridge of p. Kommunizma. Steepness 35°–45°. The steep part of the ridge was traversed by 12:00. Altitude 7000–7200 m. Then they moved along the flattening ridge towards the summit. By 14:00, the group reached a saddle before the final pre-summit ascent. Altitude 7450 m. Here, they dropped their backpacks with bivouac gear and ascended to the summit of p. Kommunizma (7495 m) by 15:00. 30 minutes later, the team of A. Petlenko — A. Buev from their gathering group led by S. Semenlletin, who were climbing via the 5A category route through the Big Barrier, reached the summit. The tired participants of this group (V. Beletsky, S. Semenlletin, L. Varshapetyan) were approaching via a snow ascent and a traverse. They decided to provide insurance for S. Semenlletin's group and, after descending to their backpacks, prepared tea for them. After they arrived, they began their descent together. By 20:00, both groups reached the bivouac on the Big Barrier (6900 m). August 24, 1983. Departure from the bivouac at 8:00. By 9:00, they descended to BPP via a snow-ice slope and approached the rock outcrop "Vostok" by 10:00. Here, they prepared tea and had a snack. At 12:00, they continued their movement. By 13:00, the group ascended to the summit of Borodnin's edge and descended to the bivouac at 5300 m by 14:00. Here, they waited for S. Semenlletin's group to descend, then continued their descent and reached the base camp by the lake (4200 m) by 18:00. Overall, the weather was favorable throughout the ascent.

Table of Main Route Characteristics

Ascent route: traverse of peaks p. Kirova — p. Khokhlova — p. Kommunizma.

Route length: 12,500 m

Route height difference: 3300 m

Length of the most complex sections: 2400 m

Average route steepness: 30°

p. Khokhlova → ascent path

section R4–R5