Passport

First ascent made in 1975

1. Climbing category — traverse
2. Climbing area — North-West Pamir
3. Climbing route with indication of peaks and their heights — Traverse of the three peaks of Oshanina (6305 m, 6380 m, 6300 m) from Turamys Glacier.
4. Characteristics of the ascent: height difference 2450 m. Average steepness 50°. Length of the difficult section 1700 m.
5. Pitons hammered: rock 133 ice 76 bolt —
6. Number of trekking hours: 81–35.
7. Number of overnight stays and their characteristics: 9 overnight stays, 5 of which required ice chiseling to prepare the site for a high-altitude tent.
8. Team name: Team of the Belarusian Republican Council of Sports Societies.
9. Surname, name, patronymic of the captain, coach, participants, and their qualification:
   • Lozovsky Leonid Ivanovich — Master of Sports of the USSR, captain and coach
   • Lipen Eduard Bernardovich — Candidate for Master of Sports of the USSR
   • Lovchev Eduard Mikhailovich — Candidate for Master of Sports of the USSR
   • Petko Valery Ivanovich — Candidate for Master of Sports of the USSR II. Date of departure and return: July 27 – August 6, 1975.

Description of the route

July 28. Rise at 7:00. Weather is excellent. Decided that Kasparov goes down as he has a sore throat and the condition may worsen at altitude. Left the bivouac at 10:00. Bypassed a crevasse and began ascent towards the bergschrund. Two ropes before the bergschrund up to 40°. Bergschrund is passable via a bridge. Then three ropes up to the rocks (alternating belay). Rocks on the right are constantly shedding stones. Then we move straight up, 7 ropes on rocks, sometimes snow, ice exposures. Belay is with pitons. Then five ropes on ice with snow, belay with tubular ice pitons. Reached the saddle of Shini–Bini pass at 17:00. Very strong snowstorm and blizzard. Snow started at 11:30 and hasn't stopped. With great difficulty, we pitched a tent, securing it with pitons. Very hard day. Steepness up to 45–50°. Backpack weight approximately 27–30 kg. Significant altitude gain today. Had good radio contact with the camp at 19:00. Lights out at 21:00. Hammered 10 ice and 13 rock pitons.

July 29. Departed at 10:00. Immediately from the saddle, a steep snowslope (200 m) with crevasses. Snow holds well. Steps don't collapse. Further, the snow layer becomes thinner and turns into flow ice with steepness up to 50° (belay with ice screws). Three ropes of ice, and we reach the icefall. On the icefall – hauling backpacks, piton belay. Further on the icefall, four ropes with alternating belay. Pitched a tent in a small snowy depression. Gained about 400 m in altitude. Hammered 17 ice pitons.

July 30. Departed after radio contact at 9:10. Unlike yesterday, the whole day was spent trudging through snow. Before reaching the ridge of the western peak of Oshanina — steep and very loose snow. The lead climber ascends without a backpack, setting up a rope handrail. Weather today is excellent. Steepness 35–60°. Covered about 25 ropes. Many hidden crevasses encountered, so alternating belay was used even on relatively easy sections. The entire central Pamir is visible. At 15:00, built a cairn on the western peak of Oshanina. Set up a bivouac in a depression under the Western peak of Oshanina at 16:30. A very difficult ridge to the Central peak of Oshanina is visible.

July 31. Departed at 9:00. Immediately from the bivouac, traverse across steep snow. Part of the descent was done with a rope (6 ropes). Hammered 12 pitons. Further – a 80 m snowy ridge traverse across несложным скалам and snow. 20 m descent with a rope. Bypassed the Black Gendarme on the right. The Red granite Gendarme is approached head-on. All the time – piton belay. Further along the ridge to the tower (pitons!). Weather is good. Stopped for the night on the last gendarme before the summit tower (time 19:00). Had to chop down a cornice. 24 pitons hammered during the day. The ridge is very difficult, comparable in complexity to Shkheldinsky.

August 1. Departed at 10:15. Immediately descended 20 m from the gendarme (70°). Then 20 m of a rock overhang — via a cleft (ascent without backpacks). Further without backpacks, 80 m right-up across a grey wall. Reached a rock buttress. Then 40 m across snow (45°) under a gendarme. Further 80 m of very difficult rocks (granite blocks, steepness 80–90°) — had to ascend without backpacks, piton belay. Then descended 20 m via rappel to a snowy couloir as ascending via rocks was impossible. Further 4 ropes of steep snow (55–60°) bypassing the wall with an exit under the summit tower of the Central peak of Oshanina. Today, hammered 28 rock pitons. The entire rock section was traversed with backpack hauling. Reached the summit at 19:30. Set up a bivouac under the summit tower in a depression.

August 2. Departed at 10:00. Traverse across a snowy slope bypassing the North-West buttress of the Eastern peak of Oshanina. Initially, movement was across snow. Then ice exposures began (alternating movement, piton belay). Three ropes while bypassing the buttress were practically on ice. Had to chop steps, very steep, piton belay. Further, a steep ascent vertically upwards, towards the Eastern peak of Oshanina (don't veer right — "cornices"!). Movement is across snow. Belay with ice pitons. To hammer them into the solid ice, had to chop large and deep holes (up to 1 meter). Ascent — 12 ropes — and reached the shoulder of the Eastern peak of Oshanina. Reached the summit at 18:30. Today, hammered 36 ice pitons. The entire route from Turamys Glacier took 6 days. The route is complex and undoubtedly meets the requirements of category 5B routes. No signs of human presence were found on any of the three peaks; three cairns were built, and notes were left about the conquest.

August 3. Rest day, blizzard all day, cold.

August 4. Today, we began our return from the Eastern peak of Oshanina. Departed at 9:30. Traverse across the slope (1 rope) towards the rocks of the North-West buttress. Further descent was done with a rope along the buttress to the snow (9 ropes). Further traverse across snow (150–200 m), and then practically retraced our steps to our bivouac under the Central peak of Oshanina by 16:00. Weather today is bad, blizzard, snowstorm. No signs of other climbers.

August 5. Departed at 10:00. Descended via a snowy couloir, bypassing the northern rock buttress of the Central peak of Oshanina. Descent was done with a rope; six ropes. Then traverse across the buttress (2 ropes) with an exit to its Western part. Further descent, 200–250 m long, was across rocks and steep snowy couloirs (with belay on rocks!). Then traverse down the slope onto a snowy couloir cushion located lower down the slope between the Central and Western peaks of Oshanina, the upper track of the Radionov Glacier icefall. Stopped for the night here at 18:30. Weather today was bad: snow, blizzard. Towards evening, the weather improved; visibility is excellent.

August 6. Departed at 9:30. Bypassed the icefall (on the left). After an hour, reached the northern shoulder of the Western peak of Oshanina. Further descent followed the ascent route entirely. At 17:00, descended from Shini–Bini pass and returned to our camp at Suloeva clearing at 21:30.

Fig. 5. From the summit of p. Oshanina, our further path to the east is visible.

Fig. 6. Preparation of bivouac 4 under p. Oshanina (6300 m).

Fig. 7. Bivouac is ready, rare moments of sunny weather.

Fig. 8. Passage of one of the gendarmes after p. Oshanina.

Fig. 9. Descent from p. Oshanina.

Table of main characteristics of the ascent route

Ascent route: (first ascent) traverse of the three peaks of Oshanina (6380 m)

TEAM CAPTAIN, COACH L. Lozovsky