Ascent Log

1. Ascent class — high-altitude.
2. Ascent area — South-Western Pamir, Shahdara Range.
3. Peak, its height, ascent route — peak Engels, 6510 m, via the center of the eastern wall.
4. Difficulty category — 6.
5. Route characteristics: Elevation gain — 1400 m, length of sections with 5–6 difficulty category — 830 m. Average steepness of the wall — 78°.
6. Pitons driven: for belaying: rock 164, ice 5, bolt 26. Including for creating Intermediate Technical Objectives (ITO): rock 22, bolt 26.
7. Number of climbing hours — 59.
8. Number of nights and their characteristics — 6 (2 semi-reclined, the rest comfortable).
9. Surname, name, patronymic of the leader, participants, and their qualification: Silchenko Vasily Petrovich CMS Timofeev Alexander Veniaminovich MS Popenko Yuri Stepanovich MSМК Akimenkov Mikhail Veniaminovich MS Zolotarev Vladimir Pavlovich MS Vorobyov Alexander Sergeevich CMS Prjanikov Sergey Germanovich CMS
10. Team coach — Popenko Yu. S.
11. Date of departure and return — July 17, 1979 — July 27, 1979

1. Khatskevich's Path.
2. Nekrasov's Path.
3. Maltsev's Path.
4. Kustovsky's Path.

3. Explanations for the table of main characteristics of the ascent route

Ascent Route

July 17. Route processing began immediately after arrival. The next day was foggy with snow, zero visibility, so a reserve day was used.

July 19. Visibility was also poor in the morning, and it only started to clear up by noon. Severe cold prevented working quickly, so only 2 ropes were processed in 4 climbing hours.

Control cairn. The note in the control cairn was unreadable as the paper had turned into a wet mush.

On the night of July 20, heavy snowfall resumed, and snow sliding down the wall began to dislodge the tents from their perches. It was necessary to regularly get up and throw snow out from behind the tent. The snowfall eased off only towards morning. Due to the restless night, the start was delayed in the morning.

July 21. The sun finally appeared in the morning, allowing the climbers to dry their thoroughly wet clothes. On this day, a second control cairn was discovered under the wall.

July 22. Processing of the cornice. A 40-meter rope fixed at the top of the cornice was about 15 m short of reaching the rock below, corresponding to an angle of 113°.

July 23. In the morning, a two-person team went ahead for further processing, while the remaining five pulled the backpacks up to the cornice. The group arrived at the camping spot in twilight.

July 24. It was very cold in the morning, and climbing was extremely challenging. The lead climber changed every hour. Finally, by evening, the group reached the next campsite. Here, a third control cairn was found. The two-person team continued processing, while the others built platforms for the tents.

July 25. Clear, sunny weather. A strong, cold wind was blowing on the ridge. The frost intensified by evening. Under the rock, in a hollow, a camping spot was hacked out. It was not possible to make radio contact, so, as agreed, a green flare was fired.

July 26. Again, sunny, clear weather. After passing the summit, two notes were found in rocky outcrops. The descent was not difficult.

2. Table of main characteristics of the ascent route

• Section numbers
• Overnight stops
• Control cairns
• Dates of departure for overnight stops

07/17. Processing.