Report on the First Ascent to General'sky Pogon Peak via the "Da B" Route on the Central Western Counterfort, Category 3B, by the Team "Nevozmozhno eto ne navsegda" from March 27, 2020, to March 27, 2020.

I. ASCENT DOCUMENTATION

Item No.	1. General Information
1.1	Full Name, Sports Rank of the Team Leader	Kalashnikov Andrey Yurievich, 2nd sports rank
1.2	Full Name, Sports Rank of the Participants	Kozyreva Alena Timofeevna, 3rd sports rank, Lavelina Natalia Vladimirovna
1.3	Full Name of the Coach	Panova Alena Mikhailovna
1.4	Organization	Gory Baikal
	2. Characteristics of the Ascent Object
2.1	Region	Eastern Sayan, Tunkin Range
2.2	Valley	Ula-Gol
2.3	Number of the Section According to the 2013 Classification Table	6.1.2
2.4	Name and Height of the Peak	General'sky Pogon, 3010 m
2.5	Geographical Coordinates of the Peak (Latitude/Longitude), GPS Coordinates	51°49′4.09″ N 101°26′42.17″ E
	3. Characteristics of the Route
3.1	Name of the Route	"Da B"
3.2	Proposed Category of Difficulty	3B
3.3	Degree of Route Exploration	First Ascent
3.4	Character of the Route Relief	Rock
3.5	Height Difference of the Route (Data from Altimeter or GPS)	690 m
3.6	Length of the Route (in meters)	1000 m
3.7	Technical Elements of the Route (Total Length of Sections of Various Difficulty Categories with Indication of Relief Character)	Category I rocks — 380 m. Category II rocks — 460 m. Category III rocks — 100 m. Category IV rocks — 60 m. Rappel Descent (on descent) — 40 m
3.8	Descent from the Peak	Non-category difficulty down to Ula-Gol Valley via a couloir towards Radishchev Peak
3.9	Additional Characteristics of the Route	Absence of Water
	4. Characteristics of the Team's Actions
	:--:	:--:
4.1	Time of Movement (Team's Walking Hours, in Hours and Days)	11 hours
4.2	Overnights	no
4.3	Start of the Route	5:00 AM, March 27, 2020
4.4	Arrival at the Peak	7:00 PM, March 27, 2020
4.5	Return to the Base Camp	12:00 AM, March 28, 2020
	5. Person Responsible for the Report
5.1	Full Name, e-mail	Kozyreva Alena Timofeevna, ally9090baikal@mail.ru, 8-999-643-05-11

II. ASCENT DESCRIPTION

1. Characteristics of the Ascent Object

1.1. General Photo of the Peak

Photo 1. Taken on March 23, 2020. View from the Ula-Gol River, between Ula-Gol and Radishchev Peaks.

1.2. Photo of the Route Profile

Photo 2. Taken on March 23, 2020. View from the Ula-Gol River, between Ula-Gol and Radishchev Peaks.

1.4. Map of the Area

Approach: from Nilova Pustyn settlement (Tunkinsky district, Buryatia Republic, district center — Kyren settlement) to Khoito-Gol village, then along a forest road — transportation by car (preferably high-clearance) or on foot to a point with a direct view of Altan-Mundarga Mountain, from where a horse trail is visible towards the valley.

Movement on foot to the Ula-Gol River. Then upstream along the river. In winter, the approach is more comfortable along the frozen river, with the icefall bypassed on the left towards the valley.

Approximate time from "point with a direct view of Altan-Mundarga Mountain" to Base Camp: 7–10 hours. Distance about 14 km.

For transportation, it is also possible to arrange with locals for horseback riding.

From Base Camp along the horse trail towards the valley to the start of the route: about 2–3 hours, approximately 4.5 km.

Photo 3. Diagram of the Valley

2. Characteristics of the Route

2.1. Technical Photograph of the Route

Photo 4. Taken on March 28, 2020, from Ula-Gol Peak.

2.2. Numbers of Sections on the Technical Photograph Correspond to.

Section No.	Character of Relief	Category of Difficulty	Length, m, Angle °	Type and Number of Pitons
R0–R1	Grassy-rocky slope.	Non-cat.	100 m, 25°–30°
R1–R2	Rocky.	1	50 m, 30°–35°
R2–R3	Rocky.	1	80 m, 30°–35°
R3–R4	Rocky.	2	30 m, 40°
R4–R5	Rocky.	2	50 m, 35°–40°	2 friends, 1 anchor piton
R5–R6	Rocky.	4	30 m, 60°	3 friends, 1 anchor piton. Station on 2 friends and a sling on a boulder
R6–R7	Rocky.	4	30 m, 80°	4 friends, 1 anchor piton
R7–R8	Rocky.	3	30 m, 70°	2 friends
R8–R9	Rocky.	3	40 m, 60°
R9–R10	Rocky.	3	30 m, 60°
R10–R11	Rocky.	2	150 m, 35°
R11–R12	Wide ridge with "ram's foreheads".	2	150 m, 30°
R12–R13	Rocky scree, narrow ridge.	2	80 m, 30°
R13–R14	Narrow ridge.	3	40 m, 40°
R14–R15	Summit plateau.	(Non-cat.)	150 m, 15°

3. Characteristics of the Team's Actions

3.1. Brief Description of the Route Passage.

Section No.	Description	Photo No.
R0–R1	Movement towards the first grey rocks of the counterfort.
R1–R2	Movement under the grey rocks to the exit onto the ridge of the counterfort. Simultaneous movement in a rope team.	Photo 6
R2–R3	Movement up the ridge of the counterfort to the largest gendarme, bypassing it on the right, then moving to a pronounced inner corner. Simultaneous movement.	Photo 7
R3–R4	Movement along the inner corner with alternate protection, exiting onto a ledge.
R4–R5	Movement from the ledge up the ridge, staying on the right side, not exiting onto "ram's foreheads". Movement with alternate protection.
R5–R6	Movement towards the top of the gendarme: through a crack going right; passage through the ridge; subsequent movement up to the red rock. Station under an overhang.	Photo 8
R6–R7	Movement towards the top of the gendarme: up a 3-meter wall with passive holds; no protection until exiting the wall; then movement up along holds; station on a large rock.	Photo 9
R7–R8	Movement left and up to a ledge, station on a rock.
R8–R9	Traverse along "ram's foreheads" to the left, minimal protection using the terrain, station under an overhanging rock.	Photo 10
R9–R10	Movement up rocky terrain to a large ledge.
R10–R11	Movement up a wide, destroyed ridge towards a red bastion on the left. Exit onto a wide ridge with "ram's foreheads".
R11–R12	Movement along the wide ridge with "ram's foreheads", oriented towards the red bastion.	Photo 11
R12–R13	Movement left under the red bastion, along rocky scree, exiting onto a narrow ridge.
R13–R14	Movement along the narrow ridge, exiting onto the summit plateau.
R14–R15	Movement across the plateau to the summit.	Photo 12

3.2. Photo of the Team on the Summit.

Photo 5. From left to right: Lavelina N., Kozyreva A., Kalashnikov A.

3.3.

The route is not prone to rockfall. There are loose rocks, but the probability of dislodging them with careful movement is low.

Communication is maintained via radio with the camp, located between the 2nd and 3rd icefalls. Communication is available up to the summit. It is absent during the descent until exiting to the river. It makes sense for neighboring groups to relay information from the group to the Base Camp and, if possible, observe their descent.

Descent from the summit is done towards a saddle to the northeast, with a 40-meter rappel to the saddle. On the saddle, there may be a snow cornice; one should be cautious when "landing". Then down a couloir towards Radishchev Peak. In winter, the couloir is filled with snow and is prone to avalanches. During descent, it is necessary to take safety measures, descending along rocky outcrops.

The team rates the route as Category 3B. The route is comparable to other Category 3B routes in the Sayan Mountains in terms of length and climbing of Category III–IV difficulties, and is slightly more challenging than some Category 3B routes.

Photos from the Ascent:

Photo 6. R1–R2. Movement under the grey rocks to the exit onto the ridge of the counterfort.

Photo 7. R2–R3. Movement up the ridge of the counterfort to the largest gendarme, bypassing it on the right, then moving to a pronounced inner corner.