Almaty-Alagir (4223 m)
Ascent from the northwest side — cat. diff. 1B
The summit of Almaty-Alagir is located in the watershed ridge system at the head of the Ozerny gorge and is the highest point in the area. Long, gradually descending ridges stretch to the south and southwest from it. To the north lies a snowy-ice slope, and to the east, the snow cover is interspersed with talus sections.
It is more convenient to ascend from the Prokhodnoye valley, from the northwest side. Climbing up the valley, bypass the Alma-Arasan resort (the Big Almaty spur stretches to the right).
Before reaching the Prokhodnoy pass, turn left towards the unnamed "3400 m" pass, located between the Almaty-Alagir and Karniznaya peaks. From the latter, a small ridge extends towards the Prokhodnoye valley. Leaving the pass on the left side, reach the moraine of a small glacier descending into the Prokhodnoye valley. The glacier is not steep, intersected here and there by large crevasses. Ahead are the ridge slopes of the Almaty-Alagir peak.
Without traversing the entire glacier, turn left. Attention should be paid to the northwest side of the summit, from which rocky ridges descend, separated by wide couloirs. Then, ascend one of the couloirs with a steepness of 40–45°, at the bottom of which lies coarse, loose talus. Exercising caution, ascend to the shoulder of the summit and follow a gentle slope to the top.
Descend via the ascent route. The entire ascent takes 6–7 hours. M. T. Pogrebetskiy first reached this summit in 1927. The first ascent from the eastern side was made in 1952 by Almaty climbers K. Menzhulin and A. Maryashev.
Recommendations for Climbers
- The number of participants is not limited.
- Initial bivouac on the moraine of the Bezymyaniy Glacier.
- Departure from the bivouac at 6:00 AM.
- Equipment for a group of 4 people — main rope 2 × 30 m.