Route Description

The Seven Spires of Tuyuk-Su are located in the Malo-Almatinsky spur and stretch from northeast to southwest. Each Spire has its unique shape:

The first and second resemble the back of a two-humped camel
The seventh resembles a fang in its outlines

Almost all of them have ridges of rocks descending to the south.

The traverse of Tuyuk-Su Spires begins with an approach to the Tuyuk-Su glaciers and Tuyuk-Su Spires under the eponymous pass.

The initial bivouac is on the black moraine opposite the Igla Tuyuk-Su pass. The ascent to the pass should start early on a snow-ice slope with an increasing steepness up to 55°. Insurance is provided through an ice axe, and when there are outcrops, ice screws are used. Crevices are overcome using snow bridges with careful insurance. Due to possible rockfalls, one should proceed along the middle.

The traverse begins with the seventh Spire on heavily destroyed rocks of medium difficulty. Descent is made along the ascent path, and then towards the sixth Spire, which is a 30-meter pyramid with a smooth red wall.

The ascent up it is complicated:

There are few footholds;
In the upper part, there is a negative slope.

Hook insurance is required. Descent from the sixth Spire is done by rope in the direction of the ascent.

Between the sixth and fifth Spires, there is a technically несложный but heavily destroyed ridge. After 140–150 m, it becomes sharp and complex. Without reaching the gendarme, one should descend down and exit onto a horizontal crevice between the gendarme and the fifth Spire.

The ascent to the fifth Spire is done through a crevice on the northern side. Here, sections of flow ice are encountered. The rocks are crumbly. Careful hook insurance is organized.

Descent towards the fourth Spire is done by rope.

The fourth Spire is overcome along the slabs of its northeastern wall, then along the southern edge. Descent is made along the western wall into a couloir. One exits onto the southern ridge of the third Spire, then descends along one of the gullies of its western wall towards the saddle leading to the second Spire.

The latter is overcome along the eastern ridge of heavily destroyed rocks, partially covered with snow and ice. It is connected to the first Spire by a narrow rocky ridge 55–60 m long, with a sharp dip in the middle part. This section is traversed with hook insurance.

Beyond the ridge, the ascent to the first Spire begins along its northern edge, on large smooth slabs stacked on top of each other. Descent is made along a long (up to 30 m) icy rocky gully in a northwest direction. Reaching the base of the rock, one proceeds along the upper part of the snowfield to the saddle connecting the first Spire with the gendarme; the latter is bypassed on the left or right side.

Descent is made onto the ridge above the left branch of the Igla Tuyuk-Su glacier, proceeding to a small depression, and from here, the descent to the glacier begins.

The first 150–200 m are overcome with variable insurance through an ice axe, then one moves along the line of junction between the glacier and the rocks. Insurance is hook-based. Further, there is a relatively gentle section until the glacier's drop. Then, the descent continues along a gradually flattening slope onto the Igla Tuyuk-Su glacier to the initial bivouac.

The traverse takes 6–8 hours. The first passage of Tuyuk-Su Spires in August 1940 was made by a group of instructors from the Tuyuk-Su alpine camp of the Lokomotiv Sports Society, consisting of: