Sovetov (4317 m)
Ascent via the Northwest Ridge — Cat. Diff. 16B (Fig. 12)
The Sovetov peak is located in a small spur extending from the Lokomotiv peak towards Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake, and has a pyramidal shape.
Fig. 12. Access paths to it from Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake in the Ozernaia River valley. After 4–5 km, the Yuzhny Sovetov glacier. Traverse the middle part of the glacier, bypassing the northwest rocky ridge of the peak. Then ascend the ridge, traversing scree on the southern slope to reach the northwest snowy ridge. Large snow cornices hang on the eastern side of the ridge, with rock outcrops in several places.
The ascent via scree, bypassing the first rocky ridge, continues to the second group of rocks. In the middle part of the ridge, there is a third group of rocks, bypassed on the right side. Then follows a long, steep section of the ridge. In the first half of the summer season, it is covered with snow; from August, ice sections appear, and step-cutting becomes necessary.
The descent follows the ascent route down to the second rocky ridge; from there, descend down a steep snow slope onto the Sovetov Yuzhny glacier, bypassing the spur jutting into the glacier from the south.
The ascent to Sovetov peak takes 4–5 hours; the descent takes about 2 hours. The first ascent via the northwest ridge was made in August 1938 by climbers from the Abai Kazakh Pedagogical Institute, D. Tugambaev, S. Semin, and L. Ignatov, led by V. Zimin.
Recommendations for Climbers
- The number of participants is not limited.
- Initial bivouac at the upper forest boundary.
- Departure from bivouac at 6:00 AM.
- Equipment for a group of 4: main rope — 2×30 m.