1. Ascent Passport
Region — Central Tien-Shan. Kyrgyz Range. Peak — Baychechekhey, 4515 m, via the left part of the West Face. Proposed — 5A cat. diff. first ascent. Route character — rock climbing
Route Characteristics
height difference of the route — 500 m. height difference of the wall part of the route — 260 m. route length — 850 m. length of the wall part of the route — 290 m. average steepness of the route — 41°. average steepness of the wall part — 76°. length of sections with 6 cat. diff. — 90 m, 5 cat. diff. — 155 m.
Left on the route: pitons — 2; chocks — 0.
Pitons used on the route:
- bolted stationary — 0
- bolted removable — 0
- anchor — 36
- petal — 4
Total amount of artificial aids used — 5, including ice axes (times) — 2
Climbing hours — 12, days — 1
Number of bivouacs — 0
Team members:
- Dashkevich Sergey Alexandrovich, Candidate Master of Sports.
- Akimov Vitaly, Candidate Master of Sports.
Team coaches:
- Pershin Valery Nikolayevich, Honored Master of Sports, Honored Coach.
Departure Date
for the ascent — January 7, 2007. reaching the summit — January 7, 2007. return — January 7, 2007.
Organization: FAiS of Sverdlovsk region.
1 — via the SW buttress, 5A cat. diff., B. Kuzmenko, 1977; 2 — team route, via the left part of the West Face; 3 — via the Central buttress of the 3 wall, 5A cat. diff., V. Polyak, 1983; 4 — via the Right buttress of the 3 wall, 5A cat. diff., A. Shvab, 1980.
2. General photo of Baychechekhey summit, 4515 m. View from under the North Face of Bokc peak.
3. Brief Characteristics of the Ascent
The West Face of Baychechekhey peak, 4515 m is a popular object for alpine ascents in the Aksay gorge. Quick access to the wall, relatively low summit height and interesting rock climbing contribute to the choice of this peak by climbers for rapid ascents. There are three classic simple routes of 5A cat. diff. on the wall via the buttresses (“ogurtsy”). The right buttress (Shvab's route) is particularly popular. For the first ascent, we chose a section between the left and central buttresses. A feature of the route was the last ropes going through a large chimney. Approaches to the chimney and the chimney itself are heavily damaged, requiring extremely careful climbing. The route was climbed in winter. On the fifth rope, the leader put on rock shoes, which significantly increased the speed of passage and allowed to fit into one daylight day. The experience of night ascents in Crimea was very helpful, as the daylight day in winter is quite short. From 19:00 to 24:00 (summit time) we worked by the light of headlamps. No overnight stay was planned on the route, the route was climbed in alpine style, without using bolted pitons, and left clean after ourselves. I believe that the route corresponds to the stated cat. diff. 5A. I recommend it for experienced climbers with a good level of free climbing.
4. Note from the Summit
No note was retrieved from the summit due to the difficulty of finding it in winter.
- Technical Photo
- UIAA Scheme.
8. Route Description by Sections
Start of the route is to the right of Kuzmenko's route (left buttress).
Section R0–R1. Through a snowy couloir towards a large cornice to a stance on two pitons. 300 m, 40°, 2.
Section R1–R2. Exit through a 10 m wall to a large cornice. Then along a ledge. 40 m, 50°, 3.
Section R2–R3. Bypass the cornice on the left via simple scree-covered rocks. 30 m, 60°, 3.
Section R3–R4. Exit through a slab and then up an internal corner. On the cornice, an ice axe is placed behind a flake. 45 m, 75°, 5, A1.
Section R4–R5. Up the internal corner. Reliable simple rocks. 45 m, 80°, 5.
Section R5–R6. Along the corner to a scree-covered ledge. Then to the right. 45 m, 70°, 4.
Section R6–R7. Movement along a belt of damaged rocks. Extremely careful climbing. Bypassing a wall on the right, up severely damaged rocks. 40 m, 75°, 5+.
Section R7–R8. Up to a ledge and to the right. For the second — a pendulum! It's better to make a reliable anchor at the exit from the internal corner onto the ledge. 45 m, 75°, 6, A1.
Section R8–R9. Key section of the route. Up a crumbling internal corner and chimney to the right. Loose rock blocks! There is a risk of dropping them on the second climber! Extremely careful climbing. Stance on a ledge. 45 m, 80°, 6.
Section R9–R10. Up the chimney to a plateau. Pleasant climbing on moderately damaged rocks. 20 m, 80°, 5.
Section R10–R11. Along a ridge and simple rocks to the summit.
Descent direction: to the right via 1B.
Emergency descent: via the ascent route.
