p. Svobodnaya Korea, 4740 m, right of the left buttress of the North wall (2nd ascent) cat. diff.
team leader: Sergey Dashkevich, Master of Sports
Central Tien Shan. Kyrgyzsky ridge. Aksay valley.
Section in classification 7.4

Report

on the second ascent of the team of the Federation of Alpinism and Rock Climbing of the Sverdlovsk Region (FAiS Sverdlovsk Region) to p. Svobodnaya Korea, 4740 m, right of the left buttress of the North wall. 6A cat. diff.

Addresses:

620092, Ekaterinburg, Novgorodtseva st., 9/3, ap. 17, Sergey Dashkevich, Tel. 89122436251, Dash-sa@mail.ru, Ekaterinburg, 2010

Report on the ascent to p. Svobodnaya Korea

Ascent passport — 3
General photo of the summit — 4
Brief description of the ascent — 5
Note from the summit — 5
Technical photo — 6
Drawn route profile — 7
UIAA scheme — 8
Route description by sections — 10
Photos from the route — 12

1. ASCENT PASSPORT

Region — Central Tien Shan. Kyrgyzsky ridge

Peak — Svobodnaya Korea, 4740 m, right of the left buttress of the North wall

Proposed — 6Az cat. diff. second ascent.

Route character — combined

Route characteristics:

height difference — 643 m. wall section height difference — 483 m. height difference to the ridge — 582 m. route length — 1070 m. wall section length — 590 m. length to the ridge — 720 m. average steepness — 44°. average wall section steepness — 68°. length of 6th cat. diff. sections — 240 m, 5th cat. diff. — 200 m.

Left on the route: pitons — 0; protection — 0.

Pitons used on the route:

bolted — 2 (old)
cam — 0
anchor — 2

Total artificial protection used — 0

Climbing hours to the summit — 14.5, with descent — 26.5, days — 1

Number of bivouacs — 0.

Team leader:

Sergey Dashkevich, Master of Sports.

Team members:

Gennady Kabalin, 2nd sports category.

Boris Tretyakov, 1st sports category.

Team coaches:

Valery Pershin, Honored Master of Sports, Honored Coach

Departure date:

for the ascent — March 1, 2010 to the summit — March 1, 2010 return — March 2, 2010

Organization: FAiS Sverdlovsk Region.

2. General photo of the summit Svobodnaya Korea, 4740 m. View from Koronsky

Bivouacs

1 — «Agafonov's crampon» 2 — via left triangle of N wall, 5B, V. Baalezin, 1991 3 — via left buttress of N wall, 5B, A. Schwab, 1982 4 — right of the left buttress of N wall, 5Bz, V. Balezin, 2000 5 — via N wall to E ridge, 6A, B. Studenin, 1966 6 — via N wall to E ridge, 6A, A. Kustovsky, 1969 7 — via N wall, 6A, M. Mikhailov, 1999 8 — via N wall, 6A, S. Semiletkin, 1988 9 — via center of N wall, 6A, Yu. Popenko, 1975 10 — «Narodny», 6A, A. Ruchkin, 2001 11 — via center of N wall, 6A, V. Bezzubkin, 1969 12 — via right part of N wall, 6Az, A. Ruchkin, 1997 13 — via right edge of N wall, 5B, L. Myshlyaev, 1961 14 — Samara variant of Barber's route 15 — via «triangle» of N wall, 5B, B. Bagaev, 1974 16 — via couloir of N wall, 5B, G. Barber, 1976 17 — Gutnik-Akimov route, 5B 18 — via center of NW wall, 5B, V. Balezin, 1994 19 — via NW wall, 5A, G. Andreev, 1959 20 — via couloir of NW wall, 5A, D. Lowe, 1976

3. Brief description of the ascent

Recently, ice climbing in Russia has reached a new level. Athletes now climb routes that were previously unimaginable. Steep, overhanging rock walls are being climbed with ice tools. Climbing vertical and overhanging rock sections in winter with free climbing and personal protection is becoming a reality.

Valery Balezin's 2000 route on Svobodnaya Korea goes through the left part of the north wall. The route logically follows a series of ice couloirs separated by three rock belts.

Difficulty:

Individual rock sections reach up to M6+

Features:

Rock protection is sometimes problematic
Many large runouts without the possibility of organizing protection

The first ascent team spent 6 days on the wall, actively using A2–A3+ artificial protection. We chose a modern, lightweight style without artificial aids, bolts, or fixed ropes. This allowed us to move quickly and complete the route in one day. In case of an emergency, we had the option to descend via the ascent route.

Balezin's route is essentially a complication of Studenin's route, which is classified as 6A. It is clearly more difficult than the popular winter route by Barber (5B) on the same wall, where there are no significant difficulties. Therefore, we do not understand why the route is classified as 5Bz. Considering the winter conditions, this is undoubtedly a 6th category route.

4. Note from the summit

The note from the summit was not retrieved due to the difficulty of finding it in winter.

5. Technical photo

Drawn route profile.
UIAA scheme.| 3 | - | 4 | R6 | | ∅ | 30 | 80 | VI, M6- | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | - | - | 8 | R5 | | | 70 | 75 | V, M4+ | | - | - | 4 | R4 | | | 20 | 85 | VI, M5 | | - | - | 5 | R3 | | | 60 | 60 | III–IV | | 2 | - | 3 | R2 | | | 20 | 85 | VI, M6+ | | - | - | 9 | R1 | | | 130 | 50 | III–IV | | - | - | - | R0 | | | 100 | 30 | II

8. ROUTE DESCRIPTION BY SECTIONS

Section R0–R1: At the start, we crossed the bergschrund using a "step-up" since there were hanging cornices everywhere. Then, we climbed an ice couloir that narrowed towards the first rock step. In the narrowing part, the last 30 m of ice became steeper, reaching 65°. 130 m, 50°, III–IV. Used:

ice screws — 9

Section R1–R2

First rock step, a sheer wall. The rock is heavily fragmented, making protection unreliable and limited. A fall is undesirable.

The team climbed the section on the right side (the first ascenders went on the left), and the climbing was challenging. 20 m, 85°, VI (M7–).

Used:

ice screws — 3
cams — 2

Section R2–R3

Ice couloir, initially steep (75°), then easing to 50°. 60 m, 60°, III–IV.

Section R3–R4. Second rock step, the start of the wall section. A sheer wall in the throat of a gully, with challenging mixed climbing on thin ice and narrow ice streams. Protection points are rare, and ice screws only went in halfway. 20 m, 85°, VI (M5).

Used:

ice screws — 4

Section R4–R5. Ice couloir. The ice streams are narrow, and the ice is thin. Ice screws only went in halfway. The steepness starts at 80° and then decreases to 70°. 70 m, 75°, V (M4+).

Used:

ice screws — 8

Section R5–R6. Third rock step. A steep, partly heavily fragmented wall, initially climbed on the left, then moving to the right. Climbing is challenging, requiring balance. Two old bolts were used for protection. The leader had a fall with a short drop (4 m) when trying to climb the step directly. 30 m, 80°, VI (M6). Used: ice screws — 4, cams — 3, bolts — 2;

Section R6–R7. An inclined, ice-filled internal angle. 40 m, 70°, V.

Used:

ice screws — 4;

Section R7–R8. A large, almost sheer, ice-filled internal angle. 90 m, 80°, VI (M5+).

Used:

ice screws — 10;

Section R8–R9. Traverse along a steep ice shelf to the left, then a small rock wall leading to an ice shelf. The exit joins Shvab's 5B route. The start of the "roof". 50 m, 70°, V. Used: anchor pitons — 2, nuts — 1, cams — 2, ice screws — 4;

Section R9–R10. Traverse with a height gain on ice and icy slabs, leading to the start of a large internal angle. 90 m, 45°, VI. Used: ice screws — 7; Section R10–R11. A large, steep internal angle with a cornice at the start. The cornice is bypassed on the left, with challenging climbing requiring balance and rare protection points. A fall is highly undesirable. The internal angle is partly filled with thin ice. 80 m, 75°, VI (M6). Used: ice screws — 7, anchor pitons — 2; cams — 1; Section R11–R12. A heavily snowed and fragmented wall leading left to bypass a cornice onto the ridge. Under the snow, there are rocks. Protection points are very rare. A fall is highly undesirable. 40 m, 70°, V. Used: anchor piton — 1, sling — 1; Section R12–R13. A, spiky, snowed and fragmented ridge. 250 m, 10°, III.

Descent direction: via the ascent route. Recommended descent: via Lowe's 5A route.