Report

On the first ascent to the summit of Pik Ratzek via the eastern counterfort, route 2B category, by the Ak-Sai Travel team from 1.10.2023 to 1.10.2023.

I. Climbing Passport

№№ p.p.	1. General Information
1.1	Full name, sports rank of the leader, date of birth	Khomenyuk Mikhail Yuryevich, 1st sports rank, date of birth: January 5, 1973.
1.2	Full name, sports rank of participants, date of birth	Ignashev Ilya Sergeyevich, 3rd sports rank, date of birth: November 9, 1980.
1.3	Full name of coach	Grekov Dmitry Mikhailovich
1.4	Organization	Ak-Sai Travel
2. Characteristics of the Climbing Object
2.1	Region	Tian Shan, Kyrgyz Range
2.2	Valley	Ala-Archa
2.3	Section number according to the 2020 classification table	Section 7.4 according to the 2017 classification table.
2.4	Name and height of the summit	Pik Ratzek, 4150 m (3980 m by GPS)
2.5	Geographical coordinates of the summit (latitude/longitude), GPS coordinates	42°31′21.281″ N, 74°32′23.294″ E
3. Characteristics of the Route
3.1	Route name	Via Eastern Counterfort
3.2	Proposed category of difficulty	2B
3.3	Degree of route exploration	First ascent
3.4	Relief characteristics of the route	Rocky
3.5	Elevation gain of the route	250 m
3.6	Route length	500 m
3.7	Technical elements of the route	I category. Rocks — 335 m. II category. Rocks — 70 m. III category. Rocks — 85 m. IV category. Rocks — 10 m. Movement on closed glacier — 0 m. Descent by rappel (on descent) — 2 ropes, 100 meters.
3.8	Descent from the summit	Via 2B category on the side of the Uchitel glacier.
3.9	Additional characteristics of the route	No water. Snow in winter time.
4. Characteristics of Team Actions
:--:	:--:	:--:
4.1	Movement time	4 hours
4.2	Overnights	No overnight
4.3	Exit to the route	9:30, 1.10.2023
4.4	Summit attainment	13:30, 1.10.2023
4.5	Return to base camp	18:00, 1.10.2023
5. Responsible for the Report
5.1	Full name, e-mail	Khomenyuk Mikhail Yuryevich, khomenyuk@ya.ru

General photo of the summit. Date taken: October 1, 2023. Location — Uchitel glacier. Taken before the start of the route.

Photo of the route from the right. Taken on October 1, 2023, from the Uchitel glacier.

Scheme of approaches from Ratzek hut.

Section №	Length	Steepness	Relief characteristics	Category of difficulty	Number of pitons
1	300	40	Scree couloir	I	0
2	50	70	Rock wall	III	6
3	50	40-60	Couloir, rocky ridge	II–III	2
4	50	30-80	Inner corner	II–IV	5
5	50	30-70	Inner corner, summit dome.	III	2

Technical photo of the route.

Section №	Description	Photo №
0	Approaches: from the base camp of Ratzek hut, move along a good trail to Lake Znaniy. Bypass the lake on the right and continue moving under the eastern wall of Pik Ratzek to the scree couloir leading to the saddle. Time taken for approaches is 2 hours 00 minutes.
1	300 m, I. Scree couloir 30–40°. Bypass the sheer rocks of the Eastern wall on the left and move up the couloir to the characteristic narrowing. The length of the section is about 300 m. Simultaneous movement without a rope. The beginning of the technical part of the route is a small ledge on the right before the narrowing of the couloir.
2	50 m, III. Rock wall, steepness 60–70°. Pleasant climbing, firm rocks, reliable protection with stoppers and medium friends. Station on a convenient ledge, or slightly higher at the base of the couloir, leading to the ridge of the counterfort.	1,2,3
3	50 m, II–III. Up the couloir 20 m to the ridge. Along the ridge to the left upwards, sticking to the left side of the ridge. In the couloir, protection with medium friends, further along the ridge protection through ledges. Station on a ledge, at the base of the inner corner going upwards to the right. From here, by traversing to the left, one can exit onto route 2A along the South ridge.	4
4	50 m, II–IV. To the right — up the inner corner. In the middle part — the key section, passed on the right side of the corner, 10 m IV. Reliable protection with stoppers and friends. After the key, the route exits onto the line of 2A along the South ridge. Station on a stationary loop at the base of the inner corner, leading to the summit.	5
5	50 m, III–I. Up the inner corner 15 m III, then on foot to the summit.	6,7

General impression: a beautiful, pleasant educational route. Reliable insurance. Not rockfall-prone. Reliable radio communication with Ratzek hut throughout the entire route. Mobile communication is absent. The route is more even and concise than the route to Pik Ratzek via the North ridge 2B.