ASCENT TO PIK MARONA VIA THE NORTH-EAST RIDGE (cat. grade 3A) 2729

From the camp located on a flat, gravelly area of the upper modern erosion base of the Issledovateley and Chon-Turasu glaciers, we head towards the NNE rock ridge of Pik Marona, situated between the Chon-Turasu river and the Marona glacier.

We cross ridges of old lateral moraines and, after 15 minutes, approach the slope of the ridge at a point where a powerful talus slope descends from under the rocky ridge. To the left remain:

• massive rock outcrops of black-green rock,
• scree slopes of fine gravel stretching from them.

We ascend directly up the talus slope to a rock wall, then move:

• first along the slope,
• then along terraces upwards along the wall,
• across fine scree, clay soils, and occasionally easy rock.

After 2 hours of ascent, we reach the end of the terrace. This location is easily identifiable by two small caves, and the terrace almost immediately ends.

• The larger cave measures: depth - 3.5 m, width - 2.5 m, height - about 1 m. White calcite samples can be collected in the depths.
• The second cave is located 4 m further than the first. Its depth is about half a meter, and the walls are composed of well-crystallized calcite crystals reaching up to 10 cm in length.

Above the caves, all vegetation ceases.

Five meters above the smaller cave, a chimney begins - the simplest place to exit onto the ridge. Exiting onto the ridge at its very beginning is not rational due to a difficult-to-pass rocky step in the sharp ridge, resembling an inverted letter "P". The exit onto the ridge was previously scouted by an interacting group - the first rope team required more than 2 hours to pass the chimney.

The first 4 m of the chimney are ascended by straightforward climbing, then 5-6 m are traversed with alternate pressure using the back, legs, and hands, and the final section - a sharp outer corner 5-6 m long - is climbed while sitting on it.

The second climber's belay and self-belay were carried out through a hook driven 2 m above the chimney exit. The ascent through the chimney took 1 hour.

The further ascent proceeded vertically upwards with alternate belay through ledges or an ice axe on icy rocks covered with deep (up to half a meter) snow. At one point, a three-meter sheer step was quickly overcome with the help of the first climber being boosted (the first climber stands on the second's shoulders) and the second being pulled up on a fixed rope.

The last 15 m - a heavily iced internal corner. Particularly challenging are the last 1.5 m, where:

• there were no holds,
• the top of the ridge was covered with a thick layer of frozen snow, which had to be chopped away with an ice axe in an extremely uncomfortable position.

The entire exit onto the ridge from the top of the chimney took just over 1 hour.

Instead of the expected gentle western slope, we find a sharp rocky ridge dropping towards the Maly Chon-Turasu glacier with an eighty-degree smooth, almost polished wall, 100 to 400 m high.

The next section - a sharp knife-like ridge, about 25 m long, is traversed while sitting astride the ridge. Almost in the middle of the section, there is an inclined fissure where belay can be organized through the lower back.

The next 100 m:

• iced ridge, 0.5 to 3 m wide, with small gendarmes;
• inclined slabs covered with a thick layer of snow.

Movement is almost constant with belay.

We emerge onto a steep, inclined shelf to the left of the sheerly rising ridge. The shelf almost immediately turns into a steep, iced, sheer 15-meter couloir; we pass it with great tension.

The first climber's belay was carried out by the second through the lower back, as:

• the rocks are completely smooth,
• the layer of ice on them is very thin and unsuitable for driving in ice screws.

At the top, there is not enough space for two, so one has to descend to the side onto a lateral ridge.

Further movement is possible via two paths. Path one: descending onto the ice with a 15-20 m rappelling and ascending a 60-degree icy couloir, sandwiched between sheer rocks; ascent is only possible with crampons, step-cutting, and belay on screws. Moreover, the couloir is susceptible to rockfall and avalanches (the space above the couloir is not visible). Path two: moving along the ridge to a sheer wall (steepness up to 90°) and ascending it - a safe path, but there's a likelihood that the ascent might be impossible for us.

After a brief discussion, we choose the safer and faster path up the wall. We follow the rocky ridge, then:

• 2 ropes are ascended along a narrow (0.5-1.5 m), icy, and strongly inclined transverse shelf;
• again across rocks.

Up the wall, we ascend 1 rope to a small niche where two can fit. There are no cracks for driving in a screw, so the upper climber's belay is carried out through a ledge.

Having moved 3 m to the left and ascended another 2.3 m, the first climber moves left along a narrow, slightly inclined shelf for 8-10 m. The shelf ends at a sheer and completely smooth wall (at half the height of the aforementioned couloir but at a considerable distance from it). There is no further path.

Returning along the shelf and passing above the lower one, he moves right along the wall and, using small but reliable holds, ascends another 5-6 m. Rounding an overhanging ledge, we emerge to a large fissure formed due to a large granite boulder detaching from the rock. One can climb into it up to the waist and organize a reliable belay through the lower back.

To exit to the top, it remains to overcome 12-15 m of an internal corner. The nature of the section:

• To the left is a smooth wall, slightly overhanging the right slope covered with a layer of ice.
• The ice is brittle and does not allow for step-cutting, exposing smooth rocks.

The section is traversed:

• partly with step-cutting,
• partly using the ice axe as a point of support,
• the last one and a half meters - by wedging legs into the fissure and back against the overhanging icy slope to the right.

At the top, the snow has melted, revealing an almost horizontal rocky platform. Belay during the second climber's ascent was carried out through the lower back while sitting on a small ledge.

The section from the ridge exit to the upper platform was traversed in 2 hours 40 minutes, including the last two ropes (overcoming the wall) which took about 1 hour.

The further ascent, for 40 minutes, proceeded along a wide, inclined ridge to the right, of average steepness, with snow depth 40-50 cm. To the left, the ridge drops sheerly into the Chon-Turasu cirque, to the right - with a steep 50-60° icy slope towards the Marona glacier.

At 14:50 (i.e., after 8.5-9 hours of ascent), we reach the first sub-summit - a small (2 × 8 m), heavily weathered rock. The next two summits - small rock outcrops, 100-200 m apart.

Within 30 minutes, we reach the dome - snow all around. Therefore, we set up a cairn on the first summit, on its ridge, 3 m south of the highest point.

It is worth noting that the ascent was feasible under unfavorable conditions: the entire area was covered with dense, low clouds and fog. Only the ridge we ascended to the summit was clear of fog due to the wind blowing up the Chon-Turasu valley. Therefore, everything below the third summit was in fog and not visible.

During the time it took for a quick snack and setting up the cairn, the weather significantly deteriorated: a snowstorm broke out. Despite poor visibility (up to 50 m during clearings, and 10 m during gusts), a decision was made to descend urgently, as:

• the control time was expiring;
• there was no shelter from the wind.

The descent proceeded along the Marona glacier. The glacier slope has a steepness of 30-50° (in the middle section) and is covered with deep snow; typically, the ice axe did not reach the ice. Initially, the descent was straight down until the black wall of the ridge became visible to the right, then we traversed 50-100 m to the left (it was impossible to judge the distance; the first climber's tracks were only noticed when the second climber caught up to them). At this point, 3 crevasses, at least half a meter wide, were probed with the ice axe; no other crevasses were found elsewhere. The descent was in a rope team on a full rope with thorough belay of the first climber by the second, which, given the snow density and depth, provided reliable belay for the leading climber in case of a fall into a snow-covered crevasse.

Thanks to spare ski suits and sweaters (put on at the start of the blizzard) and spare dry mittens, the cold was not felt. The air temperature was around 0°C - snow falling on rocks immediately began to melt.

Further descent becomes gentler, and the glacier imperceptibly transitions into a steep, flat moraine. Below, the wind is calmer, but heavy snowfall continues, and visibility remains poor.

For 20 minutes, we descend along the river to the point where it enters a canyon. Here, we turn right and traverse the slope, bypassing the wall - the end of the NNE ridge of Pik Marona. Having completely bypassed the end of the ridge, we emerge to one of the sources of the Chon-Turasu river, flowing parallel to the ridge, directly under its slope.

After 15 minutes of ascent along the river, we reach a flat area under the talus slope, from where we began our ascent to the summit (the river at this point flows deep within the moraine). We cross old lateral moraines and, after 15 minutes, reach the camp tents.

The entire ascent took 11.5 hours, with 8.5 hours spent on ascent and 3.0 hours on descent. There are virtually no approaches.

The approximate height of the summit is about 5000 m, and the height of the camp is 3500 m.

During the ascent, 4 rock screws were driven.