Ascent Passport

Ascent class — technical
Ascent area — Tian-Shan, Terskey-Alatau ridge
Peak — Albatros Western, 4740 m, via the counterfort of the northern wall, from Brigantina glacier
Proposed category of difficulty — 4B, combined
Route characteristics:

Height difference — 581 m, length — 840 m. Average steepness of the wall section — 68° (from 4212 m to 4706 m). Length of sections:
- Grade III — 420 m
- Grade IV — 182 m
- Steep terrain — 238 m
Pitons driven:

	for belay	for ITO
rock	17	1
ice	16	-
bolt	-	-
chock stones	22	-

Number of climbing hours — 11 hours
Number of overnight stays and their characteristics — none
Leader — Smirnov M.G., 1st sports category

Participants:
- Stepanov S.I., 1st sports category
- Ryabukhin A.G., CMS
- Karpenkov M.V., 1st sports category
Team coach — Ryabukhin A.G., Honored Coach of the RSFSR in mountaineering
Date of departure and return — July 6, 1984
Organization: Chelyabinsk Regional Council SDDO, "Burevestnik"

Routes

via the North-West edge, 1965, V. Osipov, 4B category of difficulty, combined
via the Northern wall, 1983, Kolchin, 4B category of difficulty, combined
described route via the counterfort of the Northern wall, 1984, M. Smirnov

p. Albatros Eastern p. Albatros Western 4740 m photo taken from Brigantina glacier with "Helios-44M" lens

p. Albatros Western 4740 m Photo #1. Left profile of the route. Taken from Brigantina glacier with "Smena 8M" camera.

The right profile of the route could not be fully captured. Photo #2.

Photo #3.

p. Albatros Western 4740 m. Photo #4. General view of the route.

WESTERN ALBATROS 4740

Section #	Category of difficulty	Steepness, °	Length of section, m	Total length of route, m
R15–R16		10	200	840
R14–R15	3	60	20	640
R13–R14	4	75	40	620
R12–R13	5	80	40	580
R11–R12	4	65	32	540
R10–R11	5	90	8	508
R9–R10	5	85	40	500
R8–R9	4	75	40	460
R7–R8	3	70	40	420
R6–R7	4	75	40	380
R5–R6	5	85	10	340
R4–R5	4	65	30	330
R3–R4	3	60	60	300
R2–R3	5	60	60	240
R1–R2	5	55	80	180
R0–R1	3	35–45	100	100

Photo #5. Section R1–R2. Overcoming the bergschrund. Taken from point R1.

Table of main ascent characteristics

Date, time	Section designation	Average steepness, °	Length, m	Terrain characteristics	Difficulty	Condition	Weather conditions	Rock pitons	Ice pitons	Chock stones	Notes
July 6, 1984	R0–R1	35	100	snow slope		soft, deep snow	clear
	R1–R2	55	80	ice wall	5	ice covered with a thin layer	—		8
6:30–17:30	R2–R3	60	60	ice wall	5	—	—		8
	R3–R4	60	60	rock edge	3	destroyed rocks covered with snow	—	1		4
II climbing hours	R4–R5	65	30	rock wall	4	rocks covered with ice	—	1		2
	R5–R6	85	10	rock wall	5	monolithic	—			2
	R6–R7	75	40	inner corner	4	rocks with ice	—			4
	R7–R8	70	40	rock edge	3	rocks with snow	—	2		1	1 control cairn
	R8–R9	75	40	rock wall	4	rocks with snow	—	4		1
	R9–R10	85	40	rock wall	5	monolithic rocks	—			2
	R10–R11	90	8	rock wall	5	monolithic rocks	—			2
	R11–R12	65	32	rock edge	4	rocks covered with snow	—	2		1
	R12–R13	80	40	rock wall	5	rocks covered with ice	—	3		2	2 control cairns
	R13–R14	75	40	rock wall	4	rocks with ice	—			3
	R14–R15	60	20	rock edge	3	rocks with snow	—
	R15–R16	10	200	summit ridge	3	destroyed rocks with snow	—				summit cairn

Descent from the summit of Albatros Western along the SW ridge to Epura pass via 2B category of difficulty route. Then to Dzhigita glacier to the base camp. Descent took 8 hours 30 minutes.

Photo #8. Section R3–R4.