V. Teke (3870 m)
via the right buttress of the North Ridge, Cat. 2A
The ascent starts from the Nefertiti campsite. Cross to the other side of the "Terek" river, then:
- Reach the last (rightmost) ridge that leads to the crest and begin ascending along the fir-covered talus slope.
- To the left, there is a snow (scree in summer) couloir-ridge with powerful gendarmes in the upper part.
The approach to the start of the ridge from the campsite takes 30 minutes. Then, ascend along the talus, heavily eroded crest to the first rock walls. Movement up to this point is simultaneous. Tie in before the rock walls. Continue ascending along the rocky sections with intermittent insurance. The sections are Cat. 1-2. The length is 180-200 m.
- An 8-9 m rock is bypassed on the left via ledges that are 30-35 m long, Cat. 2.
- Insurance is provided through protrusions.
The route continues along the ridge. Insurance is provided by a rope placed around protrusions. The path leads to a snowy slope with a 30-35° incline, insured via an ice axe, 25-30 m long; there may be cornices.
Before reaching the summit ridge, there is a long 130-140 m snow ascent with a slope incline of up to 40°. Insurance is provided through ice axes. The path leads to the crest. The summit point is 250-300 m to the left. Along the way, there are simple rocks, Cat. 1B-2A. Insurance is provided along the crest. A summit cairn.
The descent is done to the right and left of the route (orographically) via wide couloirs. One should check for the possibility of avalanches. The descent to the river takes 30-40 minutes. The entire route from camp to camp takes 6-7 hours.
The first ascent was made on May 3, 1980, by a duo of climbers from the USSR Sports Committee's training group, consisting of:
- G.A. Starikov
- A.A. Pak
Recommendations for climbers:
- The number of participants: up to 10 people.
