7.16. 8

Peak named after the Kazakh Alpine Club. Description of the first ascent to the "Bezimyannaya" peak made by the sports group of the Republican Club of Alpinists and Tourists on August 4, 1957.

I.

The "Bezimyannaya" peak is located in the Meridionalny ridge in the Bayankol gorge area, 9-10 km from the Jar-Kulak settlement (abandoned mine), up the gorge.

Its height is 4426 m.

Glaciation. A glacier flows northwest from the slopes of the peak. Its length is 1.5-2 km. The western and northern slopes are mostly covered with ice and snow.

Approaches:

The approaches to the peak are made from the Bayankol gorge along a lateral gorge and start near a large waterfall located 8 km from the abandoned mine. From the beginning of the waterfall, the path lies east to a small glacier, which is bypassed from the left (in the direction of travel) along the terminal and lateral moraine. Starting from the middle of the glacier, the route turns north, and the ascent to the peak begins from here.

The time taken for the approaches from the river valley to the peak is:

• 2 to 3 hours.

II.

The ascent begins along a large talus that turns into easy and medium rocks in some places. The goal is to climb to the saddle of the lateral ridge branching off from the subpeak. The ascent time is 1 hour.

From the saddle, the path lies east along the ridge to an ice wall, which is bounded on the right by sheer rock walls. The ridge is wide and gentle. It is a series of snow ridges, the ascent to which does not present particular difficulty but requires careful belaying (avalanches are possible in some places).

The goal is to approach the ice wall. Time: 30-40 min. The ice wall is covered with snow at the bottom, and there are crevasses covered with snow. The steepness ranges from 30° to 70° at the top. Overcoming it should start from a vertical crevasse (in the left part of the wall).

At first, one person goes out to organize the rope handrail. With careful work through the ice axe at the bottom and pitons, it is necessary to climb 15 m straight up (crampons are necessary), and then, with step cutting, traverse to the right and up to the rocks, where a rope handrail is organized for the group. The length of this section is about 40 m. Time (for a group of 6-8 people) is 1 hour.

From the rock pinnacle, one should go left to a powerful cornice above the steep rock wall of a wide couloir with simultaneous belaying. Then it is necessary to:

• descend along the wall into the couloir along medium rocks to a narrow ledge, which is 5 m below the ridge;
• traverse along the ledge (with careful belaying - 3 pitons) to the opposite, eastern, corner of the couloir.

The rocks are monolithic. Along the inner corner (its height is 20 m) with careful piton belaying, one person climbs under the ice overhang (the rocks are difficult, and pieces of ice sometimes fall from above).

Overcoming the ice overhang is particularly challenging. Much time is spent clearing the rocks of ice. The remaining participants follow the rope handrail.

The group exits to the subpeak along the snowy couloir. This (rocky couloir) section is overcome in 2 hours.

From the subpeak, the ridge turns north. The path to the vertical tower runs along the snowy ridge. Technically, it does not present difficulty but is hazardous due to cornices hanging to the east. Caution is necessary when moving.

The path along the ridge takes about 1 hour.

The vertical tower is rocky. It is heavily destroyed. The ascent is made along:

• medium,
• easy, and
• difficult rocks in some places.

Belaying is through a ledge. The ascent time is about 1 hour.

The peak is a heap of destroyed rocks. The descent from the peak is made along the ascent path and takes about 4 hours.

In total, the route takes 10-11 hours, including the ascent and descent to the foot.

III.

When discussing the ascent, the group that made the first ascent concluded that in these conditions, another very interesting route to the peak can be laid from the saddle between the subpeak and the "4400" peak along the rock wall to the pre-summit couloir.

In addition, the group made the following conclusions regarding the ascent route:

1. The use of rope handrails to speed up overcoming the most difficult sections was justified;
2. Due to the peak being remote from the base camp, it is recommended to go for the ascent in a small, well-coordinated group to return before nightfall;
3. Leaving the camp as early as possible will ensure the opportunity to avoid bad weather, which deteriorates periodically in the second half of the day in this area;
4. Caution is necessary when overcoming snowy slopes and ridges with cornices.

Assessing the technical difficulties and the considerable length of the route, the group concluded that the route can be classified as 3B category of difficulty and can be recommended to groups making ascents in the Bayankol area for serious training ascents.

Two groups reached the peak:

I.

1. Kuderin S.Dzh. - leader
2. Mar'yashev A.N. - participant
3. Bobrov V.P. - " - "

II.

1. Koveshnikov Yu.P. - leader
2. Yakushev E.M. - participant
3. Tagabergenov M. - " - "

The description was compiled by Koveshnikov.