4500 м — black 38.

General information

The unnamed peak "4500" is located at the northern end of the Bayankol ridge, which branches off the Terskey Alatau ridge in an easterly direction. This ridge bounds the western Bayankol glacier to the north. The upper part of the peak is snowy and has a plateau-like shape.

To the south of the summit, a rocky ridge runs to the "Trenirovochny" peak (4302 m), to the north the ridge descends to a pass, before which there is a 40–45 m "gendarme". To the east, towards the Sary-Kainou river, the peak drops with a 350–400 m slope of shattered rocks.

Approaches to the summit

From Almaty to the Bayankol glacier area, the path initially follows the Almaty — Narynkol highway, passing through the settlements of Talgar, Issyk, Turgen, Chilik, Kegen, Sarydzhas, Tekes.

The distance from Almaty to the settlement of Tekes is 310 km, and further from Tekes to the mountains stretches a dirt road.

If the road is in good condition, it is possible to drive to the village of Dzharculak, located in the upper part of the Bayankol river valley (7 km) at an altitude of 3000 m.

From the abandoned village of Dzharculak, there are another 12–14 km of trail, which follows the bank of the Sary-Kainou river. Here, in the upper reaches of this main tributary of Bayankol (right side), a base camp is set up. At a distance of 1–2 km from the glacier, when choosing a campsite, one should be mindful of frequent rockfalls from the nearby destroyed slopes.

Route description

Ascent

On July 4, 1957, at 5:00, a group consisting of Vododokhov A.A. (leader), Bobrov V.A., Tarasenko A.M., Ganyalin V.A. and a second group led by Mansurov B.Sh. consisting of Krasilnikov V.V., Nebogin G.I., Barzut A.K. left the base camp.

Having walked 500 m upstream along the left bank of the Sarykaynou river, to the point where it branches into three channels, they easily crossed to the other bank via rocks protruding from the water. Then, along the left bank of the river, they moved north for 4–5 km. In this section, they moved across scree alternating with grassy slopes.

By 7:00, they approached a 500 m scree of medium-sized stones descending from the northern pass near the subsidiary peak of peak 4500 m. The scree consists of medium-sized stones, with a steepness of about 50°.

After examining the route through binoculars, they began the ascent along the edge of a two-meter gully, 200 m from the pass, and stopped at the northeastern wall of the summit.

Here, they decided:

• Mansurov's group moves to the pass, then southward through a 40 m gendarme with a steepness of 70–80° and waits for the second group at the subsidiary peak.
• Vododokhov's group ascends the wall, carefully examining the route up the wall.
• To the right of it is an ice-snow couloir, which is dangerous to ascend due to continuous rockfalls.

Higher up, 100–130 m to the southwest, a gentle ridge stretches to the subsidiary peak, where the path appears uncomplicated. The path to this ridge is blocked by a 100–130 m wall.

The weather is remarkable. Not a cloud in the sky. They remove all warm clothing under the wall. The path goes through steep, brittle rocks. Caution is necessary. Along the way, they hammer in 3 pitons for insurance. The next rope team, hiding under overhanging rocks, waits for the first team to pass the hazardous spot.

Further, the sharp ridge has a negative slope to the northeast and consists of isolated stones of various sizes, and the stones are "live," making it risky to walk on them.

On lower belay, the first climber traverses left and descends 8 m down rocks of medium difficulty, transitioning to a narrow ridge with sharply dropping rock walls.

Carefully overcoming 30 m along the ridge in a southwest direction, they approach destroyed rocks 7–8 m high.

One by one, the first on lower belay, the rest on fixed ropes and upper belay, they pass this section. Further, a short ridge to the south, and 10–15 m above them is a tower, from which a ridge leads to the subsidiary peak. Overcoming this ascent along heavily destroyed rocks was associated not only with technical difficulties but also with the threat of being hit by rockfalls. Under the tower, they find good shelter on a rock slab-like platform, where they hammer a piton into a crack and organize belay.

To the right is a sheer and rather destroyed wall. Along a small terrace (15–20 m wide), they skirt the rock to the left in the direction of a not ярко выраженного angle in the aforementioned tower, and the rocks are very destroyed. This angle is sheer and extends far down. Above the angle, frozen rocks overhang, creating additional danger on this complex section of the path. They overcome this section mainly with the help of footholds and handholds. Just before exiting, to the right of the angle, they manage to hammer in a piton for self-belay.

To the right of the overhanging live rocks, they pull themselves up with their hands. The first climber reaches the tower. Clearing the upper section of rocks and organizing fixed ropes, he receives the rest of the group.

On this tower, they built a cairn and left a note inside.

From here, the climbers admired the majestic panorama of the Bayankol circus. Very close, the mountain giants rise — peaks: "5761", "Marble Wall", and behind them, the sharp pyramid of Khan-Tengri is visible.

Below, to the southeast, a green clearing is visible through binoculars; it is not far from their camp, which is not visible due to the ridge.

Their observations were interrupted by a strong wind bringing clouds from the northwest. Putting on warm clothing, they move in a southwest direction for about 150 m and reach the subsidiary peak — a snowy plateau with a 75 m "gendarme," under which they take shelter from the wind along with Mansurov's group. By this time, the sky is covered with continuous cloud cover, and heavy snow begins to fall. Visibility is reduced to 30 m.

To the summit of the peak, there remains another 200–300 m. Mansurov's group has well-reconnoitered the path to it. They decide to go, despite the bad weather. Beyond the plateau is a poorly defined snowy ridge. They move slowly, looking for places for reliable belay. The ropes and gloves are wet, as are the boots. They bypass the rocky section to the right along an ice slope with a steepness of 70–75°, stretching for 3 ropes. In this place, it is necessary to cut steps and organize belay through three ice screws. The ice slope is crowned with a large snow cornice, which they have to chop through. Finally — the summit. But it brings little joy now: there is no visibility, snow is blowing, and it is cold. They bury a tin can with a note in the snow and quickly begin their descent in a southeast direction. The descent is easy: initially, 100 m down a snowy slope, and then down medium rocks (1 rope) to a saddle. From this saddle, they continue their descent down scree (medium and fine) towards Sary-Kainou.

If they were tormented by a snowstorm at the top, now — down below — they are caught in a downpour. After crossing the river on fixed ropes, they return to camp by 23:30. During the ascent, they maintained regular radio contact. The total time for the ascent was 18 hours 30 minutes, of which 10 hours were spent on the ascent from the foot of the wall.

General conclusions

During the ascent to peak "4500" via the wall, the weather was initially good, then unexpectedly turned into a snowstorm. The return was much more complicated and dangerous. The equipment was good, clothing was warm, ropes: main ropes 35–40 m long and an auxiliary rope 50 m long allowed them to ascend to a place convenient for organizing belay.

All participants of the ascent were well-trained and acclimatized; these circumstances contributed to the success of the ascent.

Overall assessment of the route

The group members believe: a) the ascent route via the northeastern wall should be classified as cat. difficulty 3B. b) the ascent route from the north from the pass through the "gendarme" should be classified as cat. difficulty 3A (Mansurov's group route).

Description compiled by: A. Vododokhov