Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class: technical
2. Ascent area: Pamir-Alai, Alai Ridge
3. Ascent route: Peak 5200 via North face
4. Difficulty category: 6
5. Route characteristics: height difference: 1200 m length of sections with 5–6 difficulty category: 1245 m average steepness: 74°
6. Pitons used:
   • rock: 131 (for belay), 12 (for creating intermediate technical objects (ITO))
   • ice: 32 (for belay), 2 (for creating ITO)
   • bolt: 3 (for belay), 0 (for creating ITO)
   • protection elements: 90 (for belay), 15 (for creating ITO)
7. Climbing hours: 55 h
8. Number of bivouacs and their characteristics: four: one sitting, three hanging
9. Surname, name, patronymic of the leader, participants, and their qualification:
   • Semenyuk Valery Danilovich, Candidate Master of Sports
   • Antipin Sergey Mikhailovich, Candidate Master of Sports
   • Bryksin Valery Mikhailovich, Candidate Master of Sports
   • Sereda Vladimir Alexandrovich, Candidate Master of Sports
   • Svistov Anatoly Mikhailovich, Candidate Master of Sports
   • Kurmachev Yuri Fedorovich, Candidate Master of Sports
10. Team coach: Yakovlev Vitaly Dmitrievich, Master of Sports of the USSR
11. Date of departure and return: departure: July 18, 1978 return: July 23, 1978

Table of main route characteristics

ascent to Peak 5200 via North face

Route length: 1475 m Height difference: 1200 m Average steepness: 74°

Route processing from 8:00 to 15:00. Climbing hours 7 h. Bivouac under the route.

Departure at 9:00. Stop at 19:00. Climbing hours 10 h. Hanging bivouac.

Departure at 8:00. Stop at bivouac at 18:00. Climbing hours 10 h. Hanging bivouac.

Departure at 9:00. Stop at bivouac at 21:00. Climbing hours 12 h. Hanging bivouac.

Departure at 12:00. Reached the summit of Peak 5200 at 16:00. Climbing hours 4 h.

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Brief explanation for the table

R0–R1. Snow slope, easy to step on. Presents no difficulty. Ends with a bergschrund.

R1–R2. Bergschrund 3 m wide with an overhanging upper edge. Passed via an ice bridge. Up and right on the ice slope under the rocks.

R2–R3. From the ice via a 3–4 m wall to an inclined shelf and along it left and up under a wall with an overhang.

R3–R4. Up the wall via a vaguely defined chimney.

R4–R5. Steep monolithic slab cut by a crack. Along the crack under the base of the inner corner.

R5–R6. Up the inner corner on the left along the route and to the right side of the corner, onto a slab.

R6–R7. Up steep slabs under an overhanging wall.

R7–R8. Destroyed wall with small cornices.

R8–R9. Vertical, even slightly overhanging reddish wall with few holds.

R8–R10. Wide chimney with destroyed walls, leading past a chip.

R10–R11. Steep ice with embedded rocks. Left and up to the base of a vertical chimney filled with water and ice.

R11–R12. Chimney 60 m. Extremely difficult climbing complicated by:

• rocks covered with rime ice,
• constant streams of water.

R12–R13. From the chimney right onto a sheer wall with many cracks and a slight overhang at the top. At the top of the wall — a shelf.

R13–R14. Steep destroyed rocks filled with ice and water.

R14–R15. Inner corner with ice, exit to a sitting bivouac site.

R15–R16. From the bivouac left along rocks embedded in ice and destroyed rocks into a wide ice couloir cutting through the wall from top to bottom.

R16–R17. The couloir is crossed along steep ice over two rock islands. 12-tooth crampons and American-made ice axes are used. Belay via ice screws and bolt pitons.

R17–R18. Descent along a vertical wall with rime ice and water onto an inclined shelf.

R18–R19. From the shelf up the wall under an overhanging chimney.

R19–R20. Chimney with streams of water. Overhangs in the middle part.

R20–R21. Chimney becomes drier and somewhat easier, but in the upper part — several meters of very destroyed rocks.

R21–R22. Sheer wall with few holds (20 m).

R22–R23. The wall becomes somewhat easier and leads under an overhanging chimney.

R23–R24. 10-meter chimney about 1 m wide with ice inside and rocks protruding from it. Leads to a steep rocky ledge filled with ice.

R24–R25. Along the ice right and up on crampons under the base of an inclined iced chimney.

R25–R26. Up the ice in the chimney under the wall.

R26–R27. Sheer wall, up it to an inclined scree ledge where the 1st control cairn is located.

R27–R28. From the ledge up a vertical inner corner onto a steep wall, which is covered from above by a giant rocky cornice.

R28–R29. Up the wall straight up into the beginning of a sheer chimney cutting through the wall.

R29–R30. Chimney with an overhang in the upper part and a lack of holds leads to a small ledge where three people can gather.

R30–R31. About 10 m along a smooth wall; then right into an iced chimney, on ice on ladders — transition to its right side along the route and up along iced, water-soaked rocks.

R31–R32. Top of the chimney — an ice groove resting against an overhanging ice cornice. Along the ice right under the wall.

R32–R33. Along the destroyed wall left under the base of a vertical inner corner.

R33–R34. Limiting climbing along sheer inner corner walls, the middle part of which overhangs, using ITO.

R34–R35. From the inner corner left onto a steep monolithic wall with a minimal number of holds and cracks. Up it onto a small ledge.

R35–R36. Destroyed rocky wall, sprinkled with snow. местами — rime ice.

R36–R37. From the wall onto a vaguely defined ice rib, along it to the upper belt of rocks.

R37–R38. Steep, heavily destroyed rocks, rime ice.

R38–R39. Sheer short destroyed wall leading to the base of an ice rib.

R39–R40. Along the right (along the route) part of the rib on ice sprinkled with snow, exit to the summit ridge.

R40–R41. Wide ridge leads to the summit.