Sheet 1

Passport

1. Class — rock, route character — combined.
2. Region — Altai, Aktru gorge.
3. Mt. Karatash, via N slope, western glacier "Tronov's pants".
4. Proposed 5B category of difficulty, first ascent.
5. Route characteristics: elevation gain — 975 m, length — 1400 m length of sections with V and VI category of difficulty — 195 m average steepness — 50°, average steepness of main part (icefall) — 90°, 120 m.
6. Pitons left on site — 1 rock, driven pitons — 96 pcs., of which rock — 24, ice — 72.
7. Team's climbing hours — 12 h 20 min.
8. No overnight stays.
9. Participants: Afanasiev A.E. — Master of Sports, Konshakov I.I. — 1st class.
10. Team coach: Afanasiev A.E. — instructor-methodologist 1st category.
11. Departure to the route and return — May 7, 1997.
12. Organization: Irkutsk city club "Vityaz". General view photo.

Sheet 2

Profile photo on the right

October 1981, camera "Smena-8M", lens № 2.

Sheet 3

Drawn profile of the route

Area map. Scale 1:25000

Sheet 5

Brief Overview of the Region

Aktru gorge is located in the Altai mountains, Severo-Chuysky range. The area is sufficiently explored due to the presence of a stationary alpine camp until the 70s, followed by annual alpinades, gatherings, and year-round methodological events from various cities. All prominent peaks in the gorge have been ascended. Many routes remain unclassified. Some were known to the camp during its operation but were not included in the classifier. The area is snowy with developed valley glaciers (up to 10 km long). The gorges are trough-shaped. Routes are predominantly ice-snow and combined. In the neighboring Maashay gorge, three 5B category routes have been classified. In Aktru gorge, two 5th category routes have been ascended:

• on peak Zhandarm Snezhnoy — ice route (popular);
• on peak Tetё — rock route (single ascent). Both routes are unclassified. Mt. Karatash has a massive north-facing rock wall with a two-lobed basal glacier. The wall's elevation gain is up to 1000 m. There are up to 10 logical routes and variants of the highest category. To date, no complete ascent of the main wall has been made. A strong Kemerovo team attempted to climb the center of the rock wall two years ago. The wall's middle and right parts are composed of slates with reverse holds and are extremely friable. The facade of Karatash's North wall faces the base camp. It's a one-hour approach. However, few are willing to take on the challenge. The terrain is diverse, complex, and hazardous. To determine a route, one must study the folds of the terrain under different lighting conditions, snow cover, and from various vantage points. To the east (left part) of the tongue of the Maly Aktru glacier, a 4B category route is laid, which was classified for the camp but is unpopular due to its complexity. On the right part of the wall, there is a classified 4B category route (KTMTB — 1.49, p. 5). It is believed that the route changed beyond recognition after the 70s earthquake. Several reconnaissance groups' ascents did not clarify the route's location. The present ascent of Karatash's N wall via the western "Tronov's pants" glacier is the first attempt on the wall's significant possibilities. Aktru gorge has enough routes for achieving 2nd-class standards. In summer, it expands the possibility of visiting neighboring gorges and ascending 4B–5B category routes. The primary character of the area's routes is ice. With the exploration of the N walls of peaks Tetё, Kzyl-Tash, and Karatash, rock routes will emerge. Since 1993, a rescue team has been operating in the gorge, and there is long-range radio communication. The area is convenient for alpine events in both summer and winter.

Sheet 7

Tactical actions of the team. The tactical plan was based on the safety of the ascent due to objective and subjective reasons. Accordingly, the following time schedule was made:

• 3:00 — departure from base camp with observers
• 5:00 — start of the route
• 8:00 — passage through the couloir, transition to rocks
• 10:00 — passage under the vertical ice
• 15:00 — overcoming the icefall
• 18:00 — reaching the summit In case of reaching the summit after 18:00 — overnight stay in the firn plateau hut. Deadline for return to base camp — 14:00 on May 8, 1997. Early departure was necessary to:
• overcome the lower part of the route in the cold, when snow slabs are frozen and rocks are not falling from the walls;
• complete the approach under the vertical ice before the wall is illuminated by the sun, when ice and rockfalls start from the rantklufts and gutters. On the vertical ice slope, one can feel relatively safe. Here, only:
• avalanches from the firn zone;
• ice serac collapses, pose a threat. Snow on northern slopes above 3200 m did not pose an avalanche risk, as preliminary reconnaissance showed. An ice collapse was encountered only on section R10–R11, where the team had to traverse its vertical face, drilling insurance into the overhanging ice (see Sheet 12). The icefall was traversed on a doubled rope, alternating 20 m sections. Passing the icefall via rantklufts might be slightly simpler but is more dangerous and longer. Before reaching the icefall, the team expected to encounter live, broken rocks not higher than category IV. The rocks turned out to be somewhat more challenging but were overcome by pairs alternately, except for three walls where fixed ropes were used. The time schedule was followed with a deviation of no more than half an hour:
• Departure from base camp at 3:30
• Route start at 5:10
• Passed through the couloir at 7:20
• Reached under the vertical ice at 9:50
• Reached the "roof" at 14:30
• Lunch at "Promezhnost'" near the 2nd category section 15:20–16:10
• Summit reached at 17:30
• Return to base camp at 20:50

Two control cairns were set on the route:

• The first — on the rock ridge under the icefall, 3.5 rope lengths before the vertical ice.
• The second — in "Promezhnost'" (upper part of the rock dividing ridge of the two-lobed "Tronov's pants" glacier) on the transition from the rantkluft to the sub-summit slope.

Sheet 8

Route scheme in UIAA symbols. Scale 1:2000

Sheet 8 (reverse)

Route scheme in symbols.

Sheet 8a

Route scheme in symbols.

Sheet 8a (reverse)

Route scheme in symbols.

Sheet 9

Route Description by Sections

Section R0–R1: 200 m, 45°. Couloir debris cone. Simultaneous movement. Section R1–R2: 220 m, 45–50°. Wide couloir. Simultaneous movement from one rock niche to another, for insurance in case of ice fall from above. Section R2–R3: 210 m, 50°. Narrow couloir turning into a gully. Alternating movement. Section R3–R4: 30 m. Traverse left along a system of ledges and slabs with an overall steepness of 55–60° to avoid a dangerous gully without niches, with accretion ice on "ram's foreheads" and avalanche-prone snow lenses on the gully's sides. Section R4–R5: 5 m, 85°. Rock wall, with 3 PIT (Protection In The form of a Tube) usage. Total of 4 rock features. Category of difficulty 6. Section R5–R6: 75 m, 50°. Broken slope of category 4, 5 pitons, outcrops, alternating movement. Slate rocks are crumbling. Section R6–R7: 30 m, 55° overall steepness and length. Two walls of 5 and 7 m, 85° are encountered. Category of difficulty 6. 6 rock features. Alternating movement to the ridge. 1st control cairn. Section R7–R8: 90 m, 20°. Narrow ridge of category 3, insurance via outcrops, simultaneous movement. Section R8–R9: 50 m, 65°. Accretion ice under the icefall, category of difficulty 5. Alternating movement, insurance via ice screws. Section R9–R10: 40 m, 90°. Glacier ice, ice screws, alternating movement, category of difficulty 6. Section R10–R11: 20 m, 100°. Overhanging ice, ice screws, alternating movement. Section R11–R12: 30 m, 70°. Flattening in the middle of the icefall's fracture. Section R12–R13: 30 m, 90°. Insurance remains the same. Section R13–R14: 30 m, 60°. Transition to the "roof" of the icefall, screws, alternating movement. Section R14–R15: 20 m. Traverse left into the rantkluft, avoiding snow slabs on the glacier's roof. Section R15–R16: 120 m, 45°. Rантkluft, deep snow, insurance via rock features, simultaneous movement. Exit to "Promezhnost'" — 2nd control cairn. Section R16–R17: 200 m, 40°. Snow-ice field with numerous crevasses, bypassing the "button" on the right. Pitons insurance, simultaneous movement, exit to the ridge 10 m to the right of the summit.

Descent via 2A category route.

Sheet 11

Technical photo of the route

October 1981, camera "Smena-8M", lens peak Kzyl-Tash.

Sheet 12

Section R2–R4. View from above from section R11.

Section R7–R13. View from below from the 1st control cairn.

Sheet 14

Section R7. Section R15.