Climbing Passport

Climbing area — Altai, Aktru valley.
Name of the peak: Karatash, via the center of the north face.
6A category of difficulty, 3rd ascent.
Route type — combined.
Route elevation gain — 1030 m.

Route length — 1298 m. Length of sections with V category of difficulty – 195 m, VI category of difficulty – 255 m. Average steepness: main part of the route — 73°, total route — 59°. 6. Pitons left on the route: total — 0, including bolted pitons — 0. Pitons used on the route: stationary bolted pitons — 0, including artificial aids — 0; removable bolted pitons — 2, including artificial aids — 2. Total artificial aids used — 71. 7. Team's climbing hours: 49 hours, 6 days. 8. Team leader: Foygt A.V., Master of Sports.

Team members:

Stalkovsky V.V., Master of Sports
Belkin A.V., Candidate for Master of Sports
Zvyagintsev M.V., Candidate for Master of Sports
Proskurin A.V., Candidate for Master of Sports

Coaches:

Kozhemyako N.G., Master of Sports
Zuev S.V., Candidate for Master of Sports

Departure to the route: 6:00, February 19, 2002.

Reached the summit: 19:00, February 24, 2002. Returned to base camp: 22:30, February 24, 2002. General photo of the summit

- - - - route taken by the team through the center of the north face, 6A category of difficulty.
- - - - route via the north face, 4A category of difficulty. (Photo taken on February 22, 2002)

Photo of the face profile to the rightHand-drawn profile of the routePhotopanorama of the area

Overview of the Climbing Area

The Karatash peak (3535 m) is located in the north-eastern spur of the Severo-Chuyskie Belki ridge, in the Altai Mountains. From the approach side, i.e., from the Chuya tract from the Kurai steppe, the Karatash peak appears as a kilometer-long rocky wall closing the Aktru valley. Currently, an alpine camp operated by the Tomsk commercial enterprise "Promalp" is periodically active in the valley. It is possible to reach the alpine camp by car. The area is convenient for fulfilling sports qualification standards, so it is frequently visited. The last settlement on the Chuya tract — the village of Kurai — is approximately 40 km away from the camp. The camp has a year-round rescue team and reliable long-range radio communication. The approach to the route takes about 1.5 hours from the base camp.

Climbing Schedule

Height, m

Route Diagram in UIAA Symbols

Section	rock	chock	ice
R10–R11	8	15	-	VI–, 70 m, 90°, A2
	1	4
R9–R10	3	12	-	VI+, 30 m, 95°, A3
		6		PHOTO № 2
R8–R9	3	6	-	IV+, 20 m, 30°
R7–R8	3	3	-	V+, 20 m, 90°, A1
	1	1
R6–R7	1	2	-	III+, 15 m, 50°
R5–R6	3	10	-	VI, 40 m, 85°, A2
	1	8		PHOTO № 1
R4–R5	2	5	-	III+, 60 m, 50°
R3–R4	1	2	-	V–, 15 m, 90°
R2–R3	3	5	-	II–, 100 m, 45°
R1–R2	1	4	-	III–, 70 m, 50°
R0–R1	-	-	-	I+, 40 m, 45°

Route Diagram in UIAA Symbols

Section	rock	chock	ice
R27–R28	-	-	-	III, 55 m, 40°
R26–R27	-	4/1	-	V+, 15 m, 85°, A1
R25–R26	2	1	-	II–, 15 m, 30°
R24–R25	-	13	-	V+, 40 m, 80°
		3		PHOTO № 7
R23–R24	1	8	-	IV, 35 m, 70°
R22–R23	-	18	-	V, 55 m, 75°
		6
R21–R22	1	14	-	VI+, 20 m, 95°, A2
	1	10		PHOTO № 6
R20–R21	-	-	-	III–, 20 m, 20°
R19–R20	3	18	-	VI+, 35 m, 90°, A3
	1	10		PHOTO № 5
R18–R19	4	8	-	VI+, 20 m, 90°, A3
	2	6		PHOTO № 5
R17–R18	-	10/10	-	VI+, 15 m, 95°, A2
				PHOTO № 5
R16–R17	-	3	-	III–, 30 m, 20°
R15–R16	3	7	-	VI–, 25 m, 90°, A2
		4		PHOTO № 4
R14–R15	1	14	-	V+, 40 m, 85°, A1
		4		PHOTO № 3
R13–R14	-	3	-	II–, 10 m, 45°
R12–R13	-	3/1	-	V+, 10 m, 80°, A1
R11–R12	-	-	-	II–, 40 m, 30°

Route Diagram in UIAA Symbols

Section	rock	chock	ice
R33–R34	-	-	-	I–, 20 m, 15°
R32–R33	-	-	24	III, 200 m, 40°
R31–R32	-	-	20	IV–, 80 m, 55°
R30–R31	-	-	-	II+, 70 m, 20°
R29–R30	-	10	-	IV–, 40 m, 55°
R28–R29	-	10	-	IV+, 50 m, 55°

Photo Illustration of the Report

Photo № 1. Section 5–6. Passing the inner corner. February 23, 2002, 17:00. A team of climbers from Kuzbass: 1. Timofeev N.V. 2. Kozlov A.V. completed an ascent to the Karatash peak via the north face, route category 4A. Descent via route category 2A. "Good luck to all!" No notes were found in the control tours. Left by Tevos.