Description of the Ascent of the Northern Ridge of Kurkurek Peak in the North Chuya Range

The actual climbing route along the northern ridge of Kurkurek begins after the climbers, having left their camp, descend to the transfer base at the beginning of the Aktru gorge and then ascend through the windfalls and debris of the taiga to the foot of the peak. Although this does not relate to the climbing difficulty of the ascent, it requires a significant initial expenditure of energy from the sports group over 8–10 hours.

A bivouac, from which the ascent up the northern ridge of the peak begins, can be set up on the ridge itself. Initially, it is not difficult, starting as a steep grassy slope (1 hour's walk), followed by a gentle (25°) fine and medium talus, and then a steeper (35°) coarse quartz talus.

Further along, the ridge becomes more pronounced but remains easily passable, as its ascents are not steep, and the width of the ridge is sufficient for setting up a tent. From the river at the tongue of the Kurkurek glacier to the extremely convenient sites for an overnight stay, located directly on the ridge, it takes approximately 3 hours. The overnight stay is located about 900–1000 meters below the peak.

The path is then blocked by six more or less pronounced gendarmes composed of shale rocks.

The first three gendarmes are bypassed on the right, the fourth and fifth are climbed head-on, and the sixth is traversed on the right along a ledge at the boundary of a snowfield that steeply descends onto the Kurkurek glacier between the northern and northwestern ridges of the peak.

The time required by the group to overcome this section is 2.5 hours.

After the gendarmes, the ridge becomes purely snowy for a distance of 2 ropes and, although almost horizontal, has a very steep slope to the right (60–65°) in its upper part and cornices to the left. Movement along the cornices can lead to a fall into a short, bowl-shaped couloir. It is necessary to stay 3–4 meters to the right of the top of this snowy ridge.

The ridge leads to a steep, sheer wall, in front of which it widens into a small area where the second member of the rope team can stand to organize piton belay for the first member. The height of this gendarme, which closes the exit from the ridge, is approximately 35–40 meters, but the initial sheer part is four meters. There is no other path here except head-on.

The top of the gendarme transitions into a rocky ridge, but after 100 meters, the main ascent directly to the peak begins, representing a snowy and then icy, steep slope. The steepness of the snowy slope increases to 50° as you ascend. To the right, below it, is the edge of the slope over the ice cirque of the Kurkurek glacier.

On the first section (seven to eight ropes), movement is carried out on dense snow to a rocky patch. From it, the thickness of the snow cover begins to decrease, and for some time, organizing belay is difficult and requires hard work to clear a pit for a piton.

The time taken to overcome the path from the wall of the previously described gendarme, which closes the exit from the ridge, to the last rocky patch is 1.5 hours.

The final stage of the ascent represents the most critical part of the route:

• Over a distance of 200 meters, the icy slope with a steepness of 50° is covered with a loose 20-centimeter layer of snow not bound by ice.
• For three hours, the group ascended this slope to the peak with piton belay and step cutting.
• Only 10–15 minutes before the peak, the slope becomes less steep, and the final, more gentle step leads to the peak.

The peak itself is a vast snowy plateau, slightly sloping towards the Maashey River and steeply dropping off onto the southern ridge leading to the peak of Big Akturu.

Descent from the peak along the northwestern ridge. Movement along this ridge, which has a flat top but drops off with walls to the north and steep snows to the south, is not a difficult task. The problem is choosing a place from which a safe descent into the valley can begin.

Having traveled 5–6 kilometers along the ridge, the descent begins along the northern spur of the ridge, which limits the second glacial cirque to the west, following the Kurkurek glacier. The descent occurs in several stages:

• Initially, a very steep snowfield;
• Then, a turn to the right and descent along an equally steep and rockfall-prone rocky couloir;
• In the lower part of the couloir, there is a fine talus suitable for descent, leading to a flat, open glacier.

Further on, the path to the bivouac by the Kurkurek River goes along the moraines and presents no difficulties. The time required for the descent from the peak to the bivouac is 7 hours.

Schedule of Ascent to Kurkurek Peak from the North.

1. Approaches to the base of the northern ridge take a whole day. This should be considered when planning the ascent dates.
2. The path to overnight stays on the northern ridge from the green camp takes 3 hours, is elementary, and is traversed without being roped up.
3. Movement along the ridge directly from the overnight stay on the ridge can initially be done without being roped up, but when overcoming the 4th-6th gendarmes, being roped up is necessary. The time to approach the wall behind the first snowy ridge is 2.5 hours. Technically, the path becomes significantly more complicated, and traversing the snowy ridge requires careful execution of all techniques of alternate belay on snow.
4. Overcoming the rocky wall and reaching the top of the gendarme is a highly technical task involving piton belay (5 pitons) for the first member of the rope team. The nature of climbing on the first sections is such that in any group of climbers, there will likely be participants who will have to ascend the gendarme not only on rocks but also on a rope. Climbing is complicated by the tense state of the athlete holding onto small holds over a hopelessly steep snowy slope ending in a drop into an icy cirque. Overcoming the gendarme and approaching the last rocky patch on the slope takes 1.5 hours and should be characterized by a high degree of technical difficulty.
5. The ascent up the icy slope to the peak takes 3 hours of continuous piton work with step cutting and, from an alpinist's point of view, can best be characterized by comparison with the ascent to the ridge of North Ushba along the icy slope in a snowless year from the rocks of Nastenko.
6. The 7-hour descent from the peak along the northwestern ridge is initially elementary but then becomes tense when moving along its northern spur, both in terms of the steepness of the relief and the degree of rockfall danger from the walls of the couloir leading to the surface of the glacier. It can be assumed that the descent along the ascent path will not be more difficult than the descent made by the group.

Features of the Ascent to Kurkurek Peak from the North.

a) The absence of trails in the taiga surrounding the foot of the peak and, therefore, unproductive initial energy expenditure to reach the route; b) higher, compared to the average Caucasian, requirements for athletes of the 3rd and 2nd categories regarding the ability to overcome steep 50-degree icy slopes located over drops; c) increased rockfall danger along the path on the northern spur of the northwestern ridge, which dictates the requirement for numerous sports groups for the ascent and descent.

Author: S. Kostryulev, Bratsk, Nemtsev S.Yu. and others