REPORT ON THE FIRST ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF PIK GIMNAZISTOV (1933 m) VIA THE SOUTHEAST RIDGE ROUTE, CATEGORY 3B, BY THE "UAL" TEAM ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
I. Ascent Passport
| № | 1. General Information | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Full Name, sports rank of the leader | Egorov Yuri — CMS |
| 1.2 | Full Name, sports rank of participants | Pervushkin Egor — 3rd sports rank. Tikhonov Nikolai — 3rd sports rank. Esenin Alexander — 3rd sports rank. |
| 1.3 | Full Name of the coach | Yakovenko Alexander Nikolaevich |
| 1.4 | Organization | Management of Alpine Camps (UAL) |
| 2. Characteristics of the Ascent Object | ||
| 2.1 | Region | Magadan region, Yagodninsky district. Upper Kolyma Highlands, Bolshikh Porogov Ridge |
| 2.2 | Valley | Tok |
| 2.3 | Number according to the 2013 classification table | - |
| 2.4 | Name and height of the summit | Gimnazistov, 1933 m |
| 2.5 | Geographical coordinates of the summit (latitude/longitude), GPS coordinates | N 61° 47.458′, E 150° 27.050′ |
| 3. Characteristics of the Route | ||
| 3.1 | Name of the route | Via the southeast ridge |
| 3.2 | Proposed category of difficulty | 3B |
| 3.3 | Degree of route exploration | First ascent |
| 3.4 | Nature of the route terrain | Rocky |
| 3.5 | Height difference of the route (altimeter or GPS data) | 433 m |
| 3.6 | Route length | 1065 m |
| 3.7 | Technical elements of the route (total length of sections of various difficulty categories with indication of terrain type (ice-snow, rocky)) | 1st cat. rocky — 470 m |
| 2nd cat. rocky — 210 m | ||
| 3rd cat. rocky — 240 m | ||
| 4th cat. rocky — 145 m | ||
| Movement on closed glacier — 0 m | ||
| :--: | :--: | :--: |
| Rappelling on descent — 2 ropes of 60 m | ||
| 3.8 | Descent from the summit | Down the SE grassy slope, easy |
| 3.9 | Additional route characteristics | No water throughout the route. Must be taken with you. |
| 4. Characteristics of the Team's Actions | ||
| 4.1 | Time of movement (team's walking hours) | 10 h 40 min |
| 4.2 | Overnight stays | no |
| 4.3 | Start of the route | 6:30 on September 1, 2023 |
| 4.4 | Reaching the summit | 15:05 on September 1, 2023 |
| 4.5 | Return to base camp | 17:10 on September 1, 2023 |
| 5. Person Responsible for the Report | ||
| 5.1 | Full Name, e-mail | Tikhonov Nikolai Alexandrovich n9623551166@gmail.com |
II. Description of the Ascent
1. Characteristics of the Ascent Object
1.1–1.3 The most elevated part of the Bolshikh Porogov Ridge is located on the right bank of the Kolyma River, where peaks exceed 2000 m. The highest point is Gora Bolshoy Mandychan, 2221 m high. Other notable peaks include:
- Maly Mandychan (1973 m)
- Strashnaya (1999 m)
To the northwest, the ridge adjoins the Uaza-Ina mountains. Its eastern slopes are drained by tributaries of the Bakhapcha River, while its western and southern parts are bounded by the Kongo and Bolshoy Mandychan rivers.
The highlands of the ridge have been subject to glacial processing. Common features include:
- cirques and glacial lakes,
- U-shaped valleys,
- glacial lakes,
- narrow ridges and arêtes.
The ridge is completely uninhabited. To the northeast lies the settlement of Sinegorye, connected by road to the Kolyma Highway. To the west, 50–60 km beyond the Obninskaya Ridge, lies the settlement of Obo, with road connections to Ust-Omchug on the Tenka Highway.
The Pik Gimnazistov summit is located northeast of the mouth of the Tok River.
Figure 1 presents a general photo of the summit with the route taken by the team marked on it. There are no classified routes in the immediate vicinity. Named peaks are absent. The summit that was ascended is marked on the map as 1933.1 m.
1.4 Region of ascent:
- Magadan region
- Yagodninsky district
- Upper Kolyma Highlands
- Bolshikh Porogov Ridge
A map of the region is shown in Figure 2. This is part of the P-56-073,074_1990 topographic map sheet. Link to the map https://cloud.mail.ru/public/ukzq/J2SPpp9CR/P-56/P-56-073%2C074_1990.tif↗
The time from the nearest settlement, Ust-Omchug, to the base camp is composed of several parts:
- 130 km by high-clearance vehicle to the Mars artel — about 7 hours;
- 18 km on foot under backpack — two days (7 hours on the first day and 5 hours on the second), passing near Lake Gagar and crossing Maly Mandychan.
The approach from the base camp (overnight stay 3 in Figure 2) to the start of the route takes 1.5 hours.
Figure 1. General photo of Pik Gimnazistov. August 29, 2023. Photo taken from the ridge of the same valley west of the Tok River.
Figure 2. Map of the region, scale 1:100 000. 1992 edition.
2. Characteristics of the Route
2.1. Technical Photograph of the Route
Figure 3. Technical photograph of the route.
2.3. Technical Characteristics of the Route
| Section № | Terrain type | Category of difficulty | Length, m | Steepness | Type and number of anchors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R0–R1 | Rocky | 3 | 80 | 60–70 | Friend — 5, Nuts — 2 |
| R1–R2 | Rocky ridge | 1 | 350 | 30–40 | Friend — 3 |
| R2–R3 | Rocky wall | 3 | 30 | 70 | Loop — 1 |
| R3–R4 | Rocky ridge, inclined grassy ledge | 2 | 160 | 45 | Friend — 5 |
| R4–R5 | Crevice, internal corner | 3 | 50 | 55–60 | Friend — 2 |
| R5–R6 | Traverse across rocky terrain | 4 | 100 | 50 | Friend — 5, Loop — 2 |
| R6–R7 | Rocky ridge | 1 | 120 | 30 | Natural protection |
| R7–R8 | Rocky wall | 3 | 80 | 65 | Friend — 4, Nuts — 3 |
| R8–R9 | Rocky ledge | 2 | 50 | 10 | Natural protection |
| R9–R10 | Traverse across rocky terrain | 4 | 45 | 75 | Friend — 5, Loop — 1 |
3. Characteristics of the Team's Actions
3.1. Brief Description of the Route Passage
| Section № | Description | Photo № |
|---|---|---|
| R0–R1 | Start of the route to the left of the ridge with a convenient ledge. Marked by a cairn. Climbing consists of two sections, 3, 15, and 12 m, respectively, to reach the ridge. Simultaneous protection. | Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 |
| R1–R2 | Passage along the ridge for 150 m. Simultaneous protection. | Fig. 7, Fig. 8 |
| R2–R3 | Wall-descent 12 m, 3. Belay station on a rock using the main rope. Alternate protection. | Fig. 9 |
| R3–R4 | Traverse on friction for 10 m, 3 (protection on the section is alternate, belay station on a rock using the main rope) until returning to the pedestrian part of the ridge. | Fig. 10, Fig. 11 |
| R4–R5 | Bypassing the ridge to the left above the trail leading to the pass. Wall 14 m, 3. Simultaneous protection. | Fig. 12 |
| R5–R6 | Traverse 50 m of stones to the right, 4. Belay station made from the main rope on a rock. Protection on Friends. Alternate protection. 100 m. Reaching the control cairn. | Fig. 13, Fig. 14, Fig. 15 |
| R6–R7 | Move towards the summit, descend to the pass, and approach the start of the climbing section — a crevice. 120 m. | Fig. 16 |
| R7–R8 | Move up the crevice. For protection, Nuts and Friends work well. Climbing is pleasant; in good weather, it's ideal to climb on friction. 80 m with a belay station on Friends approximately in the middle, 3. Alternate protection until reaching a large ledge. | Fig. 17, Fig. 18 |
| R8–R9 | From the ledge, a pedestrian traverse to the right along the ledge for the length of the rope. 50 m, 2. | Fig. 19 |
| R9–R10 | The key section of the route. Traverse on friction. 45 m, 4. During the traverse, you'll want to use protection. The most convenient is to use Friends. For intermediate points, it's good to have 3–4 pieces of medium and slightly larger sizes. | Fig. 20, Fig. 21 |
Figure 4. Start of the route R0. Control cairn.
3.3. Assessment of Route Safety
The route is recommended for passage by training groups. The approach to the start of the route from the camp takes about 1.5 hours. The route is ridge-like with good climbing and a logical line to the summit. Every 50 m, or sometimes more frequently, there are convenient places to set up a belay station where several people can gather.
The start of the route to the left of the ridge is marked by a control cairn. After the traverse section, upon reaching the pass, there is another control cairn. To the right of it is the route to Pik UAL, and to the left is the continuation of the route to Pik Gimnazistov.
Almost the entire ridge part of the route is visible from the base camp, and radio reception is reliable; cellular communication is absent.
Water supplies can be replenished 100 meters before the start of the route. It can be found by characteristic depressions in the soil layer in thawed sections of permafrost.
Recommendation for future climbers: Friends and Nuts work well. The sole of the boots should have good grip, as there are sections that require "friction" climbing. The presence of fungal colonies on the rock makes the stones extremely slippery when wet.
On the descent, trekking poles may be useful — they add confidence and speed to the descent, as the grass can be very slippery. The descent begins from the summit. Two rappels of 60 m. Then down to the pass, followed by a descent down the SE grassy slope to the approach trail.
This route was completed on September 1, 2023. Throughout the route, specifically on sections R0–R10, there were no signs of human activity. We did not encounter any pre-existing cairn, trash, or abandoned climbing gear along the way, which suggests that we climbed a new route on an unknown summit.
No well-built after reaching the summit. We left our own and headed down.
Based on the objective complexity of the technical section of the route to the new summit "Pik Gimnazistov" via the southeast ridge and comparing it with other routes completed by the team, we propose categorizing it as 3B.