Passport

1. Rock climbing category.
2. Alps, Mont Blanc Massif (France, Chamonix).
3. Grand Jorasses peak, Croz point 4110 m, North Face, "MANITUA" route.
4. Complexity category 6B cat. sl., (ED 3/4 according to French classification).
5. Height difference — 1140 m, route length — 1310 m, length of sections 5–6 cat. sl. — 1110 m, including 6 cat. sl. — 490 m, average steepness of the route — 73°.
6. Pitons driven:
   • rock: 92+2*/19
   • bolted: 3/3
   • protection elements: 167/24
   • holes for ice screws: 4
   • sky hooks: 21
7. Team's travel time — 46 hours. Days on the route — 3.5. Descent on the 5th day — 5 hours to Italy.
8. Overnights:
   • 1, 3 — half-lying in a bivouac sack on an inclined ledge
   • 2 — sitting in a bivouac sack. On descent — in a thunderstorm in a snow cave.
9. Participants:
   • Igolkin Viktor Ivanovich MS
   • Oleinikov Yuri Vladimirovich MS
10. Coach: Igolkin Viktor Ivanovich MS
11. Route entry: June 29, 1998. Summit: July 2, 1998. Return: July 3, 1998.
12. Organization: Alpcountry of Magnitogorsk "MGMI".

Team Coach:

Igolkin V.I.

North Face of Grand Jorasses. Ascents by teams from Alpcountry of Magnitogorsk "MGMI" in July 1998. p. Whymper 4184 m. 1st route "Directe de l'amitié" climbed by team S. Soldatov — M. Sibaev June 30 – July 4, 1998. 2nd route "No siesta" climbed by team A. Ruchkin — R. Zaitov (combined team) June 30 – July 1, 1998. p. Croz 4110 m. 3rd route "Manitua" climbed by team V. Igolkin — Yu. Oleinikov June 29 – July 2, 1998.

• Photo 1 — from the French catalog
• Photo 2 — wall after bad weather July 1–4, 1997. Taken on July 4, 1998.
• Photo 3 — wall before ascent. Taken on June 30, 1998.

Semi-profile of the North Face of Grand Jorasses on the right. 1 — Walker peak 4208 m, 2 — Whymper peak 4184 m, 3 — Croz peak 4110 m.

Grandes Jorasses N-face

Open Championship of Russia

Dates: until 9:00, 20th wedding anniversary. Rock climbing category. Route rating by difficulty levels.

I level: Grand Jorasses Massif.

1. Thru Bauer / via S. Biene and Desmaisone. Anoke Walker, R. Desmaison, January 10–17, 1973. 1100 m (route 54, photo 70, tim 1) further abbreviated as (1; 54; 70).
2. Walker Ruling Stones Bonatti Mazeaud (4; 8).
3. Whymper Peak. Directe de l'Amitie. January 19–27, 1974. 1100 m, 3 days for summer (1; 50; 71).
4. Whymper Peak. Route "No Siesta" (3; 8; 9).
5. Croz Peak. Manitua route. Maccul Les Drus. Route 150 on Grand-Pro, 3.5 ED2 (3; 9).
6. North-East couloir, direct ascent 700 m. 14–18 rue (2; 145; 87), abyss variant. 72 (3; 7).
7. North Face directissima (July 26–28, 1986, R. Cabarrow). 800 m, 30 rue (2; 146) (3; 8).
8. North Face Guides route. February 8–15, 1967 (8; 143; 89) 850 m, 2 days.

II level: Grand Jorasses. 9. Walker Spur (M. Cassina) January 24–30, 1963 (1; 53; 71) 1200 m, 16–20 hours (3; 7). 10. Walker. British route (Mr. MacIntyre, August 6–7, 1976) 1200 m, 15–20 rue (1; 52; 71) (2). 11. Croz Spur direct. Ascents 1974. (1; 49; 70) Les Droites (2; 7). 12. Route Rhem Vimal. (Possibly 2; 79; 75).

July 2. R5 (19:30)–R6–11:30. R6–R7–11:30–13:30.

June 30.

• Departure from berg — 4:30
• Approach to the monolith — 9:30 (≈12 ropes)
• Work on the monolith — 11:30–18:00 (≈3 ropes)
• Overnight on a ledge 2 ropes below. Finished early because Starov threw his piranha and was very upset.

July 1.

• Departed late due to bad weather and, accordingly, lack of acclimatization, we were in a bad mood.
• First climber started at 12:00 (from 11:00 to 12:00 rappelling through pre-placed ropes)
• Passed a difficult rope (with 3 cornices) — at 14:00
• Reached a series of ledges — at 16:00
• Passed 2 ropes under a cornice — at 19:00
• Weather is bad, water is constantly pouring from the ridge, the ledge under the cornice is very small, it's uncomfortable to sleep, so we descended 2 ropes down and spent the night.

July 2.

• Weather is very bad, got very wet, practically didn't sleep, vodka ran out, so we departed late (snow was on the slopes).
• Departure from overnight (2 ropes in a row) — 12:00.
• Started climbing — 13:00.
• Passing the cornice — 15:00
• 2 ropes on snow and mixed terrain to the bastion — 16:30
• Passing the I bastion — 19:30 (≈3 ropes) via a series of internal angles and slabs covered with snow.
• Approach to the upper bastion via a series of slabs, angles, and ridges — 21:00 (≈2 ropes)
• Passing the upper rock bastion — 23:00 (≈3 ropes) (with an internal angle on an inclined slab)
• Summit — 23:30

July 3.

• Start of descent — 00:30
• First rappel — 01:00
• Four rappels — 03:00 (two anchor stations on ice screws, 4 ropes)
• Hiding on an ice slope — 03:00–11:00
• Dug out a platform, made a canopy from a tent, and climbed through it.
• Continued descent — 12:00
• Arrived at berg — 17:30 (≥16 ropes)

Movement schedule.

• Igolkin's overnight level –5 m²: 11:30–18:00 (6.5 hours)
• Overnight on a ledge, sitting
• Departure level: approach to the monolith 4:30–9:30 (5 hours)
• Work on the monolith: 11:30–18:00 (7 hours)
• Passing the first bastion: 19:30 (≈3 ropes)
• Passing the monolith: 22:00 (≈2 ropes)
• Summit: 23:30
• Total: 11.5 hours + 7 hours + 10.5 hours = 29 hours

Analysis

• Approach to the monolith — 5 hours (12 ropes)
• Monolith — 15.5 hours (9 ropes)
• Upper section — 8.5 hours (2 last stations + 8 skill. Serv)
• Total: 29 hours
• Group's movement schedule (what we saw ourselves):
  • June 29 — 5:00–22:00 (17 hours)
  • June 30 — 8:00–23:00 (15 hours)
  • July 2 — 8:00–11:00 (3 hours) (didn't see or hear them after that)
• Total time to pass the monolith was 35 hours.
• Actually: Igolkin — 20.5 hours in worse weather (excluding approach to the wall (≈12 ropes)).
• Monolith — 30 hours
• 15.5 hours for us (2 times faster)

Tarasov and Starov are trainers of Republican category rock climbing routes for championships and Cups of Russia. They climb routes of 7A–7B category. The monolith was 80% free climbed, without using bolted pitons, and we didn't waste time digging out bolted piton ears. Starov took 5th place at the World Games in the USA in ice climbing. Having extensive experience in various climbs (rock, technical, high-altitude, winter), we couldn't be mistaken in determining the summit and descending via our chosen route. Respected judges and competition participants, we hope that our honesty and conscience are beyond doubt.

Sincerely, Tarasov S.Kh. Starov V.A.