Alpinism Federation of Russia

Report

on the ascent to the 2nd tower of Sella (II Torre del Sella, 2598 m) in the Dolomites (Italy) via the north-west ridge (route "Kasnapoff / Zelger", NW Ridge) category 4B, presumably the first Russian ascent, by the team of alpinist club "Bars" (Saint-Petersburg) on August 8, 2010.

Leader: Vorobyev K.P. Participant: Kruglikov O.E. Team coach: Semiletkin S.A.

Saint-Petersburg, 2010

Ascent Passport

Ascent area: Dolomites (Italy), Val di Fassa, Sella group
Peak name: 2nd tower of Sella (II Torre del Sella, 2598 m) Route name: via North-West Ridge (route "Kasnapoff / Zelger", "Каснапов/Зельгер").
Proposed category — 4B, presumably the first Russian ascent.
Route type: rock climbing
Route elevation gain: 250 m

Route length: 390 m. Section lengths by category: category 2 — 50 m, category 3 — 85 m, category 4 — 95 m, category 5 — 160 m. Average steepness: main part — 75°, entire route — 70°
Number of pitons and protection used on the route: total — 51, including pitons (previously hammered) — 15, bolts — 0.
Team's total climbing time: 6.5 hours
Descent from the summit: via category 2B (presumably) to the pass between the 1st and 2nd towers of Sella and then rappelling to the start of the route
Leader: Vorobyev Konstantin Pavlovich, 1st sports category

Participant: Kruglikov Oleg Evgenyevich, 1st sports category
Coach: Semiletkin Sergey Alekseyevich, Master of Sports, instructor category III
Start of the route: at 7:00, August 8, 2010

Summit reached: at 13:30, August 8, 2010. Return to base camp: at 15:30, August 8, 2010
Organization: Saint-Petersburg, FASL, alpinist club "Bars" SPSU
Responsible for the report — Vorobyev Konstantin Pavlovich (konstantin.vorobyev@gmail.com)

Fig. 1. General view of the first, second, and third towers of Sella (taken from the slopes of Sassolunga on August 3, 2010)

— The route climbed by the team is marked in red — Nearby routes from the "Route Classifier for Mountain Peaks" are marked in yellow

Fig. 2. Route profile from the left (taken from the approaches to the towers of Sella on August 3, 2010)

— The route climbed by the team is marked in red

Fig. 3. Route profile from the right (taken west of Sella pass on August 3, 2010). The route climbed by the team is marked in red

Fig. 4. Panoramic view of the area (taken from the approach on July 26, 2010)

Fig. 5. Map of the ascent area

Fig. 6. Route diagram using UIAA symbols

Note: loops are mostly "hourglasses"

Fig. 7. Technical photograph of the route (taken from the approaches to the towers of Sella on August 3, 2010)

Brief description of the route

Ascent

Section R0–R1. From the memorial plaque at the base of the north wall, ascend 40 m up and to the right through broken rocks and small couloirs (moderate climbing difficulty) to a horizontal ledge leading to the northwest ridge; belay station.

Section R1–R2. Ascend 50 m up monolithic rocks with a complex system of cracks (very difficult climbing) to a ledge at the base of a large couloir; belay station.

Section R2–R3. Ascend 50 m up a deep couloir with smooth walls and steep, broken inner corners (difficult climbing).

— Approximately halfway up the couloir is a belay station.

Section R3–R4. Ascend 40 m up a crack branching off to the right in monolithic rocks (very difficult climbing), overcoming "sheep's foreheads" to a large intermediate ledge; belay station.

Section R4–R5. From the ledge, ascend 50 m up couloirs and closed cracks (difficult climbing) up and to the right to a small ledge at the base of a couloir with an overhanging cornice; belay station.

Section R5–R6. From the ledge, overcome the cornice and ascend 30 m (very difficult climbing) up a closed crack to a small cornice, then move left and up 10 m through monolithic rocks to a large round ledge; belay station.

Section R6–R7. Ascend 50 m up broken rocks (moderate climbing difficulty) to a ledge below the summit tower; belay station.

Section R7–R8. From the ledge, follow easy, heavily broken rocks on the summit ridge to the summit.

Descent

From the summit, rappel 15 m down a couloir to a ledge below the summit tower on the northeast ridge. From here, descend via easy rocks, bypassing the rock massif of the northeast ridge on the left, to the saddle between the second and third towers of Sella.

From this point, descend via well-marked belay stations with four 50-meter rappels down the north wall of the second tower of Sella to the trail at the foot of the north wall, leading to Sella pass.

Route classification

The route is classified as category 4B based on the following:

Section lengths: category 4B — 95 m, category 5B — 160 m.
Route steepness: main part — 75°, entire route — 70°
Comparison with similar routes. According to S.A. Semiletkin, who climbed this route later, it is not less complex and lengthy than routes like Erydag (5A), Domashnaya (in Aksu, 5A), Yellow Wall (5A) in Karavshin, or Mendeleevets (5A) in Terskey Ala-Too.
The route features pitons (not bolts!) left by previous climbers, mostly at belay stations and old ones that need to be reinforced. However, their number is significantly less than in the Crimean mountains, and even on "sixes" like Chatyna via Myshlyaev.

Again, the area cannot be compared to Crimea, where conditions are generally comfortable for climbing during warm weather. It's more similar to the Erydag area, with changeable weather and the possibility of loose snow (see the following photo).

Considering that it's less complex than the 5A route to the 3rd tower of Sella and that the complexity of classified Russian routes in the Dolomites is generally underestimated (no 2A routes with overhanging sections were found within the CIS!), the team requests that the route be classified as category 4B.