New route in Crimea on g. Treугольник — «Sokolinaya okhota» 4А
First ascent 2013: Dmitriy Lesnoy, Viktor Reyzner (Kherson)
About the route «Sokolinaya okhota» 4А (preliminary).
The route is located to the right of the bastion, where the route "Gendalf Seryy" 4А is laid. The upper large part of the route passes along a not ярко expressed ridge. It was expected to be 2А–3А, but it turned out to be more difficult due to several sections of 6а–6а+ at the beginning.
The entire route was climbed freely, with free climbing. The relief is generally monolithic, there were not many loose rocks, and those we removed from the wall, so it is now not prone to rockfall.
In two places, we had to approach trees through a couple of meters of lush vegetation (R1 and R6), a first ascent, after all. The line of the route is logical, it goes exactly where you want to go.
The main difficulties are at the beginning, on the 1st and 2nd ropes. All stations are on trees; we didn't drill bolt holes, only hammered in 1 piton when transitioning to the right after R1, because there was nothing to place there.
About the name
On the 6th rope, while leading, I heard desperate cries of birds above. Deciding that the falcons were возмущались at our approach, I began to calm them down aloud and promised that we wouldn't touch anything. After a few seconds, they approached, and I realized that two falcons were hunting a smaller bird, which was crying. And right in front of me, at a distance of about eight meters in the air, a scene unfolded that I had only seen in documentaries:
- One of the falcons caught up with the prey and grabbed it with its claws right in front of me.
- After flying another 10 meters to the side, it released it again.
- It seems they were playing, taking turns catching the prey, like cats with mice.
Impressive. We didn't think long about the name of the route that evening.
New route in Crimea on g. Treугольник — «Sokolinaya okhota» 4А
Approach
Go as close as possible to the mountain along the quarry, then turn left. Then, along the scree, along the wall, left and up. Find a trail and continue through the forest between the wall on the right and individual rocks on the left.
Opposite the center of the main wall, there is:
- a fire pit
- a place for a tent
Continue through the forest along the wall. Beyond the forest, an scree goes up and to the right; we need to go along it, past the solitary large pines. Reach the place where the wall is slightly concave. The route begins at the crack under the large pine growing on the wall 15 meters up. It's better to start belaying from below, to the right.
General view of the route «Sokolinaya okhota» 4А
Technical description of the route
R0–R1. V cat. sl. 25 m: (10 m — bouldering; 15 m — V), max. 6a+. Approach the crack and go up the right crack. Don't try to go into the flake on the left, it's more difficult. When a crack appears on the right, towards the bush, it's better to stick to the rib in the center. There's protection, but the climbing is tense. Station on a large pine, it's better to exit to it from the left.
R1–R2. IV cat. sl. 50 m: (30 m — III; 10 m — IV; 10 m — V), max. 6a. On R1, it's better to anticipate the possibility of extending the station if necessary by 1–2 m — leave a couple of loops for the belayer.
Traverse to the right to the piton, then up and to the right along inclined slabs for about 30 meters. Then up, under the overhang, to small "hourglasses", then further to the right and up to the "podkhaty" where a small friend fits.
Now, a difficult exit to the left and up to the stationary tree. You need to find a good hold with your left hand, it's not visible from below. As soon as you grab it with your right hand, confidently move to the tree.
50 m rope is just enough, but barely.
R2–R3. IV cat. sl. 45 m. Direction is up, towards a good pine, at the end of the rope, transition to the left to a tree-bush.
R3–R4. cat. sl. 3Б. 45 m. Left and up, in the direction of a large oak, then further to a small but reliable tree.
R4–R5. cat. sl. 3Б. 45 m. From here, a not ярко expressed ridge begins, going all the way to the yayla. Move to the left, onto its left edge, and up to a tree.
R5–R6. cat. sl. 2Б, 50 m. Up to a large, beautiful tree. R6–R7. cat. sl. 3Б, 45 m. Go around the large, branching tree on the left, dive under its pleasant branches. Then up, along interesting, wedged blocks. After 30 meters, a ledge goes off to the right; don't go there, or you'll have to climb 8 meters of fifth category to get back onto the ridge. We continue along the edge to a tree.
R7–R8. cat. sl. 3Б, 45 m. Further along the ridge, in the direction of a tree, then onto the yayla through a branching tree; it's better to pass it on the right. Station on a tree, 5 meters onto the yayla.
General recommendations
We managed with a usual set of gear for 3-4s:
- stoppers
- friends
- 12 quickdraws
- 5-7 loops
You can leave the hammer and pitons behind, but decide for yourself — in some complex places, you can hammer one in; we didn't need to. Overall, the route is a bit more tense than a usual 3, mainly due to the somewhat complex psychological climbing on the first two ropes. It's better if the person who has already climbed fifth-category ropes leads them. In general, if you want to climb an interesting route in an exotic location and watch falcon hunting, welcome.
By the way, until 11:00 AM, the wall is in shade — that's important in the summer. The first ascent took 8 hours.
Author of the description: Dmitriy Lesnoy (Kherson)