Fig. 20

2. Traverse of Белала-кай from the North — Category 3B difficulty (Fig. 20)

From Медвежья поляна upwards — to the right towards the rocky ridge, then along the grassy slopes and through the stream along the grassy couloir to the bivouac site. From Домбайская поляна — 4 hours.

From the bivouac:

• to the right — upwards through the scree to the snowfield (in teams) and 100–120 m below the northern edge to a narrow shelf ( крюк! );
• then traverse to the left — upwards for 30–35 m (2–3 крюк! );
• then to the right — upwards along the steep rocks to the second wall;
• along the wall straight up, then up — to the left along the broken rocks (hook belay! ) and along the easy rocks to the exit to the «пальцы» behind the large gendarme (control cairn! );
• from «пальцы» along the ridge to the shelf;
• along the shelf to the left of the wall to the exit to the pre-summit tower, which can be overcome directly or bypassed from the left with an exit via the couloir (rockfall hazard! );
• exit via the couloir on the left or right side (hook belay! ) to the rocks and along the snowy ridge to the summit.

From the bivouac — 6–7 hours.

Descent along the southern ridge via the route for the category.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. The number of participants in the group — no more than 6 people.
2. Initial bivouac — on the grassy slopes under the контрфорс.
3. Departure time from the bivouac — no later than 5:00 am.
4. Special equipment for a group of 4 people: a) main rope 2 × 30 m; b) expendable репшнур — 2 m; c) rock hooks — 8–10; d) rock hammers — 2; e) carabiners — 8–10.
5. Possible bivouac locations: 1st — on the summit; 2nd — on descent before the third gendarme; 3rd — on Белалакайский перевал.