Kichkidar-Yunom, combined, 3B

Route description:

The exit is from the Djailyk tourist camp, moving along the right (orographically) bank of the Kulumkol River past the cow shed and further along the moraines to the middle Kichkidar overnight stays near the Yunom glacier. Travel time is 2.5–3 hours. From the middle Kichkidar overnight stays:

• Up the glacier along the ridge, leaving it on the left;
• Exit via easy rocks to the saddle;
• Further up the snow-ice slope in the direction of the left gendarme of the "hare". The bergschrund under the "hare" is usually bypassed on the left. The time taken to move from the middle Kichkidar overnight stays to the left gendarme of the "hare" is 2–2.5 hours. From the left "hare", easy rocks on the pre-summit ridge lead to the summit of Kichkidar. The time taken for this section is approximately 0.5 hours. From the summit of Kichkidar, bypassing the "hares" on the right (belay!!!), move in the direction of the Yunomkara summit, keeping to the right side of the ridge (there may be cornices on the left) until the first gendarme of the three on the ridge, before the wall on the Yunomkara summit. Options for overcoming the gendarmes:

61. Yunomkara via the South-Eastern Ridge (combined route, category IIb, fig. 5, 7). Yunomkara via the South-Eastern Ridge, category IIb (M. Misher et al., August 12, 1914; S. Golubev, P. Panyutin, N. Steingoglu, August 25, 1914). From the Bashil tourist center, follow the trail on the right bank of the Bashil River to the Maly Chegem River, which is a left (orographic) tributary of Bashil. Here, turn right and ascend via steep easy rocks, then 'ram's brows' on the right bank of Maly Chegem to the right-bank moraine of the Chegem glacier. Continue along the moraine, and, bypassing the icefall on the right, reach the upper plateau of the Chegem glacier and move to its left side. On the left side of the glacier (closed crevasses), approach the saddle of the Freshfield Pass, located between the peaks of Orubashi on the left and Yunomkara on the right. Here, turn left and, crossing the snow bridge over the bergschrund, ascend the steep ice-and-snow slope, then easy and simple, destroyed and snow-covered rocks to the Freshfield Pass. The path from the "Jailyk" alpine camp (group of 4-12 people) to the initial bivouac at "Sredne-Kichkidarske overnight stays" is described in route 73. From "Sredne-Kichkidarske overnight stays":

• On the left side of the Yunom glacier (closed crevasses), approach the saddle of the Freshfield Pass, located between the peaks of Yunomkara on the left and Orubashi on the right.
• Here, turn left and ascend the ice-and-snow slope (avalanches), then snow-covered, heavily destroyed easy and simple rocks of the wide slope to the Freshfield Pass.

Passport

1. Climbing category — technical;
2. Main Caucasian Range and its spurs from Chipperazau Pass to Ortokara peak, Adyrsu-Dzhailyk spur;
3. Yunom peak, 4365 m, via the West Face;
4. Category 4A, first ascent;
5. Height difference: 500 m; Distance: 960 m; Distance of category 4-5 sections: 135 m; Average steepness of the main sections: 58°;
6. Pitons driven:

Ynom-Kichkidar, combined, 3A

Route Description

From the Ullu-Tau alpine camp, the path goes through the Djailyk alpine camp, then crosses the Kullum-Kom river via a bridge and follows a trail along the right bank up to the terminal moraine of the Yuzhny Ynom-Su glacier. The ascent to the moraine takes 1.5 hours. Follow the trail on the moraine to ascend to the glacier and reach its right (orographically) side, along which you should proceed to the so-called srednekichkidar bivouac. It takes 2 hours from the camp to the bivouac. From the bivouac, move along the right side of the Yuzhny Ynom-Su glacier to a counterfort descending from the Freshfield Pass. The pass resembles "Gates" - two rows of rocky outcrops. It takes 3 hours from the bivouac to the pass. Then, descend from the pass about 20 meters down the snowfield to the east, and then traverse left to a couloir descending from the southeast ridge of the Ynom-Kara-Tau peak. Climb out of the couloir onto the ridge on its left side. The path to the summit continues along rocky steps resembling adjacent slabs. These steps lead to a gully. Cross the gully to the right and ascend the rocks on its right side (in the direction of travel) to a saddle. The path goes along simple rocks (slabs) to the summit. The summit is a sharp ridge, about 2 meters high, with a crevice in its middle part. The ascent from the Freshfield Pass takes 2 hours. From the summit, the path follows the ridge to the end of the massif, where a descent is made down a wall (40 m rope) to a snowy saddle. Then, a large gendarme is bypassed on the left along a snowy-icy slope, and a straightforward ridge is reached. The following gendarmes ("hares") are also bypassed on the left, leading to the ridge of the "Kichkidar" peak. The summit is covered with smooth rocky slabs. Return to the "hares" gendarmes and descend to the bivouac along the Zapadny Ynom-Su glacier, keeping to the left side.