Ascent Passport

1. Ascent area: Kamchatka. Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes.
2. Summit name: Klyuchevskoy volcano 4750 m. North slope.
3. Proposed category: 2B.
4. Route type: combined.
5. Elevation gain: 3000 m.
6. Route length: 4.5 km.
7. Average slope: 40°.
8. Total climbing time: 16 hours.

Ascending the summit of Klyuchevskaya Sopka from the west 2A cat. difficulty

Description

Klyuchevskoy volcano is the largest active volcano in Asia and the highest point in the RSFSR. Its height is 4750 m. The volcano has a regular conical shape with slopes of 35–40°. This volcano is still actively erupting. If you reach the summit during weak emissions from the vent, you can stay there overnight and witness an amazing spectacle. Above the crater, there is a fiery glow and fountains of sparks. The crater walls are 350–400 m high. To the north, the height decreases to 200 m. There are cracks along the entire perimeter of the crater:

• From the north, the crack reaches the bottom of the crater.
• You can enter the crater through the northern crack, but it involves certain risks. On the southern side, there is a crack with a depth of up to 25 m. On its left slope is the highest point of the summit — along the ascent route, there is a cairn with a note and an ice axe driven in. The ascent to Klyuchevskoy volcano is technically not difficult, but due to frequent and prolonged rockfalls, it requires great attention. The entire ascent must be done in teams with simultaneous belaying.

1. Approach to the starting point of the ascent

Characteristics of the Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes, geographical location.

The Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes includes the highest volcanoes of Kamchatka and the most powerful glaciers of Erman and Bogdanovich. The most significant volcanoes of the group:

• The highest and most active volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka.
• The most technically challenging is the Kamien volcano.
• The largest in terms of glaciation area with a powerful ice dome is Plosky Dalniy (Ushkovsky) volcano. Its crater, with a depth of over 200 m, is filled with ice. Inside the crater, there is an ice cave approximately 1000 m long. The Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes is located in the center of Kamchatka, 500 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The nearest settlements are Kozyrevsk and Klyuchi, located 60 and 40 km away. However, there are no roads to the volcanoes even from these settlements. By a high-clearance vehicle, one can only reach the forest zone boundary; beyond that, the journey continues on foot. Approaches to the start of the routes take 2 to 4 days. The only means that allows quick access to the foot of the volcanoes remains the helicopter. Many alpinist routes of 2A–4B category of difficulty have been traversed in this area.