TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION Approach to the "Tower" — ONLY via the large Altus couloir! From the "1860" fork — along the northern slopes of Altus into the couloir; from the "Green Hill 2300" — cross over to the left northern ridge of Altus (1 hour to the wide saddle) into the couloir. R0–R1: diagonal ascent 110 m II up to 40° left across the rocks to the ridge, followed by a 15 m descent into the saddle. R1–R2: from the saddle (with belay from the ridge) along the wall 21 m III 60° (2 pitons) and traverse along the ledges left-upward behind the spall 10 m II 45° (1 cam) ("2" — station). R2–R3: to the ledge under the cornice (hanging control cairn), 6 m II 45°, bypass the cornice from the left along the crack and slab 8 m IV avg. 60° (2 pitons) and into a shallow inner corner up to the ridge 10 m III 50° (2 pitons, 2 cams) (pull up the second for belay from "3" — station). R3–R4: to the right of the ridge traverse right-upward 20 m II+ up to 60° (4 pitons, 2 cams) to a sloping ledge under the wall ("4" — station). R4–R5: no bypass to the left! traverse down-right and up along the steep inner corner back to the ridge (up to the end of the 45 m rope) 10 m II 30°, 10 m IV 70° (2 pitons, 1 cam), 20 m II+ up to 50° (outcrops). R5–R6: diagonal traverse of rocky outcrops rightward through the "Shovel" to the right side of the northern ridge and along it (leftward are drop-offs!) to the summit 450 m I–II up to 40°. NOTE:

PHOTO # 9: Morning view of the Altus massif from the North (August 1998) PHOTO # 10: Morning view from the East on the left northern ridge of Altus (May 1998). The described route is shown by a solid line on both photographs. ASCENT DOCUMENT # 4 Class: ROCK CLIMB Region: TIEN-SHAN, Ugam ridge Peak: ALTUS Height: 3200 m (according to KTMGV-89) Route and proposed category of difficulty: via the left northern ridge of Altus 3200, 2B (rock) (A. Yusev, 1998)

ASCENT DOCUMENT ASCENT DOCUMENT

Class: Rock Climbing

Region: TIAN-SHAN, Ugam Range (7.II) Peak: ALTUS Height according to "KMGV-99": 3200 m BARS-I 3800 m First Ascent Routes and proposed difficulty categories: Via Sofia's Shelf to the eastern ridge: 3A combined Via Sofia's Shelf to the western ridge: 3B combined

Ascent Log

1. ASCENT TYPE — ROCK CLIMB
2. ASCENT AREA — UGAM RANGE
3. PEAK "ALTUS" (3200), NORTH RIDGE
4. DIFFICULTY CATEGORY — 3B
5. ELEVATION GAIN — 700 m
6. NUMBER OF ROCK ANCHORS — 21
7. TOTAL CLIMBING TIME — 12 hours
8. TEAM MEMBERS:
   1. RAFIKOV SH.R. — 2nd sports category

ALTUS ZAPADNYI 3090 m via western ridge, cat. dif. ASANOV B.Zh., 2009
prom_alp3@mail.ru 7.11 — Tian-Shan, Ugam ridge

Report

on ascending the western ridge of mt. ALTUS (7.11 — Western Tian-Shan, Ugam ridge), made by the group of alpinada "SAIRAM — 2009" (opened by Mountaineering Federation of South Kazakhstan region)

Annex 1: ASCENT FILE

1. Ugam ridge, Sairam-Su river valley (7.11)
2. Altus Zapadnyi 3090 m via western ridge X)

32

Description

Traversing the peak KOPTAU (4100 m) No. 2. (First ascent). Departure from the bivouac, located by the lake, at dawn, at 5 or 5:30 am, but no later. Immediately behind the lake, the ascent of the terminal moraine of the ancient glacier begins (height 40–50 m); keeping to the right side, we ascend a few more gentle and small ascents and exit to the middle talus. To our left will be two slabs. One rises above the other by 1.5–2 m, the slabs are smoothed to 30° steepness. If there is snow on the slabs, they can be passed, if they are without snow, it is better to bypass them on the fairly small talus to the right (downhill). On the talus to the right, we ascend above the gorge, which is exposed to rockfall from the very early morning. Then, keeping to the right side, we head towards the false saddle. The path goes along a fairly steep snowfield (45–50 degrees). To our left remains a long ridge leading to the summit. When we come level with the beginning of the ridge, we need to climb steeply to the left to the foot of the ridge. Its northwest wall is completely sheer, with no snow or loose rocks, and under it is fairly dense deep snow. Until now, in most cases, the snow lies on the slabs, and when traversing in the lower part, it is possible to get caught in an avalanche. The entire path to the foot of the ridge will take one and a half to two hours. Then, keeping at a distance of 30–50 meters from the ridge on the snowfield, we ascend to the imaginary saddle, which is visible as two patches of talus. We need to exit to the left part between the talus and the ridge. This section of the path will take another hour and a half.

PASSPORT

1. Class — rock climbing
2. Western Tian Shan, Ugam Ridge.
3. Ascent of peak "4200" via the North Edge, first ascent.
4. Proposed category of difficulty: 5B.
5. Height difference: 720 m, route length: 960 m, of which 5–6 category of difficulty: 420 m, average steepness of the main part of the route — 60°.
6. Pitons used: | Rock | Bolt | Nuts | Ice screws | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 60 | — | 25 | — |

Ascent Passport

I. Ascent class: rock 2. Ascent area - Western Tian-Shan Ugam ridge 3. Peak, its height, and ascent route "Kyzylbash" - 4200 m NE ridge 4. Expected difficulty category 5A 5. Route characteristics: height difference 1050 m average steepness 62° length of sections 5-6 cat. diff. 320 m 6. Pitons hammered:

I. Rock class. 2. Western Tian-Shan, Ugam ridge, "Sairam" gorge. 3. "4200" peak, via the North-Eastern wall. 4. Proposed - 6B cat. of difficulty, first ascent. 5. Height difference - 870 m, length - 1080 m. The length of sections with 5B-6B cat. of difficulty - 750 m, of which 5B-6B cat. of difficulty - 680 m. The average steepness of the main sections - 80°, of which 6B cat. of difficulty - 312 m (3230–3365), (3560–3610), (3650–3730). 6. Pitons driven:

ASCENT DOCUMENT

1. Ascent type: rock climbing
2. Ascent area: Western Tian-Shan, Ugam ridge
3. Peak, its height, and ascent route: «Kyzylbash» — 4200 m via the center of the NE face
4. Estimated difficulty category: 5B
5. Route characteristics:
   • Height difference: 820 m
   • Average steepness: 84°
   • Length of sections: R1 45 m, R2 450 m, R3 315 m
6. Pitons hammered in: