Ascent Log

1. Ascent class — high-altitude and technical.
2. Ascent area — Matcha node, Turkestan Ridge.
3. Summit — peak Mushketova, height — 5300 m, ascent route via the center of the northwest wall.
4. Proposed difficulty category — 5B.
5. Route characteristics: a) height difference — 1900 m; b) length of sections with 5–6 difficulty category — 930 m; c) average steepness (sections 1–32) — 73°, (sections 32–46) — 50°.
6. Number of pitons hammered for protection:

Description

of the ascent route to the "Yuzhnaya Matcha" peak via the ridge from Matcha Pass. Group composition: Zhelonkin E.F. (leader), Egorov L.A., Pavlovsky E.S., Sofronov I.D. The double-peaked Matcha summit is located in the Turkestan Range, north of Matcha Pass. It rises 600 meters above the pass. Its height is approximately 4600 meters. North of the Matcha peaks, conditionally referred to as "Yuzhnaya Matcha" and "Severnaya Matcha", lies a three-peaked summit in the Turkestan Range, followed by the Kshemysh-bashi peak. The ascent route to "Yuzhnaya Matcha" peak chosen was the climb along the ridge from Matcha Pass. A group of alpinists from Arzamas-16, consisting of Zhelonkin E.F. (leader), Egorov L.A., Pavlovsky E.S., Sofronov I.D., left the base camp at Matcha Pass on July 18 at 8:00 and reached the summit by 13:00. The group returned to the base camp by 17:00 the same day. The path to the summit from Matcha Pass follows a heavily serrated ridge, where 4 major pinnacles can be conditionally identified, although there are many other pinnacles ranging from fairly large to individual needles. The route is purely rock (July 1969). There's a lot of climbing on severely deteriorated rocks of moderate difficulty. The first pinnacle is bypassed on the left via scree and snow. The second pinnacle is climbed on its left part via inclined smooth slabs. Here, piton protection is necessary. The third pinnacle is climbed on its left part.

Photo 1. View of Severnaia Matcha and Yuzhnaia Matcha from the upper reaches of the Zeravshan glacier.

Description of the ascent route to the summit Severnaia Matcha 4500 m via the southern edge (first ascent)

Group composition:

1. Rudnev V. S. — leader.
2. Melnikova R. N.
3. Zhgilev A. V.
4. Pinaev V. S. The Matcha peak 4500 m is located in the upper reaches of the Zeravshan glacier (Pamiro-Alai) in the Turkestan Range, north of the eponymous pass, and is actually two peaks, conditionally named Severnaia Matcha and Yuzhnaia Matcha (see photo 1), separated by a wide snow col. A wide snow couloir descends from the col to the glacier, making an ascent possible. The height of Severnaia Matcha, the higher of the two peaks, is determined with an accuracy of ±30 m. The absence of a cairn and other signs of human presence on the northern peak allows us to classify this ascent as a first ascent. The group of Arzamas 16, consisting of: Rudnev V. S. — leader, Melnikova R. N., Zhgilev A. V., Pinaev V. S. — members, made the first ascent to the peak Severnaia Matcha via the southern edge on July 18, 1969. The group left the base camp at the Matcha pass at 3:00, reached the summit at 8:00, and returned to the bivouac at 10:30 on the same day.

1. Class of ascent — traverse
2. Area of ascent — Pamir-Alay, Turkestan Range
3. Route of ascent — Kshemyysh — 5282 m (via N. buttress), Mushketova Southern — 5200 m, Mushketova Northern — 5150 m, Mushketova Predvershinnaya — 5019 m, Shchurovsky Malyy — 5100 m, Muztash — 5100 m, Kharsang — 4800 m, Fedchenko — 5409 m.
4. Characteristics of ascent:
   • height difference of the N. buttress — 570 m
   • average steepness of the N. buttress — 55–58°
   • length of difficult sections
     • 5 km cat. dif. — 2318 m
     • 5–6 km cat. dif. — 222 m
     • 6 km cat. dif. — 34 m

Passport

of the ascent made in the USSR Alpine Championship 1973 Class of ascent technically complex Region of ascent Pamir Matinsky mountain gorge Ascent route: Kshemysh (5300 m) via the north face Characteristics of the ascent: height difference 1700 m, average steepness 80°. Length of complex sections 1700 m (height difference 1610 m, steepness 84%). Number of pitons: rock 209, ice 22, bolted 1 Number of climbing hours: 76 h Number of bivouacs: five (without rest day) and in them: lying 1, sitting 4 Team name:

1. Solonnikov Viktor Aleksandrovich — MS, captain, coach
2. Antonov Dmitry Igorevich, MS, participant

21 TC-6

USSR Alpine Championship 1973

Kshmysch via North Face

Report on the Ascent by the Leningrad City Committee for Physical Culture and Sports

Brief Geographical Description and Sporting Characteristics of the Route

Kshmysch peak, 5300 m, is one of the highest peaks in the Matcha mountain cluster. It is located almost in the center of the Turkestan ridge between the peaks "25 лет ПНР" and Mushketov, and naturally closes the Kshmysch river gorge. The simplest path to the summit is via the Ivanov pass along the northeast ridge, category 4B. To the north, the massif drops off in an almost sheer wall with a height difference of 1800 m. The wall has significant glaciation. The rocks are heavily weathered. The possibility of traversing this wall, the main alpinist object in the area, is problematic due to both the high technical difficulty and the complexity of choosing a safe route (the wall is exposed to rockfall). In 1972, a team from Novosibirsk attempted to traverse the wall but managed to pass only a small part of the lower bastion before being forced to descend (see photo 1).

Arzamas City Council of Physical Education and Sports Description of the ascent route to Peak Kshemysh Bashi with ascent via the western wall of the southwestern buttress (first ascent) Group composition:

• ORLOV N.I. — leader
• DAVYDOV A.P.
• EGOROV L.A.
• MALYKHIN Y.M.
• RUDNEV V.S.

A large snowy ascent. Further, I, 5–2 ropes along a 60–70° snowy slope with an exit left onto rocks. There is a bivouac site here. You can set up I–II tents, after roughly processing the thawing ice that creeps onto the rocks. From the bivouac on the Northeast buttress — 9–12 hours. Along the 30–35° snowy ridge — two ropes until exiting onto heavily destroyed simple rocks, leading through 30–40 m onto the ridge, which is a continuation of the Southeast buttress of the summit. Further movement along the ridge involves overcoming a small "ryzhyi mandar" head-on or bypassing it on the left with an exit in 40 m under a 30-meter wall. The wall is overcome via an internal corner with frozen rocks (rock pitons). The exit onto the wall on the right is less convenient due to cornices on the rocks. After overcoming the wall, a sharp rocky ridge exits under a large rectangular "mandari" rock. The "mandari" is bypassed on the right (I rope) with piton protection. Further movement (4.45 ropes) along the ridge with good monolithic rocks and cornices on the right until the pre-summit. The pre-summit plateau is convenient for an overnight stay. From the pre-summit to the summit, there are 100 m practically without any ascent (be cautious, with cornices on the right). The exit onto the summit, which is a large cornice, is along the visible line of rocks on the left in the direction of travel. The summit tour is arranged between two large monolithic rocks in the western part of the summit. Ascent time:

• From the bivouac site on the rocks under the southeast buttress — 5–7 hours.
• Descent from the summit via the ascent route — 12–14 hours.

From the overnight stay 3–4 ropes along the snowy slope of the gully, separated from the main slope by a section of rocky ridge. One rope on a 35° snowy slope along the gully, then exit to rocks (belay via ice axe). On the ridge, movement along the ledge on the left with piton belay at the beginning of the path! (after one rope of difficult rocks — exit back to snow). 40 m along the snowy ridge — exit to difficult rocks: chimneys 40–50° (in the upper part of the chimney — yellow rocks). The chimney is traversed with thorough piton belay. After the chimney, one rope of easy rocks with a 20-meter slab, then broken, snow-covered rocks and a gully with flowstone ice and loose stones. Belay is difficult to organize. Above the gully:

• 2–3 ropes of the path upwards along the snowy (in the upper part — icy) ridge;
• exit to the junction of the northeastern counterfort and the eastern edge. Exit to the eastern edge:
• 20 m of steps with chopping;
• belay via ice and rocky outcrops;
• from the overnight stay — 4–6 hours. Through the breaches and destructions of the eastern edge (cornice), one rope to the entrance to the gully formed by the rocks of the southeastern counterfort and the eastern edge.

3. Kshemish-Bashi (5230 m) — Ivanov Pass 45 km

July 22-25, 1969. L.A. Bolyaev, D.I. Morodorov, Z.O. Panomov, S.A. Ilyalg, L.N. Vyacheslavov, A.S. Mordekov The route starts from Ivanov Pass, connecting Kshemish glacier with Ak-Terek river valley. The ascent to the pass from the assault camp takes 1-1.5 hours and corresponds to approximately 25 km; snow up to 35°, ice in places. From Ivanov Pass, move along the boundary of rocks and snow, into the left part of the glacier, descending from the Eastern ridge of Kshemish-Bashi. After 1.5-2 hours of ascent, one should move to the right along a 6-meter steep ice slope crossing the entire width of the icefall. In its right part, there is an exit to the cirque of the upper terrace. Movement:

• with insurance through ice axe,
• crampons. Having overcome a large crevasse, located parallel to the slope, we move to the right under the rusty rocks of a large guandarma, located in the north-eastern counterfort. From the pass - 4-5 hours. In the upper part of the guandarma, there is a control point. Important:
• Overcoming the icefall only in the first half of the day!