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).