Brief Overview of the Climbing Area in the Mugovek Valley, Bolshoy Sayan Ridge

The climbing area is located in the Buryat Republic on the border with Mongolia in the Bolshoy Sayan Ridge and its constituent part - the Munku Sardyk Ridge - in the upper reaches of the Mugovek and Beliy Irkut valleys. The hub of the area is the massif of Munku Sardyk mountain (3491 m) - the highest point of the Sayan Mountains. The area is 300 km from Irkutsk in a strictly western direction. The road passes as follows:

• From Irkutsk to Mondy village - a good asphalt road of state significance.
• From Mondy village - 25 km on a gravel road leading to the Okinsky district of the Buryat Republic, to the bridge over the Beliy Irkut River.
• Further, the road goes to the pass, and the path to the foot of Munku Sardyk mountain and the climbing site in the Mugovek valley passes through the canyon of the Beliy Irkut River and the Mugovek River from an altitude of 1400 to 2200 m, i.e., to the forest boundary. Features of the section:
• In winter, this section is traversed on ice with crampons.
• Above the canyon and the forest boundary, the Mugovek River valley is wide and trough-shaped.
• In the upper part, above the second cirque, there is a cirque lake Ehoy.

ALPINISM FEDERATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURYATIA

Report

ON THE FIRST ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT ARSHAN VIA THE RIGHT BUTTRESS OF THE SOUTHERN RIDGE APPROXIMATELY CATEGORY 3A DIFFICULTY June 9, 2018

I. Climbing Passport

	1. General Information
1.1	Full Name, Sports Rank of the Leader	Baguzha Alexander Mikhailovich, Candidate for Master of Sports
1.2	Full Name, Sports Rank of Participants	Lykova V.V., 2nd sports rank, Kolesnikova O.S., 3rd sports rank, Nikiforov B.I., 3rd sports rank, Chernyavsky M.S., 3rd sports rank, Gulyaev M.N., 3rd sports rank, Sustavova N.S., Alpine badge
1.3	Full Name of Coach	Ayusheev D.V., Master of Sports
1.4	Organization	Alpinism Federation of the Republic of Buryatia

Pik Baruun from the south Suvorkina L.D. Sayan Vostochny, 6B

Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class: technical
2. Area: Eastern Sayan, Tunkin Goltsy, Baruun-Khandagai gorge
3. Peak: 2874 m Pik Baruun from the south
4. Proposed: 2A cat. diff.
5. Route type: combined
6. Route characteristics: Elevation gain: 800 m. Route length: 1412 m. Length of section with 3rd cat. diff.: 22 m. Length of section with 2nd cat. diff.: 200 m. Length of section with 1st cat. diff.: 1190 m. Steepness of the main part of the route 40°
7. Used on the route:

TOWER (2800 m) via the South Ridge Route: 1B category of difficulty All-year-round

Geographical Location

The Tower peak is located in one of the southern spurs of the main ridge of the Tunka Belki range in the Eastern Sayan Mountains, situated on the eastern side of the Zun-Khandagai River valley and closing off to the north with the SOAN peak (see diagram).

Access to the Base Camp

From Irkutsk, take a bus or drive to the Arshan resort - 218 km. From Arshan resort to the Zun-Khandagai River valley, west along the main ridge via the Tagarhoy village by car or on foot - 12 km. Then, on foot, up the trail on the right side of the Zun-Khandagai River valley to the fork of the left and right Zun-Khandagai rivers - 9 km. The base camp is located at the fork. The forest boundary is here. Plenty of firewood.

ASCENT DOCUMENT

1. Climbing category — rock climbing.
2. Climbing area — Eastern Sayan, Tunka Goltsy ridge.
3. Peak, its height, ascent route — Bashnya, 2800 m, via the eastern ridge.
4. Proposed difficulty category — 2B, year-round.
5. Height difference, average steepness — 170 m, 50°. Length of sections by category of difficulty: 1st category of difficulty — 130 m, 2nd category of difficulty — 40 m, 3rd category of difficulty — 35 m.

Petrel 2929 m, 2B, October 31, 1978. V. Monomarchuk + 5 people (height difference 630 m, steepness 40°, snow depth 5 cm, 6 h). Photo 2. The route from the Birop gorge side. Sections:

• R2–R3
• R4–R5
• R3–R4 Map of the ascent area. The route is assault (2 groups). Б. лагерь — base camp.

Brief administrative and geographical outline of the ascent area

Peak 2929 m («Petrel») is located in the eastern part of the Tunkinskie Goltsy ridge of the Eastern Sayan, in the valley of the Moygota River. Vegetation is typically taiga:

Brief geographic overview of the area, sporting characteristics

The Dомашняя peak is located in the south-eastern spur of the Tunkinsky ridge of the Eastern Sayan, which is a watershed between the Zuun-Khandagai and Baruun-Khandagai gorges. Its height is 2352 m above sea level. In the same spur, there are two unnamed peaks, 2693 m and 2678 m, and the Dinosaur peak, 2820 m, for which there are classified routes 2B and 4A cat. sl. The Tunkinsky Goltsy are the highest part of the Eastern Sayan. The highest point is 3226 m, located in the upper reaches of the Ganga-Khairym stream. The approach to the base camp starts from the Lesnichikha clearing, located 10 km from the Arshan resort, through the Zuun-Khandagai river gorge. The base camp is located:

• on the left orographic bank of the Zuun-Khandagai river
• 6 hours walk from the clearing
• opposite the Dомашняя peak
• at the forest boundary The forest boundary here is at an altitude of 1700 m above sea level.

Brief Geographical Overview of the "Irkutsk" Peak Area

2742

The 2816 m "Irkutsk" peak is located in the eastern part of the Tunka Goltsy mountain range, Eastern Sayan. The range stretches from west to east for 150 km, approaches the southwestern tip of Lake Baikal, and serves as a watershed for the Irkut and Kitoi rivers, left tributaries of the Angara River. The vegetation is typically taiga, represented by:

• Cedar,
• Pine,
• Larch. The forest boundary is at an altitude of 1880–1900 m. The fauna is rich and diverse. The Tunka valley is known for its many mineral springs. The most famous of these is the Arshan spring, on which a resort of all-Union significance has been established. Administratively, the Tunka Goltsy range belongs to the Buryat ASSR.

Route via the South-East Ridge (approximately 3A category of difficulty) The summit of SOAN (Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences) is located in the main ridge of the Tunka Alps — East Sayan. The Tunka Alps are stretched by a single ridge with spurs from west to east between the rivers Irkut and Kitoy. The summit itself is slightly protruding to the south along a spur sandwiched between the Zun-Khandagai and Talta rivers. To reach the base camp of the route via the South-East ridge, one needs to follow the Zun-Khandagai river valley. From November to mid-May, the rivers of the Sayan are frozen, and the valleys have shallow loose snow. By May, some open snowfields become firn, but the snow generally retains its looseness until it melts. Ice fields and aufeis can be found along the river valleys and persist until mid-July. Numerous high-altitude lakes are completely ice-free by the second half of July. There is no glaciation in the summit area. The most favorable time for climbing:

• June
• July
• Early August

TRANSPORTATION

From Irkutsk, take a scheduled bus or a car to the Arshan resort — 218 km. From the Arshan resort to the Zun-Khandagai river valley (west along the mountain ridge) by car or on foot — 12 km. Up the Zun-Khandagai river valley on foot to the fork of the Left and Right Zun-Khandagai — 9 km. At the fork, it is convenient to set up a base camp, as it is located at the forest boundary. The river valley is narrow, with slopes heavily overgrown with forest and bushes. A faint trail runs along the valley, and it is recommended to inquire about its location with climbers from Irkutsk.

Report

On the first ascent to the summit of Tunkinskaya via the route along the North ridge, approximately category 1B, by the team of the "Mountains of Baikal" club within the framework of the "Impossible is not forever" project, for the period from March 25, 2019 to March 25, 2019. Irkutsk 2019

I. Ascent Report

№ p/p	1. General Information
1.1	Full name, sports rank of the leader	Panova Alena Mikhailovna (Candidate for Master of Sports)
1.2	Full name, sports rank of the participants	Tsalman Igor Viktorovich, 3rd sports rank; Tsalman Polina Viktorovna, 3rd sports rank; Medvedeva Anna Gennadievna, badge; Mashtakova Natalia Gennadievna, badge; Desyatova Daria Nikolaevna, badge; Kiselnov Pavel Alexandrovich; Petko Andrey Pavlovich