Almaty-Alagir (4223 m)

Ascent from the northwest side — cat. diff. 1B

The summit of Almaty-Alagir is located in the watershed ridge system at the head of the Ozerny gorge and is the highest point in the area. Long, gradually descending ridges stretch to the south and southwest from it. To the north lies a snowy-ice slope, and to the east, the snow cover is interspersed with talus sections. It is more convenient to ascend from the Prokhodnoye valley, from the northwest side. Climbing up the valley, bypass the Alma-Arasan resort (the Big Almaty spur stretches to the right). Before reaching the Prokhodnoy pass, turn left towards the unnamed "3400 m" pass, located between the Almaty-Alagir and Karniznaya peaks. From the latter, a small ridge extends towards the Prokhodnoye valley. Leaving the pass on the left side, reach the moraine of a small glacier descending into the Prokhodnoye valley. The glacier is not steep, intersected here and there by large crevasses. Ahead are the ridge slopes of the Almaty-Alagir peak. Without traversing the entire glacier, turn left. Attention should be paid to the northwest side of the summit, from which rocky ridges descend, separated by wide couloirs. Then, ascend one of the couloirs with a steepness of 40–45°, at the bottom of which lies coarse, loose talus. Exercising caution, ascend to the shoulder of the summit and follow a gentle slope to the top. Descend via the ascent route. The entire ascent takes 6–7 hours. M. T. Pogrebetskiy first reached this summit in 1927. The first ascent from the eastern side was made in 1952 by Almaty climbers K. Menzhulin and A. Maryashev.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. The number of participants is not limited.
2. Initial bivouac on the moraine of the Bezymyaniy Glacier.

Overview

Peak Amangeldy, 1B, V. Zimin, 1937

This is probably the most frequently visited route in Tuyuk-Su. From Alpinigrad move up the slope located on the left, in the direction of the big gendarme. Bypass the gendarme on the left, follow the trail upwards, then traverse the talus slope, and then enter the steep couloir. In winter, it may be necessary to put on equipment already there - there may be hard sastrugi in the couloir. In summer, it's talus with rock outcrops. Climb up to the next couloir, move up it until it ends. The start of the route is on a ledge under a steep wall. R0­–R1

• Move right, exit onto a ledge
• From this ledge, climb up an inside corner (15 m II) to the next ledge
• Belay station on a protrusion

GTO­ — Karatau

Traverse of the peaks GTO­ — Kolokolnikova­ — Karatau, route category 2B (Fig. 53). The approach path from the Talgar alpine camp is described in the ascent route to GTO peak. The description of the first part of the traverse — ascent to the peaks GTO and Kolokolnikova­ — is given in the corresponding descriptions of ascents to these peaks. From Kolokolnikova peak to the southeast to Karatau peak. This section of the route abounds with "zhandarms" made of rocks of medium difficulty. All of them are overcome head-on, as detour is associated with a large loss of height. The ridge throughout its entire length is technically not difficult, but is heavily destroyed and requires great caution in movement

Fig. 53

20 Years of KazGMI (4089 m)

Ascent via the Northwest Ridge — Category 2A complexity

The peak 20 Years of KazGMI, named in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Kazakh Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (now known as the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute named after V.I. Lenin), is located in the main ridge of the Trans-Ili Alatau within the Sredny Aksai glacial cirque. To its southwest lies the peak Promezhutochnaya, while to the north, a small ridge descends, separating the left and right branches of the Aksai glacier. The southern slopes of the peak are the source of the right tributary of the Almaty river, which is one of the tributaries of the Chong-Kemin river. Approaches to the peak should be made from the upper reaches of Sredny Aksai. The initial bivouac is best set up on a small, almost horizontal site with steep edges. The moraine of the Right Aksai glacier also reaches this location. A stream runs between the edge and the moraine. From this vantage point, the glacier lying in the upper reaches of Sredny Aksai is clearly visible. From the bivouac, proceed along the edge to the east until you find a suitable spot to descend onto the right branch of the Aksai glacier. Cross it and reach the lateral moraine at the point where the depression between the moraine and the northwest ridge of the peak is clearly visible. It takes about 1 hour from the bivouac.

Peak Jambula (4150 m) Ascent to peak Jambula with ascent from the northwest, route 2B cat. sl. (fig. 14). From the bivouac at the lake under the tongue of the North TEU glacier, move to the South TEU glacier, bypassing the ridge coming from the Syputchaya peak. Ascend to the col between the peaks TEU and Jambula via the South TEU glacier. Move along the glacier in teams along the median moraine. Bypass the crevasse zone from the left. The ascent to the col is via a snowy slope with a steepness of 30–35°, then via scree and heavily destroyed rocks. From the col, go along the snowy ridge to the 1st gendarme, which is taken head-on. Descent to the 2nd gendarme is via heavily destroyed rocks and snow. The 2nd gendarme is bypassed from the left along a slope with a steepness of 60°. Careful belaying through an ice axe is necessary. The 3rd gendarme is also bypassed from the left along a snowy-icy slope, closer to the rocks. Here, piton belaying is necessary (2–3 pitons), sometimes step chiseling. The 4th gendarme is bypassed from the left along a snowy slope with a steepness of up to 30°. Here, alternate belaying through an ice axe is necessary. The route continues along an icy slope with a steepness of up to 40°, then via destroyed rocks and scree reaches the summit. From the bivouac to the summit is 5–6 hours of walking. The summit consists of two elevations. The cairn is on the northwestern one. Descent is along the northeastern ridge to the South TEU glacier along a slope with a steepness of up to 45° with protruding large stones. Careful belaying is necessary. "Sheep's foreheads" are bypassed from the right. Go carefully: it is necessary to take into account the avalanche danger. The descent to the South TEU glacier goes along a snowy slope and takes about 2 hours.

INETAU (4038 m)

Ascent from the Constitution Glacier, route 1B cat. complexity (fig. 4). The INETAU peak is located in the northern spur extending from the 10 Years of Kazakh SSR peak and separating the Toguzak Glacier from the Constitution Glacier. It is a pronounced eminence on the ridge. From the Toguzak Glacier side, it appears as a sharp needle on a snowy base, while from the Constitution Glacier side, the summit tower rises amidst a jumble of rocky debris from the destroyed ridge. From the initial bivouac, conveniently set up on the right moraine of the Toguzak Glacier, cross the terminal moraines of the glacier towards the talus at the start of the ridge. Ascend the talus to the ridge. Cross the ridge to reach the right lateral moraine of the Constitution Glacier. Follow the moraine ridge to an isolated rock near the ridge, and from there, via a gully, exit onto the ridge to a gendarme composed of red rocks. The first control cairn is located on it. Bypass the next gendarme to the left on snow (ice is possible!). Subsequent gendarmes are bypassed on both sides. After them, cross a small couloir between the main ridge and a group of rocks to the right. Continue along the ridge of moderately difficult rocks upwards to a distinct gendarme. The second cairn is located here. Descend from it onto a snowy-icy saddle before a table-like gendarme and bypass it to the right. Then, ascend medium rocks and talus to a tower with a snowy belt. The ascent to it involves the following sections:

• medium rocks
• inclined slabs

Kairaktas (4020 m)

Ascent via the Eastern Ridge — cat. diff. 2A

The Kairaktas peak is located somewhat north of the Ozerny pass. The approach starts from the bivouac on the pass and continues along the moraine heaps made up of medium-sized fragments. The path leads to the eastern ridge of the peak and takes about an hour. The ascent goes along the heavily destroyed ridge with steep drops and a large depth of fall. The first and second gendarmes are bypassed, the third and fourth, with heights of 8–10 m, are overcome head-on. After the section with gendarmes, the route runs along the eastern ridge to the south-eastern ridge, which are connected by a small dip. Reaching the south-eastern ridge, one must successively bypass four gendarmes of slab-like structure, having the form of needles, on the right and left. The movement continues along heavily destroyed rocks and in places along snow. This section is recommended to be traversed in rope teams with alternate belays. After approximately 2 hours, there is an exit to the summit, which is crowned with a pico-shaped stone. This prompted the first ascenders to name the peak Kairaktas, which translates as — a peak with a protruding stone. To reach it, one needs to hack through a snow cornice. Descent is via the ascent route. The first group to reach the summit was on October 15, 1954, a group of instructors from the "Kok Bastau" alpine camp consisting of: A. Vorobyov, P. Mamyinov, R. Khonin under the guidance of A. Kolegov.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. Number of participants: 4–6 people.

Fig. 36 There are no sites on this section. After a few meters of ascent from the place where the backpacks are pulled out, it is necessary to use the ladders again. Special attention should be paid to hammering in pitons: the rocks are brittle! Further, along steep slabs to the exfoliated rock in front of a large snowy shelf. To reach the shelf, move to the right into a steep ice gully. Climb 2 meters up along it and exit onto the shelf. Moving along the shelf to the left, continue moving up along sheer complex rocks, and then, traversing to the right, approach a steep (70°) narrow ice gully. Cross the gully at the point where a large rock protrudes in the middle, and move to the right narrow rocky islet separating the gully from the snowy slope. From this islet, ascend up the steep (60°) icy slope. For about six meters, the ascent involves chopping steps. The belay is piton. Move left from the piton - upwards in the direction of the beginning of the snow ridge's ascent. On the ridge, the belay is through an ice axe. To the left of the ridge, on the rocks, there is a good bivouac site. From the initial bivouac to here, it takes 12-13 hours of walking.

Here, an overnight stay is possible: there is water available in mid-summer. The ascent to the ridge begins after circumventing the rocks along the edge of the snow on the right side, in the lower part of the gendarme — via broken rocks. Proceed in the direction of the saddle between the gendarme and the second part of the ridge ascent. After reaching the saddle, move slightly to the left. Belay is via pitons; piton placement is necessary for belaying and for artificial anchors. Further along the ridge:

• monolithic rock sections are circumvented on the left
• via loose rocks — ascent to the summit of Жанатау. Descent from the summit towards the summit of Ленинградец is initially via rocks, then via a steep snowy section leading to a snow platform in front of the monolithic rock Зуб, rising before the second pass. Descend to the foot