Brief Overview of Mt. Kuro Area

Mt. Kuro is located in the ridge separating the Hde gorge from the Darial gorge. The western slopes of the peak descend to the village of Kazbegi. From this side, two routes of category 2B difficulty lead to the summit. The eastern ridge, together with Mt. Shino, forms a vast cirque filled with moraine formations. The cirque is separated from the Darial gorge by the southern ridge of Mt. Kuro, which connects to the northwestern ridge of Mt. Shino and has a depression down to 3500 m at the junction. A category 1B route follows this ridge, accessing it through the cirque between Kuro and Shino at the depression. Several routes of 2nd and 3rd category difficulty have been climbed by various groups on the southern slopes of the eastern ridge in search of a route along the southern ridge. At a pronounced elevation (often mistaken for the summit of Kuro), a distinct ridge with steep slopes, rocky and icy, branches off the eastern ridge to the east-northeast. Together with the slopes of the main summit, these form the northern facade of the massif. Mt. Kuro also has a sloping talus cirque on its northern side, opening onto a large terrace in the Hde gorge. The cirque is bounded to the north by the slopes of an unnamed peak about 3900 m high, and to the west by the ridge separating the Hde gorge from the Darial gorge. To the south, the cirque adjoins the eastern ridge of Mt. Kuro. No ascent to Mt. Kuro has been made from this northern cirque to date.

Group Composition

The ascent was made on May 9, 1971, by a group of climbers from Tbilisi State University, consisting of:

1. Sarjveladze N.I. — 2nd category
2. Tarkhnishvili D.I. — 2nd category

Ascent Log

1. Ascent class: combined
2. Ascent area: Dagestan mountains
3. Peak, its height, ascent route: Adдала-Шухгель Mt., 4151 m, via N ridge
4. Estimated difficulty category: 2B
5. Route characteristics:
   • height difference — 850 m
   • average steepness — 45°
   • length of sections:
     • I difficulty category — 590 m

1. Ascent class
2. Climbing area
3. Peak, its height, ascent route
4. Estimated difficulty category
5. Route characteristics
6. Number of pitons driven
7. Number of travel hours
8. Number of overnight stays
9. Names of team leader and participants, their sports qualification
10. Team coach

I. Category of first ascents. 2. Region 2.10, Dagestan Mountains, Bogossky Ridge. 3. Addalashukhgelmeer, 415 m, via the right gully of the North-East face, combined route. 4. Proposed category 3B, first ascent. 5. Height difference 700 m, route length: category 1 - 450 m, category 2 - 450 m, category 3 - 120 m, category 4 - 195 m, category 5 - 15 m, total route length 1220 m, average slope of the gully 45°. 6. Pitons used: rock - 6 pcs, ice screws - 17 pcs. 7. Climbing time - 7 hours. 8. No overnight stays. Overnight stay at the base camp, at TDS "Sulak-Vysokogornaya" (2953 m). 9. Leader: Dorro Konstantin Eduardovich, Candidate for Master of Sports. Team members: Ivanov Alexander Petrovich, 2nd sports category; Maximov Vladimir Vladimirovich, 2nd sports category; Fomin German Vladimirovich, 2nd sports category.

PASSPORT

1. The route is combined
2. East Caucasus 2.9, Kila River valley
3. Mt. Addala-Shukhgelmeer (4151) via the north-eastern wall.
4. Proposed — 5B category of difficulty, first ascent
5. Route characteristics: a. Elevation gain: 1100 m. b. Average steepness of main sections: 68° (3250–4080 m) c. Length: 1550 m (II cat. — 350 m; III cat. — 340 m; IV cat. — 460 m; V cat. — 400 m.)
6. Pitons driven:

ASCENT PASS

1. Ascent class: rock
2. Ascent area: №2.9 (East Caucasus, Bogossky Ridge)
3. Peak, its height and route: Addala-Shukhgelmeэр East, 3970 m, via the northern counterfort
4. Proposed difficulty category: 2B
5. Route characteristics: height difference — 770 m, average steepness — 50°, section duration: R1–500 m, R2–250 m, R3–250 m, R4–220 m, R5–120 m
6. Number of driven pitons:
   • rock: 3
   • ice: 1
   • bolt: –

Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class: combined
2. Ascent area: 2.9.6 mountains of Dagestan
3. Peak, its height and ascent route: Addala Eastern, 4025 m via N ridge
4. Proposed difficulty category: 2A
5. Route characteristics:
   • height difference — 800 m
   • average steepness — 50°
   • length of sections: III cat. diff. — 170 m, II — 690 m, I — 450 m
   • 7 ice, 2 rock, 2 screw anchors

Ascent Passport. I. Route is combined (K) 2. 2.96 mountains of Dagestan (East. Caucasus) 3. Ascent to the peak Babaku, 3997 m via ridge 10 4. Presumed category of difficulty — 1B 5. Route characteristics: — length — 900 m — total elevation gain — 790 m — average steepness — 40° 6. Pitons were not used 7. The route was completed without intermediate bivouacs

13

I. Climbing category — Combined 2. Climbing area — 2.9. Eastern Caucasus 3. Peak, its height and ascent route — Bazardyuzi (4466 m) via N ridge 4. Expected difficulty category — 2B cat. diff. 5. Route characteristics: height difference — 2338 m average steepness — 45° section lengths: I—2500 m, II—200 m, III—70 m, IV—40 m, V—200 m, VI—250 m, VII—40 m, VIII—350 m 6. Number of pitons driven: for belay for creating belay stations

1. Climbing Passport
   1. Climb category: technical
   2. Climbing area, ridge: № 2–9–а, Dagestan mountains, Greater Caucasus Range.
   3. Peak, its height, climbing route: Bazardyuzi, 4466 m, via the Eastern edge of the Northern ridge.
   4. Proposed category of difficulty: 4A category, combined.
   5. Route characteristics: а) elevation gain 1076 m. б) route length 1950 m, including: * category I 495 m. * category II 850 m.