143. Bashkara via the South Ridge of the South Shoulder (K. Tumanov's route, category 3A). The path from the “Jantugan” alplager (group of 4-8 people) to the initial bivouac at the Jantugan Pass is described in route 146. From the pass, exit onto the Jantugan Plateau and move down along its right side. Bypass the glacier's icefall from the right, then descend along the moraine under the slopes of Lekzyr-Jantugan Peak onto the Lekzyr Glacier at the confluence of its Western and Eastern branches. Ascend along the flat surface on the right side of the Western branch, bypassing the Bashkara Gadyl massif from the south, until reaching the point where the Unnamed Glacier's icefall (which descends from a small cirque formed by Ullukara

Mt. Ushba 2000 m (C–D), via NW wall and descent to Gul lake («Kрест» / "Cross"), cat. 6A.

1st day — Hike to «Nemetskie nochevki» (German overnight camp) in Shkhelda gorge takes 4–6 hours. 2nd day — From «Nemetskie nochevki» through Ushba icefall:

• Ascend to Ushba pass and enter the upper part of Ushba glacier.
• Following its right edge, approach the NW counterfort of S. Ushba.
• Descend along the counterfort to the point where a glacier tongue "breaks through" it.
• To the left of it, on a rock shelf of Shkhelda slope of the counterfort, there is a convenient site. 3rd day — Descend to the glacier via inclined shelves and approach the I-st bergschrund. Cross the first bergschrund via a rope and then the second one. After overcoming the second bergschrund, reach the rocks of the left (in the direction of travel) side of a steep ice couloir continuing along the counterfort (NW edge), to the left of it. Further, either via the couloir or the rocks of the left side (120 m), bypassing difficult rocks via ice and vice versa. In the upper part, the left side of the couloir turns into a rocky ridge abutting the left side of the counterfort. Here, one should reach the ridge of the counterfort — this is the most technically challenging section. To reach the ridge, ascend the wall (40 m) to the right of a wide chimney filled with flowstone ice. Further movement along the ridge:

1966 Photo 1. Approach to the wall from the base camp. Sections R1–R3. The Ushba massif is well-known. It is located in a popular, well-studied mountaineering area. In the last decade, climbers have worked hard to develop the harsh Ushba walls, making a series of new top-class routes. However, the possibilities for interesting first ascents on Ushba are not yet exhausted. The team of the Armed Forces of the USSR declared and passed a route on the Eastern wall of South Ushba. This path attracted the attention of the army climbers back in 1959 during the ascent to the peak via the north-eastern wall. The route was studied carefully for a long time. This path is logical and the only one. Passing along the protruding part of the wall, it is sufficiently protected from rockfall. The presence of two belts of steeply inclined terraces on the wall allowed for planning convenient overnight stays in advance. The route can be conditionally divided into four major parts: three powerful steep rock climbs and the summit ridge. On the climbs of the wall, a large number of difficult sections were expected, predominantly:

• smooth overhangs;

Ba­lyk via the South Ridge (Route 1B cat. dif.). The path from the settlement of Verkhniy Baksan to the scree under the South Ridge of Artkol peak is described in routes 4 and 8. From here, follow the right bank of the Ikeras River, then Subashi River, to reach the scree of the upper plateau in the Subashi gorge. From the plateau, ascend via scree and broken simple gentle rocks to the gentle snowy South Ridge of Balyk peak. From here:

• initially along a gentle,
• then along a steeper simple snowy ridge — ascent to the South shoulder. From the col, via simple rocks and connecting ridges alternating with sharp snowy crests (cornices!) — ascent to the summit of Balyk. From the scree — 3–3.5 hours. Descent:
• via the ascent route,
• or along the East Ridge. Duration of the route — 2 days. “Baksan Valley”, A.F. Naumov

5 Imakouk

4533 m Hovebka №2 4350 m R19

• R17
• R18 R16
• R14­–R15
• R12­–R8

27

USSR Climbing Federation

XXXIV USSR Climbing Championship, Rock Climbing Category

Ascents to the Peak of the 25th Anniversary of North Ossetia (Syrkhu–Barzond) (4051 m) via the northern ridge, category 3A difficulty. The summit is located in the northwestern spur of the lateral ridge branching off from Tsarint-khokh and represents an independent massif of the spur. The northern ridge of the summit was traversed in 1949 by a group of North Ossetian alpinists. To the west, a steep ridge branches off, not yet traversed by anyone and estimated to be around category III-IV difficulty. To the north, into the Kurtatinsky gorge, towards the village of Khidikus, descends a ridge that was traversed for the second time by groups of the North Ossetian DOS "Spartak" on May 29-30, 1964 (Group of 1st-class climbers and 2nd group led by 1st-class climbers). The height difference from the Kurtatinsky gorge to the summit is 2500 m. The route length is approximately 7 km. The main technical work takes place at an altitude of 3300-4051 m above sea level. The path from the village of Khidikus goes along a wide ridge. Initially, it's a steep grassy slope with many trails. Further, the path goes along slopes overgrown with subalpine mixed forests. Higher up, at an altitude of 2300-2500 m, grassy slopes resume, overgrown with rhododendrons. Overnight stays are possible here (lack of water in summer). The journey from the village of Khidikus to the overnight stay takes 4.5-5 hours. Further up - a short distance along the slopes and exit onto a wide, clearly defined ridge, overgrown with grass, with rock outcrops. On the ridge - a large "gendarme". The journey from the overnight stay to the "gendarme" takes 2-2.5 hours;

Ascent Passport

1. Technical class
2. Central Caucasus
3. Ushba South peak 4710 m via the right part of the 103 wall (Kustovsky's route 7)
4. Category of difficulty — 5B
5. Height difference — 1450 m, length — 2170 m Length of sections with 5–6 category of difficulty — 700 m. Average steepness of the route — 56°. Average steepness of the main sections — 80°
6. Pitons hammered: | rock | bolt | chocks | ice screws |

Approach Description

From the confluence of the Zaki and Zrug rivers along the dirt road that runs along the Zrug River to the ruins of the church. About 20 km. A kilometer upstream, the river splits into two tributaries:

• Follow the right tributary eragrafically for 1.5 hours to the kosh.
• Then, head right along the stream (eragrafically, the left side of the gorge).
• Enter a small cirque formed by two ridges of p. Skryabina. Bivouac is possible. From the church, it takes 4–4.5 hours.

Route Description

P. Skryabina via the North Ridge, category III difficulty. From the bivouac, head right onto the ridge. Then, along the ridge for 250–300 m (R0–R1), category I difficulty. After that, the ridge turns into a mountain slope with minor ascents (R1–R2), 100 m, category II difficulty.

Sketch-map of the junction of the Tepli and Midagrabin groups with the Siveraut massif

Route Description

Ascent to the 5th peak of Siveraut, Peak "R" (3785 m) via the northern ridge, category III difficulty The Siveraut massif is an almost 10-kilometer wavy ridge stretching from northeast to southwest at the junction of the Midagrabin and Tepli groups of the Lateral Range of the Greater Caucasus. It has eight peaks, each assigned a letter index corresponding to the eight letters of the name (from Peak "S" in the northeast to Peak "T" at the southwestern end of the massif). The massif can be accessed by ascending to the upper reaches of:

• Zakkidon,
• Residon,
• Dzamarashdon, and Peak "S" can be climbed from the Midagrabin glacier.