Sokol ­— 24

Author: Alex Kuzmitsky, Moscow New route on Sokol: "Zapakh zhenshchiny" (6c, A2+) I wanted to climb this line for a long time, but it didn't work out. Either I had to walk and describe routes for the guidebook, or help Terr пробивать rock climbing trails on Bolvan. And there was never enough time for a new project. Finally, during the last May holidays, I found time to implement my plan. Tension. There should be no more and no less bolts than required for safe passage of the route. This is important. Moreover, you need to try not to lose the thread and not lead the route somewhere to the side or to the wrong crack by mistake. Experience, sense of relief and preliminary preparation help here, when you spend hours examining the wall, studying section by section of the proposed line. gratitude to Lena Kuznetsova for kind words and humor, Andrey Petrov for support and being there, Misha Volkov for endurance, Yulia Kuznetsova for intolerance in views and critical thinking, Tolya Dzhuliy for guitar and arrival, Den Zhilin for acquaintance and openness, Terr for "Russian translation" and everything else, Igor Petrov for hospitably hosting us again at his rescue service and, of course, to my partner Zhenya Kholodov for hard work and iron will. R2­–­R3: 40 ­m, 5B. Up and then to the right along the crack with grass, through several characteristic bushes. Insurance with nuts and pitons. Station on two bolts at the end of the crack, next to a large almost dead belay ledge.

Sokol — 25

Bodun 5Б difficulty category (A. Sergeev, also known as "Kommunist") Bodun 1st rope R0–R1: 25–30 m, 6c, A2+. Even, interesting slabby artificial terrain with some 5c–6c climbing sections. The first few meters have a risk of falling onto the belayer from a considerable height. After the second bolt (third one), traverse right to a poorly visible piton, then go up, aiming for the left part of the cornice. The belay station is on two bolts. R1–R2: 25 — 30 m, 5B, A0. Re-clip through bolts and pitons up into the left corner of the cornice, then traverse right and up with your own protection. The belay station is on two bolts and a piton. R2–R3: 35 m, 5B. Up the overgrown crack, then move left across the slab 3–5 m to an internal corner. Protection is your own + bolts and pitons. The belay station is in the internal corner on two bolts and a piton. R3–R4: 50 m, 5B. Protection is on bolts and pitons + your own. The belay station is on a bolt and a piton in the internal corner. R4–R5: 30–35 m, 6A. The belay station is in the internal corner under an overhanging wall. R5–R6: 25 m, 6C.

• Through the overhang (two bolts)

Crimea, So­kol mountain. "Dzhaksy" Route

So­kol. "Dzhaksy" Route (Nadt­ochiy S., Lav­ri­nen­ko A., February 5, 2008), 6A

The route turned out to be interesting, challenging, and ambiguous in terms of orientation on the terrain. Places for pitons, anchors, and skyhooks need to be found among the resonant slabs and scaly exfoliations. The overall complexity is 5b+ (in other words, it's 6A, but not long enough to be real). Many parts of the route can be climbed, but most likely, they will be aided, as it's very difficult to organize protection while climbing. A team with experience in climbing routes of this type (e.g., "Machembo") can complete this route in:

• 7–9 hours. So­kol. "Dzhaksy" Route 6A The route is called "Dzhaksy," which translates from Kazakh to Russian as "Хорошо" (Good). The total length of the route is 225 meters, with a complexity of 5B+ (i.e., practical 6A, but not quite). The approaches to the route are simple, and everything can be walked without being tied up, which cannot be said about the route itself.

Technical Description of the Route:

• R0–R1: 40 m, key climbing spot 5C, overall 5B+, protection is simple on pitons and cams. Station on 2 bolts hammered by A. Sergeev (Communist).

So­kol — 29

Ho­hla po ze­re­ka­lam 5B cat. dif.[№14]

(A. Kruglenko, aka «Ho­hol») Ho­hla po ze­re­ka­lam 2nd rope R0–R1: 50 m, 6B, A1. Up the crack through a characteristic tree, then up left to a neat traverse left to a piton. After it — a tricky move (hole). Station on a bollard and pitons. R1­–­R2: 50­–­55 ­m, 6B, A1. Up and slightly left via a system of cracks to a bollard, through it — exit to a flattening, then right up a neat traverse

"The Final Stroke" (5b).

We made the first attempt to climb the route with Max Polyakov in winter 2009, but various reasons prevented us from completing it. We removed the ropes and left. Now, on April 1 and 2, Sanya Khomenko and I finished the route. Description by sections: the route starts from the same ledge as "Vosemorka", "Pesnya", "Khokhol cherez zerkala", and goes between "Pesnya" and "Khokhol". The beginning is easy to read; there is a bolt 8 meters above the ledge. Sokol, "The Final Stroke" route (5B). The route line is highlighted in blue. High-resolution photo 0–1 A small approach, then onto the bolts to a piton, from it up to the right to a crack with grass. Up through a series of cracks, sometimes on a slab. Belay station on a bolt and a hook. 40 m, A3. From the station, it's recommended to climb to the next bolt without accepting the belay to reduce the fall factor. 1–2 Up to the right on a slab with cavities (anchors, skyhooks), get over the bend, then on a more gentle slab to the station. There's a bolt. 35 m, VI, A3. 2–3 From the station, up to the left through an overgrown crack for about 10 meters, then ITO on the slab in the direction up to the left to a sloping ledge. On it, a station — a bolt and an anchor. 40 m, VI, A3. 3–4 From the station, 4 meters up to the left, then up on the slab to a small ledge, up to the right to the second ledge. From its left part, up through a series of cracks. Station on a bolt. 35 m, VI, A3. 4–5 From the station, up to the left, then up into an internal corner formed by the edge of a large flake and a wall. Up the corner, then up to the right under a small cornice. Through the cornice up to the right, then traverse to the right onto a ledge. Station on a bolt and a hook. 35 m, V, A3.

Sokol. "Pesnya" (Lebedinaya pesnya / Swan Song) route 5B (V+ A2 188 m), 5 pitches. First ascent: A. Kruglenko (Feodosiya) — A. Paksyutkin (Simferopol), 2007. The start of the route is from the large starting ledge as described for routes №31–38 (according to the guidebook) of Sector II. Routes of the Central Sector of Sokol

Technical description of the route:

• R0–R1: (48 m, V+ A1+) From the starting ledge, the first few meters follow the bolts of the "Vos'merka / Eight" route, then move up, bypassing the bulge shaped like an "eight" on the right. Above the bulge, use the corners and cracks to reach a plate and follow it to an inclined, overgrown corner (anchors, pitons, "carrot" left by the authors). Set up a belay station in the corner on your own protection points.
• R1–R2: (45 m, V+ A2) Move up through the plate to the base of an overgrown crack, then up the crack for 18 m. From here, move left "to 11 o'clock" across the plate to a small ledge. There is little relief for protection. Protection:

New route on Sokol "AlisA" 5B

In Crimea (Sudak region) on Sokol mountain between "Vos'merka" and "Ryzhiy Ugol" routes a new route "AlisA" 5B has appeared. Sokol mountain (Sudak) The "AlisA" route is 160 m long from R0. The start of the route is the same as the R0 station of "Ryzhiy Ugol". On the wall, there is an inscription "AlisA". You need to go through a vertical slit - a groove above the inscription.□

Thread of the "AlisA" route

R1, R2, R3 stations are equipped with rappel rings. R4 station is on a plateau - a tree. The route is thoroughly cleaned of loose rocks and flakes. The route is recommended for well-prepared climbers in technical and psychological terms.

• relief skyhooks
• hole skyhooks
• vertical and horizontal cams
• topo guides in sufficient quantity

Sokol - 35

Khokhol's Route via Ryzyi Karniz 5B (6A?)

Climbed by Alexander Kruglenko in 1980-1989. The difficulty is somewhat high for a 5B grade. The start is about 50 meters to the left of "Brovi". Between "Brovi" and Ryzyi Karniz, a black streak is visible from the road in the lower third of the wall. To its right are two internal corners (gullies). The route follows the second one. The first bolts are visible from below (their condition is normal). After reaching the ledge below "Brovi", move left. At the beginning of the route, several loose slabs are carried to the wall. The first bolt is visible about 10 meters up. R1 - From the lower slab (standing), move up towards the bolt (pitons, skyhooks, small nuts). Up via bolts, then left to a crack (skyhook). Up the crack to a small cave on aid climbing (pitons), with some free climbing sections (medium-sized nuts). From the cave, up (a hole for a skyhook, then standing), through a damaged crack (loose rocks, a standing position along the way) to a belay station (a bolt and a "carrot"). R1 45 m 85° VI A3 (the grade might be subjective and the actual difficulty lower). R2 - Continue up through a cornice on slabs (bolts), then right to cracks and up them to a ledge. R2 40 m 80° V+. From R2, due to lack of time, we went right to R2 of the "Gran'" route. Attention! The route's continuation is described very approximately. From R2, left to a thin crack, up it. Then, after passing a series of cornices, approach Ryzyi Karniz. It is climbed in its right part via a crack. Alternative: From R2, traverse right 40-45 meters along the ledge, which turns into a crack, to R2 of the "Gran'" route. The difficulty is about IV. Then follow "Gran'", or, continuing the traverse right, reach "Brovi" (about 15 meters).

Sokol Peak — «Time Machine» 6A

A new route «Time Machine» 6A has been completed on Sokol Peak (Crimea, Sudak). The route length is 390 m. It took more than a week to complete the first ascent with breaks for New Year holidays and rest days. The climb started on December 29, 2011, and finished on January 11, 2012. Route authors:

• Sergey Pugachev
• Sergey Nadtochiy

Technical description of the route

R0–R1: II, 20 m, 55°, F5a; The start of the route is at the base of an inclined slab, moving towards a large juniper tree. Station on a tree. R1–R2: VI, 50 m, 80°, A2, e4, (four bolts). From the station after the tree, move left to an overhanging crack, then up through it. After the second bolt, climb left onto a destroyed slab (ignore the separate lying boulder) — climb to the right. After the bolt, move left to a vertical crack and continue up it to the station.

New route in Crimea on g. Treugolnik — “Gendalf Seryy” 4A

The bastion to the left of Treugolnik's main wall. Maybe it was climbed before, but it's not in the classifier and there are no descriptions anywhere. On the route, we didn't find any hooks or drill holes, nor any signs of previous passage. The first time we came with the intention to make a first ascent, we were unlucky with the weather — it was raining. So, we decided to just scout the approaches and get as close as possible to examine and photograph everything.

Gora Treugolnik, route “Gendalf Seryy” 4A

First ascent (2011): Dmitry Lesnoy, Maxim Berezhnoy (Kherson)

It turned into a whole reconnaissance expedition in harsh conditions :). We had never been under Treugolnik before, but knew it was possible to approach from the quarry. We decided to head straight to the bastion from the road through the forest, and return via the quarry to compare these two approach options. The second option, through the quarry, turned out to be much more convenient and readable. The second time, the decision to climb this route was practically spontaneous, the weather was favorable, and we completed it as a two-person team in 10 hours without using any technical equipment or hanging belays — everything was done on-sight by both participants.

Approach