24a

REPORT

on the first ascent of Surkhu peak via the western wall (approximately 6th category of difficulty), made by the SKA MVO team during the Moscow championship in the technical class

Geographical Characteristics of the Ascent Object

The ascent area is the Darang-Rawang river gorge. The Rawang gorge descends from the Vanch ridge into the Vanch river valley. The gorge is completely unexplored in terms of alpinism, and no ascents have been made there before. The weather conditions are good. On both sides of the Rawang river, where it flows into the Vanch river, there are settlements:

• Garmuchina
• Ravand The approach to the ascent area is good, with a well-maintained road. The Surkhu peak is clearly visible from the Garmuchina settlement.

Tactical Ascent Plan

1. Climbing class: technical
2. Climbing area: Vanch Ridge
3. Peak, elevation, route: Cherepovets, 5200 m, via north counterfort
4. Proposed difficulty category: 4B
5. Route characteristics: elevation gain: 1200 m average steepness: 49° length of sections with I difficulty: 300 m length of sections with II difficulty: 280 m length of sections with III difficulty: 660 m

Ascent via the northern slope, descent to Profsoyuzov pass. Cat. diff. 2A.

Day 1

Departure at 10:00 from the base camp located at an altitude of 4200 m below the tongue of Oktyabrsky glacier on the right (orogr.) side of the valley. The path leads along the right side of Oktyabrsky glacier, first along the lateral moraine, then along the right bank of the Kok-Sai river. Just before the glacier, which flows from Profsoyuzov pass, one needs to ascend to the right lateral moraine and reach the glacier along it. Then, turn left and ascend along the right side of the covered glacier to an altitude of about 5000 m. In the middle part of the glacier, there are many wide crevasses. The path must be found between the crevasse zone and the avalanche cones descending from the right (orogr.) from the slope of peak "5538". Movement on the glacier is in rope teams, with simultaneous belay. Crossing crevasses is done with alternate belay. The bivouac is set up in the middle part, slightly below Profsoyuzov pass, at an altitude of about 5000 m. The duration of the path from the base camp to the bivouac is 5–6 hours.

Day 2

Ascent via the Eastern ridge from the Oktyabrsky glacier. Descent to the Profsoyuzov Pass. Cat. 4A

Day 1

Departure at 10:00 from the base camp, located at an altitude of 4200 m under the tongue of the Oktyabrsky glacier, on the right (orographic) side of the valley. The path leads along the right side of the Oktyabrsky glacier, first along the lateral moraine, then along the right bank of the Kok-Sai River. Shortly before the glacier, which flows from the Profsoyuzov Pass, one must ascend to the right lateral moraine and reach the glacier along it. The tongue of the glacier, descending from the Profsoyuzov Pass, must be crossed in a rope team with simultaneous belay. The same path is used to cross two more glaciers, which descend from the Zulumart ridge towards the Oktyabrsky glacier. The glaciers are covered with soggy snow and have many hidden crevasses. Under the eastern ridge of peak "6146" on the moraine is a suitable place for a bivouac.

Route: via the North-Eastern slope Group of the Kharkov Regional Council of the "Avangard" Sports Society:

• 1. Eremenko Grigoriy Nikolayevich, 2nd category
• 2. Slobodyanik Lyudmila Ivanovna, 2nd category
• 3. Sidorenko Nikolay Nikolayevich, 2nd category The ascent was made between June 16 and 18, 1974. 1974, Kharkov ("Avangard")

Brief Geographical Description of the Ascent Area

The expedition of the Kharkov Regional Council of the "Avangard" Sports Society worked in the South-Western Pamir in the area of Peak Mayakovsky in the upper reaches of the Darshai River. The Darshai River flows into the Pyandzh River 40 km upstream from the town of Ishkashim (district center). At the confluence of the Darshai and Pyandzh rivers lies the kishlak Darshai, 10 km from the Shikhtavr settlement council. There is a store in Darshai where food can be purchased. Shikhtavr has a larger store, a settlement council, post office, collective farm administration, club, and school. The Darshai River originates in the area of Peak Mayakovsky, approximately 50 km from the Pyandzh River along the Darshai gorge. There are summer pastures (yailaks) in the gorge, each about a 2-hour walk apart. The highest yailak, "Tung", is located near the tongues of glaciers descending from the peaks of:

• Mayakovsky,

ASCENT DOCUMENT

I. ASCENT CATEGORY — technical. 2. ASCENT REGION — South-West Pamir. 3. ASCENT ROUTE — Peak 5100 m (STROITEL) via the Eastern ridge — Cat. 2B (approx.) pr413 dated 27/4-76.20saibog. 4. ASCENT DESCRIPTION: elevation gain — 1600 m, average slope — 45°, length of difficult sections — ~60 m 5. PITS INSERTED: rock — 7. ice — 6. MOVING TIME: 7 h. 7. NUMBER OF NIGHTS ON THE ROUTE: none.

PASSPORT

1. High-altitude technical class
2. Central Pamir, Shahdara Range.
3. Peak 5432 via the counterfort of the northwest wall.
4. Proposed 5B category of difficulty, first ascent.
5. Elevation gain: 1210 m, route length: 1510 m. Length of sections with 5–6 category of difficulty: 325 m. Average steepness of the route: 54°.
6. Pitons driven: rock 96 (8), chocks 73 (6), ice screws 4
7. Team's total climbing hours: 26.5, and days – 3.

Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class — high-altitude and technical;
2. Ascent area — Pamir, Academy of Sciences Range;
3. Peaks, their height, ascent route — Traverse of p. Kirova (6372 m) — p. Khokhlova (6701 m) — p. Kommunizma (7495 m) with ascent from Walter Glacier via the East Ridge;
4. Expected difficulty category — 5B;
5. Route characteristics: height difference — 3400 m, length of sections of 1st difficulty category – 1500 m, 2nd difficulty category – 1900 m, 3rd difficulty category – 6680 m, 4th difficulty category – 2200 m, 5th difficulty category – 120 m, average steepness — 30°;
6. Pitons hammered: for creating ITO — none; for belaying — of which rock — 24, ice — 28, bolt — none;
7. Number of travel hours — 38;
8. Number of nights and their characteristics — 3 nights, lying down;
9. Full name of the leader, participants, and their qualification:

XXXV USSR Championship rock class

Report

On the ascent of p. Shchurovsky (4259 m) via the north-eastern wall, category 5B route by V. Abalakov of the SA and Navy team Team leader Zhak V.V., team coach Dzhibradev Yu.G. When developing the tactical action plan for the route, the team considered the following factors:

• the volume of information about the route available to the team before the ascent;
• the weather conditions in the ascent area;
• the duration of the approach to the route;
• the level of preparedness of the team members. To expand knowledge about the route, the team decided to observe it for a day preceding the ascent. On July 21, team members continuously observed the route (see observation and radio communication log). The observation results allowed for some adjustments to the stated tactical plan, according to which the team planned to complete the route in 10-11 hours.