111. Kenchat via the North Ridge

(combined route, 2A cat. dif., fig. 5, 13) The path from Tyrnyauz (group of 4–20 people) through the Tyutysu gorge to the rocky plateau in the upper reaches of the gorge is described in route 106. From the plateau, turn left and first follow the Tyutyu glacier, then traverse the gentle moraines and scree to reach the foot of the Northern branch of the Tyutyu glacier, which flows from the Kilar pass. Set up the initial bivouac here. It takes 4–6 hours from the last grove. From the bivouac, ascend to the Northern branch of the Tyutyu glacier and follow its right side to reach the upper snow plateau. Traverse the plateau (watch for hidden crevasses) to approach the saddle of the Kilar pass between the Kenchat peak on the right and the Oryol peak on the left. From the plateau, overcome the bergschrund, then:

• ascend a steep 120-meter ice-and-snow slope (rockfall hazard),
• followed by straightforward traverse across broken rocks to reach the Kilar pass. The path from the Bashil tourist base to the Kenchat glacier is described in route 115. From the glacier, having traversed the bergschrund, ascend the ice-and-snow slope to the saddle of the Kilar pass between the Kenchat peak on the left and the Oryol peak on the right. At the pass, turn right (when ascending from Tyutysu) and reach the North Ridge of the Kenchat peak. Follow the ice-and-snow North Ridge (cornices, protection) to approach the first pinnacle, which is overcome directly via a 6–8-meter wall. Then traverse an 8–10-meter sharp snow ridge (cornice, protection) to approach the second pinnacle; ascend it via a 6–8-meter wall (protection). Continue ascending:
• along the partially sharp ice-and-snow North Ridge (large cornices),

South-east, 1B cat.

From Dombai clearing or h/c "Alibek" along the trail and grassy slopes and talus exit under Khrustalny pass, traverse steep spurs of the eastern ridge of Semenov-Bashi peak. Place for a bivouac — 3–4 hours. From the bivouac:

• Along a gentle slope in the direction of Khrustalny pass and, 100–150 m before the pass, left up a branched couloir.
• Up the couloir to the eastern ridge. Rockfall hazard!
• Then left along the ridge to the summit. Gendarmes are bypassed mainly on the right, downhill.
• At the beginning of summer — snow cornices on the north.

Gvandra Centralnaya - Glavnaya, 2A

Route description:

The path to the saddle between the Eastern and Central peaks is described in route M1 6. From the saddle, turn left and, having overcome a small gendarme "head-on", reach the "saw" - a heavily jagged rock ridge. Bypass the "saw" on the left along shelves and small walls. Then, along a 200-meter snowy ridge, reach the "dome". From the "dome", descend to the left to a steep snow-ice couloir. Cross it below the ridge line (belay!). In low-snow conditions, a wide crevasse appears in the upper part of the couloir, extending to the top of the ridge. To cross the couloir, it is necessary to descend to the bottom of the crevasse and ascend the ice wall on its opposite side. Beyond the couloir, ascend a simple scree ridge to the Central peak. From the saddle - 4 hours. From the Central peak, descend a 10-meter wall to a saddle leading to Gvandra Glavnaya. Then, bypass the ridge cornices via couloir R4. If there are no cornices, do not enter the couloir, but move along the ridge up to R6. From here, along a 150-meter section of simple rocks to the left of the ridge, reach a snowy saddle. From the saddle, ascend to the Main peak along a narrow, turning into a sharp, snowy ridge with a steep rise (belay!). To the right are huge cornices, to the left are steeply falling snowy slopes. From the Central peak - 2 hours. The descent from the peak to the saddle is via the ascent route. Then, down to the right along a steep snowy slope with a bergschrund at the bottom to the snowy fields of the upper Gvandra plateau. Walk across the plateau under the slopes of the Central peak in the direction of the saddle and then descend along the ascent route towards the Lozhny Myrd y pass. From the Main peak to the bivouac - 3 hours.

• departure time from the Myrd y bivouac should be no later than 4 am.

Gvandra in Uzunkol — description of the 1B alpine route

From the Myrdal bivouac, ascend via talus and moraines to the snowy slopes on the right. Climb them to reach the plateau of the Myrdal glacier. On the right part of the glacier, via a snow-ice slope, bypassing a rocky outcrop on the right, reach the Ak-Tyube pass, located to the left of the Gvandara Malaya peak. From the bivouac — 2.5 hours. At the pass, turn left and follow the snowy ascents of Gvandara Vostochnaya's eastern ridge to its rocky section:

• Bypass the rocks on the left, along the boundary between snow and rock (protection needed!);
• Then, ascend along the 300-meter snowy ridge — a "knife-edge" (beware of cornices!) to the subpeak. By the end of summer, there may be exposed sections with regelation ice on the ridge. Possibly of interest to you: msklaser.ru — metal flashlights at the best prices in Moscow! From the subpeak, follow the left side of the ridge (with huge cornices on the right!) with steep snowy ascents to reach Gvandara Vostochnaya. From Ak-Tyube pass — 4 hours. Descend via the ascent route. Possibly of interest to you.

Dolomit Severny from Dolomit Severny Pass, 2A

Route description:

From Chat bivouac, ascend via the right moraine and large talus slopes into the talus cirque between Chat-bashi Peak (left) and Dolomit Severny Peak (right). From here, take a straightforward snowy-talus slope to reach Dolomit Severny Pass. From the pass, traverse a 300-meter crumbling ridge to its sharp depression. From this point, descend leftwards to a ledge, then follow a chimney (R2) and a ridge composed of slabs to approach a large slab (R4) overhanging the ridge. Bypass it on the left via talus (loose rocks!). Continue via rocky terrain to a large "roof" slab lying edge-upwards, a key landmark. Bypass the "roof" on the left through a couloir and then ascend to the summit ascent via the ridge (beware of cornices early in the season!). From the ascent, descend via straightforward rocky terrain to a large talus saddle, then ascend the summit via a straightforward talus slope. The ascent takes approximately 5.5 hours from the bivouac. The descent from the summit follows the "Dоломит Северный по центру бастиона Западной стены" route, exiting onto Okhotnichy Pass. Then, descend via talus and snowy slopes to the bivouac in the Chat-bashi cirque (40 minutes from the pass).

Castle East — West from the Burevestnik col to Dvoinyashka, combined, 4B

Route description:

The ascent to the Castle West peak is described in the "Castle from the Burevestnik col" route. From it, descend to the saddle (cornices!). Via broken rocks and a short wall, reach the East peak. Return to the West peak via the ascent route. From it, descend to the south side of the ridge via R1–R3 ledges and traverse around a small gendarme R3–R4 and then the "Beak" gendarme R4–R5 via a narrow ledge half a foot wide (tense climbing). Via a 15-meter internal corner, reach the top of the "Beak" gendarme and rappel down to the ridge R7. From here, 50 m of difficult ridge rock climbing follows to the last gendarme, climbed "head-on" via a difficult wall (no bypass!). Then, via a 500-meter (cornices!), and from R11 steep (50°) snowy ridge, reach the saddle between the Castle and Dvoinyashka. From the West peak — 12–14 hours. Descend from the saddle by rappelling left down a steep narrow couloir (falling rocks!) to a narrow, indistinct ledge. From it, rappel down 30 m. Then, via a steep snowy couloir, snowy slopes, and scree ledges and terraces, descend to the scree plateau under the Castle's southern slope. From the saddle — 4–6 hours. From the plateau, via scree terraces, bypassing the Dvoinyashka and Dalar peaks from the south, ascend to the Dalar col. From the plateau — 3.5 hours.

• equipment recommendations: see the "Castle via the eastern ridge" route;
• the R4–R5 ledge is a psychologically tense section of the route. (1) — view from the southern side

Myrdy Western — Eastern, combined, 2A

Route Description

The ascent to the Lожный Мырды (False Myrdy) pass is described in the “Гвандра Восточная с перемычки от Центральной вершины” (Gvandra Eastern from the saddle of Tsentralnaya peak)” route (16). From the pass, descend to the southern side of the ridge onto the first ledges, and traverse left along them with a slight gain in altitude to a long ledge running along the southern side of the ridge beneath the cliffs of the Western summit R2. Approximately from the middle of the ledge:

• ascend left and upwards 30 m via an inner corner,
• followed by a series of ledges leading to the western ridge (protection!). A prominent overhanging rock R7 on the right serves as a landmark. Follow the straightforward 200-meter ridge to reach the Western summit. From the pass, it takes 4 hours. From the Western summit, staying close to the right side of the ridge, approach a narrow couloir R8. In the first half of summer:
• there are numerous cornices on the left side of the ridge,
• inner corners are filled with snow.

Uzlovaya

I. Ascent to Uzlovaya peak via Belleva pass, category 1A difficulty From Uzunkol alpine camp along the right bank of the Myrdy river to the second stream flowing down from the slopes of the Myrdy gorge. Climb to the right of the stream over scree, then over grassy slopes to a large green terrace — campsite. From the camp — 3.5 hours. From the camp straight up, bypassing the terminal moraine on the right, and further through snowy ascents, exit into the cirque below Belleva pass. Climb to the pass to the left of the outcropping rocks of the Jalpanol ridge. From the camp to the pass — 3 hours. From the pass to the right along a straightforward ridge (200 m) to the first sentry. Bypass on the right along a ledge (belay!). Further along the left side of the ridge to the second sentry, which is bypassed on the left via a 3 m internal corner with an exit onto the ridge. From here along the broken ridge to the second sentry. Climb to it from left to right with an exit onto the ridge (belay!). From here, a snowy ridge follows for 150 m at 25°. Along the left side of the ridge (cornices on the right!!!) exit to the summit. From the pass to the summit — 3 hours. Descent from the summit to the camp along the ascent route takes 2–2.5 hours.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. Number of participants in the group — training detachment
2. Initial campsite — green terrace

1. Ascent from Kichkinekol Pass - category 2B difficulty
2. Ascent via the northwest ridge - category 3B difficulty (Description of the path as you move towards the summit)
3. Ascent from Kichkinekol Pass - category 2B difficulty From the "Uzunkol" camp, along the left bank of the Kichkinekol River to the lateral step of the Sredny Kichkinekol glacier cirque. Along the stream, up the path to the green step under the "sheep's foreheads" - a bivouac site - "ice overnight stays". From the camp - 2.5 hours. From the bivouac, left into the green couloir and then along the ridge of the large gray moraine to the snow-ice plateau of the Sredny Kichkinekol glacier. From here, to the right across the plateau to the slopes of Kichkinekol Pass. Along the middle part of the slope (in teams!) - then closer to the slopes of Filtr peak (insurance!) - exit to the upper snow step and along it to the left to Kichkinekol Pass. From the bivouac site - 2-2.5 hours. From the pass, to the right, and then to the left-down, bypassing the "sheep's foreheads" along the shelf and then along the couloir - exit to a gentle scree. From here, to the left of the ridge to the gendarme. Bypass the gendarme on the left along the shelf (insurance! Pitons!) and exit to the ridge to the "trapezoidal" gap. Descent into the gap - fixed ropes (insurance!). Behind the snow bridge of the gap - (insurance!) - ascent to the left to the gentle part of the ridge, along which to the beginning of the descent into the next "triangular" 20-meter gap. At the beginning, to the right along the corner 6 m to a platform and then descent to the left along the rocks (fixed ropes, which are removed on the return). To the sharp snow bridge - (insurance!). From the bridge, to the left-up along the shelf 20 m, then along the chimney-crack to the right-up (insurance!) to the snow ridge. Further along the left side of the ridge - exit to the summit (on the ridge to the right, cornices!!).

202. Kenchat via the North ridge (category 1B, A. Zyuzin, S. Katsnelson, A. Kaverin, F. Kompaneyets, L. Khodyush, August 7, 1938). The path from the Adylsu alpine camp along the Tyutyusu gorge to the stony plateau in the upper reaches of the Tyutyusu gorge is described in route 184. From the plateau, turn left and first go along the glacier, then along the gentle moraines and talus to reach the left branch of the unnamed glacier flowing from the Killar pass. This is the starting bivouac. From the last grove, it takes 6-8 hours. From the bivouac, exit to the left branch of the glacier and ascend to the upper snowy plateau along its right edge. On the plateau (many crevasses!), head towards the wide saddle of the ridge between the peaks of Orel on the left and Kenchat on the right. From the plateau, overcome the bergschrund along a steep 120-meter ice-and-snow slope (rockfall hazard!), then ascend simple, destroyed rocks to reach the Killar pass saddle. Here, turn right and exit onto the North ridge of Kenchat peak. From here, the ascent follows the ice-and-snow ridge (cornices!). The 1st gendarme and, after an 8-10-meter snow bridge, the 2nd gendarme are overcome along the ridge. After the gendarmes, ascend along the snowy ridge with huge cornices, or along the heavily destroyed, simple rocks of its left slope (belay!). Then, ascend along the upper part of the snow funnel formed by the curved ridge. Further, ascend along the rocky-snowy ridge (cornices!) to reach the summit of Kenchat. From the pass, it takes 2-2.5 hours. Descent follows the ascent route. The duration of the route is 3 days. Additionally, bring 2-3 ice axes.