Peak Voennih Topografov (6873 m) Ascent along the South Ridge, Made for the First Time. Part 2 Peak Voennih Topografov (6873 m) Ascent along the South Ridge, Made for the First Time. Part 3

The Chinese Tien Shan is a region that is difficult of access in many cases. Firstly, there is nothing like an infrastructure connected with tourist business. There are no hotels, no porters, it is difficult to find a caravan, composed of more than two horses. This year the problem with horses has nearly led us up a blind alley. Getting permissions (passes, permits) to the region takes several months. The weather near the most Northern seven-thousandth - Pobeda Peak (Tomur) – is extremely broken: you can come across the wind, that is nearly to be hurricane, and snowfallings take place almost every day. This season, however, there has been extraordinarily few snow, so as a result – opened icefallings and covered with lots of cracks glaciers, highly sensitive cornices on ridges.

There is no any rescue service in the region, and except our expedition nobody has appeared there in the last few years, so if your have any troubles or extraordinary accident, you turn out to be left on your own. The expeditions to the region can be counted by fingers: Chinese ascent to Tomur (Pobeda) from the south in 1977, Japanese attempt in 1991 (three of the group were lost in an avalanche), French attempt to Kashkar, and that’s all. The mission of all of these expeditions was any only alp. As for us we have started systematic assimilation of the region, having organized this year the 3rd expedition to this region. This year we have made the ascent-traverse of the peaks 5853-5960 for the first time during the acclimatizing and have done a new route to the peak, named “peak Voennih Topografov”, 6873 along the southern ridge.

The massif of the alps 5853-5960 is placed in the southern ridge of peak Pobeda E., that separates the eastern part from the western branch of the glacier Chonteren in about 6 km from the range Kokshaaltau. The peak Voennih Topografov is 6873 m high, it is situated in the range Kokshaaltau, on the border between China and Kyrgyzstan, further east than peak Pobeda E. The southern ridge of the mount impresses with it’s legible line, it was chosen for our first route to the peak Voennih Topografov from the south, the Chinese side, in 2002. Having left Moscow by the flight Moscow-Urumchi on the 15th of July by the evening of the next day we had reached city Aksu, after a two-hours flight from Urumchi by local airlines. In the morning of the next day, having bought some fresh food and taken gas, went to the mountains (the village Talak). How it often happens, we have problems with horses that had been badly, but solved by the middle of the next day. I won’t tell you in details about 40-km long way to the place of the organization of our basic camp (BC), but only on the 24th of July our BC was organized and we could stat to implement our plan.

Choosing the Route

Traverse of the massif 5853-5960 (p. Vizbora) (made for the first time)

Thus, after the organization of our basic camp, on the 25th of July we started to the acclimatizing and our first ascent, that included the first ascent to two peaks and the full traverse of them. On the day of departure we went up along the moraines straight to the pass, where made the first in a season bivouac. And in the next morning we started traversing. In the beginning the slope was a kind of an easy snowy and slide-rocky range (1-2-grade according to the UIAA), but no longer than after 1,5 hours we had come across rocky shoulders. Some of them we pass on the right along the slide-rocks and stones, then along snow slope (2-4 grade according to the UIAA) and then turned back to the range. Then there was a series of rocky shoulders that were possible to pass only over the tops of them (3-4+), they were alternated with snow-ice ridges with cornices (2-4), on one of which we passed the night. All the next day long was taken to pass those rocky shoulders, almost without any climb. Then we saw a snow-ice ridge with cornices and short rocky strips in the bottom part of it. There we went with alternate or synchronous belay, sometimes used fixed ropes. That was the 28th of July, the weather was like the weather of the previous day: sometimes snowed, sometimes without precipitation, cloudy. We were going about 9 hours that day, the bivouac was made on the wide cornice. The altitude was a little bit more than 5000. By that place the horizontal part, that had taken us tree days in fact, had finished. Along the rocky shoulders we went about 30 pitches (45-50m, 3-4-grade according to the UIAA).

On the 29th of July by the middle of the day we, going in teams with alternate belay, had come to the alp 5853, that decided to name after Jury Vizbor (I think that the Chinese didn’t care about it), of course, the eastern one, as the main alp (5960) was still forward. The weather was the same – mist, sometimes snowed. That day we were going about only 6 hours, so, having gone down to the nearest suitable trough, made a camp – as our main aim was to pass several nights on the altitude of about 600 meters, to get an acclimatizing.

The next day went forward. That day was the wind that was nearly to hurricane, we assembled our tents with difficulty. If the weather like that had been on peak Lenina or Pobeda we wouldn’t have even tried to go. That place was a little bit lower. It’s interesting, how strong was the wind that day on Pobeda? The ridge was wide, again synchronous belay, only one strip required using fixed ropes (about 30 meters), and somewhere on cornices – alternate belay on ice-axes (3-4). Then we came to the slope before the top, to the place where the way along the snow ledge to a plato before the descent ridge, so we left our rucksacks there and went forward without them. It turned out to be not the top, but after that ascent we saw one more ascent, and more, and more… So on the alp we appeared two hours later. Peak Vizbora. Then we turned back to rucksacks and went to the plato by traverse. We had gone a little bit away from the range, there was nearly no wind. The altitude was 5700. We passed the night there – again to get the acclimatizing.

The 31st of July. It was sun shining, when we started, and the start was – over the ice faultings (5 pitches, 100-70 degrees, 4-5 grade according to the UIAA), at the top part with negative rake, than we went in teams, organizing dulfers across the cracks and on short steep strips. The weather turned bad, it started snowing. We made a bivouac on the plato under the ridge with two-side cornices. So, in total, we went down for 6,5 hours.

The next day we saw a slightly ridge with 2-side cornices (4-5), rather interesting. We got up and went along it, going in teams, alternate belay. Short time ago came across a difficult for passing strip (collapse). It was decided that it would be easier to make a detour. Then we did a dulfer from the ridge for about 30 meters lower to a snow pillow above the ice fault, went along it round the collapse and by the ice about 70 degrees, 20 meters (5 grade according to UIAA) went back to the ridge, where there were about 100-150 meters more to go. The morning sun was replaced by cloudy weather. Sometimes it snowed, and sometimes something could be seen around. Snowy cap – the cornice in the end of the ridge – 5000m, the beginning of a steep descent. It was rather complicated rocky-ice ridge with a great amount of small cornices. It would be a real torture to go along it, but from the cap it could be seen a nice ice couloir between two ridges like that. From the cap – dulfer, the negative rake, then ice – about 40-60 degrees, ended with rocky faults. Up to faults we crossed the ridge, that was on the right (somewhere on the 6th pitch) and along the ridge went down to a snow field, that was suitable for passing the night. It had already evening came, we made the bivouac. Of course, it snows.

The 2nd of august and the weather was fine. Along the simple ridge (snow was waist-high, it hadn’t frozen at all for the night) we went down to rocks (before the rocks there was an ice strip, then there was not difficult rocky ridge (teams, synchronous belay), we went along it, bearing to the left, to round 40-meters high fault. There was about 8-10 meters high dulfer along the waterfall and then by the slip-rock we turned back to the rocky ridge. Then the ridge 4-4+ according to the UIAA, there were many ledges for belay there, so it was possible to go synchronous. Then that way about 150-200 meters, then a simple rocky ridge up to the saddle and further by a slip-rock and the pocket of the glacier we had come to the BC just by the lunch time.

to be continuend...