Traverse of the massif 5853-5960 (peak Vizbora) (the ascent was made for the first time) Peak Voennih Topografov (6873 m) Ascent along the South Ridge, Made for the First Time. Part 2

11.08.2006, the fourth day. That day we had passed those rocky shoulders (oh, they were really good, especially while passing with cargo). Then came a cornice ridge (there was pure traverse along ice of the 50 degrees lower than cornices were), after about 3 pitches the ridge became wider, a rocky ledge appeared along it’s bottom brink, the cornice disappeared. We went sometimes along the ridge, sometimes – along the ledge – where it were more comfortable. In about 300 meters after the rocky shoulders we marked a place suitable to make a bivouac (ice of 30-35 degrees and the rocky part is a bit wider and higher. Then there was a rocky wall of 80-90 degrees, but it’s height was only about 3 meters, then – again snow-ice ridge, dulfer of 60 degrees 8 meters, then a steep (about 50 degrees) part and again gently sloping snow-ice ridge. The ridge fell down to rocks on-the-miter of about 45-50 degrees, to rocks there were about 20 meters, running but and ben was impossible. We went along the ice along cornices, the slope there was a little bit more gently-sloping. There we realized that we had used all the ropes, so turned back to a place, possible to make a bivouac, and decided to stay there. All in all that day we passed 450 meters. But, on the other hand, we carried over all the cargos. Tomorrow we were going to start passing the vertical part of the ridge. (the bivouac we made by hacking ice for 2 hours, some places we faced with stones and sacks with snow.

12.08.2006. The fifth day. We went the distance that we had passed the day before and hung some ropes further, then some meters downwards – and one more rocky wall, of 70-90 degrees, 8 meters. Passing it with rucksacks was extremely hard. But on the other hand, after that wall the vertical part of our ridge could be seen. And we, eventually, would take off the altitude of 5100. Some more along the horizontal snow-ice ridge, and upwards! There wasn’t very steep, if we didn’t have 16 ropes, we would went that strip in ligaments. All in all from the previous bivouac to the bergshrund, beside which we made a bivouac, we hang 13 pitches. A part of cargo was downwards on the 7th pitch. That day was strong wind, in the evening – snowfalling.

13.08.2006, the sixth day. That day we hung over 4 easy pitches – across the bergshrund along ice and snow up to snow-ice ridge with rocky shoulders, then was traverse along ice lower cornices to rocks, then rocky-ice ridge, there were strips of 70 degrees (juts, hooks, ice screws), we elaborated up to the bend of the ridge 10 pitches, and that was all for that day. In fact, it appeared hard relief, not very difficult, but hard, with rocky and ice strips, deep snow. We were working for 8 hours. The weather was terrible, it snowed, the wind was blowing, we went in hopes.

14.08.2006, the 7th day. The sky was cloudy, then it started snowing. We took the lowest rope from the gently-sloping before the bergshrund – there we made rungs up to the knees. We went to process the route further with the rest ropes (7 items). We hung over the ridge with cornices. The place that seemed to be a wide ice ridge with cornices, turned out to be separate fragments, so we detoured that fragments to the left, along the wall by ledges and found ourselves in a rocky-ice couloir. The a pitch along the rocks, covered with ice, then pure ice of 50-70 degrees. Everywhere there were rocky outcrops, the belay was hung mostly on juts every 15-20 meters. At the end of the couloir ice turned into cornices, more 120 meters. We went to the left along the rocky wall of 70-80 degrees, but only 10 meters. The last rope ended just on the top of the rocky jut.

15.08.2006, the 8th day. It snowed, the wind was blowing, the visibility appeared only sometimes. But the ropes were hanging, so we went upwards, taking away at the same time the lower ropes. Then we hung over 4 more – along the simple ledge and across the collapse. The collapse – about 3 meters down, then traverse on ice (of about 50 degrees), then – ascent along the ice-rocky slope of 50-60 degrees. Up to the end of the 20th pitch we came to a hanging glacier (or big cornice) – a good place to make a bivouac on the altitude about 5800. That day we went for 10 hours.

16.08.2006, the 9th day. In the morning the sun was shining, and the wind was strong, but then it started snowing again. All the day we spent for hanging ropes away and carrying cargos.

17.08.2006, the 10th day. The weather was terrible, the wind was very strong, it snowed, but with breaks. But the visibility to the ridge sometimes appeared. In two marches we went for 6 easy ropes up, to 6010. And then we hung 5 more ropes just beside the wall.

18.08.2006, the 11th day. At last the weather became fine, sunny. We went to process the wall. Nikolay was the first, we passed difficult climbing along the wall and chimney, then interior angle. We formed the route to the right from the rocky tower. There were less than 100 meters, then it became gently-sloping, the tower we detoured at the right by snow. Then there was snow ridge, beyond it rocky-ice couloir to the continuing of the wall (that strip was look like a gently-sleep snow ridge). Along the wall 3 more difficult pitches (while we were processing they bring us 3 ropes). Marble – it was something! It was difficult to find a place for a hook, it crumbled under hands and foots, and sometimes it fall of for great pieces, some places looked like conglomerated lime. And all these in it’s top side is of 90 degrees. The difficulty of climbing on the upper strips – 5C-6A. The processing of the wall took us 8 hours.

19.08.2006, the 12th day. Anatoly Gorin because of his laryngitis decided not to risk and in the morning declared that he wouldn’t go further, but he was ready to wait us on the bivouac 6010. So we consulted and decided to go to the top four together. We took all for minimum: food and gas – for 2 days and went away. We went away lately as we needed to replay everything in the morning. The wall was steep and difficult, it was very hard to move with rucksacks. By 13.30 (Moscow) reached the top point. Further there was gently-sloping marble, covered with snow, of about 30 degrees, we went in crampons. The slope was slippery, so the first couldn’t went with the rucksack, so we had to hang over without cargo. A pitch along the marble – then a bit more steeper along black rocks, and we came to a snow slope. We wanted to go straight forward back to the ridge we had just left, but sunk in the snow up to our waist. That way we made a path to a nearest rocky outcrop, where managed to hammer in a hook. We traversed to the right, to ice faults (about 60 meters) and along the pure ice (about 30-35 meters) came to a snow supercharge between seracs – there we made a bivouac. It was 17 o’clock p.m., it started getting dark. H=6471 meters. 20.08.2006, the 13th day. We had passed a very difficult night four together in a 3-man tent. By 7.00 we went to the top. The weather turned bad, it snowed. Going in 2-men teams, mostly along ice we went up just beside a rocky ridge. The rocks very rather easy, then it seemed from the distant photo, we continued going up along rocks in 2-men teams, simultaneously, until we came across one more marble zone. About 100 meters more of unpleasant climbing (2pitches, hooks), then again going in teams, simultaneously, about 100 meters along rocks – then a rocky-ice couloir up to the top. The top was a snow plane with rocky outcrops, on one of the nearest outcrop – a place for a note. – to the west – a snow cupola, more higher than we were, so we went there too. There on the rocks lower the cupola was a place for a note, too, so we got all 2 notes. As according to a map, the top was just on the crossing with the south ridge, our note we left only in the first place for notes.

The Descent.

Up to the mark 5800 the route of the descent coincided with the way of ascent, with some unimportant deviations, connected with cutting of corners on dulfers. From 5800 we decided to go along the west side of the ridge, where for about 5000-5100 a good variant for descent was seen, but what was lower – we couldn’t see at all. We consider all “+” and “-” (“+” – the descent by the way of the ascent was too difficult, many traverses, horizontal technically difficult strips, that would take as much time and force as it took on the way up), we decided to go by a new variant. So we went to the right for 30-40 meters and started hanging dulfers along the rocky-ice side of the couloir, then along the couloir, turning all the time to the right, to detour rocky faults. We came to faults, that we passed along the right side, along ice and rocks. There were especially dangerous because of the falling stones, sometimes something flew from the top side of the wall (those stones are only heard), but the main “rubbish” flew while passing the rope, the covers are beyond the rocks or rucksacks, the volume of flying stones is so, that it was impossible to look up and evade. Under the faults we turned a little bit to the left, hiding under them, further two pitches up to bergshrund ( the borders were about 8 meters, ice crumb was falling all the times). All in all from the 5800 to the lowest side of the bergshrund 22-24 dulfers. The weather turned to be bad. Then we went in teams in the deep snow (friable avalanche cones), we passed two more bergshrunds, going down for about 200 meters, and came across rocky-ice shoulders of 200-400 meters. It became late, we went to the left to a slide-rocky girth rail and made there comfortable places. It started snowing, the visibility was the lowest. We didn’t have time to explore the surroundings, so the main way of the descent we thought was the way along the ice yoke of the right border of the faults - it seemed to be possible to go there, but the yoke itself ped off with faults and along the way of moving some problematic strips were seen.

In the morning I explored the left side – just there appeared a suitable way down – a way to a solid of the glacier by the traverse along the rocky ledge and further down by slide-rocky was seen. So we went for 50-60 meters from the bivouac up and to the left along the slide-rocky slope, then traverse to the left and down to a rocky contrforse, there dulfer about 10 meters up to a slide-rocky ledge, further – along the rocky plates along the couloir that was dangerous because of falling stones 3 pitches, on the 3rd pitch we crossed the couloir to the wall of it’s left side – there was a good cover from stones. There we put on crampons and then there was traverse without ropes along the ice-side-rocky ledge for about 150-200 meters up to a ice-slide-rocky couloir with a bergshrund on the bottom of it, along which – the descent to the glacier (across the bergshrund – with self-belaying by ice-peak on 3 times along the ice crosspiece). From the bivouac -2 hours (4600 meters).

A serious ice-falling was going downwards, that became more difficult because of the lack of snow that year. The way to pass it was along the right side of it, where we went in 2002. We had only to cross the ice-falling. Going in teams, we went to the right side – it was 2.5 hours of error in seracs with going up and down and using forward fangs. However, that icefalling wasn’t especially difficult. Further we went along the slide-rock (the moraine) of the right side of the glacier down to the open glacier (4000) lower than ice-falling, and further to the BC, all in all 2 hours.