Related links: Talgar. The highest mountain of Zailiysky Alatau Range

The routes of Zailiysky Alatau in the Almaty region (descriptions are taken from the book “Over Zailiysky Alatau”, author V. Stepanova) with fresh photos.

Peak Uchitel ( 4045 m ), route from the Eastern side, grade of difficulty – 2A.

  Approach to the route from moraine of the glacier Manshuk Mametova lies along slide-rocks in the direction of the pass 28 Panfilov Heroes ( 3960 m ). When it will remain about 150 m between the pass and you, you should turn to the left to the couloir. Along the couloir at the bottom of the wall there is a gate that looks like a narrow cleft, 100 m farther it ends with a rocky chimney. It is the beginning of the rocky strip of the route.

R0 – R1 Chimney about 65-70 degrees steep. You should move along it up to the end. In winter and in the very beginning of summer the chimney is vastly choked up with snow. Along the chimney you come to a ledge situated on the ridge. The ledge is wide enough 3-4 people can gather on it. On a jut there is a loop of metallic rope to make a station.

R1 – R2 Narrow horizontal ledge 5 m long.

R2 – R3 30-m high wall, it is necessary to climb along it, turning to the left along a feebly marked interior angle. Climbing is not difficult. Above the wall there is a ledge with fixed hooks to make a station.

R3 – the top. From the ledge you should turn to the left and go for 3 m , then there is the beginning of slide-rocks, leading out to the top. In the face of the top there are easy rocks looking like stone steps.

Descent along the way of the ascent.

Traverse of the peaks Uchitel ( 4045 m ) and Pioneer ( 4031 m ), grade of difficulty – 3A.

Having gone up to the Peak Uchitel along the 2A graded route from the Eastern side, you should go along the ridge for 80 m , in the direction of its lowering. There is a suitable ledge at the bottom of 11- m high wall it is desirable to organize an intermediate belay. It is necessary to climb this wall over at the North-Eastern side of the ridge. This climb leads you to an evident height between the peaks Uchitel and Pioneer.

Having passed 70- 80 m along the ridge in the direction of the Peak Pioneer, you should come to a visible depression. From that place descent to the crosspiece ( 30 m long) began. The rocks are not difficult but it's better to fix ropes to descent.

The descent to a crosspiece ends on a slide-rocky ledge. In two meters to the left from the ledge a chimney that leads to a crosspiece in the apical ridge of the Pioneer Peak is seen. Having climbed along the chimney to a narrow depression, you should move in the direction of the top of the Pioneer Peak along the right side of the ridge along the confine of snow and rocks. The route goes nearly horizontally, for about 30 m .

In front of the summit – climbing along easy rocks, about 10 m .

The descent from the Peak Pioneer: first 30 m along the way of the ascent, then in North-West direction to the pass Pionersky along slide-rocky couloirs (the route of 1B grade of difficulty).

Peak Amangeldi ( 3999 m ), along the North-Western ridge, grade of difficulty – 2B

Approach to the route starts via Alpingrad along the Southern slope, then along the couloir up to the depression in the North-Eastern ridge. There the rocky part of the route starts.

R0 – R1. Rocky wall, leading to a ledge in the ridge. You should go upwards along the cleft for about 16- 18 m . Then before the entry to the ledge you should turn to the left and pass 1.5- 2 m .

R 1 – R 2. Rocky ridge , leading just to the top . The rocks are easy and are of stepped structure. There you can found a lot of cracks suitable to organize intermediate belay. It is necessary to go straight upwards along the ridge.

The descent from the top in South-Western direction along the route of 1B difficulty grade.

Peak Amangeldi ( 3999 m ), along the South-Eastern ridge, grade of difficulty – 2B

The route starts from the moraine of the glacier Manshuk Mametova. Further there is climb along the slide-rocks, upwards and to the left, in the direction of the South-Eastern ridge of the Peak Amangeldi. The climb usually takes about 40 minutes. There, at the end of the climb, on the confine of slide-rocks and rocky ridge, is the beginning of the route.

R0 – R1 Rocky wall, leading to a horizontal ledge.

R1 – R2 There you should traverse the ridge to the right along good but small ledges. There are nice holds for hands and suitable steps for legs. The traverse ends in a slide-rocky couloir, where you can find a jut appropriate to make a station.

R2 – R3 Rocky wall, easy to climb over (vastly destroyed).

R3 – R4 Sloping interior angle sometimes covered with ice. On the left wall there are holds for hands. The angle leads you to a small ledge, where you can organize a station using hooks.

R4 - the top. From the station to the left – sloping plates, 10 m long, leading to the apical ridge. Along the ridge about 100 m with simultaneous belay up to the top.

The descent to the Western side along the 1B-graded route.

Peak Komsomol ( 4376 m ), the route along the South-Western ridge, grade of difficulty – 2B

Approach to the route starts from the Bogdanovich glacier. Along the side moraine you should came to South-Western ridge of the peak and then climb along the wide slide-rocky slope up to “gendarmes” (rocky outcrops).

R0 – R1. The first not lofty gendarme, that can be rounded to the right along easy rocks.

R 2 – R 4. Not very steep ridge with destroyed rocks , 250 m long . Sometimes you can come across rocky wall of about 5- 8 m high.

R4 – the top. Ridge, with rocks of middle level of difficulty, stretches for 150 m can be passed with simultaneous belay. In front the top there is an ice-snow “knife” (sharp ridge), 30- 40 m long, that can be overpassed along the snow or along the ice (depending on the season), by the traverse to right from the ridge. To pass this strip it is desirable to have crampons.

The descent to the pass Komsomolsky along the route of 2A grade of difficulty.

Peak Mayakovskogo ( 4028 m ) along the South-Eastern ridge, grade of difficulty 3B.

  Approach to beginning of the route – from the side moraine of the glacier Tuyuksu. The route starts from the bottom of the Western wall of the peak, under so-called “striped vest” – rocks looking like steps, lower the crosspiece between the Peak Mayakovskogo and the pass Ordzhonikidze . The climb to the first step lies to the right, along a slightly sloping ice-snow slope and leads to a wide ledge. Along the ledge you should go to the left up to a slightly sloping interior angle, leading to a ridge. There is one more ledge, from where the climb to the ridge starts.

R0 – R1. Rocky wall , not very difficult but rather steep . The wall leads you to a ledge where belay using a jut can be organized.

R1 – R2. Above the ledge there is sloping interior angle. It is usually passed from left to right.

R2 – R3. Going up along the chimney . Then after the ledge the route goes to the right to a narrow couloir, in the upper part of which there is a plug. The chimney comes to the ridge where it is possible to organize a station on the fut.

R3 – R4. You should go along the ridge, for about 100 m . In the middle of the strip there is a steep rocky wall that can be rounded to the left.

R4 – R5. Not very difficult rocky wall – about 20 m high.

R5 – R6. 100 -150 m of destroyed rocks, leading to the top. The climb takes place along the Eastern part of the ridge.

The descent along the route of 3A grade of difficulty.

Peak Ordzhonikidze ( 4410 m ), the route along the Northern wall, grade of difficulty – 4B.

Having descented from the pass Ordzhonikidze in the direction of the Left Talgar, go to the middle part of the Northern wall. All the wall has a series of counterforts, looking like rocky islands.

The route goes along the ice all along the wall, at the beginning along a very wide and then becoming narrower couloir. It is desirable to climb along this route in early morning hours and in frosty weather. The route is rather steep, it doesn't gather a lot of snow, so it is suitable for winter ascents.

R0 – R3 Snow-ice climbs, with variable steep from 20 to 40 degrees. You should move to the left side of the bergschrund.

R3 – R4 Round the bergschrund along the narrowest its part, about 10- 15 m depending the season.

R4 – R5 200 m in the direction of the rocky outcrop, upwards and to the right.

R5 – R6 You should go in the direction of the middle part of the ice mouth.

R6 – R7 The steepest part of the wall lies via the narrowest its strip. In the middle of the strip you can find wandering ice up to 90 degrees steep.

R7 – R8 Way out from the mouth to a more slightly-sloping ice slope, to the left side of the crater.

R8 – R9 Way out to the ridge.

R9 – R10 Ice ridge just up to the top.

The descent along the North – Western ridge to the pass Ordzhonikidze , along the route of 3A grade of difficulties.