Have you ever been to the Caucasus in spring? As for me, I have not. I was there in winter, in summer, in autumn, too. And Caucasian spring remained “on a waiting list”.

Alpine community considers spring to be off-season. Difficult avalanche conditions, winter night temperatures, summer heat in the day time. And really, who wants to make paths to reach the beginning of the route in waist-deep snow under parching sun if after a month or two it will possible to run in jogging shoes there.

There are no rules without exceptions. Such an exception in spring off-season Ak-Kaya can be considered. A massif of Fk-Kaya (White Rock in local Balkar language) 3400 m high stretches from the East o the West no less than for 10 kilometers. Only in one or two places the wall forms couloirs, that can be used for descending without rapels. Southern exposition promises snowless approaches and warm rocks in the day time. In the night time, however, the temperature in May can fall down below zero. Average climb on the wall is 500 m, from the foot altitude 2900 m up to 3400 m.

In winter, thinking over spring plans I came across Kostrov's article about Ak-Kaya on Mountain.RU (in Russian). I wished a wall, a good difficult route. Alternatives as the Crimea and Turkey couldn't satisfy me. And on the scene appeared the wall of Ak-kaya. Searches for deions, as well as simply mentions about it contented me with Max's article and V. Shamalo's report about winter passing the route of Vasiliev. Max also described the route of Vasiliev. To be more correct – the variant of passing it by free climbing.

Climbing of 6c grade of difficulty according to French scale – the key strip of the route. Well, it is not fantastic. The was just one snag – there were only few stationary hooks on the route. It was necessary to prepare for climbing and belaying by own strength. Somebody names it Trad-climbing.

So, we decided to go. It took us a whole day to reach the starting place. In gloaming we saw a wall that showed white snow on ledges. The picture we saw didn't add us any optimism. We calculated on southern wall with warm rocks. Looking back to a black huge wall, in pitch darkness we put a tent near a big stone on the road and fell asleep. All the nigh long it was cold, evidently below zero, it puzzled us a lot.

We arrived...

The wall

Against a background of occurring everywhere shit...

Morning. According to our watches it was 8 o'clock a.m., but the sun hadn't risen yet. What's the matter?! Finally I stopped containing myself, run out of the tent and fell into the stream of dazzling sunlight. It became clear that we had put the tent awry… In the shadow… Ha Ha…

Оh, these fairytales… oh, these story-tellers...

Surprised horses

Hopeful morning

First observations of the wall showed that sun appeared on it at 9.30 a.m. The wall was often covered with mist, that without any visible reason flew to it from downwards. I looked back. Max hadn't disappointed me ! Stones, stones, stones… Not in vain we took crashpad. But it would be afterwards, and that day we wanted to climb to the wall, to find the beginning of the route and to process the first rope. We didn't want to freeze arms on it on the day of ascent.

Up to the wall there was climb of 600 m. Puffing, we went to the bottom of the wall. It was very unusual feeling – all the time we went upwards without a path, regardless of obstacles, along grass and stones covered with ice. Finally we reached a wall. The first rope – of 6 a + grade of difficulty. Who was going to climb it? Novikov or me:

[Novikov] – You have been to the Crimea recently, and I haven't touched rocks since the New Year, let me climb.

[I] - OK, let you work as a leader up to the tenth rope, and the further ropes I will climb.

[We together] – That's all right.

Everything was excellent. Being sure in our forces we descended to the tent. Mist went down. It started dripping. As it became clear later – for a long time.

Morning strolls against a background of the Koshtan

The twins

Bouldering site “in the hole”

While we were going to the wall a team of three men from Kharkov, Ukraine went. In the evening we went to get acquainted with them. They were going to climb the route of Bershov. It was located in 100 m to the right from the rout of Vasiliev. It presented a series of chimneys. And ice in them… Brrr !!!

To be short, the next four days the weather was terrible. Confirmation in the form of wife of Alex on Ksenia with her friend joined us. The team from Kharkov, regardless of anything, fixed the ropes along its route. We wandered among stones and invented boulders. We didn't climb along them as it was cold and wet.

The weather...

An island in the sea of clouds

In one of the days wind started blowing, chased clouds away. It got colder a lot. We, having got pleased with changing the weather – run to getting dry stones and began to climb invented problems. It was cold but in breaks between wind blasts the sun warmed us. We climbed, fell down, were glad. And looked to the wall, thinking: “That's enough!!! Tomorrow we would start the route!!!”

In the evening we gathered belongings, prepared drink. But the sky chancellery had its own plans. Bad clouds appeared. I got doubts. In the night it started snowing and in the morning, naturally, we didn't climb anywhere. Instead we played snowballs.

Struggle

I find a grotto in a wall...

An eagle

Suddenly our confirmation lost all patience, simultaneously called us fools and gathered somewhere from that coldness and snow. They told us ideas to go nearly to Karelia. In the afternoon they went away. We exchanged glances with Alex and smiled to the weather that at last began to set in. The wall waited and we were ready.

So, it the morning we would start. We planned to get up at 6 a.m. At 7 o'clock would set off. At 8.30 a.m. we planned to be at the bottom of the wall, at 9.30, having climbed along fixed ropes, began to work. By that time the sun had to appear at the wall. We planned to climb in a non-stop mode, without night-stop, so we didn't take a lot with us, only a couple of snickerses and sweet tea. We planned to reach the top by the evening and return to the tent.

Оur neighbors-mine-layers

Sriped vest

We are preparing

We climbed rather quickly. Strong wind was blowing and the sun didn't warm. We had to warm the arms up for several times a rope, staying in a thrust or in some another way. We couldn't allow ourselves such a luxury as loading quickdraws, and sometimes there was not an opportunity to load it, as a quickdraw was absent. Alex was climbing in Five-Ten. I looked at his feet and became ill at ease. I wore boots, but my feet froze. How did he feel? The second (i.e. I) if it was possible went up climbing, as it was quicker than to climb along fixed ropes. And you got tired slowly. The itinerary was very meandering, with lots of traverses, so the second had to make “pendulums”.

Alex is on the first rope. A hook

Somewhere on the route

At about the 11-th rope we changed. I climbed over a strip 6a/45 m and one strip 4b/25 m. We found ourselves under a cornice along which there was a key 6c pitch. The glance upwards made us feel sad. Ruins. Having provided me with all was necessary I climbed up. I write it in details as I myself was climbing and remember the feelings. In about four meters there was a place for a stopper. I put a fine stopper behind the split-off. Near that place everything was crumbled. Alex had already received a blow on the head by a brick. He grumbled. I climbed father. Ruins continued, cracks were solid. There were a lot of holds. In about four meters I again got a desire to fix or hammer something in. Alex shouted that Max in the previous accent had put a nut under the cornice. I climbed to a cornice, touched a crack – narrow, my fingers didn't went in it. I returned for a couple of movements back. I had to invent something there, as at the cornice I could only to hammer a hook in. I took a prepared anchor on a quickdraw and tried to hammer it to a crack… To one… To another… Vainly. To the right I noticed a shell, took a nut and tried to place it there. It sat there, but not deeply. Near to the first shell there is one more, narrower. There I put one more friend. Then fasten a rope to them. Such a visibility of belay. I didn't want even to load that system. I took one more V-liked hook and went back to a cornice. It didn't go to the crack. If I had been on a short flight of stairs, I would have hammered it in and that time by the left hand I was holding, and tried to hammer a hook in a crack by the right hand, and at the same time I was afraid that the hook would fell down and I wouldn't be able to catch it. And I was afraid I myself could fell down! So, I turned back to fine holds, respired, rested and swore. But it was time to climb. I climbed up to the cornice, right hand put into a crack under the cornice, and by the left hand touch a hold above the cornice. To the right I saw advanced relief, I had to move there. But I felt that I have no more fuel and began to panic. Novikov shouted: “Vovan, come on…” But what could I do? I was about to fall down to the ledge where he was staying. I again return to a place where it was possible to have a rest. I wanted to make one more attempt but I had some doubts and understood that I felt afraid. And I disliked it. I climbed once more, but stopped at the same place. I couldn't.

Calm… and sun warms

Key of the route. Where can I place an anchor?

I climbed down to a station, as I didn't hope to the couple of nuts I left in the shells. On the ledge we loaded them, and one fell down. Alex took the baton from my. By a miracle he hammered the anchor near the nut. He, not being very ceremonious, climbed over the cornice. There I couldn't see him, but he hammered something in again. 15 more meters of climbing led to a ledge with a bolt. Hurray, the key was passed, moreover, without fallings and from the first attempt. I felt a little bit sad, that I didn't pass the key, but, instead Alex did!

It was 6.30 p.m. Ann hour of climbing more and we reached the top of Ak-kaya. All in all the route was 15 ropes long. The wall ended as in the Crimea. The wall stretched and then straight away it became smoothly. The top was covered with snow… And Alex was in jogging-shoes.

On the top.

Alex and clouds

Long Shadows – it will get dark soon…

Koshtan, Migirgi, Dihtau.. Gestola…

Kara-Kaya

Rocky outcrop

Itinerary of the route with strips

We put on all the clothes we hadn't put on yet and start the descent. To be more exact, we started the descent to a summit Kara-Kai, as the couloir for descend is located beyond it to the west. It was impossible to round it along the slope because the abundance of snow, to which we anyway came down up to the breast. I made a path and Alex jumped following my steps. A joyful occupation! Up to 9 o'clock in the evening we descended to a crosspiece where our couloir had to be. It had nearly got dark. A glance in the direction of the descent and it became clear that our adventures had only started. We switched on head-lighters. Having repelled a couple of couloirs we went further along the crosspiece in western direction. Finally we found slopes that didn't end with faults straight away. We tried to descent. In about 100 meters we came cross a step of about 10 meters. We decided to descent using descenders as didn't see more positive direction for the descent. After descend using descenders we made a traverse to the right for 50 meters and found ourselves in a narrow couloir. Descend using descenders across small ice fault. Narrow couloir was completely filled with snow and in the steepest strips ice appeared and we had to fix ropes. Four ropes of descending using descenders and 200 meters of snow couloir led us to a widening. That ' s all – further by feet only. Put a rope away ! Yes, sir!

A quarter past o'clock a.m. we were near the tent. Hurray ! 18 hours from tent to tent. 10 and a half hours he route itself.

Location of boldering stones

I have already mentioned that the massif of Ak-kaya is very extensive. And throughout the wall slopes are covered with stones. Small and big. On the biggest I saw it is possible to make long routes. But mainly these are stones of up to 5 meters high, that rather suit for a conception of “boldering”.

I tried to draw a scheme of location the stones around the place we lived, and marked on them problems that we climbed or invented.

If you look bottom-up the slope, from the right to the left go:

1. Start sitting from the hollow. Climb to the left and upwards. Climb to the roof. 6а+/6b.
2. Jump. Dyno to the hollow. 5c.

Stone Mister Bin with marked problems

From Mister Bin go up for 150 meters along the nick up to two stones. On the left one there are problems.

1. The left. Start from underholds. Climb to the left and upwards. 6b.
2. The right. Start from the niche – to an underhold and after it along red cracks. (invented by Ksenia). 6a+.

1. Project. Start to the right on a ledge. (steep slope). Climb straight away to the left and further upwards to the top of the stone. About 6a.
2. Project. Start from the upper stone, further climb to a pass between stones and then in thrust climb to the top of the lowest stone. About 5c-6a.

Ksenia invents something

Alex on our first problem

The southern side of the stone near which we put our tent. The side with projects was covered with snow, and by the moment it got melted we had to go home. There remained projects.

1. Project. Start from the hollow. Climb upwards. It is necessary to clean it of grass. About 6b.
2. Project. Start from the hole for the left hand. There you can come across problems with feet. Climb to the right to a long diagonal hold and from it upwards. About 6a-6b.
3. Project. Start below the hollow. Through the hollow upwards. About 5c.

This stone we discovered before the departure. In principle it is not remarkable, on closer examination – coherence can be found. Most likely – rather difficult.

1. Project. Start from the big lip. At first to the left, then upwards and to the right. The grade of difficulty is not clear.

At the pass “Dumala” (“I thought”) we saw very interesting stones of up to 6 meters high. The relief there is really fine. It is possible to invent many problems there.

Stone near our camp with marked problems

Stone near our camp with marked problems

Stone in a hole with marked problems