|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Mountain photos - amateur
and professional photos of mountains.
|
| Climb > |
|
Mt. Boks Ascent via Yugoslavian
route 5À-graded, It's something reminding the route's description with pictures
Prologue II At night on July, 24, 1999 a plane of East-Line Air Company delivered eight young chums from Russia to Manas airport - the air gate of Kirghizia...
...Having made acclimatization ascent on Mt. Izyskatel (Researcher), 4400m, via a 3B-graded route (that one that is from the right) already on descent from Koronskie camp site I and Maks began discussing about something like 5A-graded for the next climb. In Moscow Maks offered two variants: Mt. Baychechekey, 4515m, (there are three 5-graded routes laid on it) or Boks, 4240m. Finally we decided to climb Boks via the north face ridge: the route first climbed by Yugoslavian team in 1987. And as it turned out we did not get money's worth: the experts consider this route as one of the most complicated 5À-graded routes in the area. Initially we planned 2 days for the ascent: one day to fix the rope from below (three or even all four pitches) and then, after spending the night at Ratseka camp site to get under the route with light baggage and jug, summit and descend that day to the place of our constant disposition. But everything appeared far from that. Weather and the route character forced us to change our plans. Now, I'm going to develop the case to you in series.
1-st day. Maks, Gleb and I, having lined our rucksacks with belongings for climbing headed under the route. It took us 40 minutes. This time Kirill was on his business in Bishkek and was going to join us for the next climb. First from Ratseka camp site we crossed Aksay glacier in a direction of an ice-fall beginning (it’s from below) heading to the place where it adjoins rocky faults of Boks's foot. Then w accurately climbed an ice-rocky couloir not getting close to the rocks up to a flattering under the routes’ of 5A (our) and 5B (Krasnoyarian team had already been climbing it for some days) beginning. The upper part of this couloir was the most unpleasant: first, it was slippery (there was ice, you see, but we had a fit of the laziness to put on our crampons so early), second, all the time falling water washed it and from time to time stones collapsed from above through it, and thirdly, that substance of brown color on the right inspiring some hope and reminding rocks, ground and mud appeared the ice covered with mud. Really unpleasant!
Finally we came. First we found a convenient tent of a team from Krasnoyarsk settled under the wall and then we saw the Krasnoyarians: Igor Koryukin was hanging on the wall under a cornice in 40 meters from wall's foot and saying something to the wall. Vladimir was belaying him and began to explain us that something constantly collapsed from above, but they had chosen the camp site in a safe place because nothing had fallen there yet. In the proof of his words something fervently buzzed from the right and fell in snow. And such things happened from time to time. Krasnoyarians used their tent like assault camp not spending the night there but holding gear, food and clothes in it. At the end of working day they descended to Ratseka camp to have gaiety and fun :) that were reigning practically all the time there. However soon fine weather for young ducks started - fog was shutting down, and we decided to begin fixing the rope. Just took three ropes and went on the route.
1-st pitch: 5-graded (40 m, 70 degrees, V). A good thing: that we came under the route we could look over its first two pitches and study some variants of their climbing. After Maks started to climb, a strong fog presently closed down, visibility became no more than 10 meters and I could understand that Maks was climbing further only by the rope leaving somewhere above, knocks of a rock hammer and Maks's puffing. Black color of rocks, flow marks and rock's texture suggested us that water washed the rocks nearly all the time there and stroke a warning note to us right from the start. In fact that was really so. But as it appeared later water lashed against the rocks. Soon something began to drip from above. First we thought, that water streams from the wall increased, but then we were nearly flashed away and understood, that rather concrete rain began. After one hour and a half working on the wall in cold water we climbed 30 meters and decided to stop for today and to descend. Maks hammered two last bolts and descended rather zonked.
We descended and were kindly invited to Krasnoyarian's spacious tent. They already got used to such weather focuses for last days and descended right after rain beginning. It was a dense rain outside but in the tent we were met with hot tea and metal flask V.S.O.P. Very good! Taking an opportunity some break in a rain we hid our things under stones and descended to Ratseka camp site. What do we have? Instead of planned pitches we climbed only 30 meters of the first pitch. Weather obviously decided to correct our plans in its own way. "More is meant than meets the eye here" - we decided and made a visit to Krasnoyarian's hut to smooth fits of low spirits called by continuous rain from heavens. Till late night we naturally addicted ourselves to vice - sang songs, yarned tales, drank fire-water. Maks so expressively was talking about charm of "Bezengi" mountaineering camp, that finally one of the Krasnoyarsk natives directly asked him whether he was an expert on advertising of "Bezengi" camp. All the night and morning long it was raining.
2-nd day. We had to sit and wait for the good in the slightest degree weather. From time to time something was showering from the sky. Furtively we looked at our friends-Krasnoyarians: "If they leave their camp we will go too!" They seemed were waiting for something. As it turned out later they thought the same about us. And finally they called us lazy dogs and left under the wall at about 1 p.m. Well, having packed our rucksacks we ran after them. This time we took sleeping bags and a tent just in case: it is better to sit under the route in a tent waiting for the weather window and to continue fixing the rope than to walk from pillar to post. When we came, our friends were already on the wall working on their route. We set our tent at the unique convenient place - an inclined (of 5-10 degrees) stone plate in seven meters from the wall. With mistrust we looked at pieces of stone plates lying around our tent here and there and gave Krasnoyarian belayer a questioning look. He answered that for that time while they were here they did not see any stone falling there. That settled our nerves a little and we went into a fog heading to the beginning of our route. The rope that we had fixed became strongly waterlog, and from each movement of a jug splash of water and Maks's different exclamations fell from above. Soon he hauled up gear and got organized to lead the next pitch. We could not see him through a mist. It began a right smart rain again. At the end of the pitch, Maks descended. "There …there…there such…"… We understood. It was raining like hell from above and also a huge stream of water was washing the wall. The last five meters of the first pitch went via a small corner where a stream was falling. The corner leads to a niche under an overhang where water just hurtled through it. Of course, Maks was soaked to the skin. His clothes got wet and too heavy. We had to descend. For two days we managed to make only one pitch! As we decided to stay here for spending the night the Krasnoyarians were kind to invite us to use their "bungalow" settled in much safer place. They did not need to say that offer twice over. Our tent we used only like a warehouse. And we made a strong decision for tomorrow: Maks and I will fix the rope further (two pitches as well) and Gleb will take a photo of us a little and then descend to Ratseka camp, meet Kirill there and they will come back and bring us some food and gear. At night something fell and loudly crashed somewhere near to the tent. That made us doing some hard thinking! 3-rd day. Weather was class!!! The sky was super!!! Ur! Maks and I started working on the route. I was jugging first. I was lightly dressed and was feeling the frying sun disposing to pleasant work. However, when I approached the corner water began quietly dropping from above but at the end of the pitch water of 5-7 degrees was already pelting and I tried to get out quickly from the cold niche to the next wall's site clothed with the sunlight. "Well, what do we have here?", - I asked myself. "Yes, station. Two bolts - one of them is someone else's, old and small, hammered from below upwards and the other one we bolted yesterday. We could load only that strange old bolt clearly understanding its unreliability in case of fall. There was not any more crack where to bolt. We look at the rocks and saw only deaf water galls. And beautiful pictures about falling like b.a.s.e.-jumping but without a parachute began running in my mind. I remembered an accident with station's tear-out on a route in the Crimea and decided to bolt a spit to feel calm as the most complex pitch was right the next according to the route's description. Finally Maks climbed up to me and became a leader the next pitch.
2-nd pitch. First we climbed 25 meters (85 degrees) (aid-climbing in places). Considerably to the right, we saw a bolted line on appreciably hanging right rocky wall of a big corner. But how to reach it? Maks climbed more to the left on black stains to the overhang where we found other artefacts. He stopped on a ledge: water streams were still terribly pouring from above. And in the meantime a fog started to presently close down again… Now began serious aid-climbing on a vertical wall passing in an overhang of 95-100 degrees. We had to climb on wet, slippery rocks with streaming water on them. At last Maks climbed the overhang, then moved to the right (aid-climbing too, upwards on a rocky plate, 10 m, 85 degrees) and set the next station using three bolts. Making the second pitch took us two hours and a half. Because of dense fog I could not see Maks and could nearly hear him. I started jugging… But the end of the overhang where the rope sharply went to the right was rough to climb. The point was so loaded that I, being groundless (100 degrees) with a rucksack did not manage to unload it and to unclip the rope. Then I tried to reclip the jug after that artful point but failed because I could not find any toe-hold and unload the rope. Maks sitting in the fog above did not understand what was happening with me and finally we decided to correct that situation from above: I descended to the station and Maks rappelled and settled all the problems. "Well, what next, I wonder?" - I asked. "I little…A little bit easier" - Maks replied. Something was dripping again from the sky. Or it was just the result of thawing? It was enough for today. The crux was gone - tomorrow we will leave with all our team on the route. Let's see how matters stand then. We got into the tent. We felt cold and were starving. Gleb and Kirill came and brought a lot of sweets, delicious food and a capacity of one half-liter with something transparent. This liquid fetched a circuit - and we added forces, our mood improved, life became better and more cheerfully. Tomorrow, in the morning....- we said.
4-th day. We woke up terribly late. The Krasnoyarians working on their route since the early morning were surprised: "Why are you so late? It's already 11a.m. and you are only finishing jugging two fixed ropes". "Who knows,"- we answered. Really, we did not know that. The last days showed that the weather could appreciably affect on climbing speed and in general change plans, therefore this time we took a tent, two more insulating pads and a sleeping bag. Well, let's go! 3-rd pitch appeared rather simple - 40 m, 70 degrees, IV. And it goes logically on a corner. At the end we found some relics of previous ascents. That place was not convenient for the belay station. Only one climber could be located there and only in hanging position. 4-th pitch - further on the corner against the stop, and then about 10 meters on very destroyed rocks upwards and to the left to a wide ledge where it's possible to fix a station and organize to lead the next pitch. If the day also began from good weather when we reached the fourth pitch's end everything around was covered by a dense fog. Visibility was pure, no more than fifty meters…
5-th pitch: a simple ledge of 50 m, 10 degrees, II, traverse. In the beginning we had to descend a little from the station and then to climb on a wet corner about 5 meters. The next point was at the end of a ledge behind the corner. We did not have a full rope to reach a convenient place, and had to extend it and climb a little more. The fog became even denser. We could see within line-of-sight of fifteen meter. 6-th pitch: 30 m, 75 degrees, IV. From our convenient station settled behind the corner after a long ledge we moved right to the left and upwards a little without significant climb through rocky embrasure, and farther in 7-10 meters climbed to the right on the wall and then upwards on a logical cracks in a direction (if it is visible) a dark chimney with overhang. Somewhere on that way to it in 20-25 meters we fixed the next station. 7-th pitch: 30 m, 65 degrees, IV. From the station to move on a crevice in width from 10 up to 20 centimeters (a leg that entirely gets into it somewhere becomes to be chocked off in the area of your knee or foot), separating a part of the rock (like a huge stone) from the wall, upwards and further, already on rocks of smaller steepness, in a niche of a chimney under an overhang where we found a convenient place for spending the night - a ledge laid on flat, snow for water and some fragments of vital functions left by non-ecofriendly climbers. Again something began dripping from the sky. It was not a pleasant occupation to climb on wet 5-graded rocks. But while it was possible to go further we decided to climb. And Maks continued to be a leader.
8-th pitch: 40 m, 80 degrees, V, stones. First we climbed on a corner of a chimney, and then crossed to its left side as the rocks of the corner turned in a meccano "do-it-yourself". The next station was fixed at a convenient ledge in the basis of the next corner. It was clear that not only we climbed here. Hardly lower on continuation of the left wall of the corner we saw an old bolt in a crack. "Crazy people!", - we thought. 9-th pitch: 40 m, 85 degrees, V +. It seemed the second on complexity pitch of this route. First we moved on the left side of the corner, and then in twenty meters started to climb into the corner. Somewhere from the middle and up to the end it was very abrupt. We set the next station right after we got out from the corner. Rain seemed to stop, but it was foggy and visibility was a maximum up to 100 meters. 10-th pitch: 40 m, 65 degrees, III. Rather simple pitch. There is a wide ledge (4 x 4mm, 30 degrees) at the end. The day wore towards its close, but we did not reached snow yet. To reach the snow was our main aim as the wall was practically dry in its upper part, and we had next to nothing 1,5 liters of tea to cap it all. Finally we decided to play in such way: Kirill and Gleb stay at the inclined ledge, Maks and I continue fixing. If we reach snow everyone will climb up to a new place and we’ll put the tent already there near to snow. 11-th pitch: 45 m, 70 degrees, V. In the beginning it can be even more complex a little. Directly from the ledge upwards on cracks. The next station was organized on a small ledge where only one and a half person or three foot could be pocketed. 12-th pitch: 40 m, 65 degrees, IV. But Maks did not manage to get to its end as we did not have enough gear and the most important thing was that it became to be clear, that at least two pitches more we had to climb to reach the snow but we had no time to do that. Having settled a temporary station we rappelled to Kirill and Gleb. Where to settle our tent? The ledge of 30 degrees did not seem convenient to us (would you imagine if you have to sleep on an escalator?). Kirill and I descended a little on a talus couloir and found more horizontal ledge (1,5x1mm). After a while we managed to make the ledge more comfortable and already in full darkness to set a half of our tent having fixed it with the rope in its turn fixed somewhere at the point above. Soap trays - back to the rucksack! All the guys began preparing for sleeping: making more - less convenient sitting position, self-belaying (if you would not like to fly away somewhere at night), shifting of socks, etc. Maks decided to sleep in his helmet (Caution is the parent of safety!), but as for me I was tired of wearing it for all the day, that I placed it at the left under the pad and under my back - a huge stone that we had not managed to take off pressed me from there. Well, and what about supper? As we did not have any snow and water there we had a bite of chocolate, dried fruits. We had not enough tea, and drank very little for the end of the working day - a mug for everyone (pleasure!). And then we sat to sleep all together covered with one sleeping bag. Of course we did not have a high-grade dream: all the night you were constantly feeling stones sticking into your back, neck, and your different body parts became numb. 5-th day. This morning we woke up too late again. But this matter was unimportant, relatively speaking. We had already climbed the crux and further there would not be any problems. We had a breakfast: four swallows of tea and a piece of chocolate for everyone. We screwed tea out of a bottle unto the last drop.
Kirill went for a walk on small ledges of the couloir. Just unclipped and went away...... to have some photos. Maks began making the air blue. But I calmed him: "If he falls, he will falling on his jack. As if we cared! We will just continue to climb". While we were jugging the first of fixed ropes Maks finished the 12-th pitch and led the simple 13-th one: 45 m, 60 degrees, III. Then he moved to the right and upwards to the edging of the north wall where it limits the dome’s ice slope. Right then reached the snow we began to eat it like children. You never know what you can do till you try... 14-th pitch: 150 m, 40 degrees. Ice with fragments of rocks sticking out in places. Simultaneous movement. In the beginning in general we organized belay points over the rocks and then we used ice-screws and climbed in a direction of a much expressed ice chimney in the upper rocky belt before the ridge. 15-th pitch: hardly more abrupt, 100 m, ice. We moved on an ice slope, and then via a chimney where we could use both: ice-screws or chocks especially in the beginning, where the chimney is appreciably narrower. Climbing it we found old gear hanging here and there. At the end the chimney extends and deduces on a wide ledge and then on the ridge.
16-th pitch: 150 - 200 m, II. On the right side of the ridge we moved simultaneously and accurately up to a small dip and after it bypassing from the left a tower-shape rising on strongly destroyed rocks we went on the very wide shoulder of Boks's ridge where an enormous talus couloir (right where a descent route passes) from Aksai glacier leaves. A fine view on Svobodnaya (Free) Korea peak opens from here. Its hanging rocky part where the most difficult routes are laid was in a good light. 17-th pitch: 300 m, 0 + only with ski poles, not with rucksacks and other gear. Real pleasure! Some gendarmes on our way we bypassed as we wanted - from the left , from the right or head-on. There was no any difference. Finally, we reached the summit! But we could see nothing around. The sky began be tightened by fog and clouds again. Our descent represented boring movement downwards on the couloir up to the glacier, then we crossed it and trekked via the classical track leading on Koronskie camp site, and then to Ratseka. And in the evening Alex Abramov and his friends treated us with tea and spirit. Well, our ascent on Mt. Boks, 5A, came to end in success.
|
 |
| © 1999-2007 Mountain.RU Mail to: info@mountain.ru |
|
