Part 4.

The expedition of the 1960 was planned widely: it included full traverse of the Pobeda Peak massif from the Western shoulder ( 6918 m ) to the pass Chon-Teren, ascent to the Khan Tengri along a new way from the East and series of some other ascents. The expedition was held as a joint action of the combined team of Trade Unions and Turkestan command. One of its aims was to take down decd alpinists (Dobrinin, Ananiev, Soldatov) from the Northern ridge of the Pobeda Peak . The leader of the expedition of Trade Unions was O. Grinfeld, of the Turkestan command – V. Racek, K. Kuzmin was entrusted with the general management. By the general force, the joint party of these teams was unrivalled. There were 31 sportsmen that had experience of ascents to the mount higher than 7000 m of 50 ones belonged to the party. Material equipment of the expedition was splendid. The action of taking down decedent alpinists was planned to be combined with acclimatizing ascents. The only thing we didn't like was the necessity to go up along the Northern ridge, the danger of avalanches was serious there. But we went there not to make a sporting ascent, but discharging the requests of the relatives of dead alpinists. Moreover among us there were the alpinists from Uzbekistan who had gone up along that way repeatedly and had already familiarized with it.

Thus, on the 17 th of July we went out to the first march, we planned to ascent to the point 5600 in order to carry there necessary for the following work on the ridge equipment. On going up to the plato 5200 m I decided to keep to the implicit ridge that descented from the plato in the North-West direction. The ridge was crossed by small faults, they were to prohibit from big avalanches. The snow was very deep there and our team of 33 sportsmen was going very slow. At 2 o'clock p.m. the weather became worth, snowfall began. The first three-men team lost orientation and deviated to the left from the ridge. I went to that place, stopped the first three-men teems and offered to return to the ridge. But E. Nagel , A. Kadochnikov, and other that had been there more than once, convinced me that it was the way they had always used before and it is that way that was the best one. The weather didn't become better and we stopped to pass the night under protection of a big fault.

Morning of the 18 th of July was frosty and windless. Remembering that the slopes of the Pobeda Peak were fraught with danger, we went out from the bivouac before dawn and teams of 3-4 alpinists went up along the slope. From that place there was not more than 200 m to the plato. 30 minutes later we held a radio-communication contact with the Base camp and at 8. 30 a .m. the first teams were approaching to the plato. But at that moment irretrievable happened. About 30 m above the first team a crack had a run and snow field 200*100 m crawled down, carrying 29 of 33 alpinists. I had only one thought – if only I didn't suffocated. Suddenly I rose to the air, flew and than fall down to the slope with snow – “flew over” the fault that was above us. One more flight and some time later I stopped. I feverishly tried to get out from the snow, but it wasn't easy. It was dark all around, my eyeglasses were plastered with snow. As my companions in team Potapov, Yakushkin and Shilov, I was tied around by our rope. The arms were unnaturally twisted. Somehow we managed to extricate. We drew ourselves up and looked around. “Where are the other teams?” – the only thought was in that moment in our heads. Some of them were standing safe and sound: the avalanche touched them only by its edge. Some meters below us something was protruding from the snow. We hurried there. Sats-Dmitruk, Kuzmenko, Liabin were filled up in a crack. It was difficult to make them free, but 15 minutes later all of them were dug out. They were out. We did them artificial ventilation. The Sevastianov's team, having dug out on their own, dug out Loginov and Tiatinin. But where were the first two teams? I suspected they were thrown over one more fault. We went there. Nobody could be seen, but a great mass of avalanche snow appeared. We started to dig and probe brokenly. At first our efforts were vain. But then at a depth of 1.5 m we groped a body. We began to work more quickly although from time to time became unconscious because of overexertion. 25-30 minutes later we dug out Buianov and Plotnikov. They had already been exanimate. We went on digging and 4.5 hours later dug out the last. We did them massage, artificial ventilation and everything we could. All eight alpinists (V. Buianov, O. Glebomotsky, A. Kadochnikov, A. Lisenko, E. Lichev, A. Osintsev, E. Nagel and Y. Plotnikov) that were the members of the first two teams, died, although they were released from the avalanche quickly. We also didn't manage to return V. Kuzmenko and V. Sats-Dmitruk to the life.

This way we lost ten wonderful alpinists, splendid friends, who made generous attempt to take down the deads of the Uzbek expedition of 1959 from the Northern ridge of the Pobeda Peak .

What our oversights, our omissions were – it is difficult now to say. But, anyway, we tried to foresee everything. Later seismologists said that at that time they time registered faint shocks in the Tien Shan region. May be those shocks became apparent that early frosty morning? I don't know.

The bodies of our lost companions were taken down to the Glacier Zvezdochka on the 19 th of July and on the 20 th they were brought to the Base camp. We decided unanimously to finish the further work of the expedition: too heavy was the trauma we got.

The expedition of 1961 wasn't as powerful as the previous one, but posed a serious problem – to make a traverse of all the massif of the Pobeda Peak from the West to the East. The expedition was held by Alesha Djaparidze Georgian alpinist club. Our Georgian colleagues decided to fulfill the task that salvation operations on the Northern ridge in 1959 didn't allow them to finish. In addition to well-known alpinists from Tbilisi and Kutaisi the members of the expedition were the strongest mountaineers of the middle and youngest generations from Svanetia. Remembering our joint ascents on the Pamir , Georgian colleagues offered me to participate in the expedition. The leader of that expedition became Otar Gigineishvili, who had authority in Tbilisi as well as in Kutaisi and Svanetia.

The explorers of the past years defined the shortest and the most comfortable way to the Western shoulder of the Pobeda Peak from the direction of the glacier Dingo, that way the Base camp of the expedition was built on that glacier. To the first acclimatizing march we went on the 8 th of August. There was a lot of snow on the glacier and especially on the ridge. There, where the last year we had climbed for about 1000 m in a day, we climbed not more than 200 m , shoveling with the help of an avalanche a trench in front of ourselves. And snowfall continued. Luckily, the route was going along the ridge and there was no avalanche danger there. That way we were going up along the ridge, we dug roomy caves, left in them reserve of equipment and provisions, and at the end we returned to the Base camp. At the same time another group brought necessary for the ascent things to the pass Chon-Teren.

On the 13 th of August all the groups returned to the Base camp. We planned to start the traverse itself on the 17 th of August. There were six members of the storm group: Djumber Medzamariashvili (the leader), Misha Hergiani with his cousin, whose name was Misha Hergiani, too, Teimuraz Kuhianidze, Iliko Gabliani and Kirill Kuzmin. A group of alpinists under the direction of Otar Hazaradze went to make an ascent to the top of the Pobeda Peak through the Western shoulder following our group. To the Eastern summit of the Mount, towards the group that wanted to complete the traverse, Peribe Gvarliani, Laerti Chartolani and Givi Tserediani, the sons of famous alpinists from Svanetia, young strong guys, who were whole-heartedly devoted to the mountains and friends, went.

Long disputes preceded that way of distribution of the mountaineers, but the found variant was,

certainly, the best one, and all of the alpinists were thoroughly preparing for the ascents. But there was one point in our decision in which we weren't sure – Misha Hergiani – younger had never participated in high-altitude ascents. He felt himself well on the Elbrus but the Elbrus was not the Pobeda Peak at all. We weren't sure that decided everything correctly at that point. But Misha Hergiani – elder, being the strongest physically, and, it seems, technically too, in our team, categorically insisted on his brother's participating in the traverse. He was sure in him and thought that he had a right to assume such a responsibility.

On the 17 th of August we didn't go out. At night heavy snowfalling had started and it hadn't stopped till the evening. So, we went out on the 18 th , a day late. Tireless Givi Kalabegashvili meanwhile brought a caravan with different tasty and health-giving things. In spite of the fact that the snow was deep, the climb of the group of making a traverse was made in a good temp, the trainedness and acclimatizing of the group made it felt. On the 19 th of August we passed the night in the cave on the ridge of the Western summit. The night on the 20 th of August we passed in the cave at the bottom of the first rocky climb. On the 21 st of August we passed the first and the second rocks and put a tent at the altitude 6400 m . In the conditions determined by the hurricane wind, on the 22 nd of August we climbed only for 70- 80 m and put the tent in the middle of conglomeration of granite blocks. But as if we were making up for the little climb made on the previous day, on the 23 rd of August, by 3 o'clock p.m. we were on the Western shoulder of the Pobeda Peak, on the summit 6918 m , that was suggested to be named the Vaja Pshavela Peak Vaja Pshavela was famous Georgian writer and enlightener in the 19 th century. We went for 40 minutes more and made a bivouac in a trough, in the middle of the ridge, directing to the main summit of the Pobeda Peak . We passed the night in the cave. Calm rest at the altitude 6900 was especially desired: most of the participants felt themselves tired.

At 10 a .m. on the 24 th of August we went out from the bivouac, hoping to pass the summit that day. But at first Misha Hergiani – younger was going slowly and by the middle of the day the weather became worth and we stopped to pass the night in front of the ridge before the summit at the altitude of about 7000 m . There was heavy wind and blizzard. On the 25 th of August we made some more attempts to go further but we had to return to the bivouac. Only at 2.30 p.m. we managed to come to the ridge. Misha – younger was going well and it seemed that his weakness a day before was accidental. We climbed to the altitude 7250- 7300 m and stopped to make a bivouac. It was about 6 o'clock p.m. and we didn't know what was waiting for us at the other side of the summit. On the next day, the 26 th of August the weather was wonderful but it was rather cold and we set out slowly waiting when the sun would warm the Southern side of the ridge. So we went out at 10.30 a .m.. At that moment nobody of us doubted that we would pass the next night to the East from the main summit. We changed two-men teams: I joined Djumber in order to make a path to the summit more intensive, Teimuraz went with Iliko and brothers Hergiani were the last team. The climb was going rather rapidly and some time later we at the highest part of the ridge. Really to the official summit from that place there were about 1.5 km , but that way was without climb. The second team was near us, but both of Mishas were far below. We exchanged words with them and understood that Misha – younger couldn't go further. I left the guys upwards and went down to Hergiani. We talked the situation over with Misha – elder. What would we do? Misha – younger felt himself well, but he had “cotton-wool legs” and he couldn't do a step upwards. We had to deny the traverse. Misha-elder insisted on our going to the summit, and he with his cousin would slowly descent, waiting for us. So, we decided that way. I went upwards to the guys. The time was 2.30 p.m. The weather was fine and we, having left our rucksacks, began to traverse the ridge to the East, to the place the previous alpinists had left their notes. Djumber and we were going forward, examine all the rocky outcrops: there should be three places for notes, and all of them in different places. Abalakov had found the Gutman's place, and Erohin hadn't found the Abalakov's one. Teimuraz and Iliko seemed to be going slower than we did and that's why we soon lost sight of them. Our track would show them the direction so we didn't wait for the second team. At 5 o'clock p.m. we were in the region of the official top.