Authors Ilya Rylskiy, Belousov Vladimir, Moscow

Karavshin - Three Years of Oblivion
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1.4 The road or how to organize a caravan. Part 2
To reach the Karavshin settlement designated almost on all maps takes 2 hours of trekking from the upper apricots orchard: in 1948-1950 the inhabitants were moved downwards "with the purpose of improvement of conditions of a life ".

Nowadays there are some tens of destroyed houses or their frames here. At merge of the rivers Ak-su and the Kara-su, a little higher than the former settlement, two or three families lodge in a small shacks in a kilometre away: we can see a cattle, small sites of the processed ground. Even upper, in the Kara-su, shepherds live with their families in the summer.

The great bulk of a cargo usually goes on donkeys. The donkey carries 50-60 kg; if the inhabitants say that to load so much is impossible - do not trust, simply they want you to take more donkeys. A pack luggage is: or 2 backpacks on 30 kg, or 3 on 20 kg; it usually demands to use additional bags which you need to take with yourself beforehand. The horse carries approximately the same weight.

The inhabitants, basically, can offer any bags or saddlebags, but it is necessary to remember exactly well where you have put everything as then the things can "completely disappear". Don't leave the cargoes without support - as a whole all things will reach the end of the way, but you will lose something inside of the reached trunks. We lost 50 meters of ropes in this way.

During the movement it is necessary to change donkeys. Drovers and donkeys from Vorukh do not more often go further then the frontier outpost, and shepherds from the upper gorge can not go below the apricots orchard. On the average the donkeys cost us 800 roubles (from Vorukh up to the Base Camp): here they respect the Russian money. We guess that it the amount of visitors increase this price will fall twice.

The descent downwards from the Base Camp to Vorukh can take one day, but for this purpose it is necessary to arrange that people with donkeys will meet you near the spring. (4 hours of trekking from the bottom apricot orchard where a car manages to reach). Or the car will wait for you near the bridge next to the frontier post.

The inhabitants quiveringly concern to a rope. You can meet a donkey in a harness from slings Black Diamond. Plastic bottles, caps, old backpacks are appreciated. And everyone wants that the group will present something to him. To satisfy these desires we recommend you to take about 40meters not thick Kolomna static rope. Well, and other gifts to inhabitants. Just in case…

1.5 In the gorge

A spring is near to the Base Camp

Kara-Su Gorge from a crest of the Asan Peak

We left the Camp in half an hour of walking upwards from the last bridge over the river. There are a remarkable glade, a spring with an opportunity of not extreme bathing here. There is a nice eco-friendly coniferous well and hot burning wood around. We prepared a dinner and a supper traditionally on a fire. We met the Germans stretching a short rope passage of 5-6 meters over the river at 100 meters upper the Camp. To go over the nearest bridge takes more then an hour. Upper the Camp there is a comprehensible wall where we organized rocky trainings; to organize the top belay on it can take a lot of time.

The Kara-Su Gorge is a place enough occupied. During our stay we met many shepherds and armed frontier-guards. Except for people, there are too many cows in the gorge, leaving "such awful things..!" We managed to agree with shepherds about deliveries of flat cakes, milk, and other specialities without any problem. It is possible, probably, and to buy the ram, but we did not try.

Taking all this into consideration, you would be better don't leave the camp without looking out.

The next gorge, Ak-Su where the Peaks Slesova, the Bird and other celebrities are located, is completely without people. The cows we met in woods on the banks of the river were rather wild; settlements here are not present.

1.6 The members and the plans

The Ascents it was planned to accomplish by 3 independent groups.

The first group: Novikov Alexander, Belousov Vladimir, Dobrinsky Pavel and Ilya Rylskiy.
The second group: Rutkevich Alexander, Kalyuzhny Veniamin.
The third group: Alferov Ivan, Petrusenko Alyona, Glebova Juliya.

The Gorge Kara-Su

For the warm-up the first group planed to ascend the "Yellow Wall" Peak via the route of 5À, divided for independent groups of roped up climbers, in different days. First of all Belousov-Novikov, after them Dobrinsky- Rylskiy. Then it was planned to have a rest and ascend Asan via Pogorelov's route. Further, in the presence of time - to climb something else.
At the same time the second group irrespective of the others should choose for themselves the object for an ascent of 4A-4B category for the first 4-5 days, and then they planned to try to summit the tops of 5À-5B. Further plans blurred in a fog.

The third group under condition of a presence in the camp the climbers on duty, was going to make some ascents of 1B-2B for all period.

The Communication between all three groups was planned to carry out with the help of portable radio stations "Icom - F21".

Part 2. FOR FRIVOLOUS PEPPERS

2.1 The brief dictionary of terms and concepts

Cormorant - the climber, a student of the Bauman Technical University
Shnobel - a nose.
Gryzla - a jaw (the basic part of an oral bread slicer).
Vorch - Grumbling, a process of silent malevolence and not constructive shaking air.
Khavka - a food material. It is should be used inside.
Kremnezhka - an inadequate pressure of will power with the purpose of check of a fortress of muscles, bones, gear, etc.
Caen - the boiler.
Dubak - when all is very cold everything are a burden to do to everybody.
Device - the adaptation, the device, a subject.
Feature - a small device
Hawler- a device for pulling out a trunk: a roller with a stopper; the same name have the people carrying cargoes on fixed ropes.
T-block - a device for rise on a rope (for amateur to replace excess overweight with a superfluous haemorrhoids).
Megadevice - something possessing wonderful properties. Examples of megadevices: the Ring of the Power, a jacket from eider down, the Swiss knife with 52 edges etc.
Titanium hole - a mythical megadevice which, on idea, the real climber should be equipped.

2.2 How to reach such life

The winter passed for bauman cool climbers unsuccessfully - anybody descended nothing: either the weather in Dombai was bad, or the apportionment in the Himalayas was wrong. For the prompt treatment of the patient - the bauman section of mountaineering - it was required to do something. The consultation of the expert in such things (in the person of Novikov, Belousov, Dobrinsky) insisted on shock therapy like climbing in Karavshin and intensive wall-climbing treatment. The most radical doctors recommended use of strong means - up to the application of a preparation "4810". It was refused by them: the patient could even die. The absence of a platform, an experience and titanium hole was the serious contra-indications against such methods.

As a result we came an arrangement of the recipe: " Asan, 6A,via Pogorelov's route, 1986, within 3-4 days. The dosage - how many each patient can accept". Upon that everything was settled.

Looking back, it is necessary to note, that a level of the brains filled in skulls of members of section, is nevertheless too low - somewhere lower their Shnobels and a little higher their Gryzlas. In a result, the group, ascending the top of 6-category, was consisted of three second-rank and one first-rank sportsmen. And a second-rank sportsman Novikov leaded them. And they had never gone such routes of the 6- category before. To tell the truth, at separate comrades was already had done a pair winter routes of 5B like Khan Tengri, and other Peaks which they unsuccessfully have tried to pass as a test for the first class of mountaineering.

2.3 On the eve

"Yellow Wall" Peak (a view from the Base Camp)	"Yellow Wall" Peak (a view from Kara-Su glacier)
Asan Peak (a view on the approach to the Base Camp)	A side-view of Asan, Southern-West Face from Kara-Su glacier

Pavel and Ilya descended yesterday from "Red wall", 5B stupid exchanged glanced at they with the sun and a heap of food in the "kitchen", and warm sleeping bags, where they had just left. After two days of almost continuous raining, a cold night in a crack in cut rock and climbing on wet rocks the opportunity to wear only a t-short on and to bask in the sun seemed any misunderstanding.

Vladimir and Alexander obviously sat too long in the Camp. Guys beat a hoof - three days of the compelled idleness already muffled aroma of the laurels fairly earned in the first day. Then they climbed the same route for 11 hours, not having any descriptions, except for a photo and own supervision over the mountain. However the spoiled weather and not fast movements of Dobrinsky-Rylsky broke the schedule of expedition that had begun not bad. After having some food material they decided to expect the gear and prepared it and food for 3-4 days for tomorrow ascent of 6-category top.

2.4 Ascent

Asan, from the North-West Face

Panorama from "Yellow wall" Peak: from left to right - Peak of thousandth anniversary of christenings of Russia, Kotina, 4810, Àsan.

Company, wake up!
06.00 in the morning, it was too cold outside the tent. Yesterday we again sat at a fire after midnight. And all of us wanted to stay in bed. But there isn't any cloud in the sky. All rucksacks were collected. The weather was ringing: any chance to avoid!
At 8.00 the caravan of four heroes (Dobrinsky, Novikov, Belousov, Rylsky) and two well-wishers (Julia and Alyona) went out toward Asan. Constructive ideas were absent. The stomach, not having understood it was already a breakfast or still a supper, was disturbing muttering.

Instead of 2 hours we planned, it took us 4.5 hours to reach the place under a needle we called "Cucumber".

On 06.08 at 12.30 Vladimir and Alexander roped up began climbing up on the couloir to the top of 180m- rock finger in the basis of the route. From the side it seemed not bad, but a fixed ropes did not get up to the wall on some meters for some reason. By 19.00 they summit the top of the finger and found a nice place to set 1/2 of the tent comfortable. Then they descended to help the rest part of the group to climb up.

The approach appeared not simple. The first attempt to rise under the basis of a route was unsuccessful - climbing up about fifty meters on the needle like "the mutton foreheads ", Alexander went on sloping plates covered by rubbles. To ascend on them without the belay seemed doubtful.

Second time we went more to the right, to the south. Climbing on a talus, we reached step rocks and fixed 20 meters of rope. Further we went on foot directly under the wall. There we said goodbye to the girls who filled with water all capacities, including the boiler, promised them "to be more accurate" and "to not be late".

Dobrinsky-Rylsky roped up should drag up our gear under the route while the first two climbers roped would fix the rope. We with surprise found out, that all groups had 8 luggage places, including the boiler. Somewhere in a head the idea arose: "Have we taken something superfluous? Someone took a lot of any rubbish". And it took us a lot of time to drag up a heap of trunks and backpacks.
Ilya Rylsky dragged up the gear to the station on the beginning of the route.
Under the wall we traverse on a ledge to the left and upwards. Here a ledge rather abruptly arose, we started climbing: everyone climbed as he could: somebody on all fours, somebody frankly. As it was planned those who climbed first without any luggage should fix the rope, but they didn't. However, they left the rope, but we didn't have any fixed pro. We were shaken by rough emotions climbing on free style with a 30-kilogram shapeless trunk on a back especially on 3m-site on friction. But the descent appeared even more adventurous.
.

Novikov on fixed rope - summit the "Cucumber".

Having promised to tear to piece the climbers who climbed first and hadn't fixed the rope for us we finally climbed the ledge of 10-15 centimeters of width and traversed it on fixed rope using old bolts and cracks. Then we finally found the rope fixed our partners and ascended on it.

Peak Asan, Pogorelov's route, 6À

Somewhere in the middle of a chimney the trunk with attached under it on 5-meter rope the boiler tightly got stuck under a small cornice. Unhooking a cargo, Petrovich could hard pulled out the gear over the overhanging chimney and catching ledges.

Time went. The first station we dismantled already in the darkness, at 21.00, using lanterns. Somebody could not put it on a helmet, and they should hold it in teeth. By the end of the second rope our business seemed to be adjusted - the backpacks one by one left upward, a trunk was regularly unhooked by accompanying. On the third rope the moon left, illuminating this night show. After some hard working accompanying with "Pull, your mother!" we finally reached the place where we decided to spend that night.

And all the night the expert with a diploma in the field of automation, the geographer - cartographer with his diploma, the expert on databases with a proper certificate and the engineer - designer in area of gyroscope construction were arguing about that ascent: how we couldn't cope with such simple task - to climb with the trunk and the boiler.

The Top of "Cucumber" represented a ridge with 15meters of length: somewhere wider, somewhere narrower. The place for spending the night was super. It would be possible to settle two tents and organize an invisible the place for a latrine. All seemed so beautiful: the moon, the clouds creeping from below and the mountains around.

We lay "jack" and farting we fell asleep. At breakfast we exchanged the complaints about the socks of neighbors reeking all night even through sleeping bags.

2.5 Flints

07.08 in the morning Pavel and Petrovich climbed to fix the rope and were doing it till the evening managed to fix incomplete four ropes. The weather was cold since the morning. The sun appeared only at 13.00 (on Kyrgyz time). The fingers in the rocky shoes dressed barefoot, grew dumb in some minutes; after removal shoes it was necessary to massage them. Yesterday's efforts, today's not having our sleep out, a cold, and our slovenry - all prevented us to climb quickly. The last rope this day we did not climb till the end and descended in darkness and dampness.

In the morning on 8-th of August we decided to take off the ledge and to climb up to the balcony, located in 8 pitches upper according to the description of the pioneers. However, Vladimir smote his breast, speaking, that today was necessary to reach the ridge that located in 3 pitches upper, than the balcony.

Pavel Dobrinsky is coming off from "Cucumber"

The bottom part of the wall to the right of our route

The next day was our one. The weather was excellent and warm. We wake up at 6.00, gathered, and at 7.30 began climbing on fixed rope. The station based on a bolt and two chocks appeared normal. But I hate aid climbing.

Further our movement began to remind a usual caterpillar' one. The first two climbers roped fixed the rope. The second roped ones climbed it on, collecting the station gear and bringing it upper. On each step of movement the 1st belayer met with 2nd leader passed the gear and it went on and on...and as a rule, something was given short, and then the leader had to make a station using laces from rocky shoes.

The second pitch after "Cucumber"

This day was completely unfair things with Novikov. First he aid climbed the rope. We exchanged our places. Fortunately to me the I did the following pitch entirely free climbing. Having passed it, I made a station and with half an eye noticed, that the following pitch he had to do aid climbing too. And it went on and on - up to the balcony.

In result I spent the most part of that day at the station observing how Alexander put, checked, loaded, thought a lot, knocked, checked, etc. Strongly regretted, that there was no with itself a chamber. There was one more entertainment: each three hours we should communicate with the camp. And to this, appeared, there was no end All in the same breath we reached the balcony. Stop! It was all for today. Alexander would make one more pitch till the darkness. This cool guy would never refuse the similar thing.

Ilya Rylsky in a society of trunks

Pavel Dobrinsky on a fixed rope

At last station we made yesterday, we spent a few hours. Vladimir obviously did not hurry up to make a station. We became sad. "Well, if they and further all the day long climb in the such tempo- we will spend the night in stirrups".

Vladimir and Alexander exchanged places. All went more cheerfully especially a traverse over a small cornice in which all odds and ends got stuck. Joking apart we had to unhook it. Here we frankly tangled one and a half hundreds meters of ropes - in general there was real thing to engage.

Since the morning Petrovich' brain feverishly worked above a question: "Where to take water? ". There wasn't snow on ledges. And, thank God, the accumulated ice is not present too. It is not planned any rain. In this case we decided to reach the ridge till the evening. And everybody thought: "We have got heated!" but the guys said: "It will be Kremnezhka!"

The platform on the balcony in the sizes hardly exceeded that was on "Cucumber", but convenience was not added, because sticking out stones occupied all the added space under the tent. But on war is as on war. It was necessary to be reconciled with that. Everybody dreamed about his own.
-Well, tomorrow we can be at the top. - Alexander made conservative forecast, falling asleep in tinned languages the Chinese soluble noodles.
At night the water was almost dreamed to all.

Ilya Rylsky at the station (2-n a pitch after "Cucumber")

To our surprise, also on 9-th of August the weather still remained remarkable. It was surprisingly warm, but, nevertheless, we had to to put on all we had, because even in such weather, having stayed one hour at station, it would be possible to die.

Next day Pavel and Ilya were ahead. And the summit was already felt. It was a special sensation: Confidence and calmness was in that we would have time and excitation and passion was in that there was something unknown above, behind the nearest ridge.

After an output on the ridge the rocks became much easier, than on the wall and our advanced two climbers began to work so quickly, that we had hardly time to drag behind them the ropes and the gear...

Under the top little snow caps and accumulated ice began to come across. We with pleasure split everything with bolts and axes, breaking away limpid slices. The granite crumb crackled on teeth…

Having worked hard like a navvy for a day, at 21.00 in the evening Ilya first summit the top. To 22.00 this evening we all gathered at the top were sitting and having tea. We decided not to settle the tent. The weather was well disposed towards us.

Âîâêà íà ñïóñêå ñ Àñàíà

We were sleeping like a log. The sun at the top arose at 6.00 in the morning. And at once it became warm.

We began descending at 11.30, aside the ridge with Usen. We rappeled two pitches and went on a wide scree ridge. Having gone down to dumps aside a cirque of 4810, we found trigger runners, and rappeled 12 pitches to reach the ground instead of 5-7 we had planned.

The distributed howl sounded from the ridge - stones started falling. Having seized the ropes and shaking the wet backs, the climbers hastened to hide under the walls. On the road to the camp their dreams were going like an arrow through the twilight:

- Imagine, if you descend, and there will be a borshch there!

And the honest truth, there really was a borshch in the Camp…

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