Mountain.RU

newsclimbski & snowboardadventurephotossearch

russian

Mountain photos - amateur and professional photos of mountains.
Climb >

Author: Sergey Shchepachkov

 

Dykh-Tau Main, 5204m, Southern couloir, Bezengi region, Caucasus, Russia

December, 2001

Brief information and characteristics of the route

Маршрут на Дыхтау. Фото летнее. Автор Шлянтяев Александр, МоскваRoute description

Altitude difference: about 750 m

Extent: about 1100 m

Average steepness: 40 degrees.

Average steepness of summit tower: 50 degrees.

Running hours - 26, days - 4. All spending the night are normal.

Route grade: roughly 5Аз (V, М4, 5.8)

Team members: Ivan Alentsev (Moscow), Sergey Pavlov (Voronezh), Sergey Shchepachkov (Troitsk, Moscow region)

Technical data of ascent

On December, 4
12.00 - the team left "Bezengi" mountaineering camp
16.00 - weather spoiled, it started snowing
19.30 - the team came to "Dzhangi-kosh" hut (3200m)

On December, 5
Bad weather, snowing. By the evening the weather improved. S. Pavlov broke trail aside the route - 2 hours from the hut.

On December, 6
8.00 - the team left the hut. It was very cold, the sky was clear.
12.00 - we started working on the route ascending under rocks via a snow cone.

R0-R1- a narrow snow trench, short difficult ice-covered chimney (M IV), further simple snow-covered rocks. In total 40 m.
R1-R2 - simple snow-covered rocks. From here and up to R20 we climbed with the simultaneous belay. In total 35 m.
R2-R10 - to the left - upwards alternation of simple snow-covered rocks and sites of a snow. Then on a snow couloir under a belt of red rocks. In total about 250-270 m. After R10 1,5 pitches of rappelling on a platform for camp site on buttress rocks.

18.00 - the team set the camp for spending the night.

On December, 8
10.30 - the team left the tent to continue the route. It was clear, but windy.

R20-R26 - difficult rocks of the summit tower. It was about 240 m left up to the summit. We fixed the rope but when it was only 60 meters up to the top with night coming on we realized that we really had no time to descend before the darkness. And we made a decision to have another attempt next day.

19.00 - descent to the tent. We had about 70 meters of rocks left fixed.

On December, 9
10.00 - the team left the tent to continue the route. It was clear, but windy again.
14.00- summit!
16.30 - descent to the tent.

On December, 10
All the day long it was a snowstorm.
10.00 - we started to descend via the route of ascent.
20.00 - we reached "Dzhangi-kosh" hut.

On December, 11
All the day long it was snowing.

By 20.00 the team returned to the base camp.

Technical data of the route

Earlier on the right side of the couloir (on the descent course) a descent route from Dykh-Tau with the bottom part leaving to the right (on a course) on rocks of Southern buttress extending from Dykh-Tau Main summit passed. This ascent was not a clean first ascent. According the information provided by Jury Saratov, the commander of rescue squad in the area, a two-man team of German climbers summited the mountain via this couloir way back in the nineties.

The route can be recommended to ascend only during a cold season. As of the beginning of summer 2000 the Southern couloir was under rock fall danger. In the spring and at the end of winter it can be under the threat of avalanche.

Impressions about the route and about Bezengi in winter

The main difference this area from the Elbrus area in winter is, first of all, not enough snow below and very strong winds. During a snowfall the thickness of snow cover grows, and next day a strong wind blows it off. We did not use snowshoes on approaches. Up to "Golubyatnya (Dovecot)" - the hut in "Teply Ugol (Warm corner)" and up to "Bolshoy Kamen (Big stone)" on Bezengi glacier we went without leader changing. According locals’ words such situation with snow repeats every year. And certainly it is constantly very cold there - at the end of December the sun visits the "Bezengi" camp area only for 4 minutes a day.

Visiting the Bezengi area in winter for the first time we realized that that the simplest routes of summer season on the five-thousand mountains are not optimum lines in winter. Long snow ridges, technically simple sites but with the fictitious belay and constant pressure of a wind made us searching for other ways. Just hoping to hide from a wind we skewed aside more complex rocks of the buttress in the upper part of the couloir though it seemed more logical to finish the line and leave on the cofferdam between Main and East summits. Being afraid of a strong wind we did not risk to spend the night on the cofferdam.

It is necessary to add, that all the ridges and slopes of northeast and east orientation are especially overloaded with snow, as well as in Prielbrusye.

The routes of southern slopes look not so terrible as melancholy northern walls. Well, it is warmer a little there… if we can use the word "warmer" relating to such place as winter Bezengi. But ice from the south is much softer.

© 1999-2007 Mountain.RU
Mail to: info@mountain.ru
Рейтинг@Mail.ru Rambler's Top100