Mountain photos - amateur and professional photos of mountains.

Check out the previous story: Kongur-2003

Author: Valery Shamalo, S.Petersburg
Translated by Anna Samodelko, Anna Piunova, www.Mountain.RU

 

Kongur-2003.The Ascent Datas

The view of the North ridge from the Base Camp.

The right variant- the route of our first ascent (till 6000m), the left variant- the route first descent and the route of our second ascent and descent.

13.08.03 towards late evening the base Camp, 3550m, was settled.
14.08. Climbed up to 4650 ì.
15.08. up to 5420ì.
16.08. up to 5960ì.
17.08. Shamalo and Kofanov descended to the Base Camp (3550ì), the three other climbers descended to 4650ì.
18.08. All team’s members descended to the Base Camp.
20.08. climbed up to 4900ì.
21.08. The rest forced by a sickness of one climber.
22.08 up to 5960ì.
23.08. up to 6510ì.
24.08. up to 6900ì.
25.08. The attempt to ascend failed because of the bad weather and the insufficient acclimatization. We had to return and descend to 5200m. It was windy, intensely cold weather (about -35° C). We had the danger of frost-bites.
26.08 All team’s members descended to the Base Camp.
27.08. In early morning we left the canyon for 4 hours. We arrived Kashgar that day.

The optimal period of the Expedition in 2004 is supposed from 5 /10 of July.

On ascending to the ice slope above the Camp at 4900m.

As the result we fond the easier route from the North then along the ridge. Of course we should to fix the rope there and there were some difficult parts. For the second travel we accordingly went those parts of the route again. All the ropes after the first travel we had pulled through excepting two last ones. And we think that to ascend over the “umbrella” isn’t an easy route.

I consider that our variant after working up would be the classical route to summit that mountain. It is not much easier technically as the route via Bonington, but it is easier physically: you shouldn’t traverse 5 km at the altitude higher then 7000m. You can reach the summit without reducing the altitude.

It has still stayed a mystery for us why the Japanese and Khokhlov didn’t climb via that route? They simply couldn’t see it or overrated its as difficulty and danger. Or they wanted to make a more difficult and excellent route.

Kongur. The view from the South side. Photo: Ivan Volodin, Moscow.

We climbed much higher then the “umbrella”. Our Base Camp was settled in half-an-hour trekking the North-West from the Base Camp settled by Khokhlov last year. Strictly speaking it was near the Kirghiz settlement just at the beginning of the ridge. It took a few minutes to walk to the settlement.

We consider our place was the most convenient from the North Side and our route was the easiest way of access but not easiest way of technique to climb Kongur.

There is a variant to go round the upper part coinciding with the route via Bonington: to go round from the left and climb on the north ridge upper the “umbrella”. In this order you should make the ascent of the long steep slope, but it would be easier and more comfortable then to fix the rope via the “umbrella”.

The inhabitants alleged that there was an American expedition in nearest places from the North. We found a peace of a spongy mat and some rubbish else.

And it would be interesting if it was the tricks of wind or somebody summited the top besides the Bonington’s group.

The beginning of the ice slope at about 5100m. Aleksey Gorbatenkov.	Aleksey Gorbatenkov is ascending to the upper ice-fall, about 5850m	Sergey Kofanov is ascending to the upper ice-fall, about 5900m	The Frenchman Mark is climbing the upper ice-fall at about 6000m
Sergey Kofanov at about 6400m with 7126m in the background. It was quite warm after hard moving through a snow blanket in good weather.