Middle and Great Mountains of Kyrgyzstan: Karakol Gorge and Lenin Peak. Ski resort "Karakol"

In the next few posts I will talk about the main attraction of Kyrgyzstan - the gorges of the Tien Shan. The southern shore of Issyk-Kul, or rather the Tereskey Ala-Too ridge, whose rivers run into the great lake, is especially rich in these. We are with darkiya_v in three days we visited five dissimilar gorges, which I will now show from east to west. First, let's go to the Karakol Gorge - it is very close to the city of the same name, no further than the shown Pristan-Przhevalsk, but only from the opposite side.

Initially, the Karakol Gorge was not even part of my plans, but someone told us that Khan Tengri (6995m) was visible from there. I have long dreamed of seeing this mountain (or better yet, the “real Khan Tengri” - Pobeda Peak, which is 7439m), whose name means Lord of the Sky, but as it turned out, it is almost impossible to do this from Kyrgyzstan: the massif on which both peaks are located, hangs over the surrounding plains, and Pobeda Peak is better visible from China, and “our” Khan Tengri (actually Kantau) is from the Kegen Valley of Kazakhstan, from the Kyrgyz side the mountains rise gradually, and distant seven-thousanders are hidden by not so high nearby peaks. Frankly speaking, I didn’t really hope that it would be visible from the Karakol Gorge, but who knows? A trip to the mountains for a person from the plains cannot be a waste of time in principle.
On the square near the hotel we walked around several taxi drivers, and one of them agreed to take us where we needed to go, it seems, for 500 som (about 300 rubles). At the upper exit from Karakol there is a small thermal power plant, and ahead we can already see our goal: the icy Przhevalsky Peak (4272), below which there is a brown-green hill - we are going to it.

2.

As it turned out, the driver’s fee does not include an environmental fee - in some place the road is blocked by a barrier, behind which Karakolsky begins natural Park(not to be confused with its namesake in Altai), and I had to pay about a hundred soms for the car. At the entrance memorial sign to the local hero of labor, forester Mukai Dabaev:

3.

However, you can’t immediately tell that this is a natural park - some houses along the ravines, mini-hotels under construction and unfinished... in short, the normal landscape of a spontaneous post-Soviet resort.

4.

Along a broken dirt road, along a winding road, we climbed to the ski resort:

5.

At the gate they took the driver’s phone number and went out the gate. The ski resort looks very decent, and apparently is in great demand in winter. In summer, it is quiet and deserted - only security guards and workers.

6.

AND - cable car, going up to that same hill:

7.

In winter it works constantly, and in summer - sometimes: it is launched for groups of more than 15 people, and we hoped that we would be lucky. No luck - the cable car turned out to be stationary, and the cost of launching it for us personally (I don’t remember the exact figure) motivated us very well to walk - to that peak over there:

8.

We passed the first section calmly and, as usual, joking around, I looked at the mountain and consoled myself (out loud) that the climb up it would probably take a couple of hours, no more.

9.

But then... Then a steep slope began, and in general it became clear that we were too presumptuous. The mountain turned out to be simply higher and steeper than one might have thought by eye. In addition, we walked almost knee-deep in fallen leaves and weeds, picking up long sticks, but in general the path from pillar to post seemed unbearable. After all, we are not climbers, not even hikers, and no matter how experienced I am on city streets, I am just as naive in nature.

10.

At some point we decided to go in a zigzag. In principle, the ascent itself would have been an easy walk if we had 3-4 hours to spare, but we managed to arrive here almost at sunset, so the task was not just to get to the top, but to do it QUICKLY.

11.

12.

At the same time, there is a dirt road running along the mountain to service the cable car, coming from somewhere on the side, and it was great luck to come across it - the walk became incomparably easier:

13.

There the teeth of Przhevalsky Peak are already peeking out from behind the hill:

14.

But at some point it became simply clear that if you walked along it any further, you wouldn’t have time to climb it before it got dark! This means straight ahead, along the slope, in short zigzags, getting wet and out of breath. But the tree takes years to climb up...

15.

The top is nearby. By the way, can any of those who find this all funny explain why they build such pyramids in the mountains?

16.

Here we are at the top! It takes a couple of minutes to read about this climb, and 10-20 minutes to post it (this does not mean the entire post, but only the section of the climb), but we spent two hours or more trying to climb up. And only at home I learned that the real height of this hill is 3040 m, that is, we covered about 700 vertical meters.

17.

Having dressed warmly (because I was sweating to the skin), I sat down on the chair of the cable car, relaxing and admiring the space below. And also half-jokingly, half-seriously, thinking what would happen if the cable car suddenly went for some preventive purpose and stopped in the middle.

18.

19.

Although, of course, if she had gone straight to the base, it would have been nice - the long shadows, the creeping brain and the setting Sun left no illusions that she would have to walk back in the dark.

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And on the other side...

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22.

On the left is Przhevalsky Peak, which seems like a stone's throw from here... But no, in fact, only the vertical difference here is 1230m, it's like from the Crimean beach to the top of Ai-Petri. In relative proximity, the mountain is not at all the same as seen from Karakol.

23.

To the right are some more mountains and the Karakol Gorge itself, dark and deep. The Karakol River itself winds along its bottom - this name does not mean “black lake” (it would be “Karakol”), but “black hand”, and I won’t even dare to guess where it came from (according to local legend, robbers operated in the gorge , and this is the nickname of their leader).

24.

The perspective of the gorge is generally the same as in the title frame. It’s probably better to come here in the morning or in the middle of the day; at sunset the gorge is filled with darkness. It is no coincidence that Terskey Ala-Too means Shadow Mountains - they are almost always backlit. But even in the dark you can see how the mountains, like bare bones, are breaking out of the skin of the forests.

25.

And the gorge closes with a certain peak, which could be mistaken for Khan Tengri... if not for the direction - the Lord of the Sky from Karakol in the east, while the gorge goes to the south. As I found out later, this is the Karakol Peak (5216m) - the highest point of Terskey Ala-Too and the most high mountain what I've seen before.

26.

Textures of lifeless slopes:

27.

Looking there, I can only imagine how the wind howls there... I am not a climber and will never climb such peaks.

28.

Let's look at the city - it is about a kilometer below us, and only the pipe of that thermal power plant stands out from here:

29.

Here you can see the buildings of the Soviet center - the White House, the theater, the university. A cluster of large buildings among the private sector. This means that a little to the left of them is , and a little higher in the frame (that is, down the slope) - , but it is impossible to see them in the haze. And above the Przhevalsky Bay, to the left of the center a group of trees is visible - somewhere under them rests great traveler, and even further to the left you can see the Pristan-Przhevalsk crane. And somewhere at the left edge of the frame, not noticeable from here, is the base of the Soviet and now Russian torpedo range “Ozero”:

30.

You can see in the sunset rays open lake and the second bay, where the Nestorian monastery once stood with its legend about the relics of Matthew. The Karakol River comes out of the gorge, theoretically even crosses the city along the outskirts, but I don’t remember it at all. Przhevalsky Bay is essentially its estuary.

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And the Sun, meanwhile, went behind the mountains:

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We went down the same dirt road straight to the base, called a taxi driver we already knew, but he followed us for about forty minutes. By that time it was completely dark and a nasty cold was creeping in. For some time I warmed myself with the Watchman’s Dance in the cold, and then we knocked on the door of the real watchman’s office and warmed up there. Finally, the driver arrived and took us to the “Fakir” cafe (I wrote about it in one of two Karakol posts), where we celebrated our safe return from this not very smart hike.

In the next part - about the Jety-Oguz gorge, which is more accessible on foot and at the same time more beautiful.

KYRGYZSTAN-2013
. Trip review.
Background.

Ak-Sai Travel company is a fully licensed travel company located in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek. The company was founded in 1998.

In 2017, Ak-Sai Travel was awarded the title of “Best Travel Company”.

Ak Sai Travel company organizes group and individual tours, both in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Transport is a very important attribute of every tour. Ak Sai Travel company offers its own fleet of vehicles for tours in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Our advantage is extensive experience in conducting different types tours, as well as a proven base of experienced drivers. This allows us to provide the best cars for our tourists.
We offer:

• Tourist buses 35-50 seats;
• Minibuses "Mercedes Sprinter" 8-18 seats;
• SUVs - Toyota Sequoia (4x4), 4WD
• Executive cars

Ak Sai Travel annually sets up its own yurt and tent camps in the most picturesque places Kyrgyzstan:

• Base camp Achik Tash (under Lenin Peak 7134 m.)
• Base camp South Inylchek (under the peaks Khan Tengri 7010 m and Pobeda 7439 m)
• Karkara base camp (Karkara gorge. Helicopter rides are possible here)
• Base camp in the Karavshin gorge

Our partners are leading travel companies from all over the world. Our services are used by diplomatic missions, government and international companies, large corporations and prominent businessmen. Ak-Sai Travel Company is an active participant in annual international exhibitions and conferences that help to exchange experiences and attract new partners to cooperation.

Ak Sai Travel takes an active part in the development active tourism, as well as protecting the nature of Kyrgyzstan. Over the past few years, we have taken part in several environmental campaigns and launched 2 projects aimed at development active rest, as well as helping children from orphanages.

The first day

The first day	The first day
The first day	Second day

Second day	Second day
Second day	Second day

Second day	Second day
Day three	Day three

Day three	Day three
Day three	Day four

Day four	Day four
Day four	Day four

Day four	Day four
Day four	Day five

Day five	Day five
Day five	Day six

Briefly about the essence

Suddenly the understanding comes that now, when the entire past month is irrevocably and inexorably creeping into the past, what remains in the present is not the events, not this generally indifferent sequence of completed actions, but something else, more valuable, incredibly voluminous, but eluding helpless verbal description, and therefore contained in just one word. If you read this incredibly long sentence to the end, did not lose the essence of what was being stated and understand me, then you already know the continuation.

They remain inside - MOUNTAINS.

And everyone for whom this short word is not just a four-letter word finds their own worlds in the palms of their hands.

Maybe next time I won't want to write about travel. There will be other people, other Mountains, other events before and after the Mountains, but this will not change them, standing there always. They are as close to us as they seem far away at first. And the point is not in the peaks, not in (oh, this is a wrong and inappropriate word for the Mountains) conquering them. The thing is, how Mountains fill us and how we return from them. And in my worlds this is precisely what is most valuable.

Part one, descriptive.
Karakol Gorge. Tien Shan, ridge. Terskey Alatoo.

If you now look at all our movements around Kyrgyzstan, the tracks will resemble those of a mad cockroach dodging a fateful slipper.

In Almaty, at the train station, we were met from the train by the friendly travel agency “Neophyt”, based in the city of Karakol (also the former city of Przhevalsk). Having successfully crossed the border in the Karkara region (the border is a metal arch on the road in the middle of the steppe), having stocked up on honey at a mobile apiary in the gorge, by evening we arrived in Karakol. Since everyone was eager to go to the mountains, the excursion program was squeezed into that same evening.

Karakol - very small town, standing at an altitude of 1774 m. Everything around is green, the silvery pyramidal poplars alone are worth it. Both day and night they sparkle with rows of white, even trunks. There is a shipyard on the artificially dug Przhevalsky Bay in Issyk-Kul and, imagine, there is a military fleet in Issyk-Kul! Here, of course, there is no one to defend against on the water, they just tested the launch of torpedoes before, and for this we already need warships.

Among the attractions in the city, the Przhevalsky Museum is worth noting first of all. It is small quiet park with alleys of coniferous trees, in the middle of the park there is a museum building and a monument on the grave of Nikolai Mikhailovich. From here you have an excellent view of the bay. The Dungan wooden mosque, built in 1910 by the Chinese without a single nail, is more reminiscent of a Buddhist pagoda - the corners are also bent, and there are Buddhist symbols, dragons and wood carvings on the facade. We did not have time to get into the Orthodox wooden Holy Trinity Cathedral, because it was late, we had to be content with the view of the church from behind the lattice fence. The next day, after purchasing food and talking with a local instructor, a trip to the gorge was planned.

Sergey from Neofit took us on July 20, 2007 in the unforgettable Kozlik-type UAZ to the end of the road, that is, to the mouth of the Teleta River (the left tributary of the Karakol River). And this is no less than 25 km. We agreed to meet in 10 days there.

The path along Karakol, at first trampled and “fat,” over time turns into weak and thin. Every morning an independent herd of excellent, well-groomed horses passes along it, and every evening they return back. After 3 hours of walking, we find ourselves in a wide flood of the river, which in the morning is a bunch of branches, and in the evening it is a solid lake. The principle of movement in this area is the same: despite the water, go straight, in places ankle-deep or knee-deep in water. This is the fastest and least labor-intensive option - this fact has been determined empirically. Bypassing the “lake”, jumping with sacks over the stones and “suitcases” of the slope is an activity for inveterate optimists and grasshoppers. This section lasts about half an hour. Then after another half hour we find ourselves on the tongue of the glacier. Walking along it is much more pleasant - smooth and not wet.

In the process of digging on the Internet for information on the Karakol Gorge, not much was dug up. There are zero “human” maps on which you can walk, literally 2-3 descriptions of ascents. In Karakol we managed to purchase topographic map, a not entirely accurate ridge map, confusing advice from a local instructor and read descriptions of first ascents of the 70s and 80s. Having collected all this in our heads and analyzed it, we discovered many inconsistencies between the four or three sources of information. “We’ll figure it out on the spot,” we decided and started playing scouts.

First impressions of entries, passages and exits in the Karakol Gorge:

1. Very powerful glaciation. There’s all kinds of ice in bulk: glaciers creeping, hanging, falling and lying in caps on the tops. Some of them quite often collapse and fall with loud sound.
2. The scope of the gorge is more suitable for mountain tourists, and not for climbers. The approaches are long and “high”. This, of course, allows you to gain a decent altitude and undergo “elk” and “horse” type acclimatization even before the ascent, but still for mountain tourism- it's just Mecca. Wrap yourself up for kilometers through ice and rock passes and don’t give a damn.
3. The weather is fine. Out of 10 days of stay, there was no precipitation from the sky for 2.5 days. There was 1 day of excellent weather. Either the proximity of Issyk-Kul has an effect, or the local climatic feature. They say September is the driest time, but they haven’t checked it themselves.
4. For some reason, the gorge, which seems to be well-known among the mountaineering community, is not particularly popular. Or I didn’t use it exactly this year and at exactly this time (the last ten days of July). The people were met a couple of times: some stood at the very bottom on the tongue of the glacier, at the so-called “Skazka” overnight stays, others in the floodplain of the river below the glacier. At the top, where we lived for 10 days, moving from one corner of the gorge to another, we saw no one. Although some of the participants we met went to Dzhigit. We saw the remains of their tracks at the top of the Dzhigit ridge.

Here, at 4100, incredible things happened on the glacier. First of all, it was raining. Have you often seen at least rain on a glacier at such a height? Exactly! Our leader claimed that there was no rain on the glacier (although in Aktra, I remember, I had already encountered such an incident), he was very surprised, watching from the tent how streams, carving channels, ran down the glacier.

The transfer to the first parking lot took place in two stages, so the remaining three participants, having waited for a window in the wet heavenly outpourings, went down “to the greenery” for the second part of the transfer. The outpourings still overtook us on the way back. But the thought that acclimatization was in full swing from such loads consoled us and added strength.


The next point of the program was to go out for “something simple” and next to gain more heights for the body. In turn, after climate, geography brought a surprise. Delaunay, it turns out, is not only a peak and pass in Altai, but also a peak in Karakol. One of the three pre-revolutionary professional climbers was still very much loved in our former vast country. There was a reason for it, by the way.

Having climbed the very “talus” scree to the ridge (approximately 4500), our reconnaissance team’s tactical plans were divided. Pasha and I climbed to the top and then traversed to the adjacent nameless “poke”. To lull the vigilance of a potential enemy, Ruslan and Lekha had to sit on the ridge for an hour and go back. Such a knight move like “we went back” was supposed to confuse the enemy forces and give Pasha and me a window of good weather. Lech covered Ruslan on the way and did not give him a chance to fall from enemy bullets (the plastic boot still put pressure on the recently stitched wound).

The enemy forces did not fall for the trick. The weather is wonderful: fresh, snowing, visibility is so-so, but climbing the destroyed ridge is a pleasure. Having read the notes of two Tomsk residents on both peaks who made this traverse in reverse side, came to the conclusion that the map in this part was correct.

According to gen. According to the plan, we had a minimum program: Dzhigit peak (5170 m) according to classic 4A through the ice “shovel” and a maximum program: Dzhigit and Karakolsky (5216 m) according to classic 4B along the north-western ridge. These are two highest points district. Both routes according to the descriptions include an overnight stay on the ridge. Calculating and estimating, we decided that such hot guys and girls like us Dzhigit can go in a day. According to the descriptions, the overnight stay takes place on the ridge, 1-2 hours from the camp site in a hanging “pocket” near Dzhigit. The thought of walking for 2 hours with sacks on loose ground did not warm us. We decided to break through in battle and began to plan a tactical plan.

If we could say anything about our pace of movement along the scree and double rocks that we were supposed to encounter on the route, then in terms of ice we really didn’t have anything commanding in reserve. Ruslan and Lekha walked together on the ice in Altai, Pasha alone, and I generally walked wherever and however necessary. Having doubts about the advisability of training according to the Brazilian system, we decided not to show off and went to train on the ice slope in walking in threes. We timed the passage of one rope. It turned out pretty good. The tactical plan in theory came together quite well. While we were climbing down, we were covered by a cloud with hail. The enemy launched medium-heavy artillery - hailstones the size of peas loudly hit the helmet and hurt exposed areas of the body. The peas gathered in flocks and rolled down the ice slope like foam crumbs in small streams and avalanches, covering us up to our knees. Visibility disappeared completely. We stood steadfastly in the trenches, occasionally shooting and retreating with the help of trigger devices. Then the Higher Powers interceded for us, the sun came out, and the holiday began. We won another victory.

During three days of reconnaissance, we figured out one simple truth this gorge - you can walk here only if there is at least some weather. And we watched, waited for it, reshaping our strategy to suit it.

From below it seemed that there were no promised 9 ropes on the shovel, 6-7 at most. However, in reality there were actually 9 of them (even 9 and a half). True, they lied to us about the steepness, intimidating us with 80-degree shiny ice. 45-60 degree ice with firn on top, turning into knee-deep mush during the day. However, our constant leader was Leader Pasha, so, by and large, we didn’t care - we were attached.

We went “around the corner”, to a hanging pocket from the southwest, where the route begins. The location is excellent - behind us is the slope of Dzhigit and Festivalnaya (wow, how she constantly “festivaled” with stones both day and night), a magnificent view of the gorge. On the stones of the glacier we pleasantly discovered several flat platforms for tents - thanks to our predecessors.

The three of us left at 4 am. I conveniently forgot the camera I had prepared with me the evening before, remembering it halfway through the rush. Therefore, the photographs and “testimonies” to them are all “from the side” when we walked near Karakolsky. A brief technical layout with a photo description of the route is available.

In the evening, already at dusk, we went down to Ruslan’s camp for his “overnight observers’ camp.” It’s so nice when someone is waiting for you and preparing tea for your arrival. The minimum program was completed.


The transition to the next location, as usual, was carried out under the cover of fog and light rain. We went down almost to the end of the On-Tor glacier to the “Skazka” overnight camp (interestingly, it’s not a “parking lot” like ours, but an “overnight stay”) near two moraine lakes. It is strange that the lakes are nearby, but one is blue and the other is dull yellow.

The climb to another “corner” of the gorge along the Karakol glacier is quite picturesque. Past powerful sheep's foreheads with waterfalls, along a steep and then flatter glacier. The parking lot, that is, the “overnight stay,” is located near the right side of the glacier in the direction of travel, not reaching 20 minutes before the Dzhety-Oguz pass.


The sun is shining, sometimes it rains for half an hour, but this does not stop the group from courageously poring over the cards, thinking and considering options. Half of the notebook is already filled with counting, one game replaces another, “a thousand” saves us from dull lying down, training our memory and sharpening our minds.

Then winter came. It started in the evening, and at night we had to go out and shake the snow off the tents. In the morning, the remnants of winter were covered by the sun, and everything around became surreal. Avalanches rolled down the slopes, large and slow, swift and whistling. At first, Lekha grabbed the camera every time to film the process, and then he stopped. We sat in the center of a huge deserted arena, the only spectators of a natural performance, realizing the worthlessness and pettiness of our existence.

If Dzhigit Peak looked from afar like a soldier - tall, sharp, piercing the clouds constantly attacking it, then Karakolsky Peak looked like the Master. Huge, powerful, completely covered with ice, with a bunch of ridges and buttresses placed around it, it really grew into the center of the gorge and looked down on everything with its venerable age and centuries-old wisdom. Its sloping summit bastion was softly enveloped by a blanket of clouds, like a scarf around the neck of a proud gray-bearded old man.


People also go there overnight. We immediately realized that if we go without spending the night, we have to really break through. For some reason, all descriptions end with a place to spend the night on the ridge, and then there is no information. Even the instructor, who assured that he had walked it, did not say anything sane about the route after the overnight stay. “Okay, let's see,” we decided. Lekha stayed with Ruslan, Pasha and I were supposed to set out together. The weather promised to be perfect, which was extremely pleasing.

As in the mountaineering saying: “We got up early, went out quickly...” So, we left at 2.30, just to be sure. The day before, Pasha hiked under the Dzhety-Oguz pass (2B) to view the route to it, and at the same time took a backpack with part of the equipment there. In the dark, we arrived in half an hour under the pass rocks. There are several ways to the top, but this became known later. We climbed the most difficult one (as, again, it turned out later). But in the darkness he seemed the most logical. The first rope has an unambiguous direction, but everything is falling all around, there is little to belay for. Everywhere you come across some terrible rusty hooks that can be pulled out by hand. The second pitch is along a narrow icy couloir with smeared ice on the rocks. At the end of the rope we see an overhanging rock plug with sintered ice. She persuaded Pasha to take off his backpack before climbing on top of her. Not in vain. With ice tools, Pasha really struggled with the cork, with spacers, with redistribution of the center of gravity, etc. A very, very technical area. Given Pasha's level of climbing on rocks and ice, he turned out to be a worthy opponent. The action did not take long, but it was impressive. Then turn the corner into the ice trough on the saddle. Everything is also falling out. Like a real climber, I take the zhumar and lead. We reach the saddle around 5 am. Tablet to the deceased person. Instructor Valera said that often someone stays at this pass. The main reason is stones falling from under ropes, people, or just by themselves. I readily believe it. Unpleasant place.

Further on, the ice slope of 40-50° does not seem that big, but as we walk along it, we realize that we are visually deceived - the drop is 400 m, although this is absolutely not visible in the photo. Then along the ridge, which turned out to be not at all smooth as it seemed from below, but camel-shaped, with deep descents and ascents.

The “humps” give way to a ridge with fragments of double rocks and lead to the Sportivny pass. I’ll tell you, no normal person will go down this pass from the side of Karakol. Most likely, no one walks when it is possible to traverse through Jety-Oguz. The saddle of “Sportivny” is a snow-firn plateau at the junction of the ridges, blown by all the winds. “Coming here with sacks from below is for real horses,” we thought. 10 am, let's see what awaits us next. And then there is a glacier, covered with snow, with cracks in the upper part. We figure out the path and move out. Again it turns out to be a very big difference. We pass under the seracs of a broken piece of the glacier and on the front teeth of crampons we crawl out onto the ridge. Why is it so hard for me to crawl out, and not very easy to walk further along the rather sharp ridge? So! The ridge at an altitude above 5 thousand is already...



12 a.m. We sit in a warm trough, drink tea and hold a simple consultation in a narrow circle. From the ridge there is a view of the Karakolsky summit tower. It looks like a bastion. Another 200 meters in height, with ice and possibly rock ropes, then walk to the top. I pick at the ice with my crampon’s tine, my eyes downcast.
— How much more walking do you think to the top?
— Offhand, about four hours, if it goes as I see it. Perhaps crawling onto the bastion was more difficult than I think.
— ...
- Decide. If you're going down, I'm going with you.
-...Pash.. I’m not sure.. Most likely I’ll get to the top, but down.. Do I have enough strength?. We walked to Dzhigit for 18 hours. Everything was fine. Here we get at least 22... But I don’t feel strong enough to last that long.
- Then let's go down. (deep breath) The first time I turn from the top down. But sooner or later this had to happen.
- Sorry...
- Yes, you should have guessed that you couldn’t do it in a day. Now I’ll go under the bastion behind that hump to see how it’s going and come back.
- I’m terribly sorry.. But who would have known that the route would be so long, and you won’t be able to drag me when I unexpectedly run out of strength here either.. (What a shame that I let a person down! It’s such a shame that tears are rolling .. Well, let..)

We arrived at the camp at half past nine in the evening. It's almost dark.

It took a lot of time to get down. Much more than we thought. Firstly, because the rocky ridge on the descent remained a rocky ridge, without turning into a “pedestrian climb”. Secondly, the firn on the ridge became soggy during the day, and we constantly fell through, in some places along the “waterline,” and this was exhausting. Thirdly, the descent from the pass was not fast - carefully so that the rope did not get tangled in the bends and the stones under it did not fly off (after all, a stone hit me on the elbow, it was very painful). Well, fourthly, the altitude + accumulated running time still makes itself felt.

At the debriefing, it was decided that walking this route in 2 days was not an option - so much energy would be spent on walking up with sacks that it might not be enough to reach the top the next day. You just need to walk with a prepared, physically strong team. For example, as Pasha said, “if I were walking with Dan Kutsak, I would have contacted him for the first time not on the ridge section with rocks, but on the climb to the summit bastion.”

Maybe it is so. Perhaps I am not the person who can climb this Mountain in a day. But I still really want to go to Karakolsky one day. His ordinary people walk, even if it takes two days. Beautiful, strong and powerful Mountain.

I didn't manage to get much sleep. At three o'clock we got up and galloped down, since at 10 am Sergei was supposed to be waiting for us in an UAZ at the mouth of the Teleta River.

Tien Shan fir trees with candles touch the blue sky, the clear, clear, ringing Teleta River runs along the rocky bottom, the tart smell of pine needles tickles the nostrils, and the sun smiles at us with its wide, warm smile. I didn’t even think that I missed the forest so much in 10 days!

Then the film of our journey was rewound very quickly and what happened over the next 12 hours takes up more text on the screen than time. So, at 11 am we were already in Karakol at the cozy Neophyte base. The soap and snout procedures and lunch did not take very much time. We jump into the Delica and drive through the sparsely populated south coast Issyk-Kul in the direction of Bishkek. Along the way, we grind apricots for 35 rubles per bucket (they don’t sell them in smaller containers) and quickly swim in the clear, slightly salty lake. At 11 pm we arrive at the office of the Ak-Sai Travel company, already familiar to Pasha (and now to us). There they tell us that the plane is at 5 am, the tickets have been purchased, so we need to repack our things and go to the hotel. Rest between the mountains “on the plain” was covered with a copper basin.

We, of course, are unhappy with this set of circumstances, but there is nothing to be done. Small private hotel“Grand Hotel” turns out to be unusually comfortable and cozy. Here we meet a group of Spaniards who are also flying to Osh with us tomorrow.

Lack of sleep again. Airport. An-24 plane. 50 minutes of flight over the mountains, and we emerge into the 30-degree early morning of the city of Osh. Here we are met by a KamAZ truck with a passenger booth and a completely missing suspension from this booth. More Almaty residents are loading up, and we are going to the market to buy food. All about everything in 2 hours. Running around, bags, found a supermarket with “quickies”, did not have time to eat. We grind pistachios and grapes along the way.

Nine hours of driving through the most picturesque gorges and terrible serpentines over 3-4 thousand passes. Kamaz trucks do not pass each other when turning, they wait for each other. Along the way, the villages gradually turn from habitable ones into strange clay buildings with polyethylene instead of windows, propped up by walls so they don’t fall, or simply yurts, where people do not live, but exist. Poverty is terrible in places.

At dusk we descend into the Alai Valley (about 3000 m), a lifeless expanse of scorched steppe without trees, but with huge, gigantic white peaks on the horizon. IN base camp Achik-Tash arrived at 11 pm.

Length 10 km. Net running time is 8:00. Pedestrian section: peaks 2B k.t. Scree 1b-2A k.t. Snow 1A k.t. Ice 1B k.t. The temperature is -20 at night, +20 during the day, the wind is medium to strong. Strong wind, snow, thunderstorm since lunchtime. Visibility 30 m. Snow 30 cm at night.

Early the next morning we set out for the climb. In the morning the weather is good, as usual. The sun is shining, there is almost no wind. We choose the safest route in terms of avalanches and rockfalls. We are divided into two teams: the first - Bazhenov, Mokhov and Ponomarev - will go to the peak at a height of 6200 m, and Korolev and Kotelnikov - to the peak at a height of 6100 m.

Along the steep scree straight from the tent we climb to the ridge of the peak and further along it. Everything is covered with snow. We have to walk in bundles and crampons. Higher up from the ridge there are cornices overhanging; you have to walk very carefully so as not to collapse them. On the other side of the ridge, an avalanche-prone slope begins - you also can’t go too far in that direction, because you can trigger an avalanche.

So, maneuvering along this ridge, we get to the top. On it we lay out a tour of stones, in which we hide a waterproof capsule with a note, where we indicate information about ourselves, and that this peak, 6200 m high, is called Przhevalsky Peak. We take pictures at the top with the flags of “Forward”, “Mens Health” and our team “Pole of Inaccessibility”, and go down along the ascent path. As soon as we had time to take photos, a hurricane with snow and clouds flies in from the west again. By touch and with the help of a satellite navigator, we safely descend down to the assault camp.

In a similar way, we climb the second peak, towering above our camp. Its height turns out to be 6100 m. We think to call it Roborovsky Peak - this is Przhevalsky’s main ally, who traveled with him to Kun-Lun and Tibet and after his death he himself organized expeditions to these most remote places in Central Asia. In the evening, the snowfall intensifies and the maximum amount of snow falls during the entire hike - 30 cm.