Igor Azaryev "Unbelievable Adventures of Krasnoyarsk mountain climbers. 2021"

Narrator – Trezor and I once went hunting to shoot hares. We went into such thickets, but the hares had all gone somewhere. And so we went out to the clearing, came to a birch tree, which grew in the middle of the clearing and just sat down to rest, when suddenly at the edge of the clearing a bear appeared.

Young: – Is it real?

Narrator: – Of course, a big one. He saw us, thought for a while, got up on his hind legs and came at us. I didn’t get confused, grabbed my gun and started aiming. Out of the corner of my eye I see Trezor climbing up a birch tree in fright. I waited until the bear had come within 30 yards and pulled the trigger, but the shot did not come – it misfired. The bear was getting close. I dropped the gun and climbed up the tree behind Trezor.

Young: – Well…

Narrator: – I am climbing a tree, Trezor is ahead of me, and a bear is walking under the tree. We climbed to the top, Trezor sat on my shoulders, and the bear walks underneath. He walked and walked, then he took the gun and started twirling it in his paws.

And maybe he will shoot, IВ thought with fright. The bear raised his gun, took aim at us, and bang-bang. IВ flew down from the tree, Trezor flew after me, and we fell on the bear. The dog howled with fear, and the bear, distraught at the noise, threw his gun and ran away, tail between his legs inВ fright.

Young: – Phew!

The old man: – Wait a minute, wait a minute, the bear has no tail.

Narrator: – Well, why are you picking on me? He tucked up his something and ran away.

That’s how it happens!

Valery Balezin’s first route of the 6th category of complexity

After the championship veteran climbers inВ Sudak, Valery Balezin, Raikhan Galiakbarov and IВ went toВ visit Nikolai Zakharov, who rented aВ cozy house inВ Novy Svet. Hospitable host laid the table, which was with pleasure, after which inВ the usually modest and reticent Valery Balezin awoke talent storyteller and he told about his ascent toВ his first summit ofВ difficulty 6. My imagination played out, and IВ retell his story inВ the first person.

– One day we went on our first six on the Bezzubkin route.

Azariev: – Wait, wait, isn’t that on the peak of Free Korea?

– Yes, this route is on the peak of Free Korea. This was the third pass of the route.

Azaryev: – When Bezzubkin passed it at the championship of the USSR, me and Kustovsky’s team just there closed the first categories in mountaineering. Bezzubkin passed the route in eight days. Today this Korea is traversed up and down, but then it was the first route of the 6th category of complexity.

Balezin: – In 1981 we (sport club «Yenisei» under the leadership of Y. Sapozhnikov) were in the mountaineering camp Ala-Archa. At that time 6A and 6B were not divided into 6 difficulty categories.

This season we planned to do level 6 climbing. Our choice fell on Bezzubkin’s route in the middle of the northern part, 4777m, which had been climbed for the first time in 1969 by the team from Krasnoyarsk for 8 days. For this ascent the team, led by Bezzubkin, won gold medals at the championship of the USSR. Since then the route had been repeated only once, so we planned a third ascent along this route.

The route consisted of three parts: the first part – the ice steepness of about 60 degrees and a length of about 250—300 meters, then the rocky part, a steep wall, destroyed in places and icy, about 350 meters and finally «roof» – a rocky slope covered with ice and snow steepness of about 60 degrees and a length of about 250 meters.

Our team consisted of 4 people: Bogachev A. (nickname Nikodim), – team captain Sapozhnikov Yu. (nickname Sapog). Balezin V. and Egunov V. (nickname Joe). All of us were climbing the route of the sixth category of difficulty for the first time.

Having carefully studied the route visually and from the description we had planned toВ climb it with only one overnight stay at the beginning ofВ the roof, fortunately there was aВ snow shelf there.

After an overnight stay inВ aВ hut on the Corona Glacier, we set out on the route early inВ the morning at 3:00. The lower ice part ofВ the trail had toВ be walked before sunrise, as it was then quite heavily pierced with rocks flying from the В«roofВ». The weather was warm, and there were even trickles ofВ water running on the ice, although it usually freezes at this time. This was not good, as warm weather increases the danger ofВ the trail and the likelihood ofВ bad weather is high.

We quickly made our way through the ice part of the trail and by 6 o’clock we arrived at the rock wall. At the beginning of the ice part of the trail Nicodemus was in the lead, and at the end of the ice part before the main rock massif, according to the tactical plan, I was in the lead.

While traversing the route we tried to minimize the weight of our backpacks. I didn’t even take my climbing shoes, but put on my rock shoes. They were some of the first rock shoes to appear in the USSR. Shura Gubanov brought them back from England and then gave them to me. These shoes were something in between modern mountaineering boots and lightweight trekking boots. They were not as comfortable for climbing as special rock shoes, but I could use them for approaches, and I even managed to securely attach ice crampons to them and walk quite confidently in them on the ice.

The start ofВ the wall turned out toВ be ruined and not very convenient for setting up aВ belaying station. Nevertheless, IВ climbed the rocky ledge rather quickly, trying not toВ drop rocks on my comrades, after which the relief became firmer. The route was logical, and we gained altitude fairly quickly, the weather was good. IВ went first, Nicodim second, Joe third, and Sapozhnikov last.

In the middle of the route there was a horizontal traverse to the left about 15 meters on a steep wall, I passed it quickly, took Nikodim with me and climbed another 1.5 rope (60 m), then our movement stopped. Nikodim was below me on the shelf, waiting for the ascent from below, and Joe and Sapozhnikov are stuck on the traverse. I sit at the top and listen to their conversations, Nikodim shouts «let’s get the rope faster,» to which Sapozhnikov guiltily replies: «wait, wait, we have a problem.»

After an hour of waiting, Nicodim got fed up and started scolding Sapozhnikov – Sapog, how long can you wait,» to which Sapog and Joe responded vaguely. Finally, after 1.5 hours, they managed to get the rope to Nicodim on the shelf. The rope got stuck in a crevice and they had to cut off a piece of rope.

At this time IВ was sitting on the shelf looking down into the valley. Dense cloud cover was rising up the gorge, gradually closing the gorge, the foothills, closing the glacier, and gradually approachingВ us.

Nicodeiu brought aВ rope, IВ climbed higher, at that time the cloud cover caught up with us, it immediately became colder, and rain began toВ drip. As the clouds rose higher, the rain intensified, the rock got wet, and water started dripping down it. But we could not stop, we had toВ climb out onto some shelf.

I especially remembered the long vertical inside corner with a slit through which the water flowed. I had to stick my hands through the slit, water flowed into my sleeves and out of my pants. In spite of everything, I had a fighting spirit, and I climbed at about the same speed as I had on the dry rock. I heard Sapozhnikov shouting from below – look for a shelf for the night, although it was still a little over one o’clock in the afternoon. I began to remember the description and tried to imagine where the shelves were.

There was aВ good shelf only at the beginning ofВ the roof and two more ropes about 40В meters before it. IВ went up the rope byВ traverse toВ the right, came out on the shelf and made aВ station on it. At that time the temperature dropped below zero, the rain turned into snow, the wind picked up, aВ heavy blizzard started, the wind was sculpting the snow not only on the steep cliffs, but also on the ceilings ofВ the ledges.

Ahead was aВ steep rock bastion about 35В meters high. IВ tried toВ climb further, but after about 15В meters IВ finally froze and could no longer move up. It was about 20В meters toВ the roof. Covered with snow from head toВ toe, IВ went down toВ the shelf toВ Nicodemus, who had already begun toВ prepare it for the night.

The shelf was small, triangular in shape (rectangular triangle) with one cathetus 1.5 m and the other less than 1 m. Sapog from below shouted: – Did you find the shelf? Nicodim answers: – We found it. Sapog asks: – Shall we lie down on the shelf? Nicodim, without losing his sense of humor, replies that he can hardly lie down, but he can sit down.

Joe came and brought us the tent. We stretched it out on the ridge, nailed it toВ the rock and crawled into it like aВ sack. AВ bucket ofВ water immediately poured over our clothes, aВ big puddle formed on the floor ofВ the tent, and we had toВ hit the bottom ofВ the tent with aВ hook toВ get the water down. The last person toВ crawl into the tent was aВ wet, freezing Sapog, who told us he had never been so cold, even at the harshest Peak ofВ Victory. He took out aВ flask ofВ cognac (we always took aВ flask and 150В grams ofВ cognac with us on the route) and tried toВ pour it into the lid ofВ the flask, but his hands shook. Then he put his hand with the flask on one knee and his hand with the cap on the other knee and poured himself 20В grams thatВ way.

It was hard for us to sit in the tent, and the time was still about three o’clock in the afternoon. The weather got even worse, although we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it was snowing like a wall. The wind was blowing simultaneously from all directions and it was very cold. We fired up a gas stove made at Krasmash plant where other equipment was also made. The tent immediately felt warm, even somehow cozy, despite the dampness and 100% humidity. We boiled tea, ate something to eat and settled in for the night.

Despite such extreme conditions, we can say that the overnight stay was aВ success.

While the guys are warming up and resting, I will make a small lyrical digression. Imagine the picture: night, the rain turned to snow, the wet rocks are iced over, and four absolutely wet guys are lying on a shelf in the tent. Down – 250m wet and partially iced wall, up – 100m iced wall after rain. And this despite the fact that they are impassable in rain and snow. For usual people it is full physical and psychological disaster. Even the prepared climbers would be in a difficult situation. But not for our four. They’ve been through a tough and sometimes brutal selection.

(When they find themselves inВ various adversities, weak inВ spirit and body are eliminated, only the strongest, the most capable, the most persistent and courageous remain. Yes, not everyone can look inВ the eyes ofВ real dangers, when you can snap and get hurt or die. Besides, Valeri Balezin, one ofВ the strongest mountaineers inВ the world, was there.

So the four of them were sitting in a tent. They planned to climb the route in one day (Bezzubkin’s team had taken eight days to do so). It was quite realistic: they were students of Krasnoyarsk mountaineering school, one of the strongest in the world.

Let’s see how they got out of this situation. Since we got up at 3 a.m. today, we started to get into bed, or rather, to get stronger, since there was only room to sit. (Editor’s note))

There were no carimats at the time, and we brought mats made ofВ porous foam, but they absorbed water and offered little protection from the cold floor ofВ the tent. IВ put this mat on my back under my down jacket, which got soaked through because the tent material was on my back, which saved my back from freezing. IВ also had aВ mat with foam plates sewn in, which does not absorb water. IВ put this mat on aВ cold shelf and put aВ storm jacket on top, which IВ sat on. Periodically IВ slid off the shelf and hung on the safety loop. My friends did the same.

We would stack our feet in a pile, and periodically I would wake up and find my feet at the very bottom. I would pull them out, put them on top, and go back to sleep. An hour later, it would happen again. That’s how we slept. My sleeping bag and down got wet and rolled up into separate clumps, but that’s okay, we didn’t freeze. Despite such extreme conditions we can say that we had a successful night.

I woke up in the morning at seven o’clock, looked out of the tent – leaden sky, wind with snow, cold. What could I do, we had to get out. I got ready and climbed out, while the guys were packing the tent and things in their backpacks.

Azaryev: – And how far to the peak was it?

Balezin: – About five – six ropes.

IВ struggled toВ get through the gap, but then the wall slope decreased and the whole surface appeared toВ be covered byВ couloirs. Rocks usually fly inВ the couloirs, but here everything was covered with snow and frozen, so no rocks flew.

We put on our ice claws and walked quickly up the couloir. We came to the summit dome, which was covered in ice. The ice is thin, but when you stick an ice hammer in, it holds. Just like that, carefully, I climbed up the ridge. I grasped the sharp ridge with my hands, pulled myself up, and looked at the other side. There was fog and snow; I couldn’t see anything. As we climbed, it was as if we had dried off a bit, warming up as we went.

We reached the top ofВ the peak, but there was nothing inВ sight. IВ had not read about the descent, but Sapog assured me that he had been there and knew the descent well. Indeed, the dome is quite gentle, with drops and walls underneath. IВ remembered that aВ group had gone toВ the summit before us and there should be traces ofВ the descent, but everything was packed, where toВ look for them. We began toВ shovel the snow, found traces inВ one place and went that way. We approached the edge ofВ the dome, dug around and found aВ loop from aВ rope attached toВ aВ rock ledge, so we were walking correctly.

We went down and followed the ridge. Sapog said that it would take about twenty minutes toВ walk along the ridge and there would be aВ couloir toВ Karagai Gorge. We went along the ridge, saw the beginning ofВ the couloir, IВ went down byВ the safety rope and saw the rocky precipice. Wrong couloir. We went further, again aВ couloir and again rocky drops. Only inВ the third couloir IВ did not see any drops, and we began our descent. We descended, the snow turned into rain, and we were soaked again. But it was even worse on the wall. We went down and there were rocks covered with snow. If you step on aВ rock and slip between the stones, you can fall through the waist. Well, we walked about aВ kilometer, vegetation began, even bushes appeared, but the fog and rain continued.

Zakharov: – And ram.

– No, there are no rams, there are only goat paths and we go down by them. The canyon gets narrower and there is a steep wall in front of us. What to do, I climbed up, we got over, but there was a wall again. It was getting dark quickly, and our lanterns were all out of date, they were old, with incandescent bulbs. Only one was shining a little bit. It was burning for ten seconds and then it went out, when you turn it on, it would shine again for ten seconds. We approached – a steep grassy slope, 80 degrees, as it seemed to me. I put on crampons and climbed with an ice-axe. I climbed up – there I tied a rope around a tree. The others with the help of jumars climbed up. Then the descent to the round glade, on the edge of which a deep brook flowed noiselessly. Well, I ran into it up to my chest. My boot was up to his neck, too, by inertia. Shouting, swearing, we managed to warn the others.

We crossed aВ clearing, and Sapog says, that it is necessary toВ spend the night, Yes you what, here near all, no, speaks, here should be the wood. We stopped, put the tent, and the guys went toВ get firewood. And there, on aВ slope there was aВ dry juniper. We dragged it and somehow broke it with our hands, but we needed toВ light it and it was still drizzling. We put wet firewood around the gas burner and set it on fire. We were sitting and waiting, at last the wood flared up, we quickly put it away, and meanwhile the juniper was burning well, and it gave aВ strong heat, one could not come close toВ the fire.

Sapog put aВ tent not far from the fire and went toВ sleep, and the others still long sat byВ the fire. Two hours later IВ decided toВ go toВ sleep too, IВ looked into the tent and saw that it was warm, even hot from the fire, but it was damp, there was aВ puddle ofВ warm water on the floor and Sapog lay tired and slept inВ it. IВ snuggled up next toВ him on an almost dry spot and fell asleep too, while Nicodemus and Joe stayed byВ the fire until morning.

InВ the morning we realized that Sapog was right toВ insist on sleeping overnight, because we had toВ cross the Ala Archa River over the bridge, which was slightly upstream, we would not see inВ the dark and for sure we would get lost. InВ the morning we safely found the way and inВ an hour and aВ half we were inВ the Ala Archa alpine camp.

Strangely enough, despite such extreme climbing conditions, no one caught a cold or got sick, the only thing I had is a slight loss of sensitivity and redness on my toes, a consequence of climbing in rock shoes with crampons attache- No, there are no rams, only goat trails, and we descend them. The canyon becomes narrower, and there is a steep wall in front of us. What to do, I climbed up, we climbed over, but there was a wall again. It was getting dark fast, and our lanterns were all out, they were old, incandescent. Only one shone a little bit. It burned for ten seconds and then went out; if we turned it on, it would shine again for ten seconds. We walked up – a steep grassy slope, about 80 degrees I thought. I climbed up with an ice axe. I climbed up – there I tied a rope around a tree. The others, with the help of jumars, climbed up. Then I descended to a round glade with a deep creek running silently along the edge. I could not see it and fell into the creek up to my chest. Sapog, who was following me, also fell up to his neck. Shouting and swearing, we managed to warn the others.

We crossed the clearing, and Sapog said that we had toВ spend the night, but there was aВ bridge across the river. No, he says, there must be the wood here. We have stopped, have put the tent here, and lads have gone behind the fire wood. And there, on the slope there was aВ dry juniper tree. We dragged it, somehow broke it with our hands, but we needed toВ light it, and the rain was still drizzling. We put the wet wood around the gas burner and lit it. We sat and waited, at last the wood burst into flames, we quickly put them away with the gas burner, and the juniper, meanwhile, was burning well, and aВ strong heat was coming from it, we could not get close toВ the fire.

Sapog pitched his tent not far from the fire and went toВ sleep, while the others sat around the fire for aВ long time. Two hours later IВ decided toВ go toВ sleep too, looked into the tent and saw that it was warm, even hot from the fire, but damp, there was aВ puddle ofВ melted water on the floor, Sapog lay tired and slept inВ it. IВ crouched next toВ him on an almost dry spot and fell asleep too, while Nicodemus and Joe stayed byВ the fire until morning.

InВ the morning we realized that Sapog was right toВ insist on spending the night, because we had toВ cross the Ala Archa River over the bridge, which was slightly upstream, we would not see inВ the dark and would surely get lost. InВ the morning we found our way safely and inВ an hour and aВ half we were at the Ala Archa mountain camp.

Strange as it may seem, despite such extreme climbing conditions no one caught aВ cold or got sick, the only thing IВ had was aВ slight loss ofВ feeling and redness on my toes, aВ consequence ofВ climbing inВ rock shoes with crampons attached toВ them, but after ten days it completely passed.

This is the effect of extreme conditions. During the war our soldiers were freezing in the trenches in their overcoats, but they rarely caught cold (editor’s note).d to them, but after ten days it completely passed.

(This is the effect of extreme conditions. During the war our soldiers were freezing in the trenches in their overcoats, but they rarely caught cold (Editor’s note).)

Krasnoyarsk mountaineering veterans at the party

This happens inВ the mountains.
It doesn’t happen anywhere.
Climbing wisdom

After the next International Championship among veterans in mountaineering and climbing, which, as always, is held by Yuri Mashkov in Sudak in 2019, we gathered at Nikolai Zakharov’s cottage in Novy Svet, Crimea to rest and relax after the intense competition.

Let me introduce our interlocutors.

ToВ my left sits our gracious host, Nikolai Zakharov, aВ famous mountaineer and climber. He is aВ Master ofВ Sports inВ mountaineering, International Master ofВ Sports inВ mountaineering, multiple USSR champion inВ mountaineering. He was everywhere: inВ the Sayan Mountains, Altai, Tien Shan, Pamir, Phan, the Caucasus, Everest, on all the continents, and even inВ Antarctica there is his first ascent ofВ the wall ofВ difficulty categoryВ 6A.

Listen, Nikolai, have you been toВ the Moon, are there mountains thereВ too?

– I have not been to the moon yet.

– And you would like to visit?

– You ask, it’s my dream, there I would weigh only 13 kg, and my backpack is less than 3 kg. Not to climb, but to enjoy. Maybe this dream of mine will come true someday.

ToВ my right sits Valery Balezin. He is the only world-class Master ofВ Sports inВ mountaineering and rock climbing, he has participated inВ and won all major competitions inВ mountaineering and rock climbing.

– Listen, Valera, have you ever taken part in «Sports Lotto»?

– No, I did not.

– It’s not the USSR championship, you need luck there.