Min-Teke Expedition Report
French team summer 2019
Tobokel - The film
Kyrgyzstan, Turkestan Range
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I.Summary
Expedition to the remote (2 days walk in and out), wild and very partially explored Min-Teke valley, Kyrgyzstan.
Opening of a new route on Tobokel Peak (5004m, AD+, 1000m).
Repeating and equipping a trad route on Aksu Peak (4500m, 6a, 350m).
II.Expedition planning
- 14-15/07 Arriving Osh and transfer to Uzgorush
- 16-17/07 Trek Uzgorush - Kara Su
- 18-28/07 Climbing at Kara Su and Ak Su
- 29-31/07 Trek Ak Su - Min-Teke
- 01-13/08 Min-Teke exploration
- 14-15/08 Trek Min-Teke - Sary Jaz
- 16-17/08 Flight back
This report only focuses on Min-Teke exploration.
III.Team
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IV. Min-Teke Valley
Situation and access
Min-Teke base camp coordinates: 39°39'27.30"N 70°29'43.45"E (3300m)
We landed at Osh airport, took a car to reach Batken city and then Uzgorush village. It was made in one day. All logistics was organized by Batken Travel Service (contact: Zhunusbek Karazakov). We contracted a cook for the 5 five weeks (highly recommendable).
We climbed 2 weeks in Kara Su and Ak Su before going to Min-Teke .
We started the first trek at Uzgorush and finished it at Sary Jaz. We visited Kara Su, Ak Su, Tamingen, Min-Teke valleys. Every trek is approximately 2 days long.
Min-Teke valley is located between Tamingen and Jiptik valley, just next to an unnamed valley which includes Min-Teke Peak (Min-Teke Peak is not in Min-Teke Valley, just next to it …).
Min-Teke Description
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Base camp was in a flat swamp next to the river going out of the glacier. It was a good place, surprisingly without humidity. We had 3 days of rain/thunderstorms in 15 days but no snow (mid-August). The rest of the weather was quite unstable with clouds building on most afternoons but mostly no rain consequently. The zone is known from local shepherds for Yaks pasture and goats hunting.
There are some very small clean water sources and a quite large clear stream that is polluted by yaks. We filtered the clean water and boiled the polluted one without issues.
The rock is limestone for the lower part of the valley (under base camp), and granite upper base camp. Rock quality is variable, depending on the side/altitude of the valley. A lot of potential routes are exposed to rock and serac falls. The base of the faces is between 1h30 and 5h walk from base camp, including glacier crossing. Even if some opened crevices are to be found in the glacier, crossing is not a problem. A moraine surrounds it.
Various other glaciers, smaller, are in different places located around the glacier cirque.
V. Routes made by our team
The only information we had from the zone was a trekker website who visited the valley in 2011.
http://ai.stanford.edu/~latombe/mountain/photo/kyrgyzstan-11/turkestan/leg5.htm
We saw some glacier cirque pictures and thought that interesting routes could be opened, so we decided to go.
After having inspected the zone after a 2h walk with binoculars, we decided to try one ascent on the south west peaks (Kamini peak, Tobokel peak and peak 3) and one ascent climbing on the north east part of the cirque (Atchu peak). The main summit of the cirque, which is the most "beautiful", was too hard for us (long ridge difficult to reach from Min-Teke side).
Note that all peaks can be reach by other faces, which can have easier access than from Min-Teke.
As we didn't find any summit names from local shepherds, Russian maps or previous expeditions, we decided to name the peak we climbed. Altitudes were measured using Garmin In Reach GPS.
Tobokel and Kamini peaks ascent
Ascent made on August 6th - 7th – 8th, after establishing advanced base camp.
No signs of previous climb. We only let 2 pitons and rope rings for abalakov abseils.
We first planned to climb Kamini, Tobokel and peak 3, but we didn't reach peak 3 because of bad ice and snow conditions.
Topo attached here under.
Atchu peak ascent
Ascent made on August 11th after establishing advanced base camp.
We found rope rings in the south face of the peak, so we were not the first ones to climb it. We think (giving the old kind of rope it was) the previous ascent was made by Russian climbers at the end of Soviet Union.
We equipped the abseils with bolts when necessary. French climbing level V+.
Topo attached here under.
VI. Future climbing possibilities
We made 2 inspections in the cirque with binoculars. We mainly observed very interesting climbing lines (high quality granite cracks) in the face under the main Min-Teke peak. The problem was often that the lines were exposed to rock falls or serac falls (we saw various falls every day). However, a lot of routes are still possible to be opened, here below a few examples:
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Potential accesses to Min-Teke main summit:
- Access from the other side of the cirque (next to Jiptik) (green line)
- Access from a rocky ridge (exposed to rock falls) (orange line)
- Access from Min-Teke glacier (exposed to serac falls) (red line)
Another new route would be to finish our attempt to climb peak 3, passing by Kamini and Tobokel.
Note that another interesting climbing would be to climb a peak (unclimbed as far as we know) just below the main summit. It is located between Min-Teke Peak and Min-Teke valley and seems difficult to be climbed:
The photos we took are available by following this link.
VII.-Topos
Tobokel Peak (Adventure in Kirghize) - 5004m, North Ridge 39°37'47.3"N 70°30'12.8"E
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General comment
We opened this route thinking it would give us access to Peak 3 through the snow pass between Peak 3 and Peak Tobokel. Unfortunately, the route was in poor snow conditions. The itinerary is still interesting for its snowy part without major difficulty but on a very aesthetic ridge. Some parts of the rock ridge are exposed to rock falls.
Opening
Route opened on 5/6/7/8 august 2019 by H.Crochet, F.Geoffre et M.Jooris (France)
Difficulty
AD+ (French alpine grading), 45°snow/ice, 4+ rock climbing
Timing
- It took us 4 days from BC but could be done in 2 big days with stable weather and light backpacks (bivy bag vs tent for example)
- Day 1: BC → ABC: 3 hours with big backpacks
- Day 2: ABC → Camp 1: 10h but doable in 7 with no itinerary mistake
- Day 3:
- Camp 1 (start at 3h30) → Kamini Summit: 4h
- Kamini → Tobokel: 1h
- Tobokel (10h20) → Camp 1: 4h, good snow conditions, descending the ridge later on maybe tricky
- Day 4: Camp 1 → BC: 8h with breaks
Gear
- 1 set of friends up to 2 + 1 set of nuts
- Abseil pitons in place
- 6 to 8 ice screws
- 50 m rope
- 2 technical ice axes per person
Route
ABC → Camp 1 (4600m)
Join the ridge
From ABC at the base of the face, get up the rock scree on the right to join the ridge at a small pass (overhang). It is possible to join the ridge through a small couloir that can be snowy but there is a risk of rockfall between members of the team.
Rocky ridge
From the pass, follow the ridge looking for the easiest way. Go around the needles by the east face. The itinerary is first very easy before getting more complex with some parts in sandy stone, easy but hard to protect (1 piton). After a descending traverse under a roof, join the ridge that can be covered with snow. Continue up to a needle that looks uncrossable and get around it by the left side. After a muddy slope, take left again until you can see the face. WARNING Do NOT take a scree couloir on the right which seems to join the ridge line through a wide sandy chimney : rock quality is very low, choss (bail bolt on the top, where we turned back).
Follow a fine ledge down below to the left which crosses a small stream (be careful, frequent rockfall in the couloir!) until you are protected by the small spur on the other side. (see photo)
Spur and terraces
Get up the spur up to its summit (IV then III) then go up-right in terraces with relatively good rock.
Get back to the ridge with 15m of straight crack (IV), a scree and finally a few meters of grade IV until we reach the rocky bivy ledge at the base of the ice field.
Beware of rockfalls that follow the stream in the ice field. Try to take water as far right as possible. Camp 1
Camp 1 → Tobokel Summit
Follow the ice slope then the obvious snow ridge (45° snow/ice parts) until Kamini Peak pass (cairn, 4h).
Get to Kamini summit (4985m) by a few easy moves in very bad rock before following the ridge toward Tobokel Peak.
There is one grade IV move in chossy rock that leads to an easy rocky ledge to the summit.
Descent
Descent by the same itinerary. At least 4 abalakovs to get back to camp 1. One abseil on the spur after the grade III terraces at the start of the slabs, behind a big bloc (piton + nut + quick link).
Atchu Peak (Kirghize for spicy), South West Edge - South Face 39°38'52.05"N 70°32'23.02"E
General comment
Very nice little route (French V+ max) on a good granite even if there are some little screes at some points. The ridge segment has very good rock quality. Abseils equipped with 10mm spits.
Elevation of the difficulties 350 m
Material
- 1 set of friends (until 3 and doubled until 2)
- 1 set of nuts
Approach
From advanced base camp (39°38'28.70"N 70°32'19.99"E), go up along the south west ridge in the scree to reach the base of the difficulties.
South West Ridge
Various ways possible to reach the top of the ridge. We chose an easy diedral oriented north. One pitch of french V+ (55m) and then 30m easy metres enable to reach the ridge (one V+ move).
Then 150m of very good quality ridge with various IV moves.
The ridge reaches the south face (old white rope under a bloc) where it is possible to let stuff. Abseil for the descent with 2 bolts a few meters down the east face of the ridge.
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South face
P1 V+ (50m)
Begin in a hand crack which goes right, then straightforward with easy slabs until a piton, and finally climb to the left until a wide diedral. Abseil with one bloc and one bolt (white and green rope).
P2 V (55m)
Continue in the diedral before crossing to the left to reach an easy dulfer. Pass left under a big bloc which has a 2 bolts abseil. This abseil is used for descent, don't use it now. Make a friend/nut abseil a few meters upward the block in a comfortable and scree ledge.
P3 V+ (55m)
Continue straight forward under a block with an obvious crack, and bypass it by left to reach a wide diedral. Go up crossing on the right (easy field with a snatched old piton abseil with white rope on the floor) and then zigzag left in cracked blocs. Abseil in a ledge, 2 bolts.
P4 III (45m)
Go right horizontally to continue in direction of the summit (big block), easy. Abseil with friends/nuts.
P5 (option A) 6a+ (20m)
Directly climb the summit block by an obvious crack. One 6a+/6b move hardly protectable with nuts and little friend (0.1).
P5 (option B) IV+ (30m)
Bypass the summit block by right and follow various easy steps.
P5 (option C)? (25m)
Beautiful 5 meters finger crack then hand crack between option A and option B.
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Descent
Downclimb the summit block by the easy side (east), and then follow P4 until the 2 bolts abseil. 60m abseil arriving below a block with 2 bolts (seen during P2). Exposed to rock falls.
50m abseil arriving at P1 abseil (rope ring around a block and 1 bolt). Exposed to rock falls.
50m abseil arriving under the departure of P1 (2 bolts).
50m abseil arriving in the east face (2spits).
40m abseil arriving at the base of the east face.
Walk down until the base of the ridge, and then walk back to the advanced base camp by the sree.
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