Matcha 2005: From Kshemysh river to Shurovski glacier

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View of Kshemysh valley, while descending from Dvoynoy pass.

A valley with a river between mountains

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Peaks separating Kshemysh valley from Djiptyk valley (located further west).

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The beginning of Kshemysh glacier with peak Kshemysh Bashi (5290m) in the background (this peak lies on the border with Tajikistan).

 

Slava‛s trendy glacier goggles!

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Kshemysh glacier (with peak Kshemysh Bashi in the clouds).

A group of people walking in the snow

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Our campsite on Kshemysh glacier (photos taken in the evening and the morning, respectively).

A person standing next to a group of tents

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A mountain with snow and rocks

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Closer view of peak Kshemysh Bashi in the morning sun.

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Shurovskogo pass (1.4.1) at 4300m and the route we took on the right.

[This pass is only rated 1B* in the Russian classification system, but turned out a bit more difficult than expected, mostly due to the poor condition of the snow. We ended up climbing the rocky part on the right of the pass (4th grade, with short low-5th-grade sections). We had only 2 ice axes and one ski pole for the three of us, plus a 30m rope. The rope was not really needed and we barely used it. The ice axes were very useful on the steepest snow sections. Crampons would have been useless.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Kshemysh glacier during the ascent of Shurovskogo pass.

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Last section of the climb of Shurovskogo pass.

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A person walking on a rocky mountain side

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Shurovskogo pass is a truly unique place. The panoramic view (toward the south) below is a very imperfect attempt to capture the spectacular scenery from the pass by a collage of photos taken from the pass and covering approximately a 250dg range, as shown in red on the following topographic map (in which south points upward, to better match the photo). The left side of the panoramic view shows the Kshemysh glacier (located on the east side of the pass) and its right side shows the Shurovski glacier (located on the west side of the pass). The two glaciers almost touch one another at the pass (1.4.1), which forms a thin ridge between them. The glaciers originate from two distinct cirques bounded on their south side by a series of peaks that culminate at 5290m (along the border with Tajikistan). The glaciers run south to north, and are separated further north by a series of peaks that culminate at 4900m.

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Descending the Shurovski glacier on the west side of Shurovskogo pass.

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A person walking in the snow

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Quick lunch along the way.

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″Mushrooms″ on the lower part of the Shurovski glacier.

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Our rough campsite at the end of the Shurovski glacier, prior to ascending Mingteke pass.

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Click on the links below to see photos of the other three sections of the trek:

1. From Daugman village to Dvoynoy pass

3. From Mingteke pass to Kara-Tur valley

4. From Djiptyk valley to Vorukh enclave

 

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