It is the end of the season; my beloved is waiting for me at the Issyk-Kul and I am waving my hand to the helicopter which takes the rest of North Inylchek base camp out. There are usual storm on the top of Khan-Tengry Peak and annoying return just from the ridge of Pobeda Peak in order to save clients life left behind. And my long-expected Rubicon ahead, this is a frontier the only loophole to a peaceful life left myself. Five years ago after the unsuccessful attempt of climbing the North Face of Khan-Tengry that had finished with my fall, broken arms, and selfrescue there was always a thorn in my side – I knew it is possible to climb it solo!

Day by day in process of yearly training this thorn turn into obsession. Here is my “triple nine”, this will help me to find (Messner promised) a harmony inside of me and in outward things.

 

Again there is usual blinding with sun silence, but this is not Ala-Archa this is North Inylchek. I feel chilling due to the changing of scales. Jackdaws got ready for banquet and they are worried a lot. “Did those artful two-legged left a guard for the whole winter?!” wonder they. Be a bird, feathered, I am here just for the night. Here are only two ways to the South Inylchek to helicopter in front of me. To the right there is old-hat classical route – way of disgraceful flight and frightening North Face heap to the left. I mast make a decision till the sunrise.

 

But first of all I need to arrange my life. I cannot sleep in my sleeping bag because I need to keep it dry for camps on the wall; if my sleeping bag becomes damp this will add some extra weight to my over 30 kilograms backpack. I think that frame of sauna is going to fit me. I make a roof using a plastic awning, throw in a felt mat and blanket for vegetables and renegades as well, so my quite respectable doss-house is ready. Now I am ready for spot-check inspection of camp garbage; deprecative glare of noisy jackdaws is following me. I am lucky inspection gave me a magnificent dinner and breakfast; I’ve got some packs of “Gala-Gala”, half can of coffee, and lots of delicacies.

 

I leave in the camp only necessary things all I need for overnight and step forth to the Mount; I need to carry my backpack as far as I can, as soon as it is quiet difficult to cross the glacier at night with such heavy burden and also I need to check the way along the glacier my headlight is not as good so I need to know glacier condition for my night march. Having reached the beginning of ascent to the glacier cirque I leave my backpack and continue my way to the cirque. There is no snow at all – great. Cirque is heaped with latest landslides – worse, but anyway I can pass it around by bottom. On the way back I build signs and come back to the camp being enthusiastic. So now I need not to give away to fear and not to oversleep heavily. It is ridiculous to sleep before climbing Such Mount!

 

Night was fishily warm, but there was not even a cloud in the sky. I promised myself that I will come back from the bergshrund if I fear and started at 3 o’clock. I reached the backpack in a trice and we merged together. I passed the glacier cirque quiet quickly I was lucky there were no snow at all; and then I climbed to the bergshrund. Under the shrund was tons of snow, as usual. I cannot give all I have got so I have to spend about 2 hours here it looked like swimming. At 6:00 I am at the bottom of wall just in the beginning. It is time to take a decision. Two clenches in return favour flied past hissing from above. I dodged and kept putting my equipment on. I swallowed spittle bitter from fear and climbed shrund steep edge and moving to a crotch. Crotch is a place where I can turn either to the left to the center of North Face or climb straight, on the right part.

 

There are about 12-14 ropes to the crotch (according to 2001, that time we used fixed ropes just from the shrund). I hoped to climb this part without fixed ropes but by 10th rope, my quiet heavy partner behind my back made its dirty deed. My legs ached awfully I swore sadly and started crawling up-down. When climbing to the crotch all the sky was covered with cirrus. I was thinking cruelly about further route. I had about 15 kilos of equipment that was prepared for the center route but I was not ready for bad weather absolutely, all my gear burn in helicopter last year. Alas, but I have to abandon the idea of climbing in the centre of North Face. In bad weather having awful clothing, gear and bivouac I can easily burn myself out, as soon as I am irreconcilable adversary of dull heroism in sport. And simply I don’t have the right to stick on the wall, because nobody knows that I intend climbing North Face, and this way, lots of innocent people who are waiting for me will have lots of problems.

 

If this were my own expedition I could do anything I want, but this season I work as a guide for Kazbek Valiev, and I cannot expose my chief especially he had already been running risks when agreed to leave me alone on the glacier. Moreover I climbed left and center parts of North Face and never climbed to the right – curiously. I brought such a powerful theoretical footing to my fear and head to a steep icy wall that lead me out to the right part of North Face of Khan-Tengry. I had only absolute uncertainty before that is why I decided to think my route over in camp, especially I haven’t find it yet. I climbed two ropes of quiet interesting brittle ice and got to ice wall of usual steepness (it’s like ice wall on Svobodnaya Korea (Free Korea) Peak - Lowe route). By the evening sky was covered with clouds it was time to look for camp place. I climbed one more rope and found good place for my tent, which I sew myself using odds and ends of my tent survived in my wall incident in 2001.

 

The ledge was covered with ice, but there was no choice. Due to incipient snow there was not the ghost of a chance to maneuver, “fast trains” of avalanches began to thunder down the wall. During 2 hours I could make fairly good ledge on my “halt” but my tent was filled with snow. It was pity and upset my plans I didn’t want to get wet first day.

 

Daybreak destroyed all my doubts about the route choice. Snowfall didn’t cease and I didn’t have any possibility to move neither up nor down; I didn’t know the time-table of “fast trains” of avalanches and there was no any possibility to avoid them. It’s a crash. When I climbed North Face in 2001 we had 3 days of good weather, and now it is bad luck straight from the beginning. My feather gear resembles to a wet dog with sad eyes, which is ready to help but unable. There is a Center, to the right just climb to the ridge! I’ve got food and gas enough for 10 days and only riddles ahead. How long bad weather is going to be, what a relief ahead, and where I should climb on the whole?! Because of the cloudiness I cannot see the wall to the ridge, able to see only rock step about 150 meters but unable to determine the difficulty from such distance. Day went by in gloomy thoughts.

 

Next daybreak gives hope, but anyway I am not able to start early, wind blows down quiet avalanches of snow left from snowfall. There were 5 ropes to rocks not 3 as I thought, mountain air is illusory! I climbed one rope of steep snow-covered rock “tile” and on the place of planned belay I find a perfect piton; this is a splendid present on this unpleasant relief. At the same time all around sink into snowfall again. There we are! I have to look for refuge which protects me from avalanches. I see steep rocks covered with snow around.

 

Nothing suitable for refuge around, I am lucky if I find somewhere to sit. When finally I found a place it was not so good, avalanches got there all the time. But anyway there was nothing to do I was stepping on snow and every time when my ledge was ready avalanche leveled it. In two hours of unsuccessful fight I felt sad and first of all very cold. All the cloth is wet through and it is very difficult to get warm even working. Luckily I managed to catch a small avalanches break and organized a camp on my seat.

 

Well, now I am a “favorite of the Moon” (very lucky) as my friend Edik would say. Very carefully I melt water trying not to burn the tent. If I have water I am alive. Furious snow streams are trying to oust me from my tiny ledge, but backpack is for my part. Logged due to water, it turned into my best team-mate in my fight with avalanches. I was thinking with horror about the future day. If the snowfall wouldn’t stop I will have really bad time here.

 

Closer to the morning weather was much better. I didn’t sleep at night so soon after five I already packed my camp. I didn’t have any force to find a camera and it was pity, great view. There was next rock step in front of me and “pillow” (name of the North Face part) ice wall beyond on which I could climb to the ridge. Today I need to find good place for camp at the least or it would much better if I get to the “pillow”. This night on a rough place took too much power, which I need very much as soon as I have no idea about how much I will have climb to the ridge and how much energy and luck I will need on the way to the South Inylchek Base Camp along the unknown and dangerous way.

 

Climb one fixed rope and go ahead. To force my way I will have to suffer really boorish pain in legs. Under the step I find quiet flat rocks all covered with snow about waist-high. In fight with impassibility I didn’t notice that got to steepness. With frantic haste looking for a place for a point I leave my backpack and climb one rope of rocks that began with overhang. Here is a beginning of ice wall. Attempt to drive an ice screw throw me into confusion. It fell out with bucket-size lens of over-frozen or over-old ice. Well what a surprise! Even firm winter ice in Ala-Archa behaves much better! I see about 50 meters of such a bit overhanging ice above me, very unpleasant. There seemed to be more flat way to the left, there are about five ropes I will have to crampon but it is almost impossible to suffer pain any more. So I make a decision to climb along the shorter steep part, this is more difficult but really shorter about one rope. Fortunately there was a crack slantwise the wall all filled with snow and I could use it for half way. Here is a “pillow”! Owing to nearest seracs I don’t see plateau and unable to learn whether I can get there this way, but tiredness has its effect. I trample a ground and prepare my tardy breakfast. Opposite on the slope of Chapaev Peak col I see three body ascending. Hey, I thought I was ending the season from the North Inylchek!

 

Interesting, who’s those peoples are and which way they are going to descend. This could be great if they will make a path for me to the South Inylchek. Dreams sweet dreams! It is unknown how long it will take to the ridge and at the same time I notice that weather is getting bad again. At the serac opposite there is excellent place for bivy, ah, I wish to stop there so much and fall asleep! Hardly I force myself to move I need to reach the ridge, here I can be easily locked with avalanches. Cross the seracs and get to the main plateau of “pillow”, and find there snow reaching chest-high. I can see the ridge but able to move only one meter in 5 minutes. In one hour of fight slope set with a crash let me know that soon we move to the beginning of the route altogether.

 

From bad to worse! I descent and roaming around in search of more stable snow slope. Luck! I found less snow-covered part of slope and slowly raking to the ridge. It is well that still can make about 50 steps in one time, there is a chance to reach safe bivy place. According to usual scenario snowfall begins, but I cannot add some might too scary. Hope that with such heavy backpack in waist-high snow this will be not so easy to throw me down this slope. At dusk I drag myself out to the ridge somewhere around 6100, here is luck. Below the saddle I could discern but there were no tracks leading to it. Somebody else ascending from the South indeed?! That was fortune gift for me! A trio slowly descends from Chapaev Peak to the saddle, who are they? Having reached the saddle I organize bivy and hear in the dark that neighbours stopped a bit higher. Well, sleep on it!, tomorrow I need to go to the summit and there are tons of snow on the ridge. The heaviest day ended with deep sleep on the rustle of snowfall.

 

I woke up in the morning because of voices of my neighbours who were descending to the South. One of the voices belong to a woman, hey, they are special guys I think. They spent night below bergshrund on the Chapaev Peak slope. What do these trekinngers find on the West Khan-Tengry Col pass! I really hoped to climb to the summit together. Straight that time I wished to follow them on the way to the base camp. I hardly made myself not to do this and half past 11 as a usual fop headed to the summit. About 7 hours there and back is an average time. But owing to deep snow and tiredness I had to return, shame on me. To while away the time I went to look for fixed rope from the saddle to the South Inylchek way. Found it by chance when dig snow trying to drive an ice screw at that time there began real snow storm on the saddle. Somehow I reached the tent and thought that it was real luck that I didn’t climb the summit today. Tomorrow I should start earlier.

 

It is the first time in my biography when I started at half past 6, I wouldn’t like to catch the usual evening bad weather. First of all I need to reach the fixed ropes and further along the well known way it is much easier. I climbed the summit not so fast but without strenuous exertion. And there I was endowed with magnificent sunny silence. I could easily walk around the summit and make some pictures. On the way back I saw tracks from the South side to my tent. What luck! So I can join them and descent Semenovskogo glacier together with belay – great! At 3 I was on the saddle had rest about 1 hour and descent to the South. And there were Serega Brodsky and Allochka Tuzova with clients, hurrah, hello to you life!

 

As a matter of fact life began only under the wing of Dmitry Grekov when we burst through the snow storm to the last in this season bulwark of cosiness and peace on the South Inylchek – base camp of Ak-Sai Travel.

 

What a pity. Such intensively prepared climb along the centre of North Face failed. Apparently there was not enough of thoroughness. But nevertheless I could touch its chilling greatness, and feel the whole of charm and horror of solo high altitude climbing, when even easy route counts dozens of ropes and climbing up is much easier than descent, nobody will cheer you up.

 

I want to thank Kazbek Valiev for his long-suffering to my crazy actions and Dmitry Grekov for real South Inylchek cosiness.