chossclimbers

Go back to Russia.
Go back to Our One Climb.

In the morning we once again slogged our way up to the head of the valley (2 hours) and once again dropped into the adjacent valley but this time opted for a longer traverse that would avoid the loose class 3 gully from two days earlier. Spectacular views of the cirque from a second pass and another hour of boulder hopping to reach the base of The General for a grand total of 4 hours from camp. We found our route of choice dripping wet and with a snowfield covering the first pitch. Add in the north facing aspect of the route and, in short, we chickened out from giving it a go. Another long but leisurely slog back to camp. We spent quite a bit of time admiring the Finger Crack Cirque off in the far distance and made a plan to do a quick overnighter there starting the following morning. When we reached the final pass with a view of our camp, we saw that there was a large truck making its way down towards the valley floor and our encampment. We were quite shocked and a little bit worried as we had left the larger cameras (not to mention our wallets) back in the tent. Since the truck was unrecognizable to us, it was only once we got to within 50 meters of camp that we realized it was Sergei (who was accompanied by someone else this time). A flurry of one way conversations in mutually incomprehensible tongues ensued but the implication was clear: these guys were here to pick us up some 48 hours to early. We were not sure if weather was moving in (the agreement had been that they’d show up a day early if forecasts were going to shit) or there were some other circumstances (break out of WWIII?). Faced with the possibility of being left behind in Siberia, we packed up our shit and got in the truck.

Photos

Go to Fishing In Siberia.
Go back to Russia.