KORONA PEAK (THE CROWN) 4860 m. NORTH WALL OF THE SPUR OF THE 1st CROWN FORTRESS 4240 m. SOLO CLIMBING.

    A. Ruchkin

        Korona peak (The Crown), 4860 m, is situated in the upper of the glacier Aksay, it is one of the most beautiful peaks of Kirgiz Ala Too which form Aksay Valley. 
        Northern and South-West walls are torn off by 600-metres rocks to the  foot of glaciers Uchitel ("Teacher") and Aksay. The sunny walls of  5th and 6th Crown peak fortresses will invite climbers on Ruzhevsky, Balesin, Sadovsky, Gluhovtsev routes. Routes have 5B d.c.The Northern wall is harsher than Southern. 

 Routes. Northern wall of the 1st fortress of Crown.

1. by glacier lobby 4A many ascents
2. Popov centre North-West wall 5B 2-3 ascents
3. Plotnicov 1995 5B 1 ascent
4. Smirnov-Kochetov 5B many ascents
5. Kaliugin 1982 5B 1 ascent
6. Ruchkin 1999 6A 1 ascent
7. travers of the1st-6th fortress 5A many ascents

Routes. South - West wall of Crown, 5th-6th fortress

1. Egorov Western wall 5A       
2. Sadovsky 1968 5B many ascents
3. Balezina 1995 5B-6A 4 ascents
4. Ruzhevsky 1976 5B many ascents
5. Gluhovtsev 1963 5B many ascents
6. Kievsky 1993 5B-6A 1 ascent
7. Andreyev 1959 4B many ascents

       There are routes from 2A to 3A c.c. from the glacier Crown side. While on a  confluence of two Crown and Aksay glaciers on the left on moraine there are two "crown" cabins, ready to meet mountaineers for the assault of Crown fortresses.
       There are  a mountainous cabin from the Northern side under the first Crown fortress too. There an approach of routes with cabins is less than 1 hour with low hights. To the approach to stations "Ratseka" the Northern wall of Crown are opened with all its beauty. It stands in profile a bit, so we can see steep rocky bastions. The 1st Crown Fortress (4034 m) is dominated here. In its upper half of the wall snow doesn't lay for a long time and in harsh weather the wall is clean.
         From the time of passing the route of Kaliugina there were many attempts to repeate the route. But all this has finished without any success. A small quantity of relief, the steepness of the wall make climbers to return. The wall was staing as a fort and was fearing its impregnaty: - May 9, 1999 A.Ruchkin have made his new 600 m., 6A, A4 c.c.  route by the wall estimation "Solo Dream" in the style of "solo". 
        The route is devided into 12 lots with the maximum length of 55 m. The middle steepness of the bastion - 74 degrees. The main lot steepness - 86 degrees. The start weight of rucksack - 30 kg. The bivuak organization - 2 kg. hammock-tent is used.

Equipment used while passing the route
1.  A dynamic string - 55m.
2.  Insurance device "GREE-GREE".
3.  The frends complete set "Stregor".
4.  The stuppers complete set "Stregor".
5.  Carabine - 40 pieces.
6.  Clamp «PETZL».
7.  Punch "PETZL".
8.  Rock pitons "PETZL".
9.  Sky-hooks 2 pieces
10.  A block for dragging of load.
11.  Icy hammers "SIMOND" 2 pieces
12.  Crampons  "CAMP"
13.  Ice pitons 7 pieces
14.  Rocky hooks 20 pieces
15.  Rocky hammer
16.  Coperheads (USA) 4 pieces
      The great popularity on the route got thin, not large hooks as it were many deaf cracks, and also friends of small sizes.
      It was spent 3.5 days for passing the route alone.