Verkhoyansky Mountains 2020 Winter Solo

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General information and highlights:

  • Probably the first ever winter ascent (climate+calendar winter) of the highest peak in Verkhoyansky Mountains (Yakutia), in February; the official altitude of the peak is 2409m.
  • It was a solo climb; approaching the central massif was done on snowmobiles (one Russian “buran” and one Japanese Yamaha).
  • The peak was never attempted before in winter. It was the first winter exploration ever.
  • The peak is located nearby Verkhoyansk, one of the coldest regions of Yakutia, also referred to as the northern “Pole of Cold” (similarly to Oymyakon), with the lowest official temperatures of around -70 C. Thus, the climbed peak can also be argued as one of the coldest mountains in the North / in Siberia.
  • The distance from the peak to the nearest village: over a 120 km.
  • Temperatures in valleys: down to -45 C. Temperatures while climbing: around -35 C (I think), it was already a bit warm, but the climb was done in very strong winds, the famous “Purga” (also called “Buran”), the Siberian wind of cold air.
  • The climb was somehow technical: the final ridge was extremely narrow and quite steep, I had to crawl for around 50 meters.



Location of the highest peak:



Special thanks to / Podziękowania dla / Большое спасибо к …

  • Пета водитель, для того, чтобы сделать возможной экспедицию, и много помощи и гостеприимства.
  • Михаил Водитель, за возможность экспедиции.
  • Анатолий Алексеев, за его обычную помощь и поддержку!
  • Люди из Батагая и его окрестностей, за помощь.
  • Все ребята из лагеря, за большую помощь.
  • Father Maros and Peter from Yakutsk, for never-ending hospitality.
  • Bolot Bochkarev from VisitYakutia for logistics help.
  • La Sportiva (https://www.lasportiva.com/) for top quality, extremely warm, versatile, and very light expedition boots.
  • Roberts (https://roberts.pl/index.php?l=en&p=_katalog) for best quality, ultrawarm & ultralight down clothes and equipment.
  • Piotr Sztaba, Waldek Niemiec, Wojtek Malawski, Andrzej Maciata (https://kilimanjaro.com.pl) for climbing, touring, and avalanche training sessions.



Selected Videos:



Selected Photos:

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