We first saw the 500m walls of It-kaya, east of the village of Bezengi, while making the first ascent of Ak-kaya in January 2011. The area around It-kaya is strikingly beautiful, with many herbs, flowers, and boulders, making it a kind of paradise. Michaylo Mironchak, Vladimir Roshko, and I spent three days doing the first ascent of the southwest face. During the first day we climbed seven pitches (up to 6a/b),

with problematic protection and broken limestone. We often had to climb 15m to 20m without protection. On the second day the wall became steeper and reached a level of 6b+ A3. After six pitches on the third day we reached the summit. During the climb we placed one bolt. The route turned out to be quite interesting, with a variety of climbing. With knowledge of the route, it would be possible to do it in a single day.

Mykola Shymko, Ukraine, translated by Lidiya Tsoy and Max Kovtunenko