In July, Sergey Maksimenko, Maxim Perevalov, and I headed to Kyrgyzstan to attempt a new route on the north face of Blok Peak (5,239m), named for the famous Russian poet Alexander Blok. July was unusually cold, with lots of precipitation. We had to wait 10 days for the weather to improve and strip the wall of ice. The approach from base camp (2,800m) usually takes five or six hours, but because of deep snow it took us no less than eight hours. The north face is about 800m, followed by a long but easier ridge to the top.

When we approached the wall Sergey Maksimenko was hit by a chunk of ice, breaking his arm. So, just two of us started up the route, following a line left of all established climbs on the face. The lower part was practically vertical. Overhangs protected us from falling ice, but in the afternoon a torrent of water ran in the corners. Higher up the corners were covered with ice, which was sometimes reliable but other times fell out in sheets. The upper route was typical mixed climbing, first not so steep, but then, just before the ridge, very steep again. We fixed 250m at the bottom of the route and then used a portaledge (which broke on the second-to-last night). The ascent and descent took nine days. Bolts were used only for rappel anchors and for setting up the portaledge.

Alexander Lavrinenko, Ukraine, translated by Ekaterina Vorotnikova