In late August, Eugeny and Sergey Glazunov climbed a new route up the center of the north face of Sever (2,826m) in the Barun Handagay Valley of the Eastern Sayan Mountains. The peak is situated above the head of the valley defined by coordinates 51°55'24"N, 102°10'00"E, and lies ca 150km west-southwest of the large city of Irkutsk, close to the southern end of Lake Baikal. The route ascends a very steep 400m granite pillar and then continues along the west ridge to the summit, for a total of 600m of climbing at 5B. The brothers climbed the route in nine and a half hours on August 20 (nine pitches to the end of the major difficulties a little below the ridge, then 220m of climbing along the ridge at III). They descended the east ridge (3A) in under two and a half hours to their tent. The granite is monolithic at an average angle of 80°, and the new route followed a series of vertical cracks to breach an overhanging section at mid-height; thin cracks required aid to A2e (the “e” indicates the use of bolts or rivets for aid), but the route was climbed largely free.

Lindsay Griffin, with information from Elena Dmitrenko, Risk.ru, Russia