In July, Marina Popova and Denis Prokofiev (both from Russia) climbed the west face of an unnamed peak of 4,431m (GPS) on the east side of the Ak-su Valley. The peak (39°37’10”N, 70°18’57”E) rises along the ridge between the Ak-su and Jaupaya valleys and was accessed by a huge gully and scree slope to the north of Ortutyubek (3,895m). This approach took a day and a half.

Over two days, July 24–25, the pair climbed the west face in about 16 pitches, following a huge corner system in the center of the face (720m, Russian 6A/B), with a mix of free and aid climbing. (They placed no bolts). After a bivouac high on the face, they reached the summit around 4 p.m., finding no trace of prior visits.

Because of all the loose rock they had encountered during the approach and the climb, they opted to traverse the mountain and descend into the Jaupaya Valley. Fortunately, they found a reasonable descent along a stream that cut through the cliffbands and reached a bivy site in the valley after four hours. The next day, they hiked around 17km, trekking out of the Jaupaya Valley and back into the Ak-su, to return to camp. They later named the mountain Pik Breeze.

— Dougald MacDonald, AAJ, with information from Mountain.ru and the climbers