My husband, Denis Prokofiev, and I traveled to the Karavshin in July. We had planned several long routes in the region, and the line on the east face of the Yellow Wall (3,800m), which we had identified during a visit in 2018, was intended only as a warm-up. Soon after arriving in base camp, however, I became ill for ten days, and Denis was suffering from persistent shoulder pain. Because of this, we changed plans and made the line on the Yellow Wall our main objective.

On July 14 we left our bivouac in the Kara-su Valley at 5:20 a.m. and reached the base an hour later. Our route would ascend to the right of all previous lines on the Yellow Wall.

We began with simul-climbing on easy terrain leading onto the lower buttress. From there, Denis led the remainder of the climb. 

The route followed slabs and corners to a long, sloping ledge beneath a steep wall capped by a roof. A clean crack split the roof, which we climbed free at about 6b+. Above, on steeper sections, we used some aid. Once on top of the face, we traversed the ridge to the summit, which we reached at 1:40 p.m., after 7 hours and 40 minutes of climbing. We were back at base camp by 4 p.m.

The new route gained 650 meters and had a total length of 845 meters, in 18 pitches. We believe it can be climbed entirely free at about 7a+. After returning home, Denis learned that he had a torn biceps tendon, which was reattached surgically. 

—Marina Popova, Russia