Soviet mountaineering

Back in the 17th century. The Imeretian embassy, ​​headed by State Treasurer Lomkatsi Japaridze, moving towards Muscovy, passed through the Main Caucasus Range, successfully overcoming the most difficult glaciers and high mountain passes, including the difficult Gezevtsek Pass. The Russian expedition led by Nikifor Tolchanov successfully passed this pass (in the 17th century).

In the ancient manuscript of John Batonishvili - “Kalmasoba” - Georgian researchers found a mention that the mountaineer Joseph Mokhevets climbed Mount Kazbegi (Kazbek) during the reign of Erekle II, i.e. between 1744-1798. Kazbegi surpasses the peaks of Western Europe in height and is one of the “five thousand meters” of the Caucasus Range (its height is 5043 m). It is very likely that the unknown Mokhevets made his heroic ascent much earlier than the European climbers. The fact that Elbrus was conquered by man long before the ascent of Freshfield, who was considered the first climber, is evidenced by documents relating to the colonization of the Caucasus by the tsarist government. In 1829, one of the Nikolaev colonizers of the Caucasus, General Emmanuel, accompanied by several scientists, set out to explore the Elbrus region. Sitting at the foot of the majestic Mingi-tau, which means “Like a thousand mountains” in Balkar, the general watched through a telescope as dark dots—people—crawled across the endless snow fields. As they approached the top, their number decreased, and one person climbed to the very top. The general ordered a welcome cannon salute in honor of the daredevil. But what was the general’s surprise when he learned that the man who reached the summit was a “foreigner” - the Balkar Killar, the expedition’s guide. This fact was hushed up by chauvinistically minded bourgeois historians.

In Tsarist Russia, mountaineering was the preserve of a few wealthy people.

Only in the Soviet country did the right to rest become part of the fundamental law of the country, implemented from the very first years of the Great October Socialist Revolution and now enshrined in Article 115 of the USSR Constitution.

Every year tens of thousands of Soviet people take part in hiking trips and excursions, exciting climbs to the snowy peaks of the Caucasus, Altai, and Tien Shan.

Soviet mountaineering is young, like our entire country is young, but it is growing and moving forward by leaps and bounds.

In 1923, climbers from Soviet Georgia undertook the first mass ascent of Kazbegi. 18 climbers took part in this historic ascent, 5 of them women. Tbilisi University students who participated in the ascent studied the glacier zone and collected valuable meteorological material. One after another, columns of climbers moved to Kazbegi, Elbrus and other peaks. In 1925, after careful training on glaciers, Georgian climbers climbed Elbrus.

Mountaineering became a true school of courage in the Soviet country, in which thousands of young people underwent harsh but exciting studies. Already in 1930, 46 Soviet climbers climbed Elbrus. Now this figure seems insignificant. But it is enough to compare with this the statistics of climbing Elbrus after Freshfield - on average less than one person per year - to understand the significance of this figure.

The head of the Soviet government, Comrade Molotov, assessed the growth of Soviet mountaineering as one of the achievements of the construction of socialism. In his closing speech at the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of the VII convocation, Comrade Molotov said:

“In our country the number of air heroes, submarine heroes, heroes of the fight against nature is growing.

As one example of this, I will give the following fact relating to the ascent of the highest mountain in Europe, the ascent of Mount Elbrus. According to the Society of Proletarian Tourism, from 1829 to 1914 there were only 59 ascents of Mount Elbrus, of which 47 were foreigners. In recent years, the situation here has completely changed. It turns out that in 1935 alone there were 2016 ascents of Soviet people to Elbrus.

Here is one example of how life has changed. In the past, the hard life of working people did not allow them to think about such things as exciting climbs to the highest mountain. Now the situation has changed, and new interests have appeared. What was not thought about before becomes interesting, especially for our youth” (V. M. Molotov, Articles and Speeches 1935-1936, p. 195, Partizdat, 1937).

Before the Great October Socialist Revolution, the list of conquerors of the peaks of the Caucasus included mainly the names of Germans, British, and Austrians. The Russian mining society was a closed aristocratic club: its members could not boast of any achievements. The arrogant clubmen failed to climb any of the technically difficult peaks. Foreigners, with the benevolent connivance of tsarist officials, climbed to the peaks not only for purely sporting purposes - along the way, the “climbers” carefully studied the border mountain regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia, drew up maps and collected materials that were of interest not so much to European scientific circles as to the corresponding departments of the general staffs.

“In recent years, the situation here has completely changed.” In 1937, Soviet climbers took first place in the world in terms of the number of “seven-thousanders” (i.e. peaks above 7000 m above sea level), surpassing the famous climbers - the British and Germans. The Soviet people are now becoming the true masters of their land, its snowy peaks.

According to mountaineering traditions, the first person to reach the top places a stone pyramid on it—a tour—and leaves a note in it. This note is taken as proof of his ascent by the climber who climbs the mountain next. It is not uncommon for such notes to lie untouched for 10-20 years on difficult peaks. And in 1937, on Uzhba, a peak of great difficulty, several groups of Soviet climbers did not even have time to put notes on the tour and simply passed them from hand to hand. But Uzhba is not an easy mountain; it is not without reason that it is called the “Caucasian Motherhorn,” which indicates the dangers that await a climber on the slopes of this mountain.

1938 was a turning point! Soviet mountaineering. New people, honest and completely devoted to the cause of socialism, came to the leadership of mountaineering and honorably justified the trust placed in them. This year was an anniversary for the climbers of our country, the year of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Komsomol, the year of the 15th anniversary of Soviet mountaineering.

Brave climbers, young patriots of the country of socialism, as a gift to their motherland, made a galaxy of record ascents of international significance. With these ascents to the most difficult peaks, Soviet climbers refuted the demagogic chatter of the leaders of fascist mountaineering clubs, who tried to claim that many decades would pass before the climbers of our country would be able to make ascents of a high level of difficulty.

The summer of 1938, due to the condition of the mountain slopes, was unfavorable for climbing, and yet the most difficult peaks of Europe were successfully conquered, without a single casualty, and the remarkable traverses of ice walls, which the world's famous climbers had dreamed of, were completed.

For the first time in the history of mountaineering, a traverse of a series of difficult peaks was completed: Dykh-tau - Mizhirgi - Krumkol - Koshtan-tau. Each of these peaks is quite difficult to climb in itself. When passing the traverse, the climber has to overcome frozen and snow-covered rocks, steep and icy ridges, and dangerous avalanche slopes at an altitude close to the saddle of Elbrus.

During this traverse, the first Soviet ascents were made to the eastern peak of Dykh-tau, Pushkin Peak and Eastern Mizhirgi. The complexity of this route can be judged by the fact that the best European climbers, world-class athletes, were not able to complete the entire traverse, but completed it by splitting into two separate groups: one of them traversed Dykh-tau - Mizhirgi, the other - Krumkol - Koshtan-tau.

Young Soviet climbers, members of the Wings of the Soviets society, completed a full traverse of the famous Besingi Wall.

This wall is located in the center of the Main Caucasus Range and stretches for 10 km. On the wall rises a group of beautiful peaks, headed by Shkhara, the third highest in Europe.

The group of climbers carefully prepared for their ascent, studied the area in detail, were perfectly united and armed for a difficult fight against the difficulties of the mountain elements. At an excellent pace, the climbers climbed all the peaks of the wall in eight days: Eastern, Main and Western Shkhara, Shota Rustaveli Peak, Eastern and Western Dzhangi-tau, Katyn-tau, Gestola and Lyalver. A number of excellent ascents are the most convincing proof of the success of Soviet mountaineering.

Soviet climbers and the flying team that accompanied them achieved remarkable success during ascents in the Pamirs and Tien Shan. In one summer of 1937, the “seven thousand meters” of the Soviet country were taken - the greatest peaks of our homeland: Stalin Peak, Lenin Peak, Korzhenevskaya Peak.

For several years, Soviet climbers - students and researchers at Moscow universities - devoted their summer holidays to studying one of the most remote mountain ranges of the Tien Shan. In 1936, they finally managed to overcome the mountain barriers and penetrated deep into the ridge, where they saw a snowy peak of rare beauty, which was unanimously given the name “Peak of the Stalin Constitution.” Autumn was approaching with its bad weather and terrible snowstorms, and therefore the climbers were unable to climb this peak. Arriving at this place in 1937, the group successfully climbed Constitution Peak, Nansen Peak, Karpinsky Peak and a number of other peaks.

In 1938, the Komsomol expedition group successfully climbed an unnamed ice wall with a peak rising on it, which the climbers named after the 20th anniversary of the Komsomol. The difficulties of the ascent were aggravated by the fact that it was made from the northern side.

Soviet people successfully storm the Soviet mountains. Where a few years ago only mountain streams were noisy, now the tents of mountaineering camps are white, and hundreds of young men and women - cheerful and happy - are mastering the basics of mountain technology.

If in 1936 trade unions and voluntary sports societies had 11 mountain camps, through which 2 thousand climbers passed, then in 1938 about 50 mountain camps and high-mountain shelters were organized in the Caucasus, Altai and Tien Shan. Over 20 thousand people. participated in mountaineering trips, tens of thousands of Soviet people walked through passes and along mountain routes.

Thanks to the concerns of the party and the Soviet government, mountaineering received a solid material base and became one of the favorite sports and recreation of Soviet youth. Trade unions alone allocated 50 million rubles in 1938. for tourism and mountaineering - huge funds that make it possible to widely and culturally serve a large army of tourists and climbers. Comfortable tourist houses have been built and are being built in Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay, Central Asia, including the “hotel above the clouds” - a tourist hotel on Elbrus at an altitude of 4250 m above sea level.

The vanguard of Soviet mountaineering are the climbers of the Red Army, who in 1938 successfully completed their anniversary mountaineering competition. After a difficult mountain march through the passes of the Main Caucasus Range, enthusiastically greeted by the mountaineers, the columns of climbers descended into their camp at the foot of Elbrus. The finish of the alpiniad was the simultaneous ascent to both peaks of Elbrus. Clear organization, iron discipline, Stalin's concern for people, impeccable mastery of mountain technology, an unbending will to win—these character traits of an army climber are a worthy example for every Soviet climber.

The saboteurs and traitors to the homeland, who made their way to the leadership of the former society of proletarian tourism and excursions, to the leadership of the mountaineering sections, sought to discredit this great cause. Hundreds of thousands of rubles were spent on spectacular trips, in which a handful of “chosen ones” took part, while mass mountaineering remained homeless. People were allowed on important ascents unprepared, without proper equipment. There was no political and educational work carried out in the camps or among the climbers themselves.

A person going to the mountains must be especially attentive and vigilant: he is responsible not only for his own life, but also for the lives of his teammates. And among the mountaineers there appeared savants and adventurers who blindly imitated bourgeois mountaineering with its aimless pursuit of thrills.

Before going on a mountain hike, a climber must carefully, even meticulously, check his readiness for struggle. The Soviet country raised many heroes. They defeated the North Pole, conquered the Northern Sea Route, paved routes from the Soviet capital to the Pacific Ocean through snowstorms and cyclones, and showed the whole world their courage and perseverance in battles with the arrogant Japanese samurai. And all these brave deeds were accompanied by impeccable mastery of the technique of their craft, equipment that worked flawlessly, and careful preparation down to the smallest detail.

Big victories require a lot of work on yourself. The struggle for accident-free ascents, the political education of climbers in the spirit of the Lenin-Stalin party, increasing the role of the instructor-teacher and educator of young climbers, mastering advanced technology - on this basis, Soviet climbers are achieving new victories.

We know the rigorous testing that every flight instructor goes through. He was entrusted with not only a valuable car, but also the most precious capital in the Soviet country - a person, his life. We must impose no less stringent requirements on mountain sports instructors.

Along with climbing mountain peaks, pass mountaineering is of exceptional importance in the conditions of our country. A classic, unsurpassed example of such a campaign is Suvorov’s crossing of the Alps. The enemies of the people who operated in Soviet mountaineering belittled the importance of mountaineering and hampered its development. Meanwhile, the ability to cross a mountain range at a good pace, find the most advantageous paths, establish the correct mode of march, and lead a crowded column from one valley to another without a single straggler is unthinkable without serious preparation and good knowledge of the matter.

Such militarized campaigns as the transition of participants in the “Steel” and “Molniya” mountaineering camps through the Koyavgan-aush pass and along the Adyl-su gorge or the transition of 168 climbers of the Terskol camp of the Tourist and Excursion Directorate of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions from Balkaria to Karachay, Svaneti and back, showed the success of this kind of mountain marches and aroused great interest among their participants.

Everyone who comes to the mountains is interested in the life and way of life of the peoples inhabiting the mountain republics. Courageous mountaineers bravely defended their lands, fighting for freedom and a better life. The sons and daughters of the great Russian people, with a feeling of boundless love and respect, pronounce the name of the unshakable comrade-in-arms of the great Lenin and the successor of his work, the son of the Georgian people - Comrade Stalin. From among the peoples of the Caucasus came such brave knights of the revolution as comrades Ordzhonikidze, Shaumyan, Japaridze, Mikoyan. The unforgettable Sergei Mironovich Kirov also worked in the Caucasus for many years.

The now exposed “leaders” of the mountaineering business separated Soviet mountaineering from current political tasks, emasculated the study of mountain republics from the camp programs, and isolated climbers from the local population.

The exceptional importance of mountaineering in the defense of the country. Mountains provide excellent willpower and physical strength; they teach you not to get lost in the face of difficulties, but to bravely overcome any and all obstacles.

Mountaineering is one of the most exciting sports. Nothing can compare with the feelings that overcome a person when, after a tiring and difficult climb, he reaches the top. Mountain ranges lie beneath your feet; like snowy islands, the peaks rise above the sea of ​​clouds.

Once a person has visited the mountains, he remembers them for the rest of his life. Mountains attract a climber just as a polar explorer is drawn to the Arctic.

When going to the mountains, you need to study their features, know how to overcome the elements, and master mountaineering techniques. A climber who goes out for training sessions, and even more so for climbing, must be vigilant and alert, ready for decisive action—he must be in a state of mobilization readiness in the full sense of the word.

The land borders of the Union are large, and mountain ranges stretch along almost their entire length - from the Caucasus through Central Asia to the Far East. Vigilant, vigilant border guards stand guard over them. If the enemy attacks, if the country calls out, the entire armed people will rise to defend the mountain borders. In its first ranks, courageous climbers who have undergone an excellent combat school of mountain climbing will defend their native land.

L. GUTMAN, S. KHODAKEVICH, I. ANTONOVICH. MOUNTAIN CLIMBING TECHNIQUE
TUTORIAL FOR BEGINNERS CLIMBERS

Approved by the mountaineering section of the All-Union Committee for Physical Education and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR

STATE PUBLISHING HOUSE “PHYSICAL CULTURE and SPORT” Moscow 1939