Significant ascents
2024: New first ascents established by an all-female team in the remote Pamirs
The all-female team of Steel Angel award winners—Olga Lukashenko, Anastasia Kozlova, and
Darya Serupova, established two new beautiful daring routes on the sheer
granite faces of the demanding walls in the remote Sabakh Valley:
- Argo (ED, 29 pitches, 1250m, 7b, M6, А3+)
- West Parus (ED-, 28 pitches, 1460m, 6c, M3, A2)
This journey was supported by the Grit& Rock Expedition grant, which aims to promote and support women climbers embarking on first ascents, new routes and exploratory adventures.
2024: The First All-Female Team to Ascend Ushba via a Route of the Highest Difficulty Category 6A (RUS), ED
Olga Paduchova, Oksana Kochubey, Nadezhda Pilshchikova, and Nadezhda Muzhikina achieved a historic ascent by becoming the first all-female team to climb Ushba South (4710 m) via a route of the highest difficulty category, 6A.
2023: Free Climbing the Perestroyka Crack on Peak Slesova
Galina Terentyeva (Krasnoyarsk) and Olga Lukashenko (Saint Petersburg) became the second Russian female team to climb a route of extra-class difficulty entirely by free climbing. They also became the first female team to free climb the Perestroyka Crack (5.12-, 7b or 7a/A2, 1000 m, first ascended by Faivre, Gentet, Givet, and Roche) on Peak Slesova (4240 m, Karavshin).
2021: First ascent completed by an all-female team
Ostryi Peak (4,818m) via the east ridge (550m, 5B rus, UIAA VII+
A3)
First ascent of Pik Ostryi (4,818m), in the Orto-Chashma Gorge of the Pamir Alai, on August 4-5 via the east ridge (550m, 5B rus, UIAA VII+ A3) by Maria Dupina, Nadya Oleneva, and Marina Popova (Russia). The party made one bivouac and descended by rappelling to the west. This journey was supported by the Grit& Rock Expedition grant, which aims to promote and support women climbers embarking on first ascents, new routes and exploratory adventures.
2009: First Russian Female Free Climb of an Extra-Class Route
Irina Morozova (Saint Petersburg) and Ekaterina Matyshevskaya (Krasnoyarsk) became the first Russian female team to climb an extra-class route entirely by free climbing. They successfully completed the Comici Route on the north face of Cima Grande di Lavaredo (2999 m). 5.10c, UIAA VII all free climbing (VI A0). ED