Virgin Russian walls climbed

Chris Warner and Chris Fitzgerald spent 23 days in the Chukotka region of eastern Russia. They camped beneath big walls near the town of Bilibino.

Warner and Fitzgerald climbed six new routes on four previously unclimbed walls. The climbers believe their ascents are the first in the region. The area had been closed to foreigners and even Russians for the past 20 years.

They climbed The Turilov Route 375 metres 5.10, Basil Brush 465 metres 5.12, Epaulette 280 metres 5.10, Gardening Australia 300 metres 5.10 and a couple of other shorter routes.

Warner wrote on the Mont website, “We also walked many of the surrounding valleys and saw countless more towers and walls that looked great to climb. There would be hundreds of new routes to climb in this condensed area. The quality of rock in general is excellent. There are no glaciers or massive scree slopes to the base of any of the walls making approaches straightforward.”

Visit Mont for more of the story and photos.