The Russian techniques and equipment were different. Instead of using conventional aiders, they employed strap-on stirrups on their lower legs, fitted with small hooks on the front, which they paired with stout daisy chains fit with numerous metal rings. To climb, instead of putting their feet into conventional stepped aiders, the Russians hung a daisy from each piece and moved up by hooking the stirrups into the rings. We had about three sets of cams, while the Russians carried only about a third of that, and would regularly lower off while leading to backclean. They carried numerous very lightweight titanium pins, of which we had none. Odintsov showed us some of the ti-pins, which he carried like nails in the bags of his tool belt. The pins were homemade, and he seemed to know the age of each one; some even had pet names.
Other Russian items we found very interesting were their titanium removable bolts. They had one hand drill for the removable bolts, and another with a smaller tip specifically for bat-hook holes. One signature Russian item — which they didn’t carry on Trango, because it was pure rock — was the ice fifi hook. Picture a giant Talon-style rock hook with an ice pick for a point. Peck the thing into the ice, then stand on it using an etrier hooked to the bottom. A unique hooking geometry drives the point into the ice as you weight the piece. These secret weapons allow the Russians to aid up steep walls covered in thin ice — exactly the kind of heinous terrain they seem to enjoy. They were indispensable on the Jannu ascent.
The best way to understand the Russians’ climbing style is to know their history. Big, organized teams, fixed rope, and a premium on success all originate in the Soviet-born classification and ranking system that all Russian climbers were taught as they came up through the ranks.
At the end of the Second World War, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the largest country in the world, a superpower sharing borders with Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, China, Tibet, and Mongolia. Since most of these borderlands were mountainous, the Soviet military began running state-funded climbing camps with an eye to developing a corps of elite mountain troops. When the war ended, mountain climbing became an “official” Soviet sport. Along with this designation came a classification and competition system similar to what was used in other official sports like track and field. Each year the government set up about twenty alpine camps across the Soviet Union. Thousands of rookie climbers (male and female) attended each year; as a trainee you would pay only a fraction of the cost and were granted time off from work to attend. After completing this training and an ascent of an easy summit, you achieved the classification “Alpinist of the USSR.”
If you wanted to continue climbing, and were good enough, in your second year you attended another camp, culminating in four ascents of Grade 1 and Grade 2 routes, under the tutelage of a guide. [Russian alpine routes are broken into six grades based on technical difficulty, length, steepness, and altitude, much like the French alpine grades Facile (F) to Extreme Difficile (ED).] The next year’s camp would raise the bar again, including ascents without a guide. And so on.

As you graduated from category to category, you received actual merit badges. And as long as you succeeded on your required climbs — no easy feat — camp invitations would continue. All climbs were recorded in a little book, and each climber was required to confirm his rank each year by climbing a route of the appropriate grade. Dropping a rank was equivalent to getting kicked off the team. Your climbing career was terminated. “Only the strongest survived,” explains Odintsov.
By the fourth year, a promising alpinist would begin working toward the esteemed “Master of Sport” rank. Candidates attended a camp requiring the completion of six routes of Grades 4 and 5 without a guide. To top it off, you would then need to place in the top three in the U.S.S.R. alpine-climbing championships.
Such formal competitions — ranging from city championships all the way up to the national U.S.S.R. championships — were a big part of Soviet climbing, and took place in mountains ranges across the country such as the Ak Su and the Fanskie Mountains (both in the Pamirs), the Caucasus, and the Tien Shan region. Each of the eight Soviet republics was allowed to field a team, and there were several categories including rock, big wall, high altitude, and first ascent. Approximately ten percent of those who started in the alpine program became candidates for Master of Sport. Of those candidates, one in ten achieved the rank. The highest possible rank was the rarely achieved International Master of Sport, for which a climber needed to earn a total of thirty balls (points) in the national championships.
Due to the expense and the inability of climbers to otherwise get out of work, almost all of the climbing in the U.S.S.R. took place during the climbing camps. You couldn’t climb anything without permission. If you wanted to climb the hardest Grade 6 climbs, you had to become a candidate for Master of Sport, and therefore complete a rigorous, highly structured program involving sixty or seventy ascents up to Grade 5 as well as numerous first-aid and rescue exams. To make a first ascent, you submitted a formal application estimating the length and difficulty of the line, and judges would review your resume and decide if you were worthy. All the climbing was strictly monitored and done under the watchful eye of judges who sat at the base of the mountain with spotting scopes.
The system produced climbers who were extremely fit, skilled, and disciplined, which minimized the frequency and consequences of accidents. If an accident did occur, all the climbers in the area were required to help with the rescue; anyone who refused was permanently barred from their mountaineering trade union.