Bypassing the avy traps on Shtuluvtsek, Digoria

Shtuluvtsek Pass is an easy route connecting the upper reaches of the valleys of Digoria and Cherek-Balkarsky. In spring the same route is but a collection of avy runouts and trap gullies. So we picked an alternate route up a ridge to the North-East of the pass. Then, as the ridge got more rugged, it was a long traverse near the upper boundaries of the avalanche zones. Not sure if the terrain there was much safer than on the lower slopes anymore, but the pre-dawn timing of our ascent played to our advantage. May 1980