Actor may what to wear teacher pass. Climbing the eastern wall of Aktru (4044 meters). Blue Lake, lane. Znachkist, Yubileiny

The next morning was the same as the previous one: food frozen to the table and dishes left behind, ice on the puddles, steam from the mouth. In general, frost and sun. Today I decided not to get up before everyone else to take photographs, because... I found a cool excuse for myself: both dawn and sunset in the gorge completely block the mountains, and in the dark to climb up alone: ​​I’m not mentally ready.

The rest of the morning is just like morning: breakfast, things to dry, getting ready. And on the “assault” of the “Teacher” pass

Why "Teacher": many different areas: stones, grass, loose debris, everything under Very a good slope (+-45, maybe steeper in some places), with constant interruptions of more or less flat areas. Those. on the one hand, nothing particularly brutal: you go up a hill and go, but on the other hand: if all your life you’ve only walked on asphalt/laminate, then you need to completely rethink the whole approach to how you need to use your legs. Just the thing for training “pioneers”

So we wander in small dashes

The trees are getting smaller. A good view of the entire valley (gorge), Karatash and small Aktru

and in the other direction to travel to the steppe

Stones change the grass

People are slowly starting to warm up and undress

I wanted to find out if they understood what they were doing, but decided that they seemed to be adults. ...in vain...

We need it neatly in the center to the top. Seems close)

My “Indian” has already completely let go after yesterday. But since the memories are still fresh, he decides not to stay too long, so that they won’t wait for us later. Therefore, while the others are waiting, we are going “in the lead”

A little bit more

Yes, there are no streams on this route until the very finish, so forgetting water (as we did) is highly not recommended. You can wash your face from a small glacier, but its appearance is such that we don’t risk drinking.

and today we have enough urge to climb first

delight and euphoria. *thanks to those who missed it)) And VIIIID, just spectacular)) Mountains, steppes, rivers, lakes. You can’t squeeze it into the monitor and you can’t transmit it

The entire site is in "pyramids". Why - I don’t know. Probably instead of a sandbox, or instead of “Vasya was here”... Well, yes, it’s more pleasing to the eye

Has anyone else crawled here? He'll get it now!

Well, I missed, oh well. And I didn’t really want it at all

The rest are gradually catching up

colorful piece of rock

"...everyone is building, and I am building..."

“I won’t build anything, I’ll sunbathe”

I climb to the top point. 180 degree panorama of the valley and a bunch of colorful “ants” from our group

Continuation of the panorama to the left. Behind the ridge, + - to the white peak, yesterday we were on Blue.

and the whole company against the backdrop of the Kuraya valley

and against the backdrop of the Dome (white peak on the right), where we are going tomorrow

and an almost completely general collage against the background of it

Well, that's it, now we can have a little ice cream) where does the ice cream come from? Snow + milk powder + condensed milk + candied fruits + marmalade. In general, just an all-inclusive resort program))

*Descent in the mountains is always a different story. We descended in no hurry, and were completely behind everyone else. While we were descending, we heard the roar of a “freight train” passing by from the Dome area. ...avalanche...
When we got down, dinner was already ready, and it was already decided that we would not go to the mountains tomorrow. Day off. hmmm...sorry Dome...
Masha sighed with relief. Well, that means it's a day off.

The idea of ​​climbing came to us back in January 2013, almost half a year before the climb itself. Studying various information about this peak of the North Chuya Range, we were surprised to discover that its Eastern wall was climbed only in July 1959 by a certain L.P. Tsybkin and further attempts did not lead to success, and the North Face in general, to this day, is a white spot in mountaineering and awaits its madmen. Most likely, as we assumed, this is due to the inaccessibility of the Northern Wall Circus - getting there is already a great feat.

Peak Karatash at dawn from Aktru airport

But we still decided not to touch the North Face and focused our attention on climbing the eastern slope, which is also no less interesting, although there is a route of 4A difficulty category along it.
The trip was planned for May 1-11, 2013. On the evening of May 1st we arrived at the alpine camp - the weather was gloomy: wet snow, everything was delayed - very harsh.

In order to get to the Eastern Wall, you need to go to the valley adjacent to the Aktru gorge. This can be done either through the Teacher pass (1B) immediately from the Aktru mountain camp, or from the Blue Lake through the Znachkistov pass (1B). Initially we planned to go through Uchitel, but at the last moment we changed our minds and decided to go along the Bolshoi Aktru glacier to the Blue Lake to the Znachkistov pass. Actually, it seems to me that going through Znachkists is faster and more interesting.

On the first day of the journey, on the approach to Blue Lake, we felt the influence of the altitude (after all, 2820 meters) - a slight headache, shortness of breath, heaviness in the legs - all this forced us to stop for the night on the shore of the lake.

Parking at Blue Lake

The next day the weather was bright and sunny. According to the plan, we wanted to reach the foot of the Eastern Wall that day. The Znachkistov Pass began to be easy. Its height is about 3250 meters. Having reached its top, we discovered that at the top we still had to cross a large plateau of 500 meters before we found ourselves on the descent and saw our treasured wall. Approaching the opposite slope of the pass, we were unexpectedly surprised that the descent down lies through steep rocky ledges of 20-50 meters. The first thought that came to my mind was “who gave 1B to this pass!” Although later, having studied the possibilities of descent in different parts of the slope, they found a place where they could go down without much difficulty, although they used a rope descent to the beginning of the snow couloir, and then along it, drowning in deep snow, fearing an avalanche, clinging to the rocks , we went down on foot. I must say the slope there is quite steep, maybe 40 degrees. At the end of the descent, having become fairly exhausted from trudge through the deep snow and having become bolder, we began to ride down on backpacks.
Finally, we descended from the Znachkistov pass into the gorge of the Eastern Wall of Aktru. The wall itself is still 5-7 kilometers from the place where we descended, and on the way between us and the wall rises the Korumdu Icefall, which you will also need to pass if you want to get to the Eastern slope of Aktru.
Initially, we believed that we could get from the Aktru alpine camp to the foot of the Eastern Wall in a day, but every day our plans dissipated. So on this day, the influence of altitude, the tiring trek through the Znachkistov Pass, and the sunstroke that Anton and I received simply squeezed the last of our strength out of us, and we camped right at the foot of the Znachkistov Pass, choosing a convenient rocky scree far from avalanche blowouts. The camp site is beautiful: ahead, 2-3 kilometers away, is the Korumdu Icefall and above it rises the eastern wall of Aktru, which we could now study in person and think through the route.
The whole next day the weather got worse and worse. Since we had to walk 4-5 kilometers with overcoming an icefall, we postponed the exit until the second half of the day, thinking that we would manage to do everything calmly. Just after lunch, the weather completely deteriorated, visibility was 50 meters, everything was white, only sometimes the black walls of the gorge we were in appeared in the fog, which gave hope that we would not get lost.
It was in this weather that we moved towards the Korumdu Icefall. As luck would have it, the wind began to pick up and everything turned into some kind of storm. At the beginning of the climb to the icefall there were no difficulties. They walked together. The icefall first passes through the center. It is in the center that you can walk more than halfway up the climb without any serious obstacles. To the left and right of the icefall, it seemed to me better not to interfere - there is an ice “meat grinder”. So, bypassing the ice towers and abysses, we came out in the center of the glacier to a small ice wall (3 meters high), which we climbed quite quickly with the help of ice tools and a drill. Next, you need to stick to the right side of the icefall and navigate the steep snow-ice slide that connects the glacier and the rock on the right and leads to the top of the icefall. In this case, you need to be careful, because... The path to the right side of the icefall, to the rock, lies through inclined ice floes, along which it is very easy to slip into open cracks, so it is necessary to insure each other with drills. You should not, like us, go through the icefall in a snowstorm or in zero visibility - it is very easy to get lost, exhausted and freeze, or fall somewhere. Wait for good weather!
In general, exhausted, making our way through the snowstorm and darkness (it was almost dark), we climbed out to the top of the icefall, immediately came across a safe rocky scree, on which we quickly erected a tent and began to warm up in it.
Only the next day, when the sun came out and the view of the Eastern Slope of Aktru cirque opened up, I was able to appreciate the severity and danger of the icefall that we had passed through. At the same time, we finally stood at the foot of the Eastern Wall of Aktru. The journey here took us 3 days, although we planned for 1 day. But we were in no hurry; we had plenty of time. Now we were gaining strength and waiting for good weather for the ascent.

Eastern wall of Aktru

The top of the icefall is at an altitude of about 3200-3300 meters. Ahead is a steep 800-meter climb along the Eastern Wall, on the right is the top of Korumdu Peak (3800), on the left are the icy steep slopes of the Aktru ridge, which connects with Trainee Peak (3750). In general, the view is gorgeous!

Parking lot at the Eastern Wall. In the background is Trainee Peak (3750), Korumdu Icefall down to the right

We waited for suitable weather for two days. Either snow, or fog, or strong winds prevented us from starting the ascent. And on the morning of May 7, there was absolute calm, a clear sky without a single cloud. We quickly got ready and went to the wall.
A little about equipment. Rope 50 meters. Rock hooks - very useful on the wall. Bookmarks worked well on destroyed rocky areas. Ice screws – we didn’t need them on the wall; there was no ice, or it was covered with snow, but it’s better to take it with you.

Antokha hangs the railings

Our journey was greatly burdened by the backpacks with the things we took with us, because we then decided to go down the classic route (2A) to the other side of the mountain. I had to drag another 15-17 kg of junk.
So, we set off on the route at about 10 am. Having initially examined the Eastern Wall, we conditionally divided it into 7 sections: the ascent along an avalanche runout to the first rocky island, 5 rocky islands separated by snow fields and the summit snow-ice cap.

The trajectory of our route

The first section of the avalanche runover runs directly under the first rock island in a place where the danger of an avalanche is minimal. The ascent there is approximately with a slope of 30 degrees, but the snow was somewhere waist-deep, so barely shoveling the snow and changing each other, getting wet and sweating, we reached the first rocks in about 1.5 hours.
On the first rocky island the slope increased to 40 degrees. The rocks were all covered with snow, which made the ascent very difficult - we had to dig out points for belays and stations. Each rock island takes approximately 3-4 pitches. Difficulties begin on the third rocky island, where the slope sharply increases to 60-70 degrees. I think this is the most difficult section. Difficult rock climbing with backpacks in crampons on half-buried and crumbling rocks is not an activity for the faint of heart.

Sunset from the slopes of the Eastern Face of Aktru

After overcoming the longest third rock island, we realized that we would not reach the top before sunset. Even the neighboring peak Korumdu (3800) was still much higher relative to us. We realized that we had only climbed about half of the way all day.
The fourth rocky island also turned out to be quite difficult - about 4 pitches long, a slope of 50-55 degrees, in places with deep snow, in places with destroyed rocks, which every now and then slip out from under your feet and complicate belaying on the slope. I almost dropped my backpack on this section - it saved me that I always fastened it to the station.
We climbed the fourth and fifth rock islands at night. I really wanted to drink, eat and sleep, I was exhausted.
Finally, the rocks ended and only the endless tedious climb up the Aktru snow cap began. After climbing about 4 or 5 pitches, the slope suddenly began to slope and the treasured strip of the summit appeared in the darkness. At about 5-30 in the morning we climbed out onto the summit plateau of Aktru Peak. Dawn was already breaking on the horizon. We no longer had the strength to go down, so we decided to pitch a tent right at the top - we urgently needed to sleep and rest in order to regain our strength.
As soon as we got into our sleeping bags, we immediately passed out. We woke up at about 11 o'clock due to the fact that it was stuffy in the tent, the sun was very hot, although due to the breeze it was quite cool outside.

06.07.2019 17:37

I can't get my act together to post an emotional text. So “may the keyboard help me give birth to a dry review of routes!”, especially since the magic kick-off arrived from nowhere - Sveta, if you’re reading, hello! Late in the evening I received a message on Instagram that began with the words “I didn’t find it on your blog...” Lord! Someone is reading me, what a nightmare!
Actually, based on the questions, I’ll tell you a little about the trails in the Aktru area, which are known to most.
In order. Very often I encounter confusion in terminology, so I will provide a glossary, starting with the most confusing letter “A”.
The common name is Aktru, Akturu, Aktura - “white house”. By the way, the Altaians (or Turks) do not have many colors: ak - white, kara - black, kyzyl - red. That's it, it's over! Most of the geographical objects that fall into my not very broad horizons are named according to their color. Small assortment!

Aktru - peak, gorge, valley, glaciers.
Bolshoi Aktru is a glacier whose name is due to its size - it is large, you will immediately recognize it when it catches your eye. If from the alpine camp you look directly at the top of Kara-Tash (you will also immediately notice it, it is best visible from the camp and is considered a calling card: kara is black, tash is stone), then the glacier will be on the right. Strong to the right. It will seem small, but it is not, because only the tip of his “tongue” will be visible. The total length of the glacier is about 8 km, so you should not succumb to visual deception due to prophecies.
Maly Aktru - glacier. Again, let’s take Kara-Tash as a landmark. Small Aktru is on the left, don’t confuse it. You can even see an icefall there. During training camps, ice classes are held on Maly Aktru, where they teach how to walk in crampons, twist ice screws, and climb icefalls. When I took part in such an event (in May) there was a lot of snow, Kara-Tash was not “kara” at all, the glaciers were so thickly “smeared” with white that blue ice for cats and ice drills had to be diligently mined under the snowdrifts.
Aktru is a river. Guess where it starts! In winter and even in May you can drink from it, but as soon as the glacier begins to actively melt, the water becomes cloudy and you don’t want to drink from it at all. A drinking stream runs next to the river. It will not be difficult to distinguish a large river from a stream, especially in the camp - everything is signed there.
Aktru-Bashi is the highest peak in the region - 4044.4 m. The easiest route to its peak is 2A. 2A is definitely not for people without training. I’ll tell you later about how we went to the Interns (also double A) as a group, including a person without special knowledge;). So, if this is your first time going to such mountains, and you don’t know what crampons, ice axes, ice drills, jumars, rappellings and basic components are, you shouldn’t tempt fate.
It's time to finish with the letter "A" in our glossary.

B!
Ram's foreheads are a landform. Rocks made from exposed bedrock, smoothed and polished by glacial movement.
Bergschrund (you don’t need to know this concept, it’s just a funny word) is a crack in a snow-ice slope that is formed when the heavy lower part, moving with the glacier, is separated from the stationary snow-firn slope in the upper part. Usually located at the beginning of the glacier, or on the sides of the glacier.

IN!
Via ferrata - “road of iron” from Italian. A section of the route that is equipped with devices to increase the speed and safety of movement: iron brackets, cables, metal plates.

Automotive part of the route

The road to the gorge begins with a turn to Kurai. You can drive to it in any working car. Any car whose cross-country ability is slightly higher than a sedan will get from Kurai to the “transshipment”: a dirt road, there are fords, but all are passable, even in a passenger car, but with driving experience;). The most difficult section is the ascent before the “transshipment”. Remember about the weather in the mountains and possible rain! The surface becomes slippery instantly. The most interesting part for mud lovers is 8 (or 6) km from the “transshipment” to the alpine camp. Usually they offer pick-up from there: in UAZ, GAZ, or on foot. If you have off-road driving experience and an appropriate car, then you should go there! But, I remember the situation when the Altaians in a UAZ-tablet stood in the middle of a swamp, resting their rear wheel on a stump... Surface: dirt road, rocks in places, there are fords, a lot of mud, there is a swamp. In some places the roads diverge, but they will still converge at the end point of the route. You can choose to your liking!

Alpine camp

We arrived in the first half of May for training camp and settled at the lower base. The houses on it are simpler than on the top, there is space for tents. Outdoor amenities even in new buildings. There is also a person responsible for security at the base, from whom you can find out the situation on the routes (ask the camp residents where to look).
The upper base “Karandash” is higher (it’s amazing why they called it that, right?), closer to Kara-Tash (remember, we took it as a reference point). Everything there is much more civilized - the amenities are already warm, the buildings are new and multi-story. But the prices are much higher than at the lower base. You can rent equipment there. They say that their warehouse burned down, but I took boots there for testing, so you can borrow shoes if you don’t have your own - 300 rubles/day, passport as collateral, you need to find out about other equipment. If you are planning to go to the Dome of Three Lakes, then you should already have at least one pair of crampons per group and ropes for insurance; renting would be just the thing, rather than buying equipment for one time.
I’ll tell you from my experience and the experience of Misha, who lived there much longer than me. I only lived in a house. There were 12 of us in the room on benches, so I can’t talk about freedom, silence and relaxation. After all, alpine training is an event involving a guitar and an ice ax, not a sleeping bag and a healthy complexion. Exactly a year ago, at the same training camp, when Misha also attended, the guys lived in large tents with stoves. It was quite comfortable. It’s not even worth talking about the summer period for tents, there’s not even snow anymore, there’s no need to dig a snowdrift, just take a warm sleeping bag! This year, after the training camp was over, some comrades (let’s not point fingers) still remained ski touring in the area and they lived above the lower base in an ordinary tent, they say that this is some kind of paradise after our common room!

Routes

Routes that in the Aktru area are well-known among people far from mountaineering: Blue Lake, Uchitel Lane, Three Lakes Dome, Green Hotel, Yubileiny. I think it's worth saying a few words about them.

Blue Lake, lane. Znachkist, Yubileiny

The lake is located at an altitude of 2840 m in the basin behind the left moraine of the Left Bolshoi Aktru glacier. Above we explained where we have the Bolshoy Aktru glacier. Because it diverges, as if absorbing the vertices inside itself (bends around), then it is easy to understand where the left and right tongue is. Moraine - fragments of rocks brought during the flow of a glacier. At a quick, uninformed glance, there are heterogeneous stones of different sizes mixed with earth, clay and some other debris. The moraine, immediately beyond which is the Blue Lake, is easy to read, you can’t miss it. Blue Lake is always an intermediate point for climbers’ routes. Even during the period of our small training camps, we were on Blue Lake twice; the road to it among climbers is called nothing more than a “durotop”, because you walk, you don’t encounter any technical sections, you just stomp along the path, or follow the path in the snow. Most often, they set up a camp there and start on the route from there; a lot of category routes begin from Blue Lake: Kyzyltash and Stazherov, Aktru, Yubileiny, many trails to the passes, from which there are also several trails to the peaks. I am attaching a photo card, a blue lake behind my right hand, in the background of the tent, on my left hand - a trail. Remember the direction of the trail - it is the same in any season.

There is an easy route to the blue lake itself: 2.5 - 3 hours in pensioner mode and you are there. From the alpine camp along the left bank of the river. Aktru, further along the not very pleasant-looking scree slope of the city of Kyzyltash (it will always be on your right side) to Baraniye Loby. Ram's foreheads are the most difficult part of the path, in my opinion, there are two large round rocks. It wouldn’t even occur to you to climb straight onto them; to the right of them we look at the couloir and confidently go up. Couloir is a hollow formed as a result of water/snow flow. After crossing the couloir, there will be a fairly flat open part with a large stone, from which good photographs are obtained (if you have straight hands, of course).

After this part, the glacier and moraine, behind which the lake, will be clearly visible. You can walk on the glacier, which I would strongly advise against; it is not as welcoming as it seems. Therefore, it is better to skid a little along the moraine. Did you cross the moraine? Here it is! (I shamelessly took the photo from Google; the summer trail is very clearly visible there).
And next to it is the recognizable yellow house of scientists involved in glacier research! Glaciologists! This “hut” helps groups survive bad weather, which is common in these parts.


On the right you can clearly see the trail along the loose dirt. It leads to the Znachkist pass, from which the route to Yubileinaya opens. If you come and are not dying of fatigue, and the weather is clear, then I would advise going to the pass, and from there to the top, the view is excellent! A few words - you go to the pass along the path, in the photo you can see that it goes around the lake on the right (in no case along the glacier!), then goes to the left and to the pass. you need to choose the most stable surface and place your foot on the entire foot, and then only load. After you get to the pass, there will be a path to the right - the road to Yubileiny village. It has a very good view of the Kurai steppe and neighboring peaks. There is no snow at the very top even in winter, so there is no need to be afraid. The entire top is covered with flat, sharp stones; it’s best not to stumble. I'll attach a photo from May.

Green Hotel, Three Lakes Dome

The Green Hotel is an intermediate point on the routes, as is the Blue Lake.
I guess I mistakenly classify this route as a route for beginners, because there is a glacier there after all. There is a glacier, there are glaciologists! And a house! The house is located above the green hotel to the right of the path.
The path to the top of the Dome of Three Lakes lies through the Green Hotel, it’s good there in the summer (they say). In our case, it looked like this on a successful day of ascent (first photo). And on the second, third photo card is a view of the Green Hotel from the first unsuccessful attempt to climb, because the weather was disgusting. Well, the fourth one is again a brazenly taken photo of someone else’s hotel in the summer.

We go from the camp, head for the small Aktru, look carefully to the left, as soon as we climbed the moraine, there should be a couloir along the left wall, into which we need to go. In general, they say that it is better not to go into the couloir without detailed knowledge of the route, but in our department there was Grisha, who assured that in the summer he and his son were self-propelled a couple of times without special knowledge! The movement is on a scree surface, you need to be careful of stones. As soon as we got up and saw the staples in the rocks, we were in the right direction! It’s safer, of course, to go with insurance - fasten yourself with a carabiner to metal cables. After the via ferrata is passed, there will be a section with a slight slope with large stones, and after that there is another “head-on”, and immediately after that is the Green Hotel.
I can say that the most unpleasant part is the sharp climb in altitude; over a short distance, almost a kilometer suddenly climbs. You need to be very careful about your well-being in case of altitude sickness. Well, don’t forget about the stones! Rockfalls are a nasty thing.
On the way to the top of the Vodopadny glacier, it is quite safe, because... There are no complicated cracks in it. But it's still ice. Ice is slippery. If you go without equipment (no ice ax or crampons) and fall on your stomach/back/side, you will experience an extremely unpleasant increase in speed along the glacier with a further rollout onto sharp rocks. I would not recommend walking in unstable shoes.
The height of the top of the Dome of Three Lakes is 3,556 m. The view from there is good. Although... This is the case when the top may not be the final goal, because the way there is also very picturesque and exciting!

Pass Teacher

The pass is of category 1A difficulty (this is a category of difficulty for passes or a tourist one, for alpine routes the categories begin with 1B), the altitude is slightly more than 3000 m. The trail to it begins behind, excuse me, the toilet at the lower base. The pass is one of a kind: I went to the store to buy bread, flew to another country, went to the toilet, went to see the steppe from the pass. The pass is not difficult, there is even an uncategorized trail leading to it. Along the route, it is better to immediately ask the inhabitants of the camp, they will show you. The main thing to remember is that if you are crawling over large slippery rocks, then this is not your path!
This is probably the best option to look at the Kurai steppe from above with minimal effort and energy!

Usefulness:

Day 13

Radial route to the Uchitel pass (3000m)

The morning does not add to the understanding of the further concept of behavior. Previously, I planned to come here for one night and then move south to Teletskoye. But the ratio of effort to overcome the road here and back, and the time spent here looked completely unreasonable. It was worth coming here for one night...
Therefore, I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that the Teletskys will have to sacrifice, but use their stay in Aktru more effectively.
Daring plans to climb to the top of the Dome (3500m, 1a) loomed. Moreover, I have already climbed there, though not alone, not even 15 years ago.
And today I decided to climb the Uchitel pass (3000m, 1a) - a traditional route for acclimatization and warm-up.

1 morning idyll

By the way, a small number of +2 climbers arrived in the evening. I got into a conversation with one of them about edible plants and the gifts of nature in general. He showed me several useful herbs, so much so that I even remembered them, for which I thank you. In general, this is an interesting topic - applied botany.

3 Aktru Valley from above, the Maly Aktru glacier is visible and the Dome begins to appear to the left

4 bends of Aktru and Kurai steppe

5 tea with a view of the Kurai steppe and the Kurai ridge

6 Kyzyl-Tash (3800), I also climbed there a long time ago along 1b from the Blue Lake side

7 I’m waiting for sunset, it’s raining over the Kuraisky ridge

9 here it is, the Dome, in all its glory

It gets dark, I run down, it happens faster than going up, of course, but I like it noticeably less. It’s steep and loose, in places you just slide down. The sky somehow sucks in a bad way.
As night approaches, the wind rises. I’m starting to fear that my Dome will not take place...

Day 14

Dejection

The morning greeted with rain. Continued throughout the day, evening and night, but in the form of snow.

11 my standard look for this day

I survived as best I could.

14 before the supposed sunset, the rain almost stopped for 20 minutes, I managed to run to the river and take a photo, then it started pouring again

Day 15

Radial to Blue Lake

I slept for a long time; my body seemed to have adapted to killing time as much as possible. But after waking up, it turned out that it was in vain - the sun was shining.

15 snow-covered Karatash

I am beginning to understand that, despite the good weather, it is better not to climb the Dome for the next three days - the scree couloir is wet, snowy and shooting stones. So today I’m going to Blue Lake, and tomorrow I’m going down.

16 remains of the Maly Aktru glacier, 15 years ago it was twice as long

17 Kyzyl-Tash bastions, very picturesque things

18 Bolshoi Aktru glacier

20 walking sucks - it’s wet, everything moves and crumbles underfoot

21 Big Aktru and really quite big

22 Blue Lake, glaciologists’ house and the way to Kyzyl-Tash through the Container pass

In the house I stole a couple of cans of stew, condensed milk, powdered milk and mashed potatoes and small candies. As far as I understand, the extra food is left there by the mountaineering people and so on, so as not to drag them down and not to rob anyone. But I still didn’t feel very comfortable with it.
I turned around the lake, trying to understand what was beautiful about these places and why hundreds of people flocked here in the summer, but I couldn’t find it. Well, of course, climbers, for them this is a base for climbing. But why do the rest go there? Meanwhile, this radial is very popular.
He shrugged his shoulders and moved back.

23 passed the glacier, descent from sheep's foreheads into the valley

Approaching the forest zone, I looked at the couloir to the Dome in doubt - whether to take the risk and climb tomorrow. But after sitting and seeing how it was crumbling there, I decided not to risk it. Moreover, on the Dome itself it is also not pleasant to walk on fresh snow - although it is stated that there are no cracks on this side, still fresh snow in such places is not good.

24 left couloir - ascent to the Dome

25th couloir - ascent to the Dome

The rest of the day I indulged in gluttony and converted the goodies from the “food house” into pleasure. I fell asleep happy.

Road.

Any journey, in my opinion, begins with the first step beyond the threshold of your home. Then there are different options: the way to the station, to the airport, the car from the entrance. This time my option is the Samara railway station.

When you travel with a group, the road flies by quickly and unnoticed; when you are alone, your luck depends on your fellow travelers. From Ufa to Omsk, the traveling companions were a young boy from Andijan, who, by the will of fate, was thrown into Bashkiria. He was going to enroll in the Omsk Medical University, to become a traumatologist. A good guy - competent, polite, well-read, but the border guards, both ours and the Kazakh ones, really didn’t like his Uzbek passport. Both of them spent a long time probing him, examining him, questioning him, sniffing him, and were noticeably disappointed when they found no violations.

Another fellow traveler got hooked in Chelyabinsk. This one knew everything in the world, understood everything, and, it seems, had been to all the cities that I had been to, and he was almost born in Samara. A retired officer, he just didn’t understand which troops, either the marines, or the airborne assault, or the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or the coast guard, was currently traveling to Novosibirsk for a session of the correspondence department of the law faculty of Novosibirsk University. In general, I haven’t read the novel about Oblomov, and I haven’t made any plans for the upcoming work. It’s not easy to do this when you’re traveling with a person who knows everything about everything and wants to tell the world about it.

In Novosibirsk I was met by the head of the training camp, Oleg Makarov. We quickly loaded the groceries into the trailer of his Nissan, and the road continued. From Novosibirsk to Biysk there is a good road - straight, level, many settlements, life is in full swing, heavy trucks go back and forth. Some people consider this section of the road to be part of the Chuisky tract, but the truly Chuisky tract starts from Biysk and goes to Mongolia. If the road from Novosibirsk to Biysk is good, then the Chuysky tract is magnificent! The roadbed is wide and in perfect condition (nothing in common with the tract of the year 2000). The road itself is deserted, heavy trucks are rare, and the scenery around is amazing! The road along which you want to drive and drive, but you can’t accelerate much - there are control cameras everywhere, and there are countless numbers of them! As a result, the road to Aktash, 800 km away, took us about 12 hours, although we were driving a Nissan.

We stopped in Aktash for the night. Here, in a small roadside hotel, or, as they say here, an inn, other instructors who came for the training camp gathered. We spend the night in the car, Makarov, me and Sanya Shirobokov from Kirov, he and I studied at “school” together, then we interned together and now we have to work together again. Sanya is an amazing person, always in a good mood, kind eyes, a shy smile, tireless, ready to walk up the mountain every day, calm as a tank! Spends half the summer in South Inelchek in the support team.

We were freezing to death in the car at night! They turned on the stove, and after half an hour they almost died from the heat! In general, our joy knew no bounds when a ZIL cargo truck arrived at six o’clock, which means the overnight stay is over and the road continues! True, for about an hour the whole crowd was loading food from the GAZelle and from Oleg’s trailer into the ZIL-130. It's packed almost to capacity; there's not enough space for passengers. A kind man from Oleg’s friends, part-time employee of Aktru, offered to give some of the people a lift in his UAZ.

This trip was amazing! The UAZ, if not a tank, looks like a small armored personnel carrier. In our understanding, there are no roads there! Bridges are demolished! Part of the path passes through ice. The car is thrown from side to side, thrown up on rocks and roots, we sit inside, resting our hands and feet on anything. The UAZ confidently climbs up. In one place on the climb, a spring stream washed away the clay, so the car couldn’t take the climb straight away.

Eh, I forgot the chains! – the driver complains.

I had to get out of the car. The climb was achieved on the third attempt. The second time we got out of the car when it got stuck in a rut on muddy ice. But the ZIL-130 is a tank! Rushing non-stop. The rescuers' KAMAZ got stuck on the muddy ice, ZIL put its bumper on it and pushed it out of the rut!

Everything ends someday, and so does our journey. Here we are in Aktru. It's not even twelve yet. All that remains is to unload the car...

Camp.

Over the past five months, changes have occurred in Aktru. Two new residential modules and two VIP house. The stove in the bathhouse was changed (in my opinion, this did not make it any better), and the heating stove in the dining room was moved to a different location. It has become more logical, which is why it is more convenient.

In my opinion, the most convenient and comfortable place is the instructors’ house. Two bedrooms for four people each, and a council room where ten to twelve people can freely sit around the table. There are neat nails on the walls where you can hang your clothes and equipment. A washbasin with a heater, a gas cylinder with a stove, dishes and several sockets for charging batteries of various equipment.

Behind the instructor’s house, on the edge of the ecumene, there is the “Kamchatka” hut, a good-quality log house of two rooms with separate passages for six or seven people in each, but with terrible stoves. Until the stoves warm up, the draft is disgusting, and the room is full of smoke, you need to open the doors. I heated Kamchatka myself, I know what I’m talking about!

The oldest building in the camp is “Zimovye”, according to legend, since 1937! There is a warehouse, a museum and living quarters here. Many who come to Aktra not for the first time strive to get into this particular housing.

Almost in the center there is another two-story log house, KSP. The heating here is “modern”, through a boiler, which we had to tinker with a little before we started it up. Sasha Shirobokov and I and “doctor” Andrey brought as many as 22 buckets from the river (this is official, not official - thirty). But I liked the KSP house - very cozy. True, the KSP has not been living there lately, the participants do. The rescuers, represented by the camp’s OB Sergei Nikolaevich Sukhanov, moved to the beautiful house “Teremok”, on Sukhanov Street 1, near the KSP.

The modules are insulated plywood “Bungalows” of several rooms for four to eight people, with water heating through a boiler.

Caused delight VIP cottages, but this housing is not for harsh climbers, but for pampered city dwellers.

Next to the volleyball court there are four frame tents " Mobile ", these are mobile bathhouses (probably army), but here they are used as tents for living. I installed them myself, was delighted with them, found out the price, and my enthusiasm diminished.

The dining room resembles a greenhouse made of logs. Near the dining room there are places for tents. This is for real tough climbers who despise warmth and comfort. Snow-capped peaks rise all around, but unlike Bezengi they seem so low, so close and accessible.

On the right are the slopes of the Uchitel pass, it seems like half an hour and you’re at the pass, but in reality the journey will take two to three hours. On the left are the harsh rocks of the slopes of the Three Lakes Dome. Between them and Karatash the Maly Aktru glacier hangs over the camp. In fact, it “lies down” when you go out on it, it’s an hour and a half walk from the camp. The UPI gorge closes, and from the camp it seems low and easily accessible. You come closer and see a powerful snow-ice takeoff, six ropes, no less.

Before we had time to unload the car, thick, wet snow fell in huge flakes. Everything around became white! Winter is back!

Participants.

May Day! Labor Day, the entire instructor staff is waiting for the arrival of the participants. Breakfast is over, there are still no participants, the instructors are wandering around the camp doing nothing. Having assessed the situation, Makarov immediately found work for everyone. Someone carries cots between modules and tents, someone carries buckets of water to start the heating system in the KSP house, I personally restore order at Kamchatka and light the stoves there.

The time is approaching lunch, there are still no participants. Rumor has it that the bus broke down. At Oleg’s request, Shirobokov and I carried water into the bathhouse and chopped firewood. There is no stoker yet, the pump is not set up, but people will come, give them a bath from the road. For ourselves, we heated the day before.

After lunch, the ZILs picked up the first batch of participants (from the first bus), an hour and a half later people from the second bus arrived. The training camp, one might say, has begun. While the participants settled into houses and set up tents, the instructors formed training sections and distributed them among themselves. I got the third section of newcomers, nine people, mostly all from Novosibirsk. A motley composition in terms of age, the youngest is fourteen years old, and the oldest is nearly sixty. In the morning, during the divorce, three more healthy guys from the Ministry of Emergency Situations from Tomsk were added to my department.

My newbies turned out to be real newbies! They didn't know anything! Absolutely! Even the name of the equipment that they were given at the warehouse, well, except for the helmet, perhaps. I had to explain to them the purpose of each thing (jumar, carbine, trigger, etc.) and show them how it works. Show how to put on a gazebo, how to block it with a harness, how to make a lanyard mustache. Everyone’s safety systems were different, and each one had to be dealt with individually. The guys from Tomsk had heavy standard rescue systems, the top was connected to the bottom, and the whole thing was put on like a parachute harness for a paratrooper. The thing is good for the industrial park, but completely unsuitable for the mountains due to its size and weight.

The girl Mila also had a one-piece bottom + top system, at one time popular among speleologists, and in the mid-90s even among climbers; Gosha Mishchenko sported one in 1996. Despite her old-fashioned system, Mila asked fewer questions, seemed to remember everything the first time, and even tied a figure-eight knot with one end immediately and without prompting. "Strange! – I thought, “but anything can happen...” Subsequently, Mila admitted that she had already once gone through the NP-1 preparation stage, and even “made” the badge

As I said earlier, I got participants from a wide age range. The eldest name was Yuri Nikolaevich, he asked to call him Yura, but somehow he could not dare to call this venerable, gray-haired “newcomer” Yura. The youngest is Nikita, fourteen years old. The first asked a bunch of questions and constantly got involved in the instructor’s conversations, inappropriately and inappropriately trying to show off his erudition, which greatly irritated Oleg Makarov. The second, on the contrary, tried not to ask too much, was embarrassed by his unathletic appearance, was afraid that he wouldn’t succeed, and was afraid that everyone would find out that he was afraid. But then this boy shocked me with his will and perseverance. Being overweight, heavy and not particularly physically developed, he, sweating and breathing heavily, nevertheless climbed the Uchitel pass, and then climbed the Trainees peak, and was not among the last. But what struck me more was the tenacity with which he climbed the tree during the “initiation” after the mountain. With tears in his eyes, puffing and howling, tearing off the skin on his palms, he still climbed where he was supposed to on the fifth attempt, despite the fact that he was allowed to skip this test.

There was also an unusual participant, Galia - she constantly comes to the mountains to replenish her internal energy. For her, the main thing was the very fact of movement! It doesn’t matter where, as long as you go, move, rise, achieve something. Galia was sure that if she stopped, she would die! Periodically, she asked me for permission to scream, and in a guttural voice she sang folk tunes in different languages. Volodya Tumyalis, the first time he heard these tunes, was even scared, but then nothing happened - he got used to it.

Workout.

Somehow it just so happened that in all camps and at all training camps, classes begin with rock training. Without breaking traditions, our department went to study on Red Stone, a rocky outcrop 10-12 meters high not far from the path, among the kurumnik.

We were a little late; the arrester department was already busy on Kamen. And in order not to waste time waiting for part of the routes to be released, I decided to conduct a lesson “Walking on screes”. Successful! The event went off with a bang! I noted for myself: “Such an activity for beginners who are in the mountains for the first time is not only useful, but also necessary.”

While we were walking around the kurumnik, half of the sectors on the Stone were cleared for us, it was time to move on to the main part of the training.

The first is the organization of belay (top), simple climbing, rappelling with top belay.

At first glance, everything is simple and primitive, but not for “zero” beginners. It’s good when the instructor has an assistant in this “situation”, but if not, he has to be “one of two people” - control the rappel landing and control the correctness of the belay. In general - “Figaro here, Figaro there”, I am in this role along the stone up and down - a great workout!

The second is U-shaped railings.

The arresters finished their training, left, and left us with the ropes that had already been hung. Some people here have already started to grumble, expressing doubts about the advisability of this exercise and doubts about the safety of this event. I had to use all my eloquence to convince them otherwise. Finally, a double rope rappel with pulling was demonstrated.

The next day, according to plan - “Organization of stations, setting up your own belay points, climbing ropes, interaction of ropes.” There is a rock laboratory in Aktru called “Cornices”. There is a variety of terrain here, from simple to complex. The lower and upper stations have been punched, there are no intermediate “bolts”, only their own points.

Relying on my experience and knowledge, I did not take the time-based lesson plan with me. I became so interested in organizing stations, and there is such a variety of them and so many installation methods. I came to my senses after an hour and a half, when I realized from the eyes of the participants that they had a real “sultana” in their heads! Now I am sure that beginners should be given only two, maximum three stations, and require them to have a solid knowledge of the five rules for installing stations.

But when walking along the rocks with their points, the participants pleasantly surprised me. The ligaments worked harmoniously, competently, without unnecessary fuss, and rappelled down together with two interlocks. I then removed the stations and went down the path with stationary railings.

Ice training was carried out according to the program on the Maly Aktru glacier. There were no special oddities here, if you don’t take into account the huge “suitcase” that rolled down from the slopes of Karatash when the group was climbing up the snowfield for classes. The stone, as if reluctantly, slid across the snow, then accelerated, jumped on its forehead, accelerated, crossed the path and flew off with a roar into the side moraine.

The first sign of summer,” Tumyalis noted calmly. In summer, as a rule, Maly Aktru is closed, and classes are held on a large glacier.

Climbing the Uchitel pass.

There is really nothing to talk about this ascent. Yes, and Teacher is a non-categorical pass. The path leading to it is well trodden. The main attraction of this route is that the “Vertical Kilometer”, a stage of the Russian Cup in skyrunning, takes place here, and the views from the pass are magnificent.

I was not lucky! All the instructors with their squads (taking mine as well) ran up, and I was left to accompany two participants who were barely moving, but in response to all my persuasion to go down, they shook their heads negatively and continued to stubbornly move forward.

I was terribly tired, but not from the climb, but from such a soporific slow movement. But I was even more exhausted on the descent. When I entered the instructor’s house, Tumyalis looked at me, stood up, sympathetically patted me on the shoulder and, without saying anything, firmly shook my hand. Sergeev (senior coach) also squeezed his palm tightly, patted him on the shoulder, and briefly added, “Hero!” – and put a mug of tea in front of me.

Climbing:

Initially, a wonderful plan was conceived: on Victory Day, participants of the NP1 and NP2 training camps climb the Three Lakes Dome, beginners along route 1B, badges along 2B. The meeting at the top would symbolize the meeting on the Elbe seventy years ago, and then there are fireworks and all that stuff... But the last three days in Aktru were very hot, stones flew along 2B, and from Karatash, and in the couloir along 1B. The plans were changed, but they decided to keep the symbolism. In honor of our anniversary, we, newcomers, were sent to the top of Yubileinaya, which, as it turned out, was no worse than the Dome, but much further.

Get up at four, leave at five, three squads plus officials, a total of more than thirty people. It takes two hours to get to Blue Lake, where the route begins, from the camp, and some say even three!

Breakfast is scheduled for 4.30. I have a secret hope that my two participants, who tormented me on the Teacher, will refuse to ascend tomorrow. One of them, Nastya, had already complained of feeling unwell.

And here it is in the morning, the dining room, my entire department is assembled. Before breakfast there is a final briefing and check of backpacks. Yubileiny is walked, no rope is needed, but everyone is ordered to take a safety system, jumar, abseil and ice axes with them. Those participants who carefully read the route description are perplexed - Why? But the instructors, smiling slyly, unanimously assure that the participants will definitely need all this. Apparently half asleep, I completely forgot “Why?” I will need this, so I also put everything listed in my backpack just in case.

My hope that the two participants Nastya and Galia would not go up the mountain, thanks to the doctor’s efforts, collapsed. They were here, at the dining room, and eager to fight! And in order not to be left behind by everyone else, the troops decided to leave early, without breakfast, declaring that Galia knew the way to the lake. I sighed and, with the permission of the senior coach and the head of the training camp, I let go, anticipating that I would have to drag behind again.

At breakfast, Oleg Makarov made a celebratory speech and admonished us for our “feat”. One of the officials suggested that I borrow his “rocket launcher” for the fireworks display at the summit. The “rocket launcher” turned out to be a bottle of champagne. So, as we came for breakfast with backpacks, we went up the mountain straight from the dining room in sections “as they were ready.”

We caught up with Nastya forty minutes later, and Galia an hour later, at the “mutton foreheads” before takeoff. And an hour later (to be precise, ten hours later) I was at the hut on Blue Lake. Half an hour later, the last stragglers arrived under the leadership of Tumyalis. Volodya voluntarily took on the mission of accompanying all the sick and lagging behind. I stayed with them. And we moved on. I was happy, but the joy was premature, unfortunately. The ascent to the pass began and stragglers appeared. Sergeev quickly ran forward, followed by all the officials, leaving me with the role of bringing up the rear.

Be that as it may, but with jokes and jokes an hour later we climbed to the Znachkistov pass, from where the route to Trainees 2A goes to the left, and Yubileiny 1B to the right. Naturally, we go to the right! There is still snow on the pass, but at the top it has already melted. It’s morning, the snow has not yet melted, there is no wind, the sun is bright, walking is easy and pleasant - not life, but grace!

Here is the peak, breaking off to the north with steep drops and sharp rock knives - just creepy! An “official”, a journalist for some Novosibirsk TV channel, Misha reports online from the top and interviews participants, managers and other officials. We take out our “rocket launchers”, there are two of them, and give a friendly fireworks at the top in honor of the anniversary!

Then a small “buffet” at the top, a photo session, congratulations and finally a friendly descent with unfurled banners and banners, and of course with songs of the war years. We quickly rolled down to the lake, removed everything unnecessary and moved in a dense crowd to the camp, where experienced dischargers and instructors on duty were already waiting for us. It’s clear why! For "Dedication"! This is where systems, jumars, ice axes and other attributes were needed! Then there was a festive dinner. The next morning, packing and departure. Everything is normal, nothing special. Then the train and return to Samara. Thus ended my spring trip to Altai. Now I'm looking forward to autumn!