Aktru may what to wear teacher's pass. Climbing the eastern wall of Aktru (4044 meters). A few words about the bath and rules of conduct

Day 13

Radial to Uchitel pass (3000m)

Morning does not add understanding of the further concept of behavior. Earlier, I planned to stop by here for one night and then move south of Teletskoye. But the ratio of effort to overcome the road here and back, and the time spent here looked completely unreasonable. Worth coming here for one night...
Therefore, I slowly come to the conclusion that the Teletskys will have to sacrifice, but it will be more efficient to use their stay in Aktru.
Daring plans to climb to the top of the Dome (3500m, 1a) loomed. Moreover, I already climbed there, though not alone, and about 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

The people, by the way, in the evening slightly arrived in the amount of +2 climbers. I talked with one of them about edible plants and the gifts of nature in general. He showed me some useful herbs, so much so that I even remembered them, for which I thank you. In general, this topic is interesting - applied botany.

3 Aktru valley from above, you can see the Small Aktru glacier and to the left the Dome begins to peek out

4 bends 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 for a long time on 1b from the side of the Blue Lake

7 I'm waiting for sunset, it's raining over the Kurai Range

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

It gets dark, I run down, it happens faster, of course, than the rise, but I like it much less. Cool and dry, sometimes you just move out. The sky is kind of overcast.
The wind picks up towards night. I'm starting to fear that my Dome will not take place...

Day 14

Despondency

Morning met with rain. Continued day, evening and night, but already in the form of snow.

11 is my standard look for the 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 picture, then it poured again

Day 15

Radial boat to the Blue Lake

I slept for a long time, the body seems to have adapted to the maximum to kill time. But after waking up, it turned out that it was in vain - the sun was shining.

15 snowy Karatash

I begin to understand that, despite the good weather, it is better not to climb the Dome for the next three days - the talus couloir is wet, snowy and shoots stones. So today I'm going to the Blue Lake, and tomorrow I'm going down.

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

17 bastions of Kyzyl-Tash, very picturesque things

18 Big Aktru Glacier

20 it's bad to go - it's wet, everything goes underfoot and crumbles

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 little candies. As far as I understand, climbing and so on people leave excess products there, so as not to drag them down and I didn’t rob anyone. But I still didn't feel very comfortable with it.
I turned around near the lake, trying to understand what is beautiful in these places and why hundreds of people come here in the summer, but I did not find it. Well, of course, climbers, for them it 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 the glacier passed, the descent from the sheep's foreheads into the valley

Approaching the forest zone, I examined the couloir to the Dome in doubt - whether to take a chance and climb tomorrow. But after sitting and seeing how it poured 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, fresh snow is still not good in such places.

24 left couloir - ascent to the Dome

25 couloir - ascent to the Dome

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

The idea of ​​the ascent came to us in January 2013, almost half a year before the ascent. Studying various information about this peak of the North-Chuysky ridge, we were surprised to find 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 is waiting for its madmen. Most likely, as we suggested, this is due to the inaccessibility of the Northern Wall Circus - getting there is already a big feat.

Peak Karatash at dawn from Aktru airport

But we still decided not to touch the North Face and fixed our eyes on climbing the eastern slope, which is also no less interesting, although the route 4A of the difficulty category was laid along it.
The trip was scheduled for 01-11 May 2013. On the evening of May 01, we arrived at the alpine camp - the weather was gloomy: sleet, everything was delayed - very severe.

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 Uchitel pass (1B) immediately from the Aktru alpine camp, or from the Blue Lake through the Znachkistov pass (1B). Initially, we planned to go through the Uchitel, but at the last moment we changed our minds and decided to go along the Bolshoy Aktru glacier to the Blue Lake to the Znachkistov pass. Actually, it seems to me that going through the Znachkists is faster and more interesting.

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

Parking at Blue Lake

The next day was bright sunny weather. According to the plan, they 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 found that we still had to pass a large plateau of 500 meters at the top before we were on the descent and saw our cherished wall. Approaching the opposite slope of the pass, we were unexpectedly surprised that the descent down lies through sheer rocky ledges of 20-50 meters. The first thought that came to my mind was “and who just gave 1B to this pass!”. Although later, having studied the possibilities of descent in different parts of the slope, we found a place where you can go down without much difficulty, although at the same time they used a rope descent to the beginning of the snowy couloir, and further along it, drowning in deep snow, fearing an avalanche, clinging to the rocks , went downstairs on foot. I must say the slope there is quite steep, maybe 40 degrees. At the end of the descent, pretty tired of trailing deep snow and emboldened, we began to go down on backpacks.
Finally, we descended from the Znachkistov pass to the gorge of the Eastern wall of Aktru. The wall itself is still 5-7 kilometers from the place where we went down and on the way between us and the wall there is the Korumdu icefall, which will also need to be passed if you want to get close to the Eastern slope of Aktru.
Initially, we thought that we would be able to get from the Aktru alpine camp to the foot of the Eastern Wall in a day, but every day our plans were dispelled. So on this day, the influence of altitude, the tiring transition through the Znachkistov pass, the sunstroke received by me and Anton simply squeezed the last strength out of us, and we camped right at the foot of the Znachkistov pass, choosing a convenient rocky scree away from avalanche drifts. The place for the camp is beautiful: the Korumdu icefall is 2-3 kilometers ahead and the eastern wall of Aktru rises above it, which now could be explored live and think over the route.
The weather got worse and worse all the next day. Since we had to go 4-5 kilometers with overcoming the icefall, we postponed the exit for the second half of the day, thinking that we would manage everything calmly. Just after lunch, the weather finally deteriorated, visibility was 50 meters, everything was white, only sometimes the black walls of the gorge in which we were appeared in the fog, which gave hope that we would not get lost.
It was in such weather that we moved towards the Korumdu icefall. As luck would have it, the wind began to rise again and everything turned into some kind of blizzard. At the beginning of the ascent to the icefall, there were no difficulties. Were in a bind. Icefall first passes through the center. It is in the center that you can go more than to the middle of the ascent without any serious obstacles. On the left and right of the icefall, it seemed to me better not to meddle - there is an ice "meat grinder". So, bypassing the ice towers and abysses, we went along 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 focus on a steep snow-ice hill 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 an icefall in a snowstorm or in zero visibility - it is very easy to get lost, exhausted and freeze, well, or fall somewhere. Wait for good weather!
In general, exhausted, making our way through a snowstorm and darkness (it was almost dark), we climbed to the top of the icefall, immediately stumbled upon a safe rocky scree, on which we quickly erected a tent and began to warm ourselves in it.
Only the next day, when the sun came out and the view of the circus of the Eastern slope of Aktru opened up, I was able to appreciate all the severity and danger of the icefall that we went through. At the same time, we finally stood at the foot of the East Wall of Aktru. The way 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 ascent along the Eastern Face, on the right is the peak of Korumdu peak (3800), on the left is the icy steep slopes of the Aktru ridge, which connects with the peak of the Intern (3750). In general, the view is gorgeous!

Parking at the East Wall. In the background is the peak of Interns (3750), on the right down is the Korumdu icefall

For two days we waited for the right weather. Either snow, or fog, or strong winds prevented us from starting the ascent. And on May 7 in the morning, absolute calm, clear sky without a single cloud. We quickly packed up and went to the wall.
A little about equipment. Rope 50 meters. Rock hooks - very useful on the wall. Bookmarks - went well on the destroyed rocky areas. Ice screws - only on the wall they were not useful to us, there was no ice, or it was covered with snow, but it is better to take it with you.

Antokha fixing the railing

Backpacks, with things that we took with us, made our way very burdensome, 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: climbing along the avalanche 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 is passed directly under the first rocky island in the place where the danger of an avalanche is minimal. The rise there was about 30 degrees, but the snow was somewhere waist-deep, so we barely raked 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 are all covered with snow, which greatly complicates the ascent - we had to dig points for insurance and stations. Each rocky island takes about 3-4 pitches. Difficulties begin on the third rocky island, where the slope sharply increases to 60-70 degrees. I think this is the hardest part. 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 Wall of Aktru

After overcoming the longest third rocky island, we realized that we would not be at the top until sunset. Even the neighboring peak Korumdu (3800) was still much higher relative to us. We realized that for the whole day we climbed only about half the way.
The fourth rocky island also turned out to be quite difficult - a slope of 50-55 degrees, about 4 pitches long, in places with deep snow, in places with destroyed rocks, which now and then slip out from under your feet and complicate belaying on the slope. On this site, I almost dropped my backpack - it was saved by the fact that I always fasten it to the station.
We climbed the fourth and fifth rocky islands at night. I really wanted to drink, eat and sleep, I was exhausted.
Finally, the rocks ended and only the endless tedious ascent along the Aktru snow cap began. Having passed about 4 or 5 pitches, the slope suddenly began to slope and the treasured peak line appeared in the dark. Somewhere at 5-30 in the morning we climbed onto the summit plateau of Aktru Peak. Dawn was already breaking on the horizon. We didn’t have the strength to go down, so we decided to put up a tent right at the top - it was necessary to urgently sleep, rest, in order to restore strength.
As soon as they climbed into the sleeping bags, they knocked out immediately. We woke up at 11 o'clock due to the fact that it was stuffy in the tent, the sun was very warm, although it was quite cool outside because of the breeze.

A couple of years ago, my friends returned from a mysterious place called Aktru and told me that seeing snow in summer is unforgettable. Of course, and I immediately became curious, what is it like?

As they say, not even a few years have passed since the places at the base in the Aktru valley were booked, the route was drawn up, like-minded people were biased (to be honest, they became like-minded people upon arrival, when all the most difficult was left behind, but more on that later), and it's time for adventure.

A few words about the Aktru valley

Aktru belongs to the North-Chuysky ridge, which is located in the south of the Altai Republic. When I was driving along the Chuisky tract, and on the right side I could see white snow caps, they seemed to me so distant and impregnable. But, as it turned out, a person climbs up there!

In general, on the way to Aktra, we went out to take pictures, as the spectacle was really impressive, but on the way back, when asked if we would stop for a photo, contemptuous voices were heard from all sides: “Pfft, why, we were right there” .

The highest point of Aktru is 4044 meters. For comparison: the peak of Mount Belukha (the highest point in Siberia) is 4506 meters.

In fact, the Altai Mountains are located on the border of four states:

• Russia;
• Mongolia;
• China;
• Kazakhstan.

So travelers sometimes combine a trip to Aktra and a visit to any of these countries. More often, the choice falls on Mongolia or, since citizens of the Russian Federation do not need a visa there.

The word "Aktru" is translated from Altai into Russian as "white house". The entire peak is covered with glaciers, and most of the mountains of the North Chuya Range too. Such white snow caps are called "squirrels" here, from the word "white". Apparently, therefore, the name of the mountain is appropriate.

The glaciers here are among the largest in Altai. In some places, the thickness of the ice can reach 360 meters. Just think, such a glacier will hide the Eiffel Tower, and there will still be a place!

The researcher Mikhail Tronov devoted his life to this place. He studied glaciers and nature for several decades, including in the Aktru valley. But this article is not about him, so you can read the details on the Internet, I threw a bait. By the way, the locals in their own way call him Uncle Tronov.

How to get to Aktru

In general, there are several options to get there. To begin with, it would be most convenient to get by car to the village of Kurai or to the transshipment base (there is only one in this area, so you won’t get confused), which is a little further. A transfer is organized from there and from there for those who do not want to walk about 8 km to the very top, although there are also such daredevils.

Also from large cities (at least I heard such information, but I was not interested because of the presence of a car) they organize bus trips to Gorno-Altaisk, from where companies are ready to pick you up. But it is better to read the details on the Internet, as something is constantly changing and new opportunities appear. For example, my friends generally hitchhiked to Kurai, and someone, for the sake of economy, used rides from the BlaBlaCar resource.

To Kuray

The final point of my journey was the Altai-Aktru base, it was through this company that the trip was organized.

The main part of the journey was quite standard: along the Chuisky tract (M-52) you get to the village of Kurai, from where, by prior arrangement, the company will organize the transfer of people to the camp. Kurai is located almost at the end of the Chuysky tract. From Novosibirsk it takes about 12 hours by car (1094 km), from Barnaul 9 hours (631 km).

To the transshipment base

In Kurai, you need to turn off and go through the village of Kyzyl-Tash. Further to the bridge over the Chuya River, and then along it in the opposite direction. As they say, all roads lead to, but here they all globally go to the transshipment base, which is briefly called "transshipment". From Kurai to the transshipment, the path is 25 kilometers.

You can only get there by car, and preferably by SUV. Although they also arrive on “puzoters”, sometimes they are pretty nervous about the fate of their iron horse.

Transshipment base coordinates: N50°08.685`, E87°48.6453`

The base itself consists of several houses plus a bathhouse. You can stay overnight here, or you can go further to the camp itself. But the conditions in this place are not very comfortable, so rarely anyone stays here.

Upstairs transfer

Both in Kurai and at the transshipment, you can leave your car for a moderate fee (in Kurai we paid 100 rubles for parking in a protected area per day). And here the most interesting begins.

Don't think, I have nothing to do with the marketing department of UAZ, but what these cars are doing is simply incomprehensible to the mind! Jumping from stone to stone or fording streams and rivers, one wonders what the Russian auto industry is capable of. In general, if you need an all-terrain vehicle, I’m not afraid of this word - I recommend it. The icing on the cake was the moment when my words at the sight of a huge ocean of dirt: “Well, we won’t go straight through the forest?” – the driver with an absolutely serene expression on his face did just that. They delivered us straight to the upper base, having moved at the same time a rather nimble mountain river. Only water began to pour into the cabin, but this did not bother our cab driver.

In addition to UAZs, they throw Urals, GAZ-66 cars and others like them upstairs. Prices from Kurai, as it turned out later (I had a prepaid tour, and I didn’t go into details in advance, but more on that later), 3.5 thousand rubles for a UAZ one way. There were just four of us, so one car was enough. I don’t know about more spacious “carriages”, I think it’s about the same per person - about 1000 rubles one way, but you can clarify.

Weather

The climate in this region is sharply continental. And if in Russian, then in summer during the day it can be hot up to +30 ° C, and with sunset the temperature drops sharply. Moreover, the sun in the mountains sets very quickly, I would even say suddenly. On the advice of those who have already been here, it was worth taking sleeping bags with you in case it would be cold to sleep in the houses. Here it is necessary to make a compliment to the host: the heating was turned on every evening, and the rooms warmed up well. But, as we were told upon arrival at the base, only a few days before our arrival (beginning of July) the negative temperature after sunset changed sharply to positive: about +10 °C.

The temperature at different heights of Aktru will be different. Let's say it's 10 degrees colder at the top than at the camp. And in the camp it will be 10 degrees colder than below, on the Chuisky tract. Yes, and when you walk past or along the glacier, it blows directly from the frost, so it is much more pleasant in a jacket than without it.

Natural uniqueness

The place where the base is located is called the Aktru valley. Glaciers are located there - Big and Small Aktru, the Uchitel Pass, Blue Lake, the Dome of Three Lakes, the Karatash and Kyzyltash ridges and many other geographical objects. About them below.

During our acclimatization (a small walking route the next day after arrival), the administrator - a part-time guide - said that at the height where the camp is located (2150 meters), neither plants nor animals are usually found. Here grow cedars, pines, dwarf birches and willows, flowers, various herbs. I even managed to taste the local sorrel, nestled behind the rocks near the trail. At first glance, it is less acidic than the one that grows in the garden, but maybe it was still (already?) Not in season.

I will make a lyrical digression: in my story there will be more than once references in the style of “the guide told (a)”. Different endings - not a typo. We just got different guides for each route - so to speak, of all ages and genders.

They also told us that if you fail to pick the leaves of bergenia, then you can get a slight poisoning, similar to the state of drug intoxication. Why am I doing this: if you heard such information in fits and starts and rushed to search, then think about it, can you, without experience and knowledge, not confuse and not get an already impressive dose of poison for the body? Will you have to be hospitalized downstairs? And that's just by helicopter. After all, you still need to call him and wait, and because of the rarefied air, not every technician will be able to get here. In general, first weigh all the “against”, and only then “for”, but as for me, it’s better to take alcohol with you if you really want to keep up with such entertainment.

Now with regard to fresh drinking water. In some streams and in Lake Sachki near the upper base, it is clear. Microorganisms dangerous to health do not survive at such temperatures, and natural filters in the form of soil and rocks have already done their job. True, the water tastes like melted snow, but for several days you will not have time to get tired of it. Although, as our guide again said, over time it becomes very boring and annoying: you start adding lemon juice, salt, etc. to the water, just to drown out the taste.

What things to take with you

Composing your wardrobe, you should take into account all possible changes in the weather. What makes sense to take:

• Light things.
• Sun protection clothing + sunglasses.
• Warm clothes for the evening and night, as well as for going out into the mountains.
• Waterproof jackets and raincoats.
• Hiking boots/tracks. It is quite difficult to go to the mountains without them for two reasons: firstly, special shoes take off the excessive load from the feet, and secondly, if the stones under your feet are wet, then it’s all gone, it’s better to stay at home.

Useful extras

Hygienic lipstick and sunscreen with the maximum number of SPF, as it turned out, is an indispensable thing. For example, I, being in a jacket with sleeves rolled up to the elbow, smeared my hands with 50 SPF cream, not noticing the strip of skin between the watch and the glove. In the evening it turned out that this place turned red from a sunburn. Well, the comrade did not pay due attention to his nose, so he was burned and climbed the next day.

Thermos. Be sure to bring a thermos! It's so nice to drink hot tea on top next to a glacier or a lake. And I think this despite the fact that we were devilishly lucky with the weather. In extreme cases, good Samaritans (kitchen workers) will lend you theirs in the dining room, but there may not be a free one, so it’s better not to risk it.

You can take your own climbing equipment or rent it at the camp, after agreeing this issue with the workers. If you are traveling in the summer and according to the program conditionally “without the level of complexity of the routes”, then you are unlikely to need it. Is that the sticks for walking, gaining popularity recently, even in the city. With them, ascents and descents are noticeably easier due to the distribution of the load on 4 points of support. According to a friend who “hijacked” a couple from our guide during the ascent: “With them you bite into the ground and just rush like a spider!”

Food and alcohol

I must say right away that if you are not on an all-inclusive package and do not plan to eat at a local canteen, then you need to take all food and related items with you. There are no shops on the base. It was said that on occasion, beer was brought to the lower base for sale, but this should be lucky, so you better not hope for a good deal. In principle, there is enough food in the dining room, the menu is thought out, but for gourmets or very gluttonous, it is better to have a supply of food and / or delicacies with you, which you can sentence in the evening over a glass of tea or whatever you bring with you :).

The last shop on the way to the valley is in the village of Kuray, but it is more rural than full of products of all colors and stripes. But there is a supermarket of the Maria-Ra chain in Aktash, which is 35–40 km from Kuray along the Chuysky tract.

Tourism to Aktru

As in all Altai, tourism is developed in this region. This place is remote, as I already said, almost on the border with three states, which is about 120 kilometers away. This is no longer Chemal, filled up and down with crowds of different ages, people reach these places with certain goals. Climb any peak, see the untouched nature of Altai.

Not only hiking is developed here, but also mountaineering (there are routes of varying difficulty, ranging from the simplest 1A to the most difficult 5B), rock climbing and even downhill skiing or snowboarding. Although the latter is not that particularly popular - not everyone is ready to decide on a many-hour climb uphill in the summer with all the equipment due for the sake of a descent about 500 meters long. Of course, I would try such entertainment, but at the moment it sounds like “someday”. In winter, the descent is probably longer, but the way up is complicated by snow and less pleasant climatic conditions.

Tourist base

The Aktru mountaineering camp is located in the gorge. The height of this place is 2150 meters. Here you can stay in houses or tents (you can use your own, you can use local ones). The camp is open all year round, it even has a museum, a cinema (they play films in the evenings, 200 rubles per person per view), a games room with board games (100 rubles per person), a bathhouse and a dining room for tourists to eat.

Rescuers are on duty at the base, the guide always has the opportunity to call the rescue team by radio.

local animals

As the guide said, three dogs live at two bases. My favorite, of course, is the one that lived on ours. She did not look old, but rather seemed to be very content with life: she hardly moved, warming her swollen sides in the sun. As I understand it, she is 15 years old, but the good-natured workers of the base feed her with goodies, so the animal, due to the inability to cope with such an amount of food, has “snacks” spread throughout the base and in the surrounding forest.

At the lower base there is a sporty white dog, which sometimes seems to climb a little along the routes with tourists, as well as a special rescue dog trained to search for people under rubble and avalanches. And near the Small Aktru glacier, in the distance, I saw argali - mountain goats.

They stood there, taking incredible poses and absorbing either water or salt.

Accommodation

Accommodation in the houses can even be called comfortable. For example, we chose the most expensive house, as we were told later (not the point, since the price of the ticket did not depend on this). It had 6 rooms and common areas with sofas, armchairs and tables on the first and second floors.

Until the last evening, we generally lived in the house alone, so we could absolutely fall apart with our legs folded straight on the table. In general, to the best of your imagination. The conveniences on the street, the conditions are simple without frills, but what beauty is around, especially when you go out under a cloudless starry sky at night!

A few words about the bath and rules of conduct

As the administrator told us, you can do everything at the base, even walk naked, because we came to rest. True, in the latter case, you need not to catch the eye of children.

Of course, no one resorted to such frank isolation from civilization, but now I tried a new entertainment: from the steam room to the lake. It seems like streams flow from the lake in that place, so we didn’t pollute the water with a temperature of +4 ° C with our splashing. I rarely say the word "high", but this was it.

Bottom base

We passed by it several times when we “walked” to the valley of the Dwarfs and to the Uchitel pass. So, there is still the house of that legendary Tronov.

cellular

There is a log near the dining room. So, this is the best place from 19.00 to 21.00 where you can find a network, and then the Beeline operator. I won’t say anything about MegaFon, but I didn’t catch MTS. The Internet, by the way, although scarce, is also available to the happy owners of a suitable operator (yes, Beeline, dear).

Also during the day you can try your luck and catch a signal at the bridge, located on the path from the dining room down.

Routes

We got to the most physically exhausting part of the holiday. There are actually a lot of routes here. All of them are of different types, duration, but I will only talk about those that are not climbing, but are intended for people with zero training. I’ll make a reservation that for most of my fellow travelers, the most popular expression when ascending or descending was “I’m tired”, however, it didn’t sound so soft, if you know what I mean :).

Try to walk along the paths - they are almost always visible if not under your feet when you make your way through the rocks, then to the side. It's both easier and safer. By the way, along these very paths they leave stones stacked in this form.

This is something like beacons: under no circumstances will anyone but a person be able to make such a neat figure, which means that people passed here. That is, you can navigate by such "artistic compositions", whether you have gone astray or not.

Well, I’ll say right away that it’s difficult to describe all the beauty and grandeur of nature in full words, so I’ll briefly talk about each route, and see the rest for yourself upon arrival. Also, I will not pass by the practically useful part in terms of behavior on the slopes and walking techniques.

Good manners rules

One note: don't walk around with headphones on or with music playing from your phone's speakers. Not only does the latter look unethical, but you also don’t hear a damn thing that it can be lethal in the mountains. Stone masses are constantly moving, so sometimes no, no, and some stone will roll down the slope. When we went to the Blue Lake, we heard something similar happen. Fortunately, they did not see, because then it would be necessary to take some action. As a result, the stone left a meter mark in the snow mass, gaining, apparently, a considerable speed towards the bottom.

What to do if you see something like this:

1. Shout "stone" to warn others.
2. Don't panic or create confusion. Shout and get nervous later when the danger has passed.
3. Try to figure out the trajectory of a rolling stone and move away (it is not always worth running back) to the side, down or up the slope.
4. Communicate what happened to those you meet along the way so that people are prepared for a repeat of the situation.

How to walk

Something you need to know about before long mountain routes. Otherwise, your legs and back will receive an extra and incorrect load.

Up the slope

The foot must be placed on a full foot in order to distribute the pressure: the larger the contact area, the less the load and the more stable your position. The leg should essentially be like a prosthesis from the knee down. What I'm trying to say with this is that you should work mainly with your upper body without straining your calf muscles.

With a steep ascent, it is better to build a trajectory with a traverse: a kind of snake so that you do not have to climb up, otherwise you will not get full foot contact with the path. Thus, it will be easier to survive a large slope and not "suffocate". It is better to keep the load even, the steps should not be large, but we are not in a hurry :)?

Down the slope

The same traverse, no matter where you go: up or down. The only thing worth focusing on is the scree (or “scree”, as the locals call it). If you are descending on such ground, drive your feet into the loose surface with your heel, sometimes you can slip down a little, but do not get carried away. Approximately the same principle should be followed if you are walking on loose snow.

Where it is possible and where it is impossible for a person to step

The mountainous area in general is not safe in itself, and with glaciers the risk coefficient clearly increases. In addition to the obvious rockfall, there are other dangers: cracks in the ice. Once you fall into one, you may not be able to get back.

In addition, unless you are an experienced climber or at least a hiker, you are unlikely to be able to determine the safest route. That's what guides are for. A banner hangs on the end of the dining room, where it is written and marked which paths should be chosen and which should not. For example, there are so-called paths of fools. The guide told us about one of them when we went to the Vodopadny stream. The fact is that without starting the descent in the right place, you can simply simply go to a steep scree, along which it is extremely difficult and even quite risky to go down. The icing on the cake is that at the end you can fall into a crack in the glacier.

For example, there is such a place as in the photo below.

Well, there you will most likely be torn to pieces: stones, ice washed off by water and a fast current will not leave a chance. So I advise beginners to at least talk to the specialists at the base before setting off on their own.

Stream Vodopadny

This route is an exit along the trail with different soil: stones, sand, earth. The path runs through streams. In general, everything so that you can feel the upcoming hardships and hardships, which will be many times stronger.

It is also an opportunity to test clothes and shoes. This route takes about 2-3 hours. Along the way, you can admire a small waterfall and take a closer look at the Small Aktru glacier.

Small Aktru Glacier

All glaciers are divided into groups and types according to location, pattern, and so on. I won't bore you with the details, I'll just say that it looks beautiful.

According to the observations of those who are often at the base, the glaciers have been melting heavily in recent years, although in a dozen years they are predicted to resume growth. It's all about climate change. And Small Aktru is no exception. For 8 years, the length of his "tongue" has decreased by about 100 meters.

Valley of the Dwarfs

I went there without a guide. And without knowing where I'm going. In the morning there was bad weather, rain, fog, so it was dangerous to get out into the mountains. And we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.

We went out into some forest covered with bushes, climbed a hill similar in vegetation. As it turned out later, we ended up in the valley of the Dwarfs, so named because of the dwarf plants that fill it abundantly. Alas, not impressed.

Blue Lake

One of the most popular routes for beginners is the ascent to the Blue Lake. You can take the services of an instructor or go on your own. The lake is located at an altitude of approximately 2.7–2.8 thousand meters above sea level.

In the Blue Lake (which is rather turquoise) you can even swim, the water, however, is +2 °C. At the top there is a house, which, according to the guide, was built by Tronov himself. Research groups from Tomsk State University still come to him. So that you don’t imagine the royal mansions, I’ll say that this is essentially a shack lined with tin sheets.

What did you expect? They didn't come to Nice.

Lamb foreheads

These are two rounded mountains that can be seen on the way to the lake. Usually they make a halt before a steep climb.

Big Aktru Glacier

It is part of the path to the Blue Lake. It's a very unusual feeling to walk in the snow in July.

Without trekking boots, I can’t even imagine how convenient it would be to do this: my feet slip in the snow, if you don’t “crash” with the edges of your shoes into a loose, melted mass.

Pass Teacher

We had to climb here along a steeper path than to the Blue Lake. The height of the top point is about 3.1 thousand meters, which is about 1 thousand meters up from the camp. You can even pass through the clouds!

Visibility at the top is very changeable: sometimes another cloud covers, and nothing is visible, or it passes the peak, and a view opens up to the entire valley.

And, as observations show, self-esteem is very much blurred in the satisfaction of those who still managed to reach the very top.

Dome of three lakes

The height here is already high - 3556 meters. The route is relatively easy, but the likelihood of altitude sickness, which I will discuss below, increases. The path passes by the Small Aktru glacier.

Special training

For those who want to make a real ascent, there is a basic training. Instructors will read an introductory course and conduct training. The elementary mountain training school lasts 8 days and costs 23.7 thousand rubles.

Most likely, professional climbers do not need to introduce this place. Competitions are regularly held here, there is a large selection of classified routes of any complexity.

mountain sickness

Is altitude sickness possible when climbing the Aktru glaciers or other points? Yes, it is possible.

As you know, mountain sickness begins in people when climbing mountains with rarefied air.

The symptoms are as follows:

• dizziness and headache;
• nausea;
• vomit;
• tachycardia;
• insomnia;
• weakness.

Whether you have altitude sickness or not is a very individual question. Depends on gender, age, fitness, rate of climb, load, and more. The main recipe for how to get past it is to gain altitude gradually, allowing the body to get used to the new conditions. One of our guides during the ascent to the pass Teacher told about the Himalayan system, according to which the height changes “in leaps”: 3 thousand meters - 2 thousand meters - 4 thousand meters - 3 thousand meters and so on. Thus, the body can recover and get used to more difficult conditions gradually.

By the way, only one of the five of us (including the guide) felt a lack of oxygen at an altitude of over 3 thousand meters.

Holiday prices

It's time to talk about the mercantile side of our journey. Why mercantile? Because we calculated whether the all-inclusive tour is cheaper or more expensive compared to individual services. In fact, for a small group it’s about the same, you just don’t need to take a steam bath and count if you took the whole thing. But if you are 10 or more people, then you can cook on a fire and live in tents, and if you are not coming for the first time and are ready to go to the mountains on your own, then you will be able to save a lot here.

The price on the top base looks something like this:

• accommodation in a house - 1.1 thousand - 1.3 thousand rubles per person per day;
• bath - 1.4 thousand rubles per hour;
• complex meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) - 750 rubles per day, each meal separately costs about 300-350 rubles;
• boiling water - 50 rubles (either per liter, or per half liter);
• firewood - 300 rubles per bundle, use of the barbecue - 50 rubles;
• going to the mountains with a guide from 2.5 thousand rubles;
• rise in UAZ - 3.5 thousand per car one way.

There are also fully prepared excursions with a transfer from Kuray and back. Blue Lake (5 days) costs 15.1 thousand rubles. Climbing to the top of Aktru (7 days) - 19.8 rubles. The price includes transfer, accommodation at the base, guide services, all meals and compulsory insurance with evacuation by helicopter.

You can check more detailed information on the Altai-Aktru website.

***

Despite how difficult it was during the ascents, none of my "colleagues" was not dissatisfied. Moreover, when everything had already passed, jokes appeared better than those that visited them in moments of hardship and adversity.

!

Hotels- do not forget to check prices from booking sites! Don't overpay. It !

Rent a Car- also aggregation of prices from all distributors, all in one place, let's go!

Have something to add?

Road.

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

When you travel with a company, the road flies by quickly and imperceptibly, when you are alone, how lucky you are - it all depends on fellow travelers. From Ufa to Omsk, there was a young fellow from Andijan, who was abandoned to Bashkiria by the will of fate. He was going to enter the Omsk Medical, a traumatologist. A good guy - literate, polite, well-read, but the border guards, both ours and the Kazakhs, really did not like his Uzbek passport. Both those and others hung him for a long time, examined, interrogated, sniffed, were visibly disappointed, not finding 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. The retired officer, but did not 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 never read the novel about Oblomov, I did not draw up plans for the upcoming work. It is not easy to do this when you are 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 food for collection into the trailer of his Nissan, and the road continued. There is a good road from Novosibirsk to Biysk - straight, even, many settlements, life is in full swing, heavy trucks back and forth. Someone considers this section of the road to be part of the Chuisky tract, but the real 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 to do with the tract of the year 2000). The road itself is deserted, heavy trucks are rare, the scenery around is amazing! The road along which you want to drive and drive, but you won’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 drove on Nissan.

In Aktash we stopped for the night. Here in a small roadside hotel, or, as they say here, an inn, other instructors who came to the training camp gathered. We spend the night in the car, Makarov, I and Sanya Shirobokov from Kirov, we studied at the “school” together, then we trained 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 - he is ready to go up the mountain at least every day, calm as a tank! He spends half a summer at Yuzhny Inelchek in the support team.

At night, they froze to hell in the car! They turned on the stove, - after half an hour they almost died from the heat! In general, our joy knew no bounds when a cargo ZIL approached at six o'clock, which means that the overnight stay was over, and the road continues! True, for about an hour the whole crowd was reloading products from the GAZelle and from the Oleg trailer to the ZIL-130. They scored it almost to the eyeballs, there is 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! UAZ, if not a tank, then looks like a small armored personnel carrier. Roads, in our concept, are not there! Bridges are down! Part of the path passes through ice. The car is thrown from side to side, thrown up on stones and roots, we sit inside, resting our arms and legs against anything. UAZ confidently climbs up. In one place, on the rise, the clay was washed away by a spring stream, the car cannot take the rise on the move.

Oh, I forgot the chains! complains the driver.

I had to get out of the car. On the third attempt, the climb was taken. The second time they 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. Rescuers' KAMAZ got stuck on the muddy ice, ZIL ran into it with a bumper and pushed it out of the rut!

Everything comes to an end, and so does our journey. Here we are in Aktru. It's not even twelve yet. It remains only to unload the car ...

Camp.

There have been changes in Aktru over the past five months. Two new residential modules and two VIP house. The stove in the bathhouse was changed (in my opinion, it didn’t get better because of this), in the dining room the heating stove was moved to another place. It has become more logical, and therefore more convenient.

In my opinion, the most convenient and comfortable is the house of instructors. Two bedrooms for four people each, and a council room where ten or twelve people sit freely at the table. The walls are neatly stuffed with nails 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, stands the Kamchatka hut, a solid log house of two rooms with separate passages for six or seven people each, but with terrible stoves. Until the stoves are warmed up, the draft is disgusting, and the room is full of smoke, it is necessary to open the doors. He himself heated Kamchatka, I know what I'm talking about!

The oldest building in the camp is Zimovye, according to legend, from the year 37! There is a warehouse, a museum and living quarters. Many who come to Aktra not for the first time tend to get into this particular accommodation.

Almost in the center there is another two-story log house KSP. The heating here is "modern", through a boiler, with which we had to tinker a bit before we launched it. Sasha Shirobokov, “Doctor” Andrey, and I already dragged 22 buckets from the river (this is officially, not officially - thirty). But I liked the KSP house - very cozy. True, the KSP has not been living in it lately, the participants live. Rescuers, represented by the OB of the camp Sukhanov Sergey Nikolaevich, 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 the boiler.

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

Next to the volleyball court there are four frame tents " Mobile ”, these are mobile baths (probably army ones), but here they are used as tents for housing. He put them himself, was delighted with them, found out the price, the delight diminished.

The dining room resembles a greenhouse made of lodging. Places for tents are equipped next to the dining room. This is for real harsh climbers who despise warmth and comfort. Snow-capped peaks rise all around, but unlike Bezengi, they seem so low, so close and accessible.

To the right are the slopes of the Uchitel pass, it seems like half an hour and you are at the pass, in fact the journey will take two to three hours. On the left are the harsh rocks of the slopes of the Dome of Three Lakes. Between them and Karatash, the Small Aktru glacier hangs over the camp. In fact, he "lays down" when you go out on him, from the camp for an hour and a half to go. It closes the UPI gorge, from the camp it seems low and easily accessible. You come closer and see a powerful snow-ice take-off, six pitches, no less.

We did not have time to unload the car, thick sleet fell in huge flakes. Everything around became white white! Winter is back!

Members.

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 wander around the camp doing nothing. Assessing the situation, Makarov immediately found a job for everyone. Someone drags folding beds around the modules and tents, someone drags buckets of water to start the heating system in the KSP house, I personally clean up the Kamchatka and heat the stoves there.

It's time for dinner, but there are still no participants. Rumor has it the bus broke down. At the request of Oleg, Shirobokov and I dragged water into the bathhouse and chopped wood. There is no stoker yet, the pump has not been adjusted, but the people will come, give them a bath from the road. For ourselves, we drowned the day before.

After lunch, ZILs raised the first batch of participants (from the first bus), an hour and a half later, people from the second bus drove up. We can say that the collections have begun. While the participants settled into houses and set up tents, the instructors made up training departments and distributed them among themselves. I got the third division of beginners, nine people, mostly all from Novosibirsk. A motley composition by age, the youngest is fourteen years old, and the oldest is under sixty. In the morning, on a 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 in the warehouse, well, except for the helmet, perhaps. I had to explain to them the purpose of each item (jumar, carbine, trigger, etc.) and show them how it works. Show how to put on a harness, how to block it with a harness, how to make a lanyard mustache. Everyone had different safety systems, each one had to be dealt with individually. The guys from Tomsk had heavy standard rescue systems, the top connected to the bottom, and all this is put on like a paratrooper's parachute harness. The thing is good for promalp, but completely unsuitable for horiz because of its size and weight.

The girl Mila also had an integral bottom + top system, at one time popular with cavers, and in the mid-90s even with climbers, Gosha Mishchenko in 96 flaunted such a system. Despite her old-fashioned system, Mila asked the least questions, seemed to remember everything the first time, and even tied the “eight” knot at one end immediately and without prompting. "Weird! - I thought, - but anything can happen ... "Later, Mila admitted that she had already somehow gone through the preparation stage for NP-1, and even the badge" made "

As I said earlier, the participants I got a wide age range. The eldest was named Yury Nikolaevich, he asked to be called Yura, but somehow he did not turn his tongue to call this venerable, gray-haired "newcomer" Yura. The youngest is Nikita, fourteen years old. The first one asked a bunch of questions and constantly got into instructor conversations, trying to show off his erudition, out of place and in place, which greatly annoyed Oleg Makarov. The second, on the contrary, tried not to ask too much, was embarrassed by his unsportsmanlike appearance, was afraid that he would not 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, breathing heavily, nevertheless climbed the Teacher Pass, and then climbed the Trainers Peak, and not among the last. But I was more struck by the tenacity with which he climbed a tree during the "initiation" after the mountain. With tears in his eyes, puffing and howling, tearing off the skin on his palms, he nevertheless climbed into the right place 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, just to go, move, rise, achieve something. Galia was sure that if she stopped, she would die! From time to time she asked me for permission to yell, and in a guttural voice she sang folk tunes in different languages. Volodya Tumyalis, hearing these tunes for the first time, was even frightened, and then nothing, 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 violating the traditions, our department went to classes on the Red Stone, such a rocky remnant 10-12 meters high not far from the trail, among the kurumnik.

We were a little late, the department of dischargers was already busy on Kamen. And in order not to waste time waiting for the release of part of the routes, I decided to conduct a lesson "Walking on the scree." Good luck! The event went off with a bang! He noted for himself: “Such an activity for beginners who first got into the mountains is not only useful, but also necessary.”

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

The first is the organization of a belay (top), simple climbing, rappelling with a 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 such a “situation”, and if not, you have to be “one in two persons” - to control the landing on the rappel and control the correctness of the insurance. In general - "Figaro is here, Figaro is there", I am in this role up and down the stone - a great workout!

The second is U-shaped railings.

The arresters stopped working, left, left us the already fixed ropes. Here, some people have already murmured, expressing doubts about the appropriateness of this exercise, and doubts about the safety of this event. I had to use all my eloquence to convince them otherwise. In conclusion, a rappel was demonstrated on a double rope with pulling.

The next day, according to the plan, - "Organization of stations, setting up your points of insurance, climbing lines, interaction of lines." In Aktru there is a rock laboratory called "Cornices". There is a variety of terrain, from simple to complex. The lower and upper stations are broken, there are no intermediate "bolts", only their own points.

Relying on his experience and knowledge, he did not take the time-based lesson plan with him. So I got carried away with the organization of stations, and there is such a variety of them and so many ways to install them. I came to my senses in an hour and a half, when I realized from the eyes of the participants that they had a real “kishmish” in their heads! Now I am sure beginners should be given only two, maximum three stations, and require them to have a firm knowledge of the five rules for setting up stations.

But in walking on the rocks with their points, the participants pleasantly surprised me. The ligaments worked smoothly, competently, without too much fuss, and together they rappelled down with two re-stitchings. I then removed the station and went down the path with a stationary railing.

Ice classes were worked out according to the program on the Maly Aktru glacier. There were no special curiosities here, if we do not take into account the huge “suitcase” that rolled down from the slopes of Karatash, when the group climbed the snowfield to classes. The stone, as if reluctantly, glided over the snow, then accelerated, bounced on its forehead, accelerated, crossed the path and flew away with a roar into the side moraine.

The first sign of summer, Tumelis remarked calmly. In summer, as a rule, Small Aktru is closed, and classes are held on a large glacier.

Climbing the pass Uchitel.

There is really nothing to tell about this ascent. Yes, and the Teacher is a non-categorical pass. The path to it is well trodden. The main attraction of this route is the “Vertical Kilometer”, the stage of the Russian Skyrunning Cup, and the views from the pass are gorgeous.

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

I was brutally tired, but not from the rise, but from such a lullingly slow movement. But even more exhausted I was on the descent. When I entered the instructor's house, Tumelis looked at me, stood up, patted my shoulder sympathetically, and, without saying anything, shook my hand firmly. Sergeev (head coach) also tightly squeezed his hand, clapped on the shoulder, briefly added, - Hero! and placed a mug of tea in front of me.

Climbing:

From the very beginning, a wonderful plan was conceived: on Victory Day, the participants of the training camps NP1 and NP2 ascend the Dome of Three Lakes, beginners along route 1B, badges on 2B. The meeting at the top would have symbolized the meeting on the Elbe seventy years ago, and then there were fireworks and all that… But the last three days in Aktra were very hot, stones flew along 2B, and from Karatash, and in the couloir along 1B. The plans were changed, but the symbolism was decided to be respected. In honor of the anniversary, we, the beginners, were sent to the top of Yubileinaya, as it turned out, no worse than the Dome, but much further.

Rise at four, exit at five, three departments plus officials, total - more than thirty people. It's two hours to the Blue Lake, where the route starts from, from the camp, and someone claims all three!

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

And here is the morning, the dining room, my entire department is assembled. Before breakfast, the last briefing and checking backpacks. Yubileinaya walks on foot, no rope is needed there, but everyone is ordered to take a safety system, jumar, descender and ice axes with them. Those participants who carefully read the description of the route are perplexed - Why? But the instructors, smiling slyly, unanimously assure that the participants will definitely need all this. Apparently awake, I completely forgot "Why?" this is needed, so just in case, I also put everything listed in my backpack.

My hope that the two participants Nastya and Galiya would not go to the mountain, thanks to the efforts of the doctor, collapsed. They were here, at the dining room, and eager to fight! And in order not to lag behind the whole army, they decided to leave early, without breakfast, declaring that Galia knew the way to the lake. I sighed and, with the permission of the head coach and head of the training camp, let go, anticipating that I would again have to drag myself in the tail.

At breakfast, Oleg Makarov made a festive speech and admonished us for the “feat”. One of the officials suggested that I borrow a “flare gun” from him for saluting at the top. The rocket launcher was a bottle of champagne. Since they came for breakfast with backpacks, they went up the mountain directly from the dining room with branches “as soon as they were ready”.

We caught up with Nastya in forty minutes, and Galia in an hour, at the “ram's foreheads” before takeoff. And an hour later (to be exact, ten hours later) I was at the hut on the Blue Lake. Half an hour later, the last laggards, led by Tumelis, approached. Volodya voluntarily took on the mission of accompanying all the sick and lagging behind. Stayed with them. And we went further. I was delighted, but the joy was premature, unfortunately. The ascent to the pass began and lagging behind appeared. Sergeev quickly ran ahead, followed by all the officials, leaving me the role of trailer.

Be that as it may, but with jokes and jokes an hour later we climbed the Znachkistov pass, from where to the left the route to Interns 2A, to the right - Yubileinaya 1B. We, of course, to the right! There is still snow on the pass, but it has already melted at the top. Morning, the snow did not have time to become limp, there is no wind, the bright sun, it is easy and pleasant to walk - not life, but grace!

Here is the peak, breaking off to the north with steep drops and sharp rocky knives - just horror! An "official", a journalist from some Novosibirsk TV channel, Misha reports online from the top and interviews participants, leaders and other officials. We take out our “rocket launchers”, there are two of them, and give a friendly salute 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 banners and banners unfurled, and of course with songs of the war years. We quickly rolled down to the lake, removed everything superfluous and moved in a dense crowd to the camp, where experienced dischargers and duty instructors were already waiting for us. It is clear why! For Dedication! Here, systems, jumars, ice axes and other attributes were needed! Then there was a celebratory dinner. In the 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!

06.07.2019 17:37

Can't bring myself to post an emotional text. So "let the keyboard help me give birth to a dry review of routes!", especially since the magic pendel flew in from where they did not expect - Sveta, if you are reading, hello! Late in the evening, a message came to direct insta, which 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 will tell you a little about the trails in the Aktru region, which are known to most.
In order. Very often I meet confusion in terminology, so I will give a glossary, let's start with the most confusing letter "A".
The common name Aktru, Aktru, Aktura - "white house". By the way, the Altaians (or Turks) do not have very many colors: ak - white, kara - black, kyzyl - red. That's it, it's over! Most of the geographical objects that fell into my not very broad horizons are named according to their color. Small assortment!

Aktru - peak, gorge, valley, glaciers.
Big 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 you look directly at the peak of Kara-Tash from the alpine camp (you will also immediately notice it, it is best visible from the camp and is considered a visiting card: kara is black, tash is stone), then the glacier will be on the right. Strong right. It will seem small, but it is not, because only the tip of its "tongue" will be visible. The total length of the glacier is about 8 km, so do not be fooled by visual projections.
Small Aktru - glacier. Again, we will take Kara-Tash as a landmark. Small Aktru on the left, not to be confused. There is even an icefall. During the training camp, ice classes are held right on the Small Aktru, where they learn to walk in crampons, turn ice screws, and climb the icefall. When I participated in such an event (in May), there was a lot of snow, Kara-Tash was not a “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 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 feel like drinking 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 on the territory of the camp - everything is signed there.
Aktru-Bashi is the highest peak of the region - 4044.4 m. The easiest route to its peak is 2A. 2A is definitely not for people without training. About how we went to v. Interns (also in deuce A) as a group, consisting of a person without special knowledge, I will tell later;). So, if you are riding such mountains for the first time, you don’t know what crampons, ice axes, ice screws, jumar, rappel and main knots are - you should not tempt fate.
With the letter "A" in our glossary, it's time to finish.

B!
Lamb foreheads - a form of relief. Rocks made of exposed bedrock, smoothed and polished by the movement of a glacier.
Bergschrund (it is not necessary to know this concept, it's just a funny word) - a crack in the snow-ice slope, formed when the heavy lower part, moving along with the glacier, breaks away from the motionless snow-firn slope in the upper part. Usually located at the beginning of the glacier, or on the sides of the glacier.

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

Automobile part of the route

The road to the gorge begins with a turn to Kurai. It can be reached by any serviceable car. Any car with a slightly higher cross-country ability than a sedan will drive from Kurai to the "transshipment": a dirt road, there are fords, but all are passable, even by a car, but with driving experience;). The most difficult section is the ascent before the "transshipment". Remember 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 a pick-up from there: on UAZs, on gas trucks, you can walk. If you have off-road driving experience and an appropriate car, then you are there! But, I remember the situation when the Altaians on the UAZ-tablet stood in the middle of the swamp, resting their rear wheel on a stump ... Surface: a dirt road, in some places there are stones, there are fords, there is a lot of mud, there is a swamp. In some places, the roads diverge, but they will still meet at the end point of the route. You can choose to your liking!

Alpine camp

We arrived in the first half of May for a training camp and settled at the lower base. On it, the houses are simpler than on the top, there is a place for tents. Amenities on the street even in new buildings. There, at the base, there is a person responsible for security, from whom you can find out the situation on the routes (ask the residents of the camp where to look).
The upper base "Pencil" is higher (it's surprising why they called it that, right?), closer to Kara-Tash (remember, we took it as a landmark). Everything is much more civilized there - the amenities are already warm, the buildings are new and multi-storey. But the prices are much higher than on the lower base. You can rent equipment there. They say that their warehouse burned down, but I took shoes there for a test, so you can borrow shoes for lack of your own - 300 rubles / day, a passport as a deposit, you need to clarify about the rest of the equipment. If you are going to go to the Dome of the Three Lakes, then you should already have at least one pair of crampons per group and ropes for insurance, rent would be just in time, do not buy equipment for one time.
I will tell you from my own experience and the experience of Misha, who lived there much more than me. I only lived in a house. There were 12 of us in the room on the benches, so I can’t talk about freedom, silence and relaxation. Still, alp.gathering is an event of a guitar and an ice ax, and not a sleeping bag and a healthy complexion. Exactly a year ago, at the same training camp, when Misha also went, the guys lived in large tents with stoves. It was pretty comfortable. It’s not even worth talking about the summer period for tents, there’s not even snow anymore, you don’t need to dig a snowdrift, just grab a warmer sleeping bag! This year, after the training camp was over, some comrades (we will not poke a finger) 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 people who are far from mountaineering in the Aktru region are familiar with: Blue Lake, Teacher Pass, Dome of Three Lakes, Green Hotel, V., Yubileinaya. I think it is worth saying a few words about them.

Blue Lake, per. Badge, V.Yubileynaya

The lake is located at an altitude of 2840 m in a basin behind the left moraine of the Left Big Aktru glacier. Above, we have discussed where we have the Bolshoi Aktru glacier. Because it diverges, as if absorbing the vertices inward (envelops), it is easy to understand where the left tongue is, where the right tongue is. Moraine - fragments of rocks brought during the course of the glacier. At a cursory uninformed glance - heterogeneous stones of various sizes interspersed with earth, clay and some other debris. The moraine, immediately behind which the Blue Lake, is easy to read, you can’t slip past. Blue Lake is always an intermediate point for climbers' routes. Even during the period of our small training camp, we were twice on the Blue Lake, the road to it among the climbers is called nothing more than a "durotop", because you walk, you don’t meet any technical sections, you just stomp along the path, or you walk through the snow. Most often, they set up camp there and start on the route from there, a lot of categorical routes start from the Blue Lake: Kyzyltash and Interns, Aktru, Yubileinaya, many trails to the passes, from which there are also several trails to the peaks. I am attaching a photograph, a blue lake behind my right hand, in the background of a tent, from my left hand is a path. 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 alp. camp along the left bank of the river. Aktru, further along the not very pleasant-looking scree slope of Kyzyltash (it will always be on your right side from you) to the Sheep foreheads. Lamb foreheads - the most difficult part of the path, in my opinion, these are two large round rocks. Climbing directly on them would not even come to mind, to the right of them we look at the couloir and confidently go up. Couloir - a hollow formed as a result of the flow of water / snow. After overcoming the couloir, there will be a rather flat open part with a large stone, from which good photographs are obtained (with straight arms, 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 strongly advise against, it is not as friendly as it seems. Therefore, it is better to skid a little on the moraine. Passed over the moraine? Here it is! (I shamelessly took a photo in Google, the summer trail is very clearly visible there).
And nearby is the recognizable little 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 sypuhe. It leads to the Znachkist pass, from which the route opens to Yubileynaya. If you have come and are not dying of fatigue, and even the weather is clear, then I would advise you to go to the pass, and from there to the top, the view is excellent! A few words - go to the pass along the path, the photo shows that it goes around the lake on the right (by no means along the glacier!), Then it goes to the left and to the pass. you need to choose the most stable surface and put your foot on the whole foot, and then only load. After we got to the pass, there will be a path to the right - the road to Yubileinaya. It has a very good view of the Kurai steppe and neighboring peaks. There is no snow at the very top and in winter, so you should not be afraid. The whole top is covered with flat sharp stones, it is better not to stumble. I'll attach a May photo.

Green Inn, Three Lakes Dome

The Green Hotel is an intermediate point of routes, like the Blue Lake.
Probably, I mistakenly classify this route as a route for beginners, because there is still a glacier there. 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 way to the top of the Dome of Three Lakes lies through the Green Hotel, it is good there in summer (they say). In our case, it looked like this on a successful day of climbing (first photo). And on the second, third photo is the view of the Green Hotel from the first unsuccessful attempt to climb, because the weather was disgusting. Well, the fourth - again brazenly taken someone else's photo of the hotel in the summer.

We go from the camp, heading for the small Aktra, look carefully to the left, as soon as we climbed the moraine, so there should be a couloir on the left wall, into which you need to go. In general, they say that it’s better not to go to the couloir without detailed knowledge of the route, but we had Grisha in the department, who assured us that in the summer he and his son were self-propelled a couple of times without special knowledge! The movement goes along the scree surface, you need to be wary of stones. As soon as we climbed up and saw the brackets in the rocks - the direction is right! It is safer, of course, to go with insurance - to fasten a carabiner to metal cables. After the via-ferrata has been passed, there will be a section with a slight slope with large stones, and after that - another "frontal", and immediately after it - the Green Hotel.
I can say that the most unpleasant part is a sharp climb, for a short distance, almost a kilometer sharply gains. You need to be very careful about your well-being in case of mountain sickness. And don't forget 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 complex cracks in it. But it's still ice. Ice is slippery. If you go without equipment (no ice ax or crampons) and you fall on your stomach / back / side, then there will be an extremely unpleasant speed increase along the glacier with a further roll out onto sharp stones. I would not advise walking in unstable shoes.
The height of the top of the Dome of three lakes is 3556 m. The view from there is good. Although... This is the case when the summit may not be the final goal, because on the way there it is also very picturesque and exciting!

Pass Teacher

A pass of category 1A difficulty (this is a category of difficulty for passes or a tourist one, for alpine routes the categories start from 1B), the height is a little more than 3000 m. The trail to it starts behind, excuse me, the toilet at the lower base. A pass from the category: I went to the store for 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 a path to it without a category. On 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 stones, then this is not your path!
This is probably the best option to look at the Kurai steppe from a height with minimal effort and energy!

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