Main Ural ridge. Tourist club Meridian. Permian. Perm National Research Polytechnic University (Perm Polytechnic). Main Ural Range: GPS coordinates
Good time everyone!
I’m starting a series of posts about a trip to the Ural Mountains 2012.
I'll start from the end))
Today I will tell you in a nutshell about the wonderful place, the Zvezda recreation center, which is located at the foot of the GUKh.
From the city of Severouralsk, which is located in Sverdlovsk region, there is a road through the villages of Bayanovka and Pokrovsk-Uralsky.
This road crosses the Ural mountains and taiga and ends at the Kvarkush ridge.
It’s easy to find the base when you drive along this taiga gravel road; on the right there will be a turnoff on which stands an Iron Star, such a small greeting from the USSR.
Going down to the base, you will see cozy houses located in a small clearing, with stunning views of the Main Ural Range.
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It seems that the mountains are small and not high here, but you need to remember that the base itself is located at an altitude of almost 700 meters above sea level.
2.
Prices at the base are very cheap, a day costs 500 rubles per person, which includes living space with a bed, use of a kitchen,
where there is gas and a Russian stove, a bathhouse, and if you want barbecue in the evening, they will prepare everything for you.
You can play billiards, sit by the fireplace, watch TV with your favorite films.
Here and there there are benches and gazebos, barbecues where you can sit romantically with a friend, chat with friends,
or simply sit quietly and enjoy the surrounding wildlife.
3.
There are very kind and friendly guys working at the base itself. The director is also a very interesting person, a real Russian man, as are the base workers (but we won’t talk about that today).
The uniqueness of the base lies in the fact that you can come up with a lot of entertainment...
So many...
Let me give you a few examples:
You can stupidly come to the base, sit on its territory, drink beer, eat barbecue, go to the bathhouse...
But this is not all about us, and sadly many people come there for this...
But what’s the point in this if the most ancient mountains on the planet are under our noses, and we weren’t driving to sit still...
From the base itself there is a trail all the way to Gukha, where there is a place for fires, gatherings, etc. literally 15 minutes from the base.
But we are not so lazy and want to move on...
The base workers laid a marked trail up to the plateau, + tourists trampled...
a leisurely walk, 30-40 minutes and we are at the top, from which a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains opens up, and in particular Mount Denezhkin Kamen and its reserve.
You can buy a permit in advance to go to the reserve and make a foray to it, walking along the ridge or along it to the north. Excellent route, three days at the base,
then you get ready and go to the reserve with your backpacks, then back to the base and relax.
4.
You don't have to walk that far, for the lazy)).
We move on, when we have reached the top according to the marks, we rise to a plateau that takes us to another planet...
Here you can find lunar and Martian landscapes, and whatever you want....
5.
The view from the plateau cannot be described in any words; every meter you can take pictures and take pictures...
We walk along the plateau towards the Perm region, the border of our region and the Sverdlovsk region runs clearly along the center of the ridge, on one half of the plateau you are in the Sverdlovsk region, on the other half in the Perm region...
moving to Perm...
6.
Coming out to the opposite edge of the plateau, a view of the valley opens up, and ridges, mountains, ridges, mountains... You even begin to feel dizzy... from delight and views.
7.
By the way, in the valley exactly in the middle there is a house where tourists, hunters, fishermen stay...
Here’s another route for you: live at the base, then go to a house for a few days, live there, pure life, prepare firewood, collect millions of berries and mushrooms,
walk to the surrounding peaks and admire and admire....
8.
You can also go north from the base along the stream, reach where the stream becomes the Sosva River and catch fish there, grayling, taimen too.
but we are on the ridge and admiring the views....
If you go down to the house in the valley, you can see GUH in all its glory....
9.
and if you move to the opposite side of GUKH and the plateau from which we descended, then you can look at everything at once! there you can see the Kazan stone, from which there is a wonderful view, and you can climb the “Chalice” or go down to a height of 1300.
Here is a panorama view with "bowls"
10.
You can also drive about 25-35 km along the road from the base, I don’t remember exactly now, and go to the Zhigalan waterfalls for a couple of days; it’s easy to find information about them on the Internet.
This is such a wonderful base, such a Vedic place, such a Northern Urals.
In the full report I will tell you how I got there, how I communicated, what I saw there, and of course a bunch of photographs from the ridge and from the surrounding peaks and the house))
By the way, there is not just one house, but several, you can live in each one, because each one is located in different places, with its beauty and romance.
By the way, I almost forgot, you can ski here until June 15th.
What the guys from Tchaikovsky did successfully was some kind of ski section.
so there’s plenty of entertainment there, the main thing is imagination and asking good questions from director Vasily.
The base lacks a normal website where all the surrounding routes and other advantages will be described, but I think this is all ahead.
The most important thing to remember is that we need to respect the beauty around us, not litter and behave with dignity, like a human being!
And finally, I’ll show you a few more photos from the trip...
The Ural, such a Ural, mysterious as in fairy tales, and pure as a romantic tear :)
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All the details are in the full report, there is a lot of material to prepare, so everything has its time.
All the best! 
Main Ural Ridge - and this is official geographical name mountain range stretching from north to south for 52 kilometers. The Main Ural Ridge is a kind of stone belt, a natural border between the Perm and Sverdlovsk regions, between Europe and Asia.
Main Ural Ridge: description
Taiga fir-spruce and cedar forests reach up the ridge up to 800-900 meters, then there is birch forest and alpine meadows, and the tops of the ridge are kurumniks. In the northern part of the ridge there are steeper slopes, with a slope of up to 45 degrees. The western slope of the ridge is more gentle and even in winter you will not need special equipment. But in snowy winters the snow here is deep.
At the foot of the eastern slope there is a border Reserve "Denezhkin Stone", one of the few places where virgin flora and fauna have been preserved, which is a generally recognized reference area of the northern taiga. The highest point of the ridge (1410 meters) is named after the outstanding German naturalist A. Humboldt, who traveled throughout Russia and, in particular, studied the Ural region in 1829 at the personal invitation of the Russian Emperor. As a result of the trip, these scientists wrote a major work, in which one of the chapters was called “The System of the Urals Mountains.”
Looking north from humboldt peaks you can see two more peaks - Mount Pallas, named after another Russian-German naturalist who visited here in 1770, and Mount Lepekhina, which bears the name of academician-systematist of living nature, the first Russian researcher of medicinal plants Ivan Ivanovich Lepekhin.
Other significant peaks: Great Khodovskaya Sopka(1338.8 m), Sosvinsky Stone(954 m) and Kazan Stone(1035 m).
Main Ural Range: GPS coordinates
- Mount Humboldt— 60°22’21.61″N 59°11’00.92″E
- Khodovskoy Pass— 60°18’18.46″N 59°10’30.29″E
- Summit of Athletes-Skiers— 60°17’12.15″N 59°09’22.43″E
- Sosvinsky Stone— 60° 07’14.05″N 59°04’47.73″E
- Kazan Stone— 60°06’32.85″N 59°03’30.02″E
Main Ural Ridge: history of the name
The entire chain of the Ural Mountains stretches in a continuous hill almost from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian steppes. But why is such a truly great phenomenon of the lithosphere called so unpoetically? In fact, the rock massif is so significant in height and extent that no one dares to call it other than the Ural Range or simply the Main Range.
In ancient times these mountains were called. The Mansi people call it Ner - “stone”, “stone wall”. He always serves local residents a natural barrier to the dominant western air flow. These winds carry the bulk of precipitation, significant cloudiness, and form temperature regime. The cold breath of the Arctic also has an effect. Winter here lasts 5-6 months, with snow cover on average 164 days a year.
Main Ural Range It’s beautiful all year round, but it’s worth considering that in winter, from the end of May to October, you can only get there by snowmobile.
Main Ural Ridge: how to get there?
First you need to get to Severouralsk by car, this is the most convenient option, by bus (buses run from Yekaterinburg several times a day, cost about 1000 rubles, from Perm there is a direct flight without a transfer once a day, leaves in the morning, cost 1300 rubles. ) or by train to Serov or Ivdel, the distance from them to Severouralsk is 80-90 km. If your car is not off-road, then you will have to rent a car in advance.
For autotourists, you can spend at least two days (1 night) on the route, but this is during the longest summer days, in which case you will have time to see the GUH in the southern part and the Zhigolansky waterfalls at dawn. There will be no time left for Kvarkush. Therefore, without taking into account the road, plan two overnight stays.
You can climb the northern part of the ridge, but this is still a route for real tourists, because you have to ford rivers and spend the night in a tent. You need to get along the Krivinskaya road to the Kriv base (60 km, 4 hours) or to the clearings, and there you need to find a path to the Sosva River, which you need to ford, and then again look for a path through the swamp. It is approximately 6-7 km to the foot of GUKh. To spend the night, it is better to find a hut on the left bank of the Khodovaya River. And from here you can make radial exits to the Northern or Southern part ridge. In summer the road is very bad. Peaks convenient for visiting from the Kriv base: Mount Humboldt, Sporsmenov-Skiers, Mount Pallas, Mount Lepekhina.
We went to Sosvinsky stone . Sosvinsky Stone is a mountain in the Northern Urals (Sverdlovsk region), adjacent to the Main Ural Range. It is called Sosvinsky Stone because it is located near the source of the Bolshaya Sosva River.
So, we went in the opposite direction, passing again. After some time, a beautiful one opened up to us.
View from the road to the Main Ural Ridge.
Pine tree with a view of the GUKH.
I must say, we had one of the popular routes of the Northern Urals - “Zhigalansky waterfalls - Sosvinsky stone”
Base "Zvezda" on Sosvinsky stone.
Finally we arrived at a turning point, near which there was a sign welded from metal corners in the shape of a five-pointed star. It's only a short distance to the Zvezda tourist base. It works all year round. We arrived there around 5-6 pm. The base turned out to be quite decent for the taiga wilderness.
Dining room with attic, on the second floor there is a guest room with a dozen beds. There is a fireplace in the dining room and even a satellite TV. Two more houses for tourists; one is a barracks type - with about 10 rooms for two and three people, the other is smaller with 4 rooms, it is called a house with a fireplace. At the time we were there (2007), another house was being built. Electricity at the base comes from a generator and turns on in the evening. Heating is stove-water. There is a bathhouse. The toilet is outside. The cost of living is 500 rubles/day per person (price 2012), this includes bed linen, a bathhouse, and use of a kitchen; you must bring your own food. There are places for barbecues, places for tents, there is even a small wooden jump for skiers and some kind of football field with a gate.
A stream flows between the buildings of the dining room and bathhouse, which then turns into the Bolshaya Sosva River, which merges with Malaya Sosva to form the Sosva River.
In general, you can relax quite well at the Zvezda base, despite the fact that all this is located in close proximity from GUH, because the camp site itself is located at an altitude of almost 700 m.
The dining room of the Zvezda camp site against the backdrop of the mountains.
Off-road equipment at the camp site.
The source of Bolshaya Sosva.
The nature here is beyond words, mesmerizing. Very beautiful sunsets, the sun sets just behind the mountains.
Sunset over the Sosvinsky stone.
It was also very interesting to watch the clouds as they caught on the tops of the mountains.
Twilight in the mountains.
Climbing Sosvinsky Stone.
The next day, the long-awaited climb to the GUKH. Our guide was one of the base workers. We crossed the stream and followed a path, not even a path, along a clearing in the forest, made by the base workers especially for tourists. Around there are old trees covered with moss and lichen, huge fern leaves. You walk like in a fairy tale in a dense forest. About 15 minutes later, rocky mountain slopes covered with open forests opened up. Gradually the climb became steeper, and so the nature changed and began to resemble mountain tundra with dwarf trees. Underfoot are huge boulders covered with moss.
Mountain tundra. Sosvinsky stone.
On one of the glaciers of the Sosvinsky stone.
- “Look, what is this? Water is dripping from the lower edge of the glacier, and there too, but now a small stream is flowing along the slope, gradually increasing. Wow, there are whole thickets of grass along the banks of this stream. So here it is, what kind of river.”
It's very close to the top. Five minutes and here she is. Oh, what beauty, the picture that opened up took everyone’s breath away. The top of the Sosvinsky stone is a wide plateau, on which, closer to the eastern side, there is a mountain of stone boulders 3-4 meters high, and West Side The plateau is covered with vegetation and there is already the Perm region. Approaching this side of the plateau, a view opens across the valley, and ridges and mountains and again mountains and ridges. Even your head begins to spin from overwhelming delight. There are also ridges of mountain ranges to the north and south. This is a whole mountainous country and there is no end to it.
The top of the Sosvinsky stone.
If you look to the east, where we came from, the endless taiga with the island of our camp site stretches under your feet.
View from the mountains to the camp site.
Standing there at the top, you feel peace and tranquility, and boundless happiness.
What other routes can be laid from the Zvezda tourist center?
The climb to the Sosvinsky Stone itself took about 40-50 minutes for us - a group of people with no experience hiking trips. Well, if you are prepared, have the appropriate clothes and shoes, you can go from Sosvinsky Stone further west through the valley to Kazansky Stone. And if you follow the ridge to the north, you can reach the Denezhkin Stone nature reserve. Or you can go along the source and reach the Bolshaya Sosva River. In general, it would be a fantasy, but any route can be invented.
The best time for tourism in the Northern Urals is the month of July, as it is the warmest, so to speak the Velvet season in these parts. In July, snow can still fall, and in August it is already a bit cold in the mountains, with a piercing icy wind at the top. Well, for those who are not afraid of snow or rain, come here all year round. Romance. Fortunately, the base, as I already said, is open year-round. In winter, ski tourists come here, you can come here and plow through the snowy expanses. By the way, you can ski here until July. Snow in the mountains does not melt for a long time.
There is such a wonderful place on – mountainSosvinsky stone .
In the next article I will tell you about it, don’t miss it, for this you can subscribe to updates.
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Between the East European and West Siberian plains. The length is more than 2000 (with Pai-Khoi and Mugodzhary - more than 2500) km, width from 40 to 150 km. There are many lakes, Lake Tavatuy is known (about 50 km north of Yekaterinburg), as well as the so-called Chelyabinsk lakes - several dozen large and small lakes located in the north of the Chelyabinsk and partly in the southeast of the Sverdlovsk regions. Some of them (Uvildy, Irtyash, Uelgi) have a length of more than 10 km. The Chelyabinsk lakes also include lakes Turgoyak, Shablish, Big Kasli and others.
NameIn ancient sources, the Urals are partly associated with the Riphean and more often with the Hyperborean mountains. According to Ptolemy, the Ural Mountains consist of the Rimnus mountains (Rimninus - the Yaik or Ufa River; Middle Urals), Noros, "Noros" - the Southern Urals, from which the Daix River flows (Ural?) and the northern part - the Hyperborean Ripean Mountains - clearly the watershed between basins of the Caspian, Black Sea and Baltic (Sarmatian Ocean), etc. Russian pioneers called it Stone; under the name Ural, these mountains were first mentioned in Russian sources at the end of the 17th century. The name Ural was introduced by V. Tatishchev from the Mansi “ur” (mountain). According to another version, this word is of Turkic origin. Geological structureThe Ural Mountains were formed in the late Paleozoic during an era of intense mountain building (Hercynian folding). The formation of the Ural mountain system began in the late Devonian (about 350 million years ago) and ended in the Triassic (about 200 million years ago). It is an integral part of the Ural-Mongolian folded geosynclinal belt. Within the Urals, deformed and often metamorphosed rocks of predominantly Paleozoic age come to the surface. The strata of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are usually strongly folded and disturbed by discontinuities, but in general form meridional stripes that determine the linearity and zoning of the structures of the Urals. From west to east the following stand out:
At the base of the first three zones, according to geophysical data, an ancient, Early Precambrian foundation is confidently traced, composed mainly of metamorphic and igneous rocks and formed as a result of several eras of folding. The most ancient, presumably Archean, rocks come to the surface in the Taratash ledge on western slope Southern Urals. Pre-Ordovician rocks are unknown in the basement of the synclinoriums on the eastern slope of the Urals. It is assumed that the foundation of the Paleozoic volcanogenic strata of synclinoriums are thick plates of hypermafic rocks and gabbroids, which in some places come to the surface in the massifs of the Platinum Belt and other related belts; these plates may represent outliers of the ancient oceanic bed of the Ural geosyncline. In the east, in the Ural-Tobolsk anti-clinorium, outcrops of Precambrian rocks are quite problematic. Paleozoic deposits of the western slope of the Urals are represented by limestones, dolomites, and sandstones, formed in conditions of predominantly shallow seas. To the east, deeper sediments of the continental slope can be traced in an intermittent strip. Even further east, within the eastern slope of the Urals, the Paleozoic section (Ordovician, Silurian) begins with altered volcanics of basaltic composition and jasper, comparable to the rocks of the bottom of modern oceans. In places higher up the section there are thick, also altered spilite-natro-liparite strata with deposits of copper pyrite ores. Younger sediments of the Devonian and partly Silurian are represented mainly by andesite-basalt, andesite-dacitic volcanics and greywackes, which correspond to the stage in the development of the eastern slope of the Urals when the oceanic Earth's crust replaced by a transitional type crust. Carboniferous deposits (limestones, gray wackes, acidic and alkaline volcanics) are associated with the most recent, continental stage of development of the eastern slope of the Urals. At the same stage, the bulk of the Paleozoic, essentially potassium granites of the Urals intruded, forming pegmatite veins with rare valuable minerals. In the Late Carboniferous-Permian time, sedimentation on the eastern slope of the Urals almost stopped and a folded mountain structure formed here; On the western slope at that time, the Pre-Ural marginal trough was formed, filled with a thick (up to 4-5 km) thickness of clastic rocks carried down from the Urals - molasse. Triassic deposits are preserved in a number of depressions-grabens, the emergence of which in the north and east of the Urals was preceded by basaltic (trap) magmatism. Younger strata of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments of a platform nature gently overlap folded structures along the periphery of the Urals. It is assumed that the Paleozoic structure of the Urals was formed in the Late Cambrian - Ordovician as a result of the splitting of the Late Precambrian continent and the spreading of its fragments, as a result of which a geosynclinal depression was formed with crust and sediments of the oceanic type in its interior. Subsequently, the expansion gave way to compression and the oceanic basin began to gradually close and be “overgrown” with newly forming continental crust; the nature of magmatism and sedimentation changed accordingly. The modern structure of the Urals bears traces of severe compression, accompanied by a strong transverse contraction of the geosynclinal depression and the formation of gently sloping scaly thrusts - nappes. MineralsThe Urals are a treasury of various minerals. Of the 55 types of the most important minerals that were developed in the USSR, 48 are represented in the Urals. For the eastern regions of the Urals, the most typical deposits of copper pyrite ores (Gaiskoye, Sibaiskoye, Degtyarskoye deposits, Kirovgrad and Krasnouralsk groups of deposits), skarn-magnetite (Goroblagodatskoye, Vysokogorskoye, Magnitogorskoye deposits), titanium-magnetite (Kachkanarskoye, Pervouralskoye), oxide nickel ores (group of Orsko-Khalilovsky deposits) and chromite ores (deposits of the Kempirsay massif), confined mainly to the greenstone belt of the Urals, coal deposits (Chelyabinsk coal basin), placers and bedrock deposits of gold (Kochkarskoye, Berezovskoye) and platinum (Isovskiye). The largest deposits of bauxite (North Ural bauxite-bearing region) and asbestos (Bazhenovskoye) are located here. On the western slope of the Urals and in the Urals there are deposits of hard coal (Pechora coal basin, Kizelovsky coal basin), oil and gas (Volga-Ural oil and gas region, Orenburg gas condensate field), potassium salts (Verkhnekamsk basin). The Urals are especially famous for their “gems” - precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones (emerald, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite, etc.). The best jewelry diamonds in the USSR were mined in the Urals. The depths of the mountains contain more than two hundred different minerals. For example, reserves of “non-melting ice” - rock crystal in Mount Narodnaya. The bowls of the St. Petersburg Hermitage are made from Ural malachite and jasper. Geographical aspectsThe conventional border between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains. Geographically, the Ural Mountains are divided into five parts:
In the north, the Pai-Khoi mountain system can be considered a continuation of the Ural Range, in the south - Mugodzhary. PeaksHighest peaks:
NotesLinks
see alsoSources3rd edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, article "Ural" Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. See what the “Ural Range” is in other dictionaries:Constituting a conventional border between Europe and Asia, it begins off the coast of the Kara Sea at a latitude of 68°30 N. and from here it stretches almost without turns almost to the banks Aral Sea, if we assume that the Mugojrar Mountains are its continuation, what is there... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron This term has other meanings, see Kazan Stone. Kazan Stone ... Wikipedia Husband. back, the back surface of the human body, the upper surface of an animal; longitudinal middle of the back, from the neck to the lower back or sacrum; | the bones that form this part, the spinal column; bony spine, spinal or spinal vertebrae; A person has 24 of them... Dictionary Dahl - (ridge simple), ridge, husband. 1. Same as the spine. || trans. Back (simple). Place the bag on the ridge. || trans. The back as a symbol of labor, physical energy (colloquial). He carried everything on his backbone. Take the rap with your own backbone. 2. Mountain range, row... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary ridge- bta/, m. 1) The spine of an animal, fish. The ridge of the omul. 2) simple. Human spine and back. Each branch doused us as if from a rain pipe, a cold stream climbed under the tie and flowed along the spine (Turgenev). Synonyms:... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language RIDGE, bta, husband. 1. Spine, as well as (simple) back. Bend (break) x. (translated: hard work; simple). 2. Mountain range. Ridge, slope of a ridge. Ural x. | adj. spinal, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary |
4 Feb 2015
Main Ural Ridge 2015 (Ski trip Northern Urals) (maps +GPS track)
Main Ural Ridge 2015 (Ski trip Northern Urals)
131 ZIL moves smoothly and confidently across the packed snowfield. The cabin is warm and cozy, the driver Yuri talks about rocket stages falling from the sky, about the illegal family business of gold panning, listens and is surprised about the Kuril Islands.
2 am on January 2, 2015, I begin to yawn, the turmoil of the past days lies on my shoulders, the New Year, a thousand-kilometer journey from Ufa to Severouralsk. Stop, at the invitation of the driver we go out into the cold, the frost is severe at 30 degrees. Tagir gets out of the kung, the rest of the group is lazy or sleepy.
We climb a small hill, and in the moonlight a white giant appears in front of us - the Main Ural Range (hereinafter referred to as GUKH), our goal and my long-time must-see destination. For a long time I wanted to lay a trail on it, but it just so happened that the Northern Urals, which lies only 800-1000 km from our native Southern Urals, are rarely visited by Ufa tourists, and the reason for this is simple: it’s not interesting to take a vacation and go, it’s too close, there are too many others more distant unusual places, and without vacation there is a catastrophic lack of time.
So GUH was on the wish list, waiting for the long New Year's weekend in 2015. 11 days is enough to complete an interesting ski route from Asia to Europe, starting in the Sverdlovsk region and finishing in Perm region, I decided. Luck was favorable and allowed us to assemble a strong and beautiful team of 7 people.
And so I stand and look at the white silhouette in the night, wishes invariably come true, the main thing is not to sit idly by, I think.
Having quickly chilled, we climb back into the cabin and drive the rest of the seventy-kilometer journey, to the Zvezda tourist base, without stopping.
At the entrance to the camp site, at the turn, there were several four-wheel drive passenger cars, people came to celebrate New Year. We set up a tent and fall asleep for 4 hours, dividing this short period of time into duty at the stove.
January 2.
We leave at 8.00. Descent from the road to the Zvezda camp site. The camp site is sleeping. Along the road driven by snowmobiles towards the ridge we climb to the southern tip of GUKH, it is frosty and there is a clear sky above us, but according to the law of meanness, the horizon in the south and east is covered with a gray haze. There is no dawn.
We go out onto the snowy fields of the ridge; a giant desert with little snow stretches to the north, getting lost in the distance.
The snow is quite dense, but it’s harder to walk without skis, sometimes you fall through.
We move along the watershed all day, cross the peak 1189.7, Sosvensky 1204.5 and in the evening we descend into the forest zone.
15 km covered in a day. While the guys are setting up camp, I’m following tomorrow’s path a couple of kilometers up the ravine to peak 1166.3
Let's try our local know-how. For the first time, we took with us a small chainsaw and 1.5 liters of gasoline. The result exceeds all expectations. The process of collecting firewood is simplified and accelerated significantly.
January 3.
The night passed calmly and warmly, the wind increased and the weather worsened. Howls are heard overhead. I suggest you still try and go to the top, the guys agree. We start at 8.00 on the ski track and then through dense snow we go beyond the peak of 1166.3 to the plateau of the ridge.
Strong wind and zero visibility, but we can go, we go in a dense group, the speed is high. Traversing peak 1153.0 on the descent there is a problem with the skis, I discover a crack.
The Northern Urals sastrugi could not withstand “Vyatka”. After lunch, the weather deteriorates, we decide to go down to the gully emerging from under the peak “Ridge 1338.6” while we are going to the ravine, the wind is getting so strong that we can calmly lean forward and, leaning against its flow, stand without falling. The descent into the forest area causes some difficulties, the slope is quite steep, interspersed with soft snow, firn and kurum outcrops, all this against the backdrop of strong winds and a blowing snow that sometimes hides the participants of the descent. At such moments you understand how true the eastern proverb is: “a man in the mountains is like a tear in the eyelashes of Allah.” The mountain sweeps us down like a dog shakes off water, in one easy movement.
The last 200 metro is not a descent, but an escape, faster into the forest zone, under its protection, from this fierce wind. 15 km covered, and approximately 40% of the ridge. In the evening, a council of technicians consisting of Shamil Nuryev and Alexey Bolotov performs a complex operation on the ski. The result, as time will tell, is excellent.
4 January.
The weather is finally turning bad. It is warm, it snows periodically, clouds cover the ridge from a height of 700-800 meters. We walk along the edge of the forest zone, 20-50 meters above it.
Snow is dense, now. There is almost no path. We walk 15 km in a day and stand in the area of the southern source of the Lyampa Kutimskaya River under the mountain of the same name, highest point ridge.
Tomorrow we are planning a radial climb to the top. We hope that the weather will clear up, although, of course, there are no prerequisites for this.
5 January.
We leave an hour earlier than usual, at 7 am. Dawn in 3 hours, until sunset 9.
In total, daylight hours at a given latitude last about 5.5 hours at this time of year, which also makes adjustments to the movement of the group.
The weather has not improved, it is cloudy, sometimes there are loads of snow, we return 1 km back and climb to the ridge along the gentlest slope in this part of the ridge. We go to the watershed on skis, the ski jumper works excellently, although our comrades also climb without it without any problems, but if the whole group was on the ski jumper, we could just go straight and up, without lengthening the route with endless meanders along the slope. Having reached the ridge, we leave our skis and traverse about another 1 km to the top of Lampa Kutimskaya (Humbolt).
10 minutes before sunrise we are at the top. There is milk all around, one can assume that the ascent was done solely for show, not for show, we eat a chocolate bar and go down.
We are lucky, the wind is not strong, we quickly reach the skis and, scooping them up, begin to descend, no matter how much we would like to put on the skis and slide down, this is absolutely impossible.
There is white nothingness around us, everything merges and visibility is no more than 10-20 meters. In such conditions, it’s easy to break your skis or break your head. When the slope flattens out significantly, we put on our skis and immediately understand how we did the right thing, without trying to ski down higher, it seems that a small slope and a smooth descent in conditions of complete disorientation play strange tricks on the mind. At one point in the descent I realize that I have been standing still for some time, but my brain is sending confident signals that I am moving. Any surface irregularities occur unexpectedly and cause falls.
By noon we go down to the tent, have lunch and decide to walk another 5-7 km before sunset.
We go to a separate kurum peak, rising in the middle of the forest. We stand on one of its terraces with an excellent view of the route we have taken. Taking into account the radial distance, 18 km were covered.
6th January.
Life returned to normal. Rise at 6 a.m., breakfast in bed, leisurely preparations and at 8 a.m. the group is on the route.
A small section through the forest, and again onto a dense snow-covered slope, it’s good to go. At some point, Tatyana notices the glow of a fire below in the valley in the middle of the forest. We shout, and after a few minutes they answer us with flashlights. People are standing under the pass across the western side spur of the ridge, it is logical to assume that they came from the north, and if so, it means that our ski tracks coincide in some part, it would be a shame not to use the ready-made ski track.
We go towards them, in the area of the northern source of the Lyampa Kutimskaya River we meet the tail of a large group. Tourists from Perm, Meridian tourist club. The group is large, 23 people, as often happens, the head does not know what the tail is doing and vice versa, all our attempts to find out the route fail, no one can really explain the route and the place of the supposed drop. This is very strange for us. At each stop, maps and navigators walk around all group members. Having said goodbye to the Permians, we climb up to the pass in the milk, the ski track is lost on the dense blown snow, and we again lead our own. The weather is clearly improving, the sky is turning blue in the gaps.
When descending into the forest from the left slope of the western spur of the ridge, it gets significantly colder. Literally with every step it becomes colder, apparently the cold air lingered in front of a natural barrier and sank into the valley of the Bolshaya Paimara River. We decided to get up early, at the top 684.0, with an excellent view of the GUKH,
in the evening we have the pleasure of observing a little sunlight and the giant snow-white ridge we have covered in 5 days. 13.5 km covered.
Jan. 7.
So we broke out of the GUKH, we are trailing through the forest towards Mount White Stone, the snow is deep, it’s hard to trail, but against the backdrop of a strong cold snap, this is rather a plus. Coming out into the clearing, I turn to the south and rejoice at the wonderful picture: the cyclone is leaving, as evidenced by the many lenticular clouds blazing in the dawn rays above the ridge.
A couple of hours before sunset we go out to the southern slopes of White Stone, the sun is shining brightly in the blue sky, the frost burns our face. There was a fire here, the trees are bare and dead.
We find a convenient site and decide to immediately go to the top of the mountain, while there is time and weather. A steep climb and we reach the summit plateau, Mount Shudya-Pendysh sparkles in the west,
and, indeed, it somewhat resembles Manaraga, we will go to it tomorrow, but for now, forward to the top! On the plateau there is forest-tundra, transformed into heroes of snow fairy tales.
Shamil and Dinara are a little behind, resolving some issues at the bivouac, and Andrei and Tagir go ahead, trailing the ski track to the top. We stand in complete calm and admire the surrounding views, but the serenity disappears when the gaze reaches the top of the ridge; it’s strange that it’s quiet here, but literally a couple of kilometers along the entire 200-meter climb there is a strong wind. And if you consider that the temperature is no higher than 30 degrees, the prospect becomes completely unpleasant. I share my thoughts with Lesha, saying that just the sight of these snow flags makes me feel cold.
Lesha asks if it makes sense to go upstairs in this weather, I think it’s worth a try, especially since the guys have already begun to climb to the top, they are clearly visible to us on its snow-white edge.
Tanya and I leave our skis below the peak and begin the climb; it’s blowing hard and with every meter of ascent the wind speed increases. We involuntarily climb to the east, under the protection of the slope from the westerly wind, and so we rise to the first step.
One step from behind the slope, taken by me onto the flat surface of the step, and I understand the complete meaninglessness of what is happening. I can’t see anything, fine snow dust fills my eyes, the wind blows right through. No, there’s no point in going to the top, it’s still about 1.5 km away, and the sun is almost at the horizon. A couple more seconds and my eyes are stuck together, I can hardly discern the path of descent, the mask on my face has frozen over and turned into a rigid structure. I turn Tanya around and down, we get to Lesha, he says that the guys are not visible and he is worried about them.
I don’t feel much anxiety, I’m sure they couldn’t have gone much further than I went, and the visibility on the mountain is excellent, but we separate, Lesha in a ski mask goes up higher to see where the guys are, and I go down with the rest of the guys to the foot. We wait below, after 10 minutes all three appear on the slope and descend towards us. The evening and sunset are stunningly beautiful, very delicate colors.
In the parking lot there is a small problem with the chainsaw, last night it was warm, today it’s a fairy tale and the sawdust that has accumulated on the chain has frozen and does not allow it to move.
All this is cleaned off and we, without going far, cut down 3 medium-sized burnt spruce trees. Apparently, the fact that we get up later than usual, choose trees in the dark, more tired than usual, plays a cruel joke on us, in the evening in the tent it turns out that some of the firewood is damp and burns poorly, and to top it all off, the temperature drops significantly . This night becomes the coldest and smokiest of our ski trip.
Over the past day we covered 18.4 km.
January 8.
Everyone is angry as hell, the smoky cold night did not allow us to rest, especially since the morning is clearly colder than yesterday evening, we begin the journey by descending into the valley of the Left Rassokha River. It’s easy to go down and it’s very cold; your hands and feet quickly get cold and are reluctant to warm up after intense work. The cold by the river is unbearable, it’s time to take a walk, but without slowing down, we make our way up in the deep, loose snow, and that’s the only way to warm ourselves up.
The sun rises in a clear blue sky, the anticyclone continues to pamper us with wonderful views. Almost the entire walking day we walk through the forest, climbing an unnamed forested ridge. After lunch we go out to a clearing, which rewards our eyes, hungry for views of the mountains during the day.
Here she is Shudya-Pendysh, very close, a beauty in a white veil woven by the western wind. But we will only be on the mountain tomorrow. Another couple of kilometers and we stop for the night on the edge of a large clearing.
15 kilometers covered.
January 9.
In the morning we go to the mountain lightly, hoping to be at the top by dawn. We climb high on skis on dense snow, further, where the mountain slope begins to climb up, quite steeply, we take off our skis and go on foot. The snow is dense and lighter comrades easily go up, I carry a backpack with the things necessary for the radial exit and fall heavily.
From time to time I turn to the horizon and am annoyed at the haze that covers its edge; apparently a beautiful sunrise may not please us today.
At the top, a cold wind blows, traditional chocolate and the anticipation of magic, the moment when the sun appears from behind the edge of the Main Ural Ridge. Our entire journey is in full view, past and future, the endless ocean of the taiga ripples at our feet, in places with white mountain tops, like white lambs on the crests of a wave. 
The haze clears a little, and here it is, the most exciting and wonderful moment of the day, his birth. The red sun slowly rises over the ridges, illuminating the world with light.
We admire it for a bit, take a group photo and begin our descent.
At the foot, Tanya and I pause to take photographs and find ourselves in the indescribable beauty of the morning light. For the second year in a row in January I see such light and color, unreal, bright, tender! On the opposite side of the sunrise is turquoise!
In the direction of the sun, soft pink, red, purple... the colors change on the snow-white leaf of the mountain. We take photographs without feeling our fingers, probably at this very moment Tanya once again freezes their tips, but for the sake of such moments it is worth suffering, for the sake of such moments it is worth doing ski tourism. You will never see such pristine and delicate beauty anywhere in the city.
But this golden morning hour is short, the colors change like in a kaleidoscope, and now the sun is bright and harsh. Let's go, let's go to civilization! Soon on the map and satellite images there should be a road and logging.
We reach it 2 hours before sunset and walk another 5 km along the road. The road is wonderful, perfectly cleaned, suitable for passenger cars, it is used for exporting timber, and from time to time KamAZ trucks loaded with timber overtake us.
In the lumberjacks' trailer we learn that at night the thermometer dropped to -45, and even now it is not much warmer. The sun goes below the horizon, and we get up for the night.
As always, when people begin to smell the “smell” of civilization, fermentation begins in their minds...
According to the plan and agreement with the Solikamsk travel agency “Argo”, we have one more crossing, an overnight stay in the area of the bridge across the Uls River, and only on January 11 at 9.00 a minibus should pick us up. Alexey suggests the option of trying to get a passing KamAZ truck to the village of Vaya and either calling a minibus earlier, or organizing an intermediate drop-off to the village.
The proposal is not without meaning, and everyone wants to have at least one day before going to work, so we decide that in the morning Alexey will go out to catch a passing KamAZ, and we will walk to the bridge over the Uls River, taking his skis.
It’s strange, the firewood in the tent is burning happily, but the heat we’re used to is still not there. All corners are covered with frost more abundantly than usual, the bright moon illuminates the “space” outside the tent, the mountains are visible for many kilometers around.
We walked 19 kilometers during the day.
January 10.
We hear the noise of KamAZ trucks all night, which is reassuring. After breakfast, Alexey goes into the darkness to watch for a ride on the road, we also slowly collect our things. An hour later I leave the tent, judging by the fact that we did not hear the noise of the engine, Lesha is still on the road. Very cold. I select coals from the stove, take an armful of the remaining firewood, take it to the road, the fire will warm...
After 30 minutes, the first empty KamAZ passes in the opposite direction, in Vai it was 49, it’s clear why they didn’t heat the wood!
At 8.30 we leave towards Vai, Alexey is still on the road. There is a descent in front of us, we put on our skis and go down.
Usually the descent is a joy, but in this situation it becomes a problem; it is several kilometers long and freezes very quickly. Oh thank the gods, the road went uphill! We tie the skis behind and forward intensively upward. How is Lesha doing alone on the road... After 30 minutes I notice a lonely point behind me. There are no options, our friend is catching up with us, we are waiting. He comes up and says that there is no point in waiting alone and goes with us. The right decision, the first loaded KamAZ appears only 2 hours later and picks up our friend, leaving the cold news that it is now about -45 degrees.
It’s the first time I’ve encountered such temperatures, it’s the first time I can’t stay warm for a long time, walking uphill under a heavy backpack. So, almost without stopping, we fly the remaining 20 kilometers to the bridge over the Uls River.
Right at the bridge, a timber truck stops and the driver who picked up Lesha tells us that in 2 hours a car will come for us. Great news! But we need to pass this time, and it is absolutely impossible to stand in the cold.
20 minutes of well-coordinated work and we are in the tent, the firewood is making a cheerful noise, the hero of today arrives in a passing KamAZ, with good news, reports that the bus will come for us today, that the office was not surprised by his call, they said that the bus has already left for us , since they were sure that we would leave earlier due to severe frosts. Such insight is amazing.
Literally 30 minutes later the bus arrives. We quickly assemble the tent, load up, take the last photo and head into the warmth of a hot car.
Warmth spreads throughout the body, arms and legs swell, a long road home lies ahead...
And 50 grams of cognac for Victory!
Figures for a ski trip in the Northern Urals
1. Walking days 9
2. Distance covered 150 kilometers
3. Travel budget 12 tr. per person.
4. Throwing - throwing:
– Ufa – Severouralsk. Minibus FIAT. Driver Stanislav 89899547563. Best recommendations.
– Severouralsk - t/b Zvezda. GAZ 131 with kung, UAZ. Yuri 89045421768 He is engaged in transporting tourists all year round. Best recommendations.
Leonid is also involved in transportation. URAL. 89045479000
– Vaya – Ufa. The transfer was organized by the Argo travel agency. http://argoturs.ru, best recommendations.
Photo Oleg Chegodaev, Tatyana Olkova