Stone guards of the Olkha plateau. Olkha rocks Baikal and Warm Lakes

This material is intended as Guide to help, first of all, those starting to develop the Olkha Plateau.

For ease of use, key fork points are indicated in the text with their serial numbers(in blue). These numbers, along with points, are indicated on maps with tracks marked on them. In addition, all key points are listed in the final section - Appendix, and also with serial numbers highlighted in blue.

The number of tourists using GPS navigation in one form or another is growing, I hope this material will be especially useful for them, and will encourage others to use already very widespread programs for navigation and training.

We will talk primarily about cross-country ski routes. Of course, in the taiga sometimes the amount of snow is such that you may need wider skis than cross-country skis... However, after someone has walked and trampled the ski track, participants on ordinary running shoes will follow this “hero”.

If you map most of the famous ski routes, you will get a very tangled tangle that only an experienced tourist can unravel. Our goal is to help everyone who craves the wild, quiet taiga and soft, sometimes their own, ski tracks to master all the interesting paths.

To complete the picture, we will consider all the popular starting and finishing points, famous forest roads and winter roads, as well as the main key points - intersections and forks, some particularly interesting places - rocks, passes, camp sites, etc.

If we approach the description formally, the start of the ski route across the Olkha plateau could be the city of Irkutsk, and the finish - the city of Slyudyanka. I know of at least one example of such a heroic one-day march. However, this is completely exotic, and in fact is already a super marathon with elements of survival. We will limit ourselves to one-day treks of a maximum of 70-80 km, no more.

From Irkutsk you can get to the Olkha Plateau by skiing along the famous Akadem-Bolshoi Lug route. It was once very popular, there were competitions, even night ones. However, due to intensive cottage development and the development of the road network, the route has lost its attractiveness, although it is still supported by enthusiasts.

The most convenient way to get to the Olkha Plateau in winter is by train.

Most popular stops: Rassokha, Eaglet, Ogonki, Difficult, Podkamennaya, Sanatorium, Glubokaya, Moving. These are both starting and finishing points. You can also get to Rassokha, Orlyonok, and Ogonki by car. However, road conditions can vary widely. This especially applies to Ogonyki, where you should not drive a car without all-wheel drive. There may also be problems with passing in the presence of oncoming traffic. To Podkamennaya, Gluboka and Pereezd - no problem by car, but what will you do then? The routes from these points are non-circular.

So, let's begin to unravel the tangle from Glubokaya station. We are not considering moving, since these are primarily routes to Baikal and Slyudyanka, or towards Irkut and, for example, to Shamanka. There are also routes towards Irkut from Glubokaya and Podkamennaya stations, they are not considered here. Related topics can be found on Angara.Net.

Once again I am convinced that in order to have an interesting weekend, you don’t need to buy a plane ticket. You can just take a ticket for the local train. For example, in Irkutsk, just an hour and a half drive from the city, there are fascinating places: rock climbing. They are located at some distance from each other, but that makes it all the more interesting. You can plan and make a short hike to each of them along a completely simple route.

Skalnik Idol, Olkha plateau

For example, last weekend we took a short two-day excursion to two of them: Vityaz and Idol. We even made a sacrifice on the Idol (as the “guardians of tourism” to these places advised us)

How to get to the Vityaz rock climb?

And so, from Irkutsk, from any stop: Irkutsk-passenger, Akademicheskaya, Melnikovo, etc. We go to the Orlyonok railway station.
Electric trains go in the morning at 9-30, at 10-30, in the evening at 16-00, at 19-00, at 21-00.

One-way fare is 61 rubles.
Travel time is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.

Information sheet: The Vityaz rock formation is also called the Climbers' Nest - a granite wall on the Olkha plateau 40 meters high. This rock is of great interest to all future climbers who have just embarked on their “climbing” path—the “path of rock climbers”—with its varied terrain. The rock has many ledges, overhanging cornices, as well as absolutely smooth vertical surfaces.

From the station along a well-trodden path (pay attention to the signs with arrows) we go to the Vityaz rock mountain (about 1.5 hours on the way), admiring the winter landscapes and clean snow.

Usually on weekends whole lines of tourists go to Vityaz, so if you are afraid of getting lost, you can join someone. The main thing is that it is not Susanin :)

At the foot of Vityaz itself there is a camp site (4 houses).

Previously, there were yurts at the camp site, where you could spend the night for 300 rubles, now for some reason the yurts have been removed, although, as far as I know, they have always been in demand.

House on Vityaz

At the camp site there is a separate house, something like a common kitchen-dining room. There you can warm up for a small fee, drink tea, heat up and cook food, there are dishes, a gas stove and a potbelly stove. There is no electricity (or cellular communications) on Vityaz. No Wi-Fi TVs or other amenities for you, so that nothing distracts you from contemplating the most beautiful places and unity with nature) as well as heart-to-heart conversations and songs with a guitar (an instrument was spotted in the kitchen)

What a blue sky...))

There is a generator at the camp site; they provide light for a short time in the evening)

The prices for accommodation on Vityaz, in my opinion, are not modest (we paid 2,000 rubles per night for two), considering that in a double house at night we constantly had to heat the potbelly stove, and then, due to the rapid heating of the room, ventilate it. And so all night - every hour. If you are planning an overnight trip, decide in advance who in your company will not sleep 🙂 🙂 🙂

But all the inconveniences are compensated by the impressions)

Olkha plateau in winter, view of the Vityaz camp site

From Vityaz, a 30-minute walk is the Idol rock climbing site. An impressive stone column rises monumentally amid the snowy splendor of the winter forest. Almost regular rectangular in shape, the huge stone in front of the rock evokes associations with a sacrificial altar. Fortunately, no human casualties were avoided, and no animals were harmed during the filming of the report. A profiterole was given for slaughter and tea with thyme was drunk for the health of all local idols and spirits.

Sacrifice :) later the person was replaced with a profiterole, they decided that this was more humane :)

As evening approaches, the camp site turns on some simple illumination. The houses, which from a distance resemble alpine chalets covered with snow, look absolutely fabulous against the backdrop of mountains and forest walls.

And with the rise of the full moon, the romanticism sensors went completely off the charts. Something had to be done about this. Out of an excess of feelings, it was decided to climb to the top of Vityaz in order to light sparklers, candles and admire the view of the surroundings in the moonlight. Moonlight ruled everything. Pearl moon dust covered the trees, mountains, stones, moon milk was spilled in the air. The moon seemed to be very close, just stretch out your hand from here, from the top of the Knight, who, having pulled down his stone helmet, stands guard.

From Idol you can walk to the no less picturesque rock formation Starukha (we didn’t get there, the path was snowy and there was a lot of snow)

Read and watch what else to do in winter in Irkutsk on weekends.

On the territory of the Baikal region there are unique natural monuments - rocky outcrops formed as a result of weathering of rocks over hundreds of thousands of years. These stone sculptures, not inferior in their historical and cultural value to the famous Krasnoyarsk pillars, are hidden from prying eyes, although they are located only 60 km from the capital of Eastern Siberia - the city of Irkutsk.

The route to the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau can be planned for one day off, or with an overnight stay. The plateau itself is a plateau between the Angara and Irkut valleys with numerous rock outcrops.

Placers of stones and lonely rocks on the flat tops of the mountains are a common landscape of these places. Many original shapes of rock climbing shoes have beautiful names - Old Fortress, Old Woman Izergil, Crow, Pharaoh, Cleopatra.

FEATURES OF THE ROUTE

Due to its accessibility, this route can be recommended as an excellent weekend activity in any season, but the colors are especially bright in the autumn. More than half of the route runs along the bed of the picturesque Olkha River.

During the Soviet period, the most famous of the entire group of rock outcrops, the Vityaz rock climb, was extremely popular among students and novice climbers. Every Sunday, a crowded train delivered several hundred tourists to the Orlyonok station, who walked the distance of 8 km to this rock.

Climbing competitions were regularly held here. On Vityaz, 19 named routes with a length of 25-35 meters of the most difficult categories V-VI are marked with hammered pitons. The rock is an ideal climbing wall with shelves, plumbs and monolithic sections. Nowadays there are significantly fewer tourists, although there is a road leading to Vityaz, and nearby on the bank of Olkha next to the rock there is a camp site with felt Mongolian yurts.
Every year in mid-September, in a clearing near the Vityaz rock mountain, the already traditional festival of bard songs takes place, which attracts performers from all over Siberia.

HOW TO GET THERE

You can get to the stone guards of the Olkhinsky plateau by car directly to the foot of the rock formations, but it is much more interesting to cover the part of the route from Orlyonok station to the Vityaz rock formation (8 km) on foot or by bicycle. In winter, the route can be easily covered in 30-40 minutes on cross-country skis.

By car: from Irkutsk, take the exit along the Kultuksky highway and then in Shelekhov, immediately after refueling at the Rosneft gas station (on the right side), turn left to the settlements of Olkha and Bolshoy Lug. The asphalt highway runs along the railway track through the settlements of Olkha and Bolshoy Lug. At Orlyonok station you can park your car and then go through the wooden masonry across the Olkha River to take a bike ride or a walk of no more than 7-8 km along a picturesque dirt road along the bed of the Olkha River.

ATTRACTIONS

The most famous and accessible rock climbing site is Vityaz.

The view that opens from this rock allows you to take in the entire plateau and see the surrounding attractions and neighboring rocks from a bird's eye view.

In the neighborhood, the popular rocks among climbers are Idol, Turtle, Old Woman, and Fortress. They got their names because of their characteristic contours. The 30-meter Idol is reminiscent of the famous stone idols of Easter Island - the same columnar stone monolith with a slab and a headdress-like stone on top.

It takes about 30 minutes (2.5 km) to walk along the path from Vityaz to the Idol rock hidden in the forest. The places here are reminiscent of the famous Krasnoyarsk Pillars, but the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau are less known and are popular only among local rock climbers.

If you drive from the Bolshaya Olkha valley along the old roads up the Zyryansky 2nd stream to the top (923.7 meters), then you can walk (200 m) to the Starukha and Fortress rocks. The first is so named for its massive protruding “nose”, angry “eyes” and wrinkled “face”,

and the second - for its resemblance to a medieval castle.

The climbers' routes here are made with bolts. There are also beautiful rocks, which you can get almost close to by car, in the area of the station. Andriyanovskaya and in the upper reaches of the Zazara River. The rocks themselves are clearly visible from the Kultuksky tract, and from the tops of some rocks you can even see the blue surface of the lake.

To have a complete idea of the location of rock outcrops and stone attractions on the territory of the Olkhinsky Plateau, I recommend looking at this map.

The rocks of the Olkha plateau are very famous in Irkutsk and beyond. At any time of the year, there are always visitors near them, both adults and children. You can either walk around them or visit them by bicycle, but in the second case you can see more rock climbing spots in a short time. This time we visited the rock climbing on foot - not everyone in our group has the skills to ride a two-wheeler in winter.
How to get there? Of course, by electric train. One of the options is 9 o'clock. 39 min. from Akademicheskaya station. Take tickets to Orlyonok station. The return train departs at 15:00. 58 min. See the schedule on the website BPPC.ru.
Upon arrival, you cross the railway tracks and go down the steep stairs

You turn right from the stairs, then immediately to the left, you see a path and follow it to the river, then across the bridge, on the ice in winter. A little later, the trail transforms into a road along which cars can move (soon the bridge will collapse and they won’t be able to ;)). You need to follow this road until you reach a fork where you will see a sign “Vityaz”. We walked 5.2 km to it in 1 hour 08 minutes. The fork is big, wide, you can’t confuse it.

You turn away from the sign in the direction it points (to the right). Almost immediately from the sign there will be a shortcut to the road through the swamp, which is only valid in winter.

The shortcut leads again to the road, from which you soon turn onto another shortcut, now to the left into a pine-birch forest. The forest turns into a swamp, then again into a forest, only the forest is beautiful, spruce. In the summer we rode a bicycle through a swampy area; it was a little dirty, but overall not critical. In winter, the swamp is identified only by yellow patches of snow and its smell.
Along this shortcut you go to a huge stone, in the photo:

When you reach it, you raise your head, oops, but there it is, the Vityaz climbing shoe - the head and shoulders of a warrior in enormous armor. Clickable.

You look around - do you see the bell at the top, on the rock? What about rock climbers? I may be wrong in the classification of these comrades hanging in clusters on the rock - correct me in the comments.
The distance to Vityaz from the train is 6.8 km.
From the rock climbing area we look to the left - there are houses there, a football ground, yurts - everything for relaxation. They say you can warm up and drink tea there for a fee.

Near the houses there is a stand with a map of rock climbing areas, on which it is clear where they are. Clickable.

The next interesting rock is Idol. Behind the stand the path to it begins. A narrow, beautiful, picturesque path goes past the Polytechnic and Angarsky rock climbs.

If you meet on your way the GBT sign - Great Baikal Trail and a new bridge, then you are on the right path)

Behind the bridge, the path splits - straight - to Idol, to the left - to rock climbing walls with swings. We go as if according to my GPS track - to the Idol.
The idol is impressive, right? Estimate the size by the person standing next to you.

And if you walk around it, then on the other side it looks normal!

The photo is also clickable. I draw your attention to the Biotex inscription.
On this weekend hike I tested thermal underwear Biotex Women's Bioflex Warm Long Sleeve Base Layer

What I noted from the positive aspects first of all:
- silky fabric, very pleasant to the touch and on the body;
- seamlessness - when doing active sports this is important, for example, under a backpack the absence of seams is a pleasant moment;
- anatomical cut, which allows you not to feel the thermal underwear on your body - it does not pull, press or pinch anywhere;
- in the cold wind (the temperature that day was +2.8o and the wind was gusting), due to the tight fit of the thermal underwear to the body, I did not feel chilly.
- at first, the high stand-up collar, as it seemed to me, was “suffocating” me, but, probably, this was purely my feeling, which gradually passed, and then I realized that it covered my neck, and the wind did not cool it;
- and the most important thing is why we put on thermal underwear - the sweat was absorbed and removed evenly, I did not feel either damp clothes or sweat on my body.
Guys, I draw your attention to such a moment as to the packaging - you won’t be ashamed to give this gift to your lady in it! They send the goods in a very solid box, not in a bag!!!
By the way, the next day, opening the road season, and having ridden 50 kilometers, I also tested the Biotex thermal underwear, which, even under more intense load, showed the same wonderful characteristics as during walking load.

Back to our journey. On the path to the rock climbing Idol saw the phone number of the Ministry of Emergency Situations - write to yourself just in case. There are different cases - you can simply sprain your ankle. There is a connection there.

After examining the Idol rock, you go back to the small fork in front of the bridge and the sign BBT and go along it. The trail will gradually go up to the winter huts, near which there is a swing. The height to which they will lift you will take your breath away, and the feeling of flight and soaring of your body at a height of several meters above the ground evokes a fabulous, magical feeling)

It's time to get back on the train. We were already running back from time to time, and we didn’t really swing on the swing, which we sincerely regretted, so I recommend returning from Orlyonok station on a later train than 15.58.
The total distance along this route was 20.26 km, the total time - from train to train - 4 hours 58 minutes, driving time - 4 hours. 11 min.

FEATURES OF THE ROUTE

HOW TO GET THERE

ATTRACTIONS

The most famous and accessible rock climbing site is Vityaz.

The view that opens from this rock allows you to take in the entire plateau and see the surrounding attractions and neighboring rocks from a bird's eye view.

It takes about 30 minutes (2.5 km) to walk along the path from Vityaz to the Idol rock hidden in the forest. The places here are reminiscent of the famous Krasnoyarsk pillars, but the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau are less known and are popular only among local rock climbers.

and the second - for its resemblance to a medieval castle.

To have a complete idea of the location of rock outcrops and stone attractions on the territory of the Olkhinsky Plateau, I recommend looking at this map.

To have a complete idea of the beauty and uniqueness of these places, I suggest you look

Stone guards of the Olkha plateau. Olkha rocks Baikal and Warm Lakes

How to get to the Vityaz rock climb?

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