Beluga whale route description map. Ural High Mountain Club. Belukha: background information

author: Ilya

The purpose of the route was determined two weeks before the start. I spent both weeks shopping, and in the end I started to get bored, but I still bought everything, except for very small things that I could do without. We bought a new tent, sleeping bags for -10 degrees, new membranes, completely waterproof suits, as we wanted, thermal underwear, fleece, warm vests, boots, socks, flashlights, crampons, ice axes, ice screws, jumars. They even took an ice drill. I found very decent compression bags, almost airtight. It was very difficult to get good stew, but in the end they found it. We sent an application to Ust-Koksa to visit the border region (I sent it a month in advance, as expected). They put it all in a pile and, of course, did not understand how it could be carried away. And to hell with it, we'll sort it out on the spot.

We started in the morning along the route Ekaterinburg–Tyumen–Omsk–Novosibirsk–Barnaul, etc. to Ust-Koksa, and then to Tungur. Just about 3 thousand kilometers. In general, up to and along M-51 and further along M-52. Route options appear only when entering the mountainous part of Altai, and they are all approximately equivalent. The asphalt part of the path is interesting only insofar as there is nowhere in particular to look. The asphalt was more or less tolerable, there was absolutely no time to see the sights of transit cities (except for grocery stores), the weather was quite suitable for flying, so we drove almost non-stop.

In the evening of the first day of travel, we caught up with a huge thundercloud, there was no more rain, but everything around was flooded with water, lightning flashed ahead, blackness up to the very sky. I didn’t want to climb into a cloud, so we spent the night in a field, finding an excellent exit and setting up a tent. We had to spend the second night in the car - there was nowhere to go, and somehow there were no hotels. In the morning, having passed Barnaul, we entered the Altai Territory.

The path in that direction through the mountainous part of Altai was vaguely remembered, since I felt sleepy all the time. Up, down, up, down, then asphalt, then crushed stone, then primer. The road goes along river valleys, climbs passes and again through valleys. Lush greenery, a sea of flowers, blue sky, hills, slides, valleys, rushing rivers. Very beautiful. Funny animals, like chipmunks, sit in columns on the road, scurry along the side of the road, and hide in holes when a car approaches.

About 80 kilometers before Ust-Koksa the road ends at a checkpoint. A few minutes later I find out that since we are going not to the border region, but to the border region, the pass must be issued at the outpost in Ust-Koks. The border guard at the checkpoint gives a temporary pass to Ust-Koksa and advice: no one is officially allowed to Belukha (it is right on the border), so indicate Lake Akkem as the final destination of the route in the application.

It’s difficult to understand what the outpost in Ust-Koksa, fifty kilometers from the border, is doing, but the pass was issued quickly and after 80 kilometers, having finally crossed the suspension bridge over the Katun, we entered the territory of the Vysotnik tourist center.

On the territory of the camp site there is a hotel, a shelter, a dining room, a bathhouse, a tent campsite, sites for tents, a summer kitchen, a washroom, etc. Everything is quite cozy. We took a room in the shelter and went to bed, not understanding how tomorrow we would carry all the junk we brought with us. Dinner and a walk to the village of Kucherla showed that you can take your junk to Kucherla in your own car, but further…

In the morning, Kuzuyak's problem resolved itself. We were offered to go rafting before the start of Akkem. Great. We accept the offer, load all the junk into the car that will go along the shore (to pick up the raft from below), get into the raft and set sail. The Katun is a fast river, there are no rapids in this part, there are standing waves that throw the boat funny. The water is blue and very cold.

The banks rush back and two hours later, after a short crossing, we unload on the right bank of the Katun at the mouth of Akkem. According to the raft guide, the bridge over Akkem is intact, and we decide to walk along the right (orographic) bank of Akkem.

We manage to walk the first hundred meters very cheerfully.))) According to the plan (drawn up after reading many reports), we should spend two days on the way to the lake, including the Kuzuyak pass... After an hour of movement, I understand that the authors of these reports either walked lightly, either they flew on the wings (of local pegasi), or they fell so in love with Altai that they did not watch the clock.

We walk through fields and meadows, sometimes it rains, but overall the weather is pleasant. I hope we will have good luck with her in the future.

The bridge over Akkem is in good health, although it is unclear where and why people travel across it. The water in the river is cloudy and has a soapy taste. Not suitable for drinking. Therefore, all parking areas are only near streams. The ascent to the left bank of the valley exhausted my reserve of strength by ninety percent. We use the remaining ten to get to Three Birches.

We didn’t get to Three Birches a little, even Roma ran out of interest, who this time was not at all childishly loaded. We stood in a clearing near a stream. We cooked dinner. I think we would have reached as far as we could if we had gone through the pass. There is no desire to draw conclusions. We go to bed with gloomy forebodings.
The next day, the gloomy forebodings were fully justified. With great effort, by 3 pm we had only reached the Black Stones. It is only 5 kilometers from Three Birches. Movement speed is 1 km per hour. I probably walked the last two hundred meters for about forty minutes. The sad thing is not even this, but the fact that there is no strength left at all. A more or less long rest is needed. We cook dinner and go to bed for two hours. Yes, the load is truly unbearable. Okay, morning is wiser than evening. Around six o'clock, having thought that if the load is too heavy, then the distance is quite okay, we decide to make a transfer. We leave Roma in the camp, take Vanya and half of the load each and go forward. After a morning nightmare, twenty-kilogram backpacks are not felt at all. We fly forward as if on wings. At first they wanted to walk for an hour, then they added another thirty minutes. We walked a total of six kilometers. We hide our equipment in the moss and almost run back.

We arrive in the dark.

That's better. Tired, of course, but at least without overload. The morning was blessed with beautiful weather. We have breakfast, pack our equipment and set out on the route. In daylight we look at what was passing by indiscernibly yesterday. The trail gradually descends down to the shore of Akkem and no longer goes far from the river to the lake itself. Yes, we had a great run yesterday, we only get to the bookmark before lunch.

We quickly set up camp, hang things out to dry, and cook lunch. There is no time left to “lounge” at all. We take out the bookmark, throw it into our backpacks, leave Romka in the camp and again run, run, run.

At one of the turns in the path, the peak of Belukha flashed in the distance.

The bookmark was dragged to a waterfall on the stream. It became noticeably colder. On the slopes of the mountains surrounding the Akkem valley there are snowfields from which noisy streams flow. We are looking at an ancient bathhouse, probably built by the first climbers. We run back and dismantle the camp with lightning speed. I really want to get to the bookmark, we pass several beautiful places to spend the night, just like in a fairy tale: a stream, a clearing... We admire the opening panorama of Belukha. How we will climb there, we don’t think yet.))) Another couple of kilometers, but... night falls, it starts to drizzle, and we stop for the night in the middle of the forest, in some kind of swamp. It’s sad, but potatoes and stew quickly restore your mood to the proper level. We are far behind schedule, but we have not left the route plan - we have many spare days. At this speed, we should be on Lake Akkem tomorrow.

The sunny morning showed that the clearing was not wet at all, and the swamp was very beautiful, and I had never seen mosquitoes and midges in Altai. No one. We dry out a little and get ready to go straight to the lake. The swamp ends quickly, we follow winding paths. A huge number of tourists pass by us. In one of the groups we counted 40 people. They go in twos, threes, ten, twenty; children, boys, girls, grandparents. And everyone is stomping merrily, skipping and saying hello.))) Hello, hello! What do they have there? Nest? Finally we meet the first climber. The fact that this is a climber can be seen not by the ice ax and rope, but by the fact that he is not hopping, and his backpack is not a toy. Let's ask. Was at the top. There is a lot of snow, little ice. There are even fewer people. Yep, we're on the right track.

We pass the Akkem shelter and stop not far from the weather station to rest and drink tea. We stop at the barrels, register with the lifeguards, then head to the far edge of the lake. There are many empty parking lots here. The place is stunningly beautiful: a stream, a huge waterfall, mountains, a lake. I would stand here for a week, do nothing, just look around.

However, there is no time to look around yet. From the bookmark we walked no less than 12 kilometers. We need to go back for the bookmark and bring it to the parking lot. About 4 hours until dark. Leaving Roma to set up camp, we almost run along the path in the opposite direction. After two and a half hours we pick up the bookmark and go to the lake again. Yes, and twenty kilos to the forty kilometer breaks his back. We decide not to rush too much: when we come, then we will come. It gets dark quickly and gets very cold. It feels like 10 degrees, or even less. We emerge from the forest onto the wide Moraine Rampart. The Akkem glacier once lay here and left huge rounded boulders. Now the glacier has retreated almost 15 kilometers, and the moraine is gradually being eroded by the Akkem River. We dragged ourselves to camp in the thick twilight. The sky is clear. The top of Belukha stands out like a white block against the darkening sky. Beautiful. I wish there was such weather for climbing!

We cook dinner, wash our feet in the stream, brush our teeth. Now we are temporarily like people again. We go to bed to the sound of a nearby waterfall.

The weather is fine in the morning. We dump all our things into a pile and start sorting: what to take with us and what to leave at the bottom. “Leave” gained 15 kilograms, and that’s good. I put my things in a slightly leaky shelter and take them to the rescuers’ house. Re going. The weight is decent, but no longer lethal. We cross the bridge over the waterfall and along the foot of the huge moraine ridge we begin our climb up the Akkem. The trail crosses several moraines, crosses from shore to shore a couple of times along rickety bridges and reaches the upper lake. A moraine ridge dammed the river flowing from under the glacier. There was once a lake here, but now there is a large silted basin. There is also a small chapel - a place of pilgrimage for almost all lake tourists. We pass the upper lake on the left, along the edge of the river we rise higher to the end of the Akkem glacier.

The glacier wall rises ten meters above the bed. On the upper edge there are stones that from time to time fall down with a roar. A dirty, dirty stream flows from under the ice - this is the source of Akkem. The glacier is alive, it moves and grinds stones into powder with its sole. This powder is carried away by meltwater streams, then it ends up in the river. This makes the river in Akkem muddy. But the snowfields along the edges of the Akkem valley do not move, they just lie there. Therefore, the water in them is clean, clean. Some of the lake tourists reach the end of the glacier. Some of them somehow climb onto the glacier, get lost, wander among the cracks, run wild and howl at night. We saw it ourselves.)))

It’s just around lunchtime and it’s starting to rain. In some places you can find streams of more or less clean water, so we decide to cook lunch here. We put on waterproofs, fill the pot with water, sit under the largest moraine boulder and cook buckwheat and stew. The rain is now stronger, now weaker, and by the end of lunch it stops completely.

Looking up, we understand that we will no longer need sneakers, we put on mountain boots, and hide the sneakers under a “conspicuous stone.” Access to the glacier is quite difficult, since the sides of the valley are cut by deep cracks (the glacier continues under the moraine) with steep edges. We had to climb high on the side of the valley, walk forward, and then descend down onto the glacier. We put on crampons. Roma is simply burning with curiosity, and so am I. We tie up and go out onto the glacier. The first steps on crampons - and what, it’s very convenient. The glacier is open, without cracks, cut by hills of bizarre shape. A little further, where the steepness decreased and the ice field became wider, large and small stones appeared along the edges, rolling down from the sides of the valley. Some are several meters across and stand on a tiny platform. It seems like push it and it will roll down. They pushed - it doesn’t roll.))) Streams, rivulets, streams of water flow along the glacier. There is a “squeak” of melting ice in the air.

Ahead is the majestic Akkem wall, where the glacier originates. Huge blocks of ice hang over the icefall at the foot of the wall. The top of Belukha is hidden in the cloud. I wonder if a large block of ice breaks off and falls down, rolling towards us? However, there are no traces of such cataclysms around. It's getting dark and cold. We definitely won’t get to the rescuers’ house (Tomsk overnight stays). Moreover, the wind has risen - blowing straight from the top. The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and finally begins to blow with such force that it becomes difficult to walk. We decide to stop for the night. We find a flat, snowy place, lay out the tent, insert the poles, and fasten the bottom to the ice screws. I tie the main rope to the upper arc and screw in the ice drill about five meters from the tent. After waiting for a short break in the wind, we quickly raise the tent, insert the poles into the rings, and tighten the guy ropes. Yeah, everything about this tent is in the wrong place. Despite its round shape, the wind does not want to flow around it - it inflates it like a sail. We stuff the windward vestibule with backpacks and tie a few more ropes to various loops. I run for a long time with a rug, collecting snow from the surface of the glacier, then burying my skirt in the snow.

It seems to be standing strong. It's warm and quiet inside. We cook dinner, drink tea with sweets and cookies. Order. Now only bad weather can stop us. There is no strength to wash the dishes, and there is no water - with the sunset, all the streams disappeared amazingly quickly, not a single one remained, the water was only in puddles, which were not reachable from the tent. I throw all the cups into the vestibule - the morning is wiser than the evening, and we go to bed.

The wind howled all night, avalanches and rockfalls rumbled along the slopes of Belukha. By morning it was relatively quiet. When I woke up, I looked out into the vestibule and was horrified. Overnight, the surface of the glacier around the tent dropped by ten centimeters, not a trace remained of the snow cover, the ice screws screwed in up to the ears in the evening had almost completely melted, not a trace remained of the snow cover, the wind was blowing in the vestibule, the canopy was splashing in the wind, you can see through the hole Akkem Lake. On the bare ice, pots, cups, mugs and spoons were prepared for the downhill slide. I still don’t understand what prevented them from rolling out into the wild and flying down. I quickly hide everything and run to restore the covering of the vestibule.

I count the dishes with horror. There is only a small mixer bottle for powdered milk. Yeah. The tent was not demolished only because I also twisted the ice drill with all my heart, but it was not able to melt completely.)))

We cook porridge, wash the dishes, get dressed and go upstairs. Our plans for today are to get to the Tomsk overnight stops and spend the rest of the day at Arbuz. We go left - to the edge of the icefall. Deep cracks have appeared that have to be worked around with large hooks. The left tongue of the glacier is covered with rather dense snow. While getting dressed in the morning, we came to the unanimous conclusion that we would no longer need nylon pants. I tie them with a rope and place them under the second “noticeable” stone. We continue our climb with short breaks. Several melted trails are visible. The snow holds, we almost don’t fall through. We climbed a little higher than the Akkem icefall and sat down to drink tea. Above us everything is covered with clouds. Sometimes there are gaps of blue sky. And the sky is getting closer and closer.)))

The altitude begins to take its toll, you have to breathe more often and deeper, otherwise your legs won’t move. By lunchtime we go up to the rescuers' house on time. The snow became limp and began to fall. Feet are completely wet, there is no sun, but relatively warm and dry. I lay out wet things on the stones to dry. In the house there are a couple of bunks, narrower and wider, a table, a stove, a kitchenette. On the wall there are a couple of ice axes, crampons, a lot of gas cylinders, some have something splashing in them, some cereals, pasta, a can of canned fish, dishes - in general, an ordinary tourist hut. The water below is under a large rock at the foot of the Watermelon Glacier. I cook dinner in relative comfort, then cut the auxiliary rope into pieces and knit lanyard loops from them. Finally, the organization of equipment is completed, we get dressed and go to study on the glacier.

Watermelon is very beautiful. At the foot, the wall of ice is almost vertical, and higher up it quickly flattens out. We learn how to wrap drills, organize a station, practice ascent on a jumar and descent with a basket. We try to make ice lugs and rappel down on a double rope. All this is relatively easy. Since there is no bottom belay and the slopes are small, we decide to use a jumar secured with a carabiner as the main belay device. At the end we practice self-arrest with an ice ax.

We returned to the house when it was already getting dark. A casual glance through the window makes it clear that you won’t have to count on privacy - a figure under a backpack is wandering along the slope. I take a closer look: then another one, then another. Wow, looks like it's going to be tight. In total, ten people came to the house within two hours. The comrades are of very different sizes, their backpacks are light, they are dressed strangely, they are not particularly talkative, they seem to be quite tired. This is a commercial group, three instructors and seven tourists from Vysotnik. They walked from the Akkem shelter to the Tomsk overnight camps in a day. Well done! They make a lot of noise. They ran around the house, to the stream, divided the bunks, took out huge burners, cooked Doshirak, ate it, they were about to start singing songs... Around two o’clock they finally calmed down and fell asleep.

Due to the late lights out, we woke up only at ten o'clock. I laid out my things to dry, had breakfast, put on cream, got ready and went to the Delaunay Pass. You should have gone out earlier! The day was sunny in the morning, the snow was blowing away in the sun. We walk along the semblance of a path, periodically falling above the knee. Periodically - this is every third step. Sweat pouring out, not enough air. Two people are walking far away. Let's approach; this is a guy and a girl. “Have you been to the top? - They weren’t - she didn’t let me in. We stayed in a snowstorm for three days and came back.” Wow! Quite tired, we approach the climb to the pass. The climb is covered with snow, there is no ice. The first part of the climb up to the crack we just walk with our feet. I can go further - the angle is about 45 degrees, but I decide to hang the railing. I take a couple of ice screws, hook a rope and climb up with my backpack. It's hard, though. After 50 meters I turn the station, the guys rise. No, you can't get through with a backpack. I leave my backpack at the station and climb without a backpack. It’s better this way, but it takes longer, and then you have to go back down and lift your backpack, helping yourself with your jumar. The next move up is made by Vanya, who proves that he knows the matter tightly - the ice screws he has twisted can only be unscrewed with an ice ax. Roma is the most cheerful of all, he understands the rope at a time without smoking breaks. I make the last rope up. I press myself against the rocks to the left, find a platform, reach the ice, spin, the guys rise. A little to the left of the pass we find a site for a tent. It has already been used. I fasten myself to the rope, go down to get my backpack, get up, roll up the rope and crawl on all fours to the platform to catch my breath. I'm just awfully tired.

Far below, in the thicket, surrounded on all sides by mountains, framed by avalanche cones, lies the Mensu glacier. It’s late afternoon, I have almost no energy left, I don’t want to go there. There is blue overhead, but on the other side of the bowl, behind the mountains, something gloomy black is gathering.

We decide to spend the night here. We clear the area, set up a tent, prepare both lunch and dinner at once - we simply throw two cans of stew into the pan. As soon as we got into our sleeping bags, a snow charge hit the tent. It snows all night, flowing off the tent in streams. From time to time I wake up to check if I have fallen asleep; I really don’t want to go out and dig it up. My head hurts, Roma also complains.

The morning greets with absolutely blue skies and hot sun. There wasn’t much snow at night—about a quarter of a meter, and even less in the basin. We have breakfast, get ready and run downstairs. During. Yesterday's group is already approaching the pass; I have no desire to contemplate them on their course all day.

We applied cream and put on glasses. The sun is burning, your glasses are fogging up, your eyes refuse to look without glasses, the snow is deep, your backpack is heavy. It's hot like the equator. They took off their jackets, took off their hats, and put on panama hats.

This is not a plain, here the climate is different, there are avalanches one after another... Avalanches, indeed, are coming, now from the left, now from the right, and the rockfalls are roaring. Overall, it's fun. The cold of millennia emanates from the giant ice dumps. We passed the icefall of the Mensu glacier. Far below you can see green hills, alpine meadows, rivers, lakes, flowers growing there. And here is the kingdom of eternal snow, absolute whiteness. How much ice is below us: ten meters or all one hundred? Somewhere there sleep bottomless cracks, and in them are frozen mammoths.))) In order not to become frozen mammoths, we walk in bundles. We reached the ascent to the Barel Col and sat down to drink tea.

The real mountaineering began with the ascent. There is not enough air; for each step you have to take three breaths. There is almost no path up, but there is shade on the slope, so the snow did not have time to melt. Gradually, the snow collection of the Mensu glacier remains below. We emerge onto a wide saddle, from which stunning views of the Altai Mountains open through the Mensu icefall. True, I don’t have the strength to admire them. Cleared areas are visible ahead. Without hesitation, we set up the tent and start preparing lunch.

Half an hour of sweet afternoon sleep is quickly coming to an end. There was noise and commotion behind the tent - the previous group had caught up with us. We pack up and head out, hoping to get to a place called TKT. The trail goes along the left slope of the mountain, crossing numerous avalanche blowouts, one of which is very large and completely fresh. I really don’t want to lose the height meters I’ve gained so hard. I turn down and make a new path around the longest avalanche tongue. It's terribly hard to walk. Vanya, and then Roma, come to the rescue, overtaking me on the climb, so gradually I find myself in tow at the end of the bunch. It’s much easier to follow the tracks, but I still can’t catch my breath properly. Top-top, began to count steps, a hundred steps, then look up, then another hundred steps. Periodically, clouds roll in, visibility disappears, and it becomes stuffy, like in a bathhouse.

After an endless climb, giving our last strength, we go out to the icefall of the Berel glacier. The icefall is covered with snow. On the island between the cracks, someone had cleared a large area for a tent. We decide to stop here. The beluga whale is not yet visible - clouds are swirling above the site. We set up the tent, securely fasten the guy ropes, and build higher walls around the tent in case bad weather happens at night.

The evening is surprisingly quiet. The top of Belukha opened before sunset: the clouds had gone, leaving an absolutely blue sky. We have one day left to climb. Will you be lucky or unlucky? Having asked the Belukhin shaman for the weather for tomorrow and setting the alarm for 5 am, we go to bed. At night I had a headache, the wind howled, so I fell asleep only in the morning, constantly waiting for the alarm to ring.

Before the alarm clock, we were awakened by creaking steps behind the tent. These are climbers coming from Vysotnik. It is not known what the instructors told them there, but they looked so brave that my “hello!” they ignored. I look at the sky. Oh yeah! The weather (so far, pah-pah) is simply fantastic. The same as yesterday morning. There will be no lunch, so we have breakfast with a double portion of semolina porridge with breadcrumbs, fill a thermos of tea, take Snickers (yes, yes, we have Snickers, crumpled ones, but they are there!), leftover dried apricots and nuts, dress tightly, throw warm vests in the backpack , close the tent and go out. We have only one attempt at climbing, so we won’t invent anything, we’ll follow in the footsteps of the previous group - their instructors know exactly where they are going.

We go out cheerfully. The snow is completely hard this morning. Cats only leave scratches. We walk as if on asphalt. There is absolute whiteness underfoot, absolute blue in the sky. Fine. Having overcome a small crack and climbed up to the rise of the icefall, we discover the stunningly beautiful southern wall of Belukha. Huge blocks of ice hang from it. What happens if this one falls?

Another group is visible far to the left. They look like they are going down, not up. Our neighbors from yesterday, it seems, decided to go to the right, climb out over the rocks into the frying pan, and then storm the dome. Their stretched chain is clearly visible as small dots on a white background. The first climbers have already reached the rocks. We follow the same path, going around to the left a bottomless ice dump, where one of those ice blocks recently collapsed, rolling down the slope. It's a gloomy place, you can't get around it. We accelerate almost to the point of running, in a minute we pass the avalanche slope, go far to the right of the avalanche runout and overhanging boulders and sit down to rest.

The weather is warming up and things are going well. We are suspiciously quickly catching up with the group from Vysotnik. They have been standing still for an hour now. A steep climb begins, we work with the rope. There is no ice. I go up, making steps, then I clean the area, hammer in an ice ax, sit on it, Roma climbs up, belays himself with an ice ax, then Vanya. Then everything repeats itself. We are catching up with the stranded tourists. Yeah, they're not stuck, they're just slowly walking along the rope. Their bases are made of rope loops around stones. A couple of times, having asked to go to their base, we quickly overcome the rocky slope and climb out onto the frying pan. Who called her that? This is just a flat platform in front of the summit dome.

There are no steps to the top. There are barely visible traces of previous climbers. We look this way and that – it seems normal, we can go the same way. Before storming the summit, we refresh ourselves with Snickers and finish our tea. The site offers stunning views of Altai. The entire mountain region is below us, and above us are clouds. The beauty is indescribable.

We are going to attack according to the same scheme. There are approximately 3-4 ropes on the dome, closer to the top the slope becomes steeper, hanging on an ice ax is a bit scary. I get to the ice and spin. That's better. I take, as it turned out, the last photo from the ascent. I look around and am horrified! A black cloud is flying towards us from the west - a thunderstorm. Faster, faster we run to the top. I waddle over the ridge. The highest point on the right is about twenty meters. Roma rises, then Vanya, and immediately then a cloud with a charge of snow swoops in. It is getting very cold, there is a strong wind and flows of snow pellets - visibility is 3 meters. We connect and go to the right to the top, fortunately it’s nearby. Well, it seems like the very top and then it’s only down. Sad "Hurray!"

Let's go back a little lower. The wind howls, it snows, wet things freeze. We put on vests: they don’t help much on top, and I don’t risk putting them on underneath in such a wind. We gather together and decide: wait 10 minutes, if it doesn’t inflate, we’ll go down. I regret that we don't have puffs.

The first tourists from Vysotnik appear at the top. Despite the bad weather, they stubbornly climb up. And we were frozen, especially Roma’s legs. The snow just falls from the sky in streams. It fills your palms like a boat in a minute. It’s clear that there will be no weather, and we won’t be able to see Altai from the top like our own ears. Well, okay, we thank Belukha for at least letting us come here. Now we need to go down.

Vanya fastens himself to the rope and runs down. I use a basket as insurance. Fun, 50 meters in 30 seconds. For some reason he's been fiddling with the station for a long time. Finally, he gives the signal, and just as quickly I lower Roma. I stick two ice axes into the snow myself and just slide down to the station on my stomach. The descent is repeated. Yeah, that’s why Vanya took so long - he twisted two ice screws so that I could barely unscrew them with the tip of the ice ax. Yes, Vanya doesn’t know his business well. At the next station, I am convinced that Vanya knows the matter even more thoroughly than I thought - he dug a huge hole in the slope, dug to the ice and again tightened the ice screws to the very lugs. Let's go down. There are several more tourists from Vysotnik waiting for their turn. Where are they going in this weather?

While we were descending, the direction was clear, but as we descended into the frying pan, the question arose: where to go? Nothing is visible, and the tracks are almost covered over. Somehow, following the remains of the tracks, we reach the stones. Visibility has already appeared here, and it has become warmer. Continuing the descent in the same way, we pass a rocky section, and then we go without insurance, in a bundle.
Also, we almost run through the avalanche-prone area and after 15 minutes we approach the tent. There is no wind, no snow, no cold. Yes, we are already warmed up. The descent took two hours. We look at the top: the weather is still raging there. It looks like things have only gotten darker. We climb into the tent, cook food, boil tea. Beauty.

We climb into our sleeping bags and have fun for two hours. I look out of the tent. The bad weather rose a little higher, but the top of Belukha was tightly covered by a thunderstorm. Sometimes it thunders there. It's already 10 pm. It's starting to get dark. The group from above did not return, and the summit was still covered by a cloud. Finally, around 11 pm, the clouds melt into the approaching night, and far away, at the very top of the rocky area, the figure of a man appears. Wow, they still have two hours to go down.

Already in the darkness, creaking steps were heard near the tent. I get out and the people are so frozen that only their eyes can move. Congratulations on your ascent and offer you some tea—I specially prepared a whole thermos of sugar. However, the female instructor proudly answers for everyone: “We’ll get there,” and leads her group down. I can’t stand the instructors, the poor guys have to walk another hour and a half to the tents.

At about 6 am there was a terrible roar. The mountain shook. It was another block of ice falling down. I look out of the tent and look up with some apprehension: what if it comes all the way here? But the earthquake quickly subsides, and absolute silence hangs over the mountain again.

In the morning, the top of Belukha, as if nothing had happened, shines with dazzling whiteness. But it's time for us to go down. Today we want to reach the Tomsk overnight stays. Going down is much easier than going up. We again go around the avalanche runouts at the bottom, and generally slide down from the Barel saddle on our butts, one after the other. Again we steam under the sun to the basin of the Mensu glacier. However, by the time we reached the pass, everything had changed. The weather has become violent again, a large and black cloud is approaching our backs - another thunderstorm. Therefore, the ascent to the pass went somehow unnoticed, and as soon as we began to descend, dirty gray shreds of snow flew over the top.

We descend from the Delaunay Pass in the same way as we descended from the top. The hardest part was the section from the foot of the pass to the rescuers’ house. The snow has completely melted, my legs sink to my knees, and there is water below. The boots are completely wet. We walk in zigzags, trying to choose harder areas. Finally, I fell waist-deep into a crack full of water, after which I didn’t give a damn about the path and walked at random. We arrived at the house at the end of the day. We cooked both lunch and dinner at once. We've eaten.
Gradually a group of commercial tourists approaches. They sit down at the table, loudly congratulate each other on a successful climb, etc.

In the morning the weather is gloomy. The clouds are flying low and it rains from time to time. We left late, but there was no frost in the morning. Doesn't hold snow at all. We walk on top of the glacier, trying to stay on the rocky areas, but still fall through to the water many times. It took a lot of time to descend from the glacier onto the moraine: steep slopes, large stones, an unstable ridge. Somehow, having made a big detour and bypassed many cracks in the sides of the moraine, we descend from the glacier to the river and try to find the sneakers that were placed under a “noticeable” stone. It turns out that all the “noticeable” stones are similar to each other. We search for a long time, in the end we find it, change our shoes and stomp down more joyfully. We arrived at the parking lot by the lake so exhausted that we decided not to go any further. We set up camp, dry things, cook a large pot of pasta and potatoes with stew. The beluga whale was apparently offended by us: the peak was completely covered by clouds, although it was warm below and the sky was blue.

We dedicate the evening to contemplation. The only moment on the route when we don’t need to rush. Roma is about to post another round, but then thinks better of it. We make ourselves some poop and have fun. We take out toothbrushes and brush our teeth - that’s also good.

The next day the plan is to reach the black stones. We break up camp and stomp down Akkem. It's going well. Near the waterfall (where the old bathhouse is) we get up for lunch and rest, and in the evening, almost exhausted, we reach the black stones and settle down at the highest parking lot. Tomorrow we need to begin the assault on the Kuzuyak Pass. Somehow I can’t believe it.

The expectations were justified. We were only able to reach three birches. Then the strength ran out. We sit and think about how we will go through the pass. With our speed and remaining prowess, this is three days, no less. Help comes unexpectedly. A family of tourists comes to us and offers to cross the pass on... a tractor, especially since the tractor is already here. This is salvation! We load into a tractor cart, and Belarus, puffing and shooting smoke from the locomotive chimney, drags us along crooked mountain paths, first up and then down into the Katun Valley. There is a huge amount of red currants around, everything is just red. Along the way we meet several horse caravans. Dejected horses walk sadly up the slopes, dragging riders and bales of cargo on their backs. Next year we also want to go on the horse route, but not on sad fillies, but on hot horses.))) There are tourists who, apparently, did not get a horse. Looking at their starved appearance, I am glad that we happily avoided this fate by agreeing to raft to the mouth of the Akkem.

By evening we reached Vysotnik without incident. We occupy two hotel rooms, order a bathhouse for the evening and go to bed for two hours. Having rested a bit, we head to the cafe, order everything on the menu, and overeat. I got the Belukha badges for the children, and the Vysotnik instructor solemnly presented them with certificates for conquering the Altai peak. In two hours we go to the bathhouse. The bathhouse consists of a large dressing room, a cold sink and a hot steam room, in which there is a huge iron stove up to the ceiling. The heat is so hot that you can bake in a minute. Fortunately, I already have some experience in dealing with such baths. I wet two sheets and hang them next to the stove. After 10 minutes, the steam room becomes quite comfortable. With great pleasure we steam and wash ourselves several times in a row, and then we go to the hotel and sleep soundly until the alarm clock rings.

We made our way back along the same route. This time I was able to get a good look at the Altai Mountains from the driver’s seat. Beautiful, nothing to say. We will definitely need to come again, especially since we didn’t get the view from the top. It began to rain near Novosibirsk and continued to rain almost all the way to Tyumen. Thousands of kilometers were drowned in endless slush. Only in the evening of the third day did we see a narrow strip of light sky on the horizon, which was gradually getting closer and closer, and finally our car drove out from under a huge rain pie. We looked at this “pie” from the side - it occupied the entire space from the ground to the sky and was multi-layered, white and gray. It was raining under the pie, but here it was completely dry and the sun was shining.

We arrived home late at night. The entire journey took 19 days.

Photos and other albums can be viewed here.

Dates: July 20 - August 5, 2018.
Type of tourism: mountain.
Difficulty category: the first with elements of the fourth.

Belukha is rightfully considered the King Mountain of Altai. She spread her wing-ridges over hundreds of kilometers. Belukha is visible from various peaks of the Altai Mountains, 100-200 km away! Climbing the Tsar Mountain Belukha is a mandatory item in the program of any person who considers himself a mountain climber. Any person who sees the beautiful mountain in a photo or painting dreams of being on top of Belukha. With us you can make your dream come true and climb the mountain.

While food and equipment are being transported on horseback to Lake Akkem, we cross the Karaturek Pass relatively lightly, thus acclimatizing. We distribute the products and move to the top. We conduct ice training under the mountain. We climb to the top and organize an assault camp. Early in the morning we set out to climb. We climb and contemplate the amazing landscapes from the highest mountain in Altai. We go down to the assault camp. We return to Lake Akkem and, if there is time left, rest and make radial exits into the surrounding gorges. We are returning home.

Program specifics: Belukha is a difficult, dangerous mountain that requires a focused climb with days to spare. She doesn't like it when people try to grab her. It is necessary to acclimatize well before the ascent and during the ascent do everything with concentration, slowly, leaving time to wait out bad weather.

Moreover, in our opinion, these mountains require a clear, focused state of mind, a kind of immersion in the area, which should be carried out gradually and with pleasure.

And then there is the greatest likelihood that the Belukhin event will remain in memory as something solid, beautiful with an even beginning, a brilliant middle and an even ending.

This is precisely the main quality of our program - a gradual approach to Mount Belukha, as a result of which the group receives excellent acclimatization. Join us!

Travel schedule:

20.07. Evening departure from Novosibirsk.

21.07. Arrival in the morning in the village. Tyungur. Preparing loads for horses. If desired, an acclimatization hike to one of the surrounding peaks.

22.07. With. Tungur - r. Kucherla - Elan tract - Kucherlinskaya site. From the village Tungur backpackers travel by car to the town of “Elan” (10-12 km), then the road ends, the group puts on backpacks and then walks 2-3 hours to the “Kucherlinskaya” parking lot.

23-24.07. R. Kucherla - per. Karaturek - Akkem Lake. Follow the path that leads to a wide gravelly ridge. Along it we go out to the Karaturek pass, from which a stunning panorama of the entire Belukhinsky massif opens, headed by the king-mountain Belukha Eastern. Visibility from the pass in good weather is tens of kilometers! Descent along the trail to Lake Akkem.

25.07. Preparing for the ascent. Radial acclimatization exit into one of the surrounding gorges.

26.07. lake Akkemsky - Akkemsky glacier - Tomsk sites. Transition in full gear (personal and public equipment, food, personal belongings) to a place called the Tomsk parking lot. These are platforms on a rocky hill in the middle of a glacier. They go to them first among grassy hills, then along rocky screes and then along an open (not covered with snow) glacier.

27.07. Tomsk parking lots. Day. Training. Training in ice climbing skills necessary to reach the top.

28.07. Tomsk parking lots - lane. Delaunay - Berelsky glacier - saddle of the Berelsky saddle pass. Climbing an ice slope 220 m long and 35-50 degrees steep. Then move in a bunch along the snow fields of the Mensu glacier to the wide snow camps “Berel Saddle”.

29.07. Climbing Belukha. Morning departure (2-3 am). Ascent along the fields of the Mensu glacier, then, depending on the snow and ice situation, the following options are possible:

ascent through the Belukhinsky pass (ice-snow slope with a steepness of 40-50 degrees, length 500 m),
snow pillows of the central slope (snow-ice slope 600 m long and 30-40 degrees steep),
rock-ice ridge of Berelsky (600 m, steepness - 40-50 degrees).

30.07. Saddle of the Big Berelskoe saddle pass - lane. Delone - Tomsk sites - lake. Akkemskoe.

31.07. Spare day. Allotted to wait out bad weather during the approach to the mountain and ascent. If we do not use it, then on this day we will have a radial exit into the surrounding gorges to choose from - Yarlu Gorge, Karaoyuk Gorge (Lake of Spirits), Seven Lakes Gorge.

1.08. Akkem Lake - r. Akkem (Terrace parking lot). Movement along the path.

2.08. R. Akkem (Terrace parking lot) - r. Akkem (“Three Birches” site). Movement along the path.

3.08. R. Akkem (site “Three Birches”) - lane. Kuzuyak - s. Tyungur. Movement along the trail and mountain road. If desired, backpacks can be sent by all-terrain vehicle (for a fee). Bathhouse.

4.08. Departure to Novosibirsk.

5.08. Arrival in Novosibirsk.

Included in the price:

moving "Novosibirsk - Tungur - Novosibirsk";
all permits for visiting the area;
rental of horses for public cargo and products;
food on the active part of the route;
accommodation in the village Tyungur;
washing in the bathhouse in the village. Tyungur (at the exit from the route);
public equipment (tents, boilers, burners, etc.);
public special equipment (ropes, ice screws, etc.);
satellite phone rental;
work of certified instructors-guides.

The price does not include:

accident insurance;
food on the way from Novosibirsk to Tyungur and back;
additional baths;
personal equipment (crampons, harness, etc.);
horses for the rider or for personal equipment.

Information on the active part of the route:

Required documents: Valid Russian passport, insurance.

Transport: Travel according to the program by bus and local transport.

Accommodation: On the route - in a tent. On arrival and departure - tents in a private courtyard. Tyungur. If necessary, a hotel in the village. Tungur for an additional fee.

Nutrition: Three meals a day on the route: hot food - in the morning and evening, at lunch - a snack with hot tea.

Insurance and medicine: The guide will have a first aid kit with basic medications. If you have any specific diseases, be sure to take your medications with you! It is recommended to have a small personal pharmacy, which may contain: bandages (2 pcs.), wide adhesive plaster, analgesics (analgin, Nise, Citramon), cold soother tablets (Strepsils, etc.), vitamins (ascorbic acid).

Weather: The weather in Altai is little predictable. There will be sun. It may rain below, snow above. In the snow-ice zone, temperatures can drop to -10-15°C.

Hygiene and medicine:

toilet paper;
wet wipes;
sunscreen + sunscreen lip cream;
toothbrush, toothpaste (a small tube or one for two or three to save weight), chewing gum (it is not always possible to brush your teeth, especially in a snowy and icy zone, and chewing gum will come in handy in this case);
soap (small piece);
personal first aid kit (see section “Insurance and Medicine”).

Cloth:

a set of “traveling” clothes (will remain in the village of Tyungur);
thermal underwear set;
down jacket;
windproof jacket and pants (Gortex, nylon);
rain cape (no need to take it if you have a membrane or waterproof jacket and pants);
Polartek/fleece jacket and pants;
lightweight trekking trousers (for the trekking part);
trekking T-shirt or shirt (for the trekking part);
warm trekking socks;
thin trekking socks (2 sets);
light gloves;
warm mittens;
polar/fleece hat;
cap or Panama hat;
T-shirt, long sleeve shirt (2 pcs.);
shorts;
flashlights (gaiters).

Shoes:

mountain boots;
trekking boots (you can use the same boots for both trekking and climbing);
trekking sandals for camp.

Special equipment:

telescopic poles;
Sunglasses;
safety system;
2-3 carbines;
helmet;
cats;
zhumar;
trigger device.

General camping equipment:

backpack 90-120 l;
rain cover for backpack;
polyurethane foam mat;
sleeping bag at -15-20°C + sleeping bag insert (optional);
headlamp + extra batteries;
personal utensils (KLMN - mug, spoon, bowl, knife);
thermos;
seat (hoba, “fifth point”, butt).

To keep things sealed, it is advisable to either have a moisture-resistant liner in your backpack or pack things in bags, such as garbage bags.

About the hike

Fresh air, alpine meadows, snowy peaks, mountain rivers and waterfalls. The mirror surface of the lakes and the deep starry sky. Two weeks without civilization. Difficulty category 3A (climbing). During the hike, training in the skills of working with mountaineering equipment is provided.

Passes
We issue passes to the border zone. You are required to provide us with your passport details in advance. For Russians, the period for obtaining a pass is 1 month, for citizens of other countries - at least 2 months. Choose your trip dates in advance!

Advantages

ALL Transfers are included in the price! Including travel from Barnaul to Tungur at the beginning of the hike and from Tungur to Barnaul after the end of the hike. There is no additional payment for travel. The price also includes a transfer by GAZ 66 to the Three Birches parking lot and back.
We make the ascent as comfortable as possible:
- There are 4 tent camps organized along the entire ascent route (Tyungur, Ak-Kem, Tomskie, Berelskoye). All bivouac equipment and tents are permanently located in these camps. We don't carry tents!
- All food and gas are dropped into the upper camps by helicopter. On the route we only carry personal snacks for one day
- All climbing equipment and ropes are located in the Tomsk camp (3200 m), participants carry only their personal belongings and snacks
- All camps have satellite communications and radio communications (walkie-talkies)
- In all camps, participants can leave extra things until their return
- In the Tungur, Ak-Kem, Tomsk camps there is the possibility of staying in a hotel or shelter (for an additional fee)
- A helicopter flies between all camps, and it is possible to travel on it (for an additional fee)
- In the Ak-Kem and Tomsk camps, rental of mountain boots is organized (for an additional fee)
The cost of the trip already includes rental of personal climbing equipment: crampons, harness, figure eight, jumar, 3 carabiners, ice ax and helmet.
During the hike, training in the skills of working with mountaineering equipment is provided. Experienced instructors will teach everything participants need to know.
The program includes reserve days that maximize the possibility of a successful ascent.
At the end of the ascent in the Tyungur camp, the organizers provide participants with various leisure programs free of charge: rafting, excursions, hiking.

Route features:

Duration 12 days (10 travel + 2 on the road from Barnaul to Tungur and back); – Length: we will travel about 1500 km by motor transport, ~140 km on foot. – Day trips from 10 to 30 km! – The temperature in the mountains varies from -4 at night to +30 degrees during the day. Frequent weather changes during the day; precipitation in the form of snow and hail is possible on the passes; – It is recommended to have hiking experience and good physical shape; Day treks from 5 to 30 km - for unprepared people this is tolerable with a properly assembled backpack. Elevation gain per day is up to 1200 meters. The use of trekking poles is mandatory!
We kindly ask you to take only necessary equipment. It is better to take mountain equipment on the spot to lighten your backpack and not waste money on carrying it. At the bases in Tungur and Ak-Kem there are baths, communications, cafes and toilets. Helicopter communication has been established between the bases.
The weight of the backpacks is the main problem (but if you don’t pack extra unnecessary things, then this won’t be a problem), if it’s hard for the participants, the instructor can adjust both the pace and the hike program on the spot, and the program can also be adjusted depending on weather conditions.

Accommodation conditions for all routes:

In the Tungur, Ak-Kem, Tomskie camps we live in a campsite - in tents near the base. This means that we can use the toilet, bathhouse and cafe at the base. There is also electricity at the base in the evenings. There is no cellular communication at the base on Lake Ak-Kem. There is a satellite connection for emergency calls.

We make your ascent as comfortable as possible. Follow our recommendations and take a responsible approach to the selection of equipment and do not forget: Climbing is Difficult! This is a risk! and heavy loads. Evaluate your strengths wisely. Together we will succeed.

It is recommended to arrive in Barnaul the day before the start of the hike for the last meeting with the benefits of civilization and relaxation. The Moscow-Barnaul train arrives at 7 am, and after two days on the road, immediately boarding a transport to Tungur is tiring. The same is recommended for those who travel by plane. From the railway station in Barnaul to the familiar Tourist Hotel is a 20-minute walk, the rooms are quite inexpensive (prices on the hotel website: http://www.turist-barnaul.ru)

Insurance: all participants must make insurance in advance indicating the type of sport - mountaineering for the entire period of ascent.

Necessary equipment (in addition to the usual hiking equipment):

mountaineering pants (membrane/windstoper),
membrane windbreaker - warm thermal underwear.
puff,
2 pairs of gloves,
Glasses,
Sun cream and lipstick (factor at least 50).
Mountain boots

We provide all participants in the ascent to Belukha with climbing equipment:
Cats (soft or hard).
Strapping.
3 carbines.
1 eight.
1 zhumar.
Ice ax
Helmet.

Program by day

Day 1

Meeting in Barnaul at the Tourist Hotel 08:00 am (please do not be late. Arrive no later than 07:00).

Transfer from the city of Barnaul to the village of Tungur (735 km). The road will take 12-14 hours, there will be stops, and there will be several cafes along the way. The trip is carried out in a comfortable minibus with air conditioning. Backpacks travel separately in a trailer. They should be packed in a dust bag.

Today is a long day, but with good weather we will see the whole Altai outside the windows and a change in relief: from endless fields of wheat, steppes and real mountains, we will drive along the Katun, we will even see snow in the distance!

In Tungur - late dinner in the canteen at the base, setting up camp, overnight in tents in the campsite at the base. The base has a toilet, electricity and a cafe. There is a luggage storage room and a hotel.

Day 2

Today is a long and difficult day: we have to get up early, pack our things and first drive to the Three Birches parking lot through the pass on GAZ 66. The road is usually very bad. Further We have to walk along the trail to the Ak-Kem base camp for 27 km. The altitude is 2000 m. But we do not carry tents, equipment or food. We only go with our things, because... all the food is dropped into the base by helicopter, and our mountain equipment is already waiting for us at the Tomsk camp.

Evenly distributing the load, stopping for rest and snacks, in the evening we will reach our base, where dinner and, possibly, a bath await us. (Altitude gain per day 1000 m)

We set up camp at the campsite. Available at the base: toilet, shop, cafe, satellite communications.

Day 3

After breakfast, we disassemble our equipment and prepare to go to the second base camp - Tomsk camps.

Some things can be left here before returning.

Today we face the most difficult transition: in addition to a distance of 15 km and an altitude gain of 1200 meters, We have to go through different types of terrain: swamp, path, glacier, scree, snow. Half of the route goes along the glacier. There is no path, there are stones.

Before going out onto the glacier, we will definitely visit the chapel of Archangel Michael in memory of all those who died on the Mountain.

But in the evening we we will find ourselves right at the foot of Belukha- right at the Ak-Kem wall! The best photos are guaranteed! A permanent camp has been established at the Tomsk sites. The amenities are alpine.

Day 4

Today we have training on snow and ice. We will receive and set up all climbing equipment. Then we will work on the technique of walking in crampons, in ropes, holding on the glacier itself, and working with ropes.

The training takes place right next to the parking lots on the Watermelon glacier.

So do we Let's take a walk under the Delaunay pass– our goal for tomorrow.

Day 5

Today we pass two passes and we reach the assault camp on the Big Berel Saddle.

Early departure to the Delaunay pass. Ascent to the pass along the railings (elevation gain 400 m). Descent to the Mensu glacier, crossing the glacier in bundles, climbing to the Bolshoi Berelskoe saddle pass to our assault camp. (The camp is already standing, the amenities are in the snow)).

Early lights out.

Day 6

If the weather is favorable, it is planned for today exit to the top.

Rise at 00–01 am, get ready for the ascent. At 2-3 am the ascent begins.

CLIMBING Belukha Peak Eastern height 4506 m. The ascent usually takes from 6 to 12 hours, depending on the weather and the preparedness of the group.

At the top of the route, guides hang railings on the ridge.

From the top of Belukha in good weather a view of the entire Katunsky ridge, the territory of neighboring Kazakhstan and the valley of the Ak-Kem river opens up. At the top there is a commemorative ice ax with a bell.

At the top we will take a break and take memorable photographs. Then we begin the descent.

At 12, return to camp. Descent to Tomsk parking lots is possible.

Days 7-8

Spare days. Will be used to adjust the route in case of bad weather. Or for a radial exit (without backpacks)

Day 9

Descent to Ak-Kem. Rest. Bathhouse. A radial exit to the Valley of the Seven Lakes or Yarlu is possible.

After the group returned to base camp on Ak-Kem Various types of programs are possible: descent along the ascent route along Ak-Kem to the lower base; crossing the Kara-Turek pass into the valley of the Kucherla River and descending to the lower base; rest and radial exits from the upper base and departure to the lower base by helicopter (for an additional fee).

Day 10

Today we have to repeat our journey from base camp to Tungur, but in reverse order. Let's go light and down. The going is easy. The usual travel time to the Three Birches parking lot is 5 hours. There is a cafe and a GAZ 66 waiting for us there. Another 1.5-2 hours by car and we are at the base. All the benefits are already here.

Day 11

A day of rest at the base in Tungur or an active program of the participants’ choice:

Rafting along the Katun to the mouth of the Ak-Kem and the tract with stone sculptures of “women”,

Excursion to the museums of the village of Verkhniy Uimon (Museums: Old Believers, Roerich, Local Lore, stone-cutting workshop),

Hiking to Mount Baida or along the valley of the Kucherla River to petroglyphs.

In the evening there is a festive dinner and a sauna.

Day 12

Rise at 4 am, early departure (05 am) to Barnaul. Return trip takes 10-12 hours, because The road is mostly downhill.

On this day, you can leave by evening train from Barnaul, by bus to Novosibirsk, or again spend the night in a hotel and leave the next day.

Tell your friends!

At the end of May 2013, information was received from the Ural Alpine Club - during training camps in Altai, border guards were categorically Climbing Belukha is prohibited along the classic route through the Delaunay pass and the BBS (Big Berel Saddle).

Border guards are located on the barrels of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and now everyone is prohibited from climbing the Akkem glacier. The “Tomsk sites” are now part of a five-kilometer restricted zone and we are not allowed to go out onto the Akkem glacier. Now in the summer there will be a border cordon here! Border guards followed us everywhere for 5 days. Every day we reported where we were going to go and, if we climbed to the top, they watched us with binoculars. A checkpoint was set up above the chapel.

Here is more information from TCB participants: “ Preparation for an expedition always began with obtaining a border pass. It was enough to send the data of 5-6 participants and the pass was issued without any problems. By phone we found out the pass number and at the control post, which was located in front of Ust-Koksa, we completed the registration of the participants who joined later. This was where the check ended, we calmly climbed Belukha

Starting this year, the border zone regime has changed - now you don’t need to apply for a pass to travel through Ust-Koksa and you can safely be on Lake Akkem without a pass. If earlier we left our passports at the Vysotnik base and took a copy of the passport with us, now we need to carry a passport with us. A detachment of border guards can check you both on the trail and at the pass.

In the Ust-Koksy border detachment, the commander was replaced, who now does not issue border passes to anyone into the 5-kilometer zone. And for violation, participants face fines of 2,000 rubles. up to 5,000 rubles, and the manager faces a fine of up to 30,000 rubles. or an article of the Criminal Code (Criminal Code).”

If you try to understand the situation, the following becomes clear.

Until now, passes were issued to a five-kilometer zone, while in the application it was enough to indicate only the valleys (Akkem, Mensu), without specifying the planned route. Naturally, no one mentioned climbing Belukha in the application for the pass. The border guards did not actually control the upper reaches of the valleys; passes were checked lower down. At the same time, a pass was required simply to enter the area, even if you did not plan to enter the five-kilometer zone.

The first bell rang last year - the group that climbed Belukha was detained on the way back: “ They detained the entire group, confiscated the camera, threw off the photographs and practically forced one of the participants to write in an explanatory note that the group had been to Belukha, intimidating them with responsibility for giving false testimony. As a result, an administrative case has now been opened against the group leader and he faces a fine. Charge under Article 18.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.«

Since this year, probably after the order, or after the replacement of the head of the border detachment, the situation has changed. Passes to the five-kilometer zone are issued, but border guards have begun to control the upper reaches of the valleys (there is information that in the summer the post will be at Tomsk overnight camps), so they will be able to stop attempts to climb through the Delaunay Pass in the bud.

How is the border between Russia and Kazakhstan in the Belukha area?

To understand the situation, look at the document ““.

The state border between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the border), described below, is plotted with a solid red line on the Map of the state border between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation at a scale of 1:100,000 (hereinafter referred to as the Map). All distances given in this Description are measured using this Map with an accuracy of 0.1 km.

From point 1408, the boundary goes in a general north-northeast direction along the crest of the unnamed ridge through heights with marks: 2019.0; 2513.1; 2601.1; 2610.2; 2964.3; 3262.2 and 3191.4 for 26.4 km to point 1409, located on the city. Belukha in the center of the geodetic point with elevation 4499.6. ( Note is a ridge approaching Belukha from the south, in which there are the TKT and Katyn-bash passes, Razdelny Peak)
From point 1409 the border goes in a general easterly direction along the ridge of the Katunsky ridge through heights with marks: 3851.0 ( Note — Peak of Heroic Korea); 3972.4; 3217.0 and 3186.3 for 15.7 km to point 1410, located 8.5 km southwest of the geodetic point with elevation 3558.1.

The border of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan in the Belukha area - map fragment 1 cm: 5 km.

Thus, herself Belukha is on the border, A part of the classic route to Belukha via the Delone Pass(starting from the Big Berel Saddle pass) passes through the territory of Kazakhstan. As they say, comments are unnecessary. Let us remind you that according to the law, crossing the border is only possible at special points.

Climbing routes to Belukha.

However, on the “classic” through the Delaunay pass the light did not converge like a wedge. Moreover, recently this route is increasingly turning into a typical commercial route - with a horse ride, fixed (on melting ice screws) railings to the Delaunay Pass and mountain climbers seeing crampons and jumars for the first time.

Let's see what it offers us.

№	Vertex	height	c.s.	Nature of the route	Route	PV	Gorge
8	Belukha (B)	4506	2B	To	with L. Katunsky through the “saddle”	M. and B. Tronov, 1914	Katun
9			3A	PM	SE slope	A. Afanasyev, 1993	Akkem
9a			3A	PM	"pillows" of the SE slope	T. Kuznetsova, 1993	Akkem
10			3B	To	South ridge from the lane. TKT	V. Khizhnyak, 1963	Akkem
11			3B	To	from Berelsky Lake and SE ridge	E. Alekseev, 1937	Berel
12			4A	To	NE ridge over Delaunay Peak	V. Abalakov, 1933	Akkem
13			4B	PM	From the wall through the “saddle”	V. Grakovich, 1982	Akkem
14			5A	PM	Diretissime From the wall	A. Afanasyev, 1985	Akkem
15			5A	PM	icefalls NW walls	A. Belov, 1986	Akkem
15a			5A	To	left part of the northwestern wall	I. Slobodchikov, 1996	Akkem
16	Belukha (W)	4435	3A	To	with L. Katunsky through the “saddle”	Pechersky, 1936	Katun
17			3B	To	from the southwest across the western plateau with Chernyi Lake	E. Alekseev, 1937	Katun
18			5A	To	From the wall	I. Plotnikov, 1996	Akkem

Routes to Belukha. Green - on the territory of the Russian Federation, red - on the territory of Kazakhstan, yellow - on the border. A fragment of Vadim Lyapin's map was used.

There are several simple routes (9, 9a, 10, 11) from the southeast - these are actually options for the so-called classics. These routes pass across the territory of Kazakhstan, accordingly, they must also be approached from Kazakh territory, along the Belaya Berel valley(see topographic map above). Next is the ascent to the Bolshoye Berelskoye Sedlo pass aka BBS (3A) from the south: a small icefall and a half-kilometer snow-ice slope turning into a couloir. The BBS is usually climbed from the north, from the Delaunay Pass. Ascent to the top of Belukha - along one of the routes: from the TKT pass through the Razdelny peak, through the Katyn-Bash pass (this is the descent route if there is no avalanche danger) or through the Berelsky peak.

Directly from the Akkem glacier there are several difficult routes (including the famous “Bottle” - route No. 13 and Abalakov’s route through Delaunay Peak No. 12) - these options are clearly not for the general public.

However, there are two more routes from the south, from Russian territory. The classic route from the Katun Valley along the Gebler Glacier (No. 8) is the route along which the first ascent of Belukha was made in 1914. Just 10 years ago, this was a very popular commercial route, and it was driven mainly by Kazakh guides. The main difficulty of the route is passing the icefall on the Gebler glacier (one of the tongues of the Katunsky glacier). Having reached the upper plateau, you can climb both Eastern and Western Belukha (route No. 16). In recent years, the icefall has undergone changes and the difficulty of passing it has increased.

And route No. 17 along the Cherny glacier through the Western Plateau to Western Belukha. Also, the main difficulty is passing the icefall of the Cherny glacier; we have no information about its current state.

In addition, there is another route that was not included in the classifier - through the peak of the 20th anniversary of October, also known as the Crown of Altai. There is an unclassified (approximately corresponding to the difficulty of the pass 3A) option of climbing to this peak along the Western ridge from the Mushtu-Ayry glacier, the valley of the river. Kucherla. Next is a simple descent to the Western Plateau, from where you can climb Western Belukha along route 2B, or make a “Chinese hike” to the Eastern Peak through one of the passes in the ridge extending north from Western Belukha.

Rules for visiting the Russian border zone.

And a little more about the rules for visiting the border zone. Don't forget that the peak of Eastern Belukha is located on the border. Here are the current rules for visiting the Russian border zone:

1.7.10. Persons located within a five-kilometer strip of terrain, on islands, as well as to the boundary of engineering structures in cases where it is located outside the five-kilometer strip of terrain, prohibited:
a) be in a hundred-meter strip of terrain:

adjacent to the state border on land (except for the lands of settlements adjacent to the state border) - around the clock;
adjacent to the Russian banks of border rivers, lakes and other water bodies where a border regime is established - with the onset of darkness (astronomical, from sunset to sunrise);
———————————
With the exception of:
persons transiting through the border zone, including when leaving the Russian Federation or entering the Russian Federation - on international railway, road routes or in other places determined by international treaties of the Russian Federation or decisions of the Government of the Russian Federation;
persons who own, use and (or) dispose of land plots or residential premises located within a hundred-meter strip of terrain;
citizens and organizations with permits for economic, fishing and other activities, including hunting, keeping and grazing livestock, holding mass socio-political, cultural and other events within a five-kilometer strip of terrain, on islands or up to the boundary of engineering structures in cases where it is located outside the five-kilometer strip of terrain.

According to the current rules, climbing Belukha (Eastern Peak) is possible either “without reaching a hundred meters to the top” (this practice exists in some areas in the Caucasus, where access to the peaks of the mountain peaks is allowed with the mentioned wording), or if the event (for example, alpsboring) is successful format as " mass socio-political, cultural and other event within a five-kilometer strip of terrain". Climbing Western Belukha fits perfectly into the current rules for visiting the border zone.

The Lenalptours company (Vysotnik camp site), one of the operators of commercial mountaineering and tourism in Altai, tried during a live broadcast with the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin decided to ask the question: “Is it possible to climb Belukha without violating the rules established by the local border department of the FSB of Russia for the Altai Republic?” As a result, a reply was received from the Office of International Cooperation of the Federal Tourism Agency, which refers to the already expired order of the FSB of Russia dated June 16, 2006 No. 282 (we recall that in October 2012 order No. 515 was adopted, which canceled the previous ones).

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You can see the world with different eyes, meet interesting people and test yourself physically by taking a hike to Altai. An extraordinary experience awaits you from contemplating the surrounding nature: clear lakes, icy rivers and soaring mountains. Along the route you will discover a world full of adventures and feel the special feeling that nature gives here. I want to observe and absorb this world. Climbing will allow you to get to know yourself better and experience unforgettable experiences.

Impression. You will see breathtaking views of mountain landscapes against the backdrop of a beautiful sky, and at night the stars scattered right above your head will take your breath away. You have never seen anything like climbing Belukha, that’s for sure.

Climbing. Nature itself has created excellent conditions for climbing: during the approach to the foot of the mountain, gradual acclimatization occurs, and the group approaches the beginning of the climb prepared.
Our instructors will teach you how to work with climbing equipment on a snow and ice slope. After classes, everyone will master the technique of tying knots, will be able to use harnesses and other climbing equipment, which will no longer seem so difficult to use at altitude.
Having overcome the snowy slopes and looking from the top at the entire Katunsky ridge, and then descending back into the summer, from below you will now look at the top completely differently, and will be able to proudly declare: “I was there.”
The top of Belukha will certainly give you the most memorable views. They will literally blow your mind. The top is breathtaking. Everyone who made the climb remembers it all their lives: with pride, delight and special awe. Having conquered the peak, you will conquer yourself in some way and discover new facets of yourself. To make the first part of the hike easier, we will organize the delivery of food and equipment necessary for the climb directly to the parking lot located on Lake Akkem (the middle of the route). Lighter backpacks are an advantage that allows you to fully enjoy the views of Altai.
At the same time, one should not underestimate the significant physical exertion that accompanies the ascent itself. How difficult it will be for you depends entirely on your preliminary preparation. This may not cause any particular difficulties for athletes and people who regularly try themselves in this type of recreation. And for beginners, the hike can be a real challenge. This includes emotional stress and significant physical activity. So ask yourself if this is exactly what you want. And if the answer is “yes,” then extraordinary impressions and emotions await you!
Altai will certainly take a place in your heart.
See you on the hike!