From the camp site Globus along the Nuzhu river valley. Elbrus, uchkulan, khurzuk, uzunkol, globe from krasnodar

From

Before

Time

Confluence of the Kichkinekol and Myrda rivers

2 hours

Circus with a lake

3 hours

Circus with a lake

Glacier tongue

2 hours

Glacier tongue

saddle of the pass

1 hour

saddle of the pass

"Aerodrome"

1 hour

"Aerodrome"

Parking "Gvandra"

2 hours

Total pass time

11 o'clock

Group equipment

Personal equipment

Name

Weight, kg

Name

Gas-burner

Polyethylene

fiberglass

Windproof suit

Rope main

Safety system

Woolen socks

Cotton socks

Camera

Sneakers

repair kit

rain cape

sleeping bag

Sunglasses

Gloves

Total

Total

Products

Quantity

Weight, kg

Soup package

Pasta

Wheat groats

Powdered milk

Condensed milk

Canned fish

Vegetable oil

Sublimates

Vegetables (carrots, beets, garlic)

1 package

Sunflower oil

Instant drinks

10 packs

Mashed potatoes

5 packs

Dried fruits

Total

Name

Purpose

Bandage wide

dressing

Adhesive plaster 3 cm

Bandaging, calluses

Bactericidal adhesive plaster

Bandaging, calluses

gastric pain reliever

Citramon

Painkillers: head, bruises

activated carbon

From stomach poisoning

Levomycetin

From microbial poisoning

For indigestion

Biseptol

From pneumonia, tonsillitis, dysentery

Bromhexine

Diazolin

From allergies

Baralgin

Painkillers: teeth, bruises

Ampicillin trihydrate

Antibiotic

Hydroperite

disinfectant, rinsing

Pentalgin

Painkillers: head, etc.

Laxative

Valerian

soothing

Bronchicum

From a running cough

Erythromycin

From pneumonia, tonsillitis, purulent inflammation

Star

From mosquitoes, from a cold

Galazolin

From a cold

Aspirin UPSA

The beginning of a cold

Anti-inflammatory, eye

disinfectant

dressing, washing

baby cream

Emollient

We started preparing for this trip back in February (2016). We planned a "two" (a hike of the 2nd category of complexity), but I assumed that we might have to do a "one" if there were too many people in the group with no experience at all. As a result, we passed the "two", as originally planned. Applied from Petrograd Tourist Club(I have been going on sports trips with this club for the past 12 years), the main part of the participants was also recruited there. At first there were not many of us, but by the summer the group had grown to 9 people. Despite my spring departure to Nepal, the training turned out to be quite tight: we managed to work both on the ice and on the rock, but this year it almost didn’t work out with snow.

In winter in Mon Repos (photo by Stas from the archives of the group):

In the Sestroretsk park Dubki in the spring, visitors could observe atypical squirrels (mobile photo):

In total, we had about 10 training sessions before the trip, and some of the guys also studied at the school of the Petrograd Tourist Club (PKT) and attended the training trips of the School. So, in general, technically well prepared, although it could be better. At least, remembering myself before my first "deuce", I got acquainted then with a much smaller arsenal of technical skills, not to mention the confident possession of them.

Before proceeding directly to the description, I will post portraits of the participants in the studio.

Anya:


Master of throat singing, cash hater, agent of the secret order of lentil lovers, and in general a ninja of all trades.

Sasha:


The chief beekeeper, who prefers ciprofloxacin for breakfast, did not find any common ground with Terskol barbecue.

Ira:


The keeper of the secrets of real Khychins, a subtle connoisseur of fat, winner of competitions for the best cracker and for the most beautiful backpack.

Stas:


A follower of Che Guevara, a deep-jump champion, a master of firn slopes, the main supplier of ice cream.

Natasha:


A scout from the tourist clubs "Vestra" and "Perovo", who, through secret tricks, penetrated into our peaceful group. Muscovite, "but also good." Winner of the golden figurine "Indefatigable bee".

Sergei:


Just a fiery man. With fire, he is on you, practically Danko. He considers a cobblestone to be the best pillow, a teeblock is the best clamp. He eats everything except vegetables and fruits. In the campaign suffered from tomato paste.

Zhenya:


The guardian of the red shorts, embroiders patterns on his pants no worse than Cat Matroskin. At night, he sniffs alcohol, in his free time he is engaged in winter swimming and selling disposable thermometers. The only weakness is eagles.

Liza:


A person with an individual pass to the border zone. In the FSB Directorate for the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, she was under special control. It was popular not only among border guards, but also among ermines. In memory of the Caucasus, she took away a notebook with drawings and tomatoes.

And, finally, the High Priest of the Yaril worshipers sect (photo by Lisa):

Omnivorous in every sense, nothing sacred.

The last couple of weeks before the trip were spent in a heated discussion of the layout (camping menu) and in the packaging of products. But, finally, everything settled down. And we went to the Caucasus :) Natasha and I, like bourgeois, flew by plane, the rest traveled by train. The reunion of the group took place in Mineralnye Vody. No one got lost along the way, and nothing was lost, although I myself miraculously managed to catch a flight in St. Petersburg and almost missed my connecting flight in Moscow. In Minvody pleased with the price of a taxi: from the airport to the hotel - 102 rubles.

We loaded into a gazelle with backpacks, and a driver named Khasan rushed us along the road to Uchkulan, to the Globus camp site. On the way, they threw khychins and ayran (although, according to Ira, the khychins were "not the same", and since then the captivating image of "those" khychins excites my imagination, because throughout the entire campaign not a single khychins could compare with "those" , the only ones that once made Ira experience indelible gastronomic sensations). During the stop, Stas bribed "Chegevar" glasses and a belt.

We arrived quickly enough, divided the deliveries, Hasan took the rest of the food to Uzunkol, and we loaded our backpacks and set off. About an hour passed without rain, but then it poured, and from the very first day the yellow awning became, one might say, our marching flag. They passed the time under the awning, waiting for especially strong "attacks" of rain and listening to Sasha's fascinating stories "from the life of bees" about honey collection, feeding, reproduction, energy saving, swarming. According to Sasha’s words, the bee life arrangement seemed so reasonable and logical that a completely natural desire arose to adopt individual models of bee behavior, and so we pressed closer and closer to each other under the awning, clustered, moved, and swarmed, swarmed, swarmed.

The valley of Kichkinekol Ullukelsky, along which we climbed on the first day:

Serega and Stas did not take storm pants and on the very first day they got wet almost to the waist, making their way through the tall grass. Almost everyone sloshed water in their boots, except perhaps for Natasha, who bought some new miracle boots before the trip.

Anya greeted the morning of the second day with the song "Misty Morning, Gray Morning". Nepal, Lesha Kovalev and Kukin with his "And in the taiga it's foggy in the morning" were spinning in my head. The rain drummed on the tents, but after breakfast it stopped temporarily. Starting from the second day of hiking, I switched to crocs, and some followed my example, since the summer in the Western Caucasus is always quite warm.

Zhenya and Anya made attempts to conjure on red shorts, but somehow this did not help much, because in the first days the rain, if it left us, then not for long.

In moments of calm:

The photo below was conceived as a "joyful jump against the backdrop of an open piece of blue sky." Try to see the blue sky, and I will be glad if you succeed:

On the second day of the journey, we climbed to the so-called Ullukel Circus, where upper lake Ullukel:

Panorama with wider coverage:

The shores are blooming

The ice on the surface of the lake has not yet completely melted, but the slopes of the surrounding mountains are already reflected in the opened surface, snow-striped, like the skin of a wild beast:

During the afternoon gatherings, we suddenly notice a large group climbing the Ullukel Vostochny Pass (we have to climb there the day after tomorrow). From afar, it is not immediately possible to recognize the dark figures of people on a snowy slope. The time is already about 15 hours, something they were late with the rise. We wonder what is the reason for such a late exit (it seems that the weather was normal in the morning). The group has noticeably stretched out, some of the people have already reached the upper part of the slope, some are still at the bottom. Here one of the top figures begins to slowly slide down. It's obvious that someone is breaking down. After some time - another breakdown. Then again and again, and then the picture is repeated seven or eight times: people come to the upper steepest section, and someone will definitely break down, and sometimes 2-3 people at once, and few people succeed in "self-holding" at once and a big some of those who have fallen off smoothly slide down to the middle of the slope, and then monotonously begin to climb up again. Again, we wonder what the reason is: either they don’t have cats and ropes to organize the railing, or they just have fun. Looking ahead, I note that later we also had to practice self-detention in this very place and realize how difficult it is to do this in real "combat" conditions. Meanwhile, for "entertainment" the weather began to noticeably deteriorate: those crawling to the pass were covered first with clouds, and then with a thunderstorm. After 2 days, we removed their note from the pass, and then a week later we met with the group itself. It turned out that these were mostly schoolchildren of about 12-14 years old, and they had a "snow training" at the pass. On the other side, they descended safely, although they were pretty wet and cold.

The storm has reached us. During the rain, the people decomposed into tents. In our tent, the girls managed to do yoga. I don’t cite photos because of their deeply intimate nature (increased eroticism of poses and faces).

The morning of the third day pleased us with the sun. Either the red underpants helped, or the spells of the high priest of the yaril worshipers sect.

Be that as it may, the sun on this day was very useful to us.

Indeed, according to the plan, we had the first pass (Leaky, 1A, 3260 m) and the first peak (Ullukel-Bashi Glavnaya, 1A, 3350 m). The guys are ready to climb:

Natasha looks at the upcoming peak:

The attendants are preparing a heartier breakfast, Stas is in hopeless dreams of oatmeal:


Somehow, before that, in all campaigns, we cooked milk porridge in the morning. And here for the first time I had a chance to participate in an experiment with a strong deviation from this established tradition. Milk porridge for breakfast for all the time was on the strength of five times, and on the rest of the days breakfasts were mostly meat, diluted a couple of times with freeze-dried cottage cheese. I can't say that I didn't like it. But the champions of cereals, of course, whimpered softly.

We go to the first pass lightly, because it is radial (with a return to the camp on the same day along the ascent path):


After heavy rains, the snow is tightly compressed and almost does not fall through, it goes easily.

We take pictures against the background of the peak and the pass:

To the left of us, there are two more beautiful frozen lakes that are just starting to thaw:

Before the pass take-off, we begin to remember how crampons are put on correctly :) At the same time, we decided to remember how harnesses are put on :) Then we continued to train our memory throughout the entire trip, in the end we honed our skills almost to perfection.

We climbed the pass quickly enough along a simple snowy slope, the guys took turns climbing the stairs. Butterflies accompanied us along the way :)

A group on a saddle with a view of the Trekhozernaya river valley. Below you can see the lake, where we will spend the night the next day:

This lake is bigger:

On the pass, the first pass chocolate was eaten and Zhenya's leggings were repaired, after which we quite lightly went to the top along the rocky scree ridge:

The way from the pass to the top is not difficult at all and takes about 20 minutes. And here we are at the top, overlooking Lake Ullukel, on the shore of which our camp was left:

Shadows from creeping clouds walk along the valley below, and at that moment the lake seems to me the most beautiful I have seen in the Caucasus :)

From the top you can also see the Ullukel Vostochny and Long Scree passes, which we will have to pass tomorrow:

And this is in the opposite direction:

Since they forgot to take the paper with them to the summit, they had to write a pass note on the Nurofen package.

On the way back we had a snow session. It turned out that St. Petersburg winters with little snow lead to the fact that during training in the PKT people are taught to cover the ice ax with snow with a shovel when fixing the snow railing :) But, thank God, we had enough snow, and we learned how to fix the railing without a shovel :)


At the same time, they tried pulling off the rope with the help of an ice-axe cross (catapult).

Having descended from the pass, we had lunch at the upper lakes. We returned a little differently for a change. I have always noticed that girls do not like "scree" (scree). On this day, I was convinced that our girls are no exception :)

The "home" lake below meets us with all shades of blue. Looking closer, you can see our tents on the left in the photo:


And I mentally imagine how beautiful it would look if you cross the lake on an ice floe. But I did not dare to throw this idea to the masses :)

Arriving at the camp, we prepare dinner, arrange laundry, drink tea with thyme plucked right there. In the evening it rains again, but we believe that tomorrow there will be sunshine.

And it really comes to us the next day:

We go around the lake on the left along the way, before the pass take-off we put on a "harness", and snow-haters also put on packages:

"I'll give you this beautiful world, dear":

Before the assault, the team goes to formation, we check the direction:

When climbing, we try to stay away from the overhanging snow ledge and at the same time not get too close to the rocks, from where stones can fall.

At the final section, the snow becomes noticeably steeper and at the same time harder, it is impossible to break through deep steps. At some point, Stas, going first, breaks down and rolls down. He doesn’t succeed in hacking himself right away (the term “hacking” in this case means: to stop sliding by cutting an ice ax into a snowy slope), so he rolls far, almost to the middle of the snowy slope, just like our predecessors two days ago. After that, we decide to hang the railing rope so that the main group can confidently climb the railing. Serega goes up to hang the railing, I belay him through an ice ax. Having almost passed the steepest section, Serega also breaks down, but he manages to cut himself right away, and he passes quite a bit, I didn’t even have to keep him on insurance. On the second attempt, he safely climbs the pass and fixes the rope there. Stas, meanwhile, had already risen to us, when he fell, he tore all his pants on the hard snow, but his arms and legs were intact. On the rope, we all take turns climbing up.

We go to the pass by flattening:

On the pass, overlooking the Nahar valley:

And this is the view back from where we came from:

The shadows from the creeping clouds creep across the ground in predatory spots.

After resting and taking off the harnesses with the crampons, we set off to our next pass (Long Scree, 1A) - in order to then descend through it into the valley of the Trekhozernaya River to the lakes of interest to us. The way to the Long Scree Pass takes about 40 minutes. The saddle is not clearly expressed, and in general, it seems that this pass is not often visited: only two descriptions were found on the Internet, and the note on the tour was two years old.

The descent from the Long Scree pass to the other side fully justifies its name :)

We went down slowly and tediously, but in the end we went down and went to the lake, seeing which, I thought that this was the most beautiful lake from the ones I saw in the Caucasus :)

The camp was set up almost at the very shore, on the border of the snow line.

Went down just in time for lunch :)

Afternoon (aka "post-pass") sleep:

Before it started to rain, we dispersed for a walk around the neighborhood, who went where.

I am still attracted by our lake, I try to shoot it from different angles, but I leave unsatisfied.

Caucasian rhododendrons:

Another panorama.

And this is another lake located to the north of ours:

The beginning of the rain drives everyone back to the camp.


We cluster again and swarm again. Only Sasha continues to stand and get wet in the rain, like an indestructible guardian, contemplating the mountain distances and assuring us that he is well, dry and comfortable. It must have been so.

The men's tent is set up picturesquely:

In the morning, almost everyone wakes up at dawn.

Soft pink colors are replaced by golden light:

Neighbor Lake:

Gradually the sun gets to us. Zhenya gets a surprise from Sergey Shmelev:


Attempts to launch the kite were not very successful, there was no wind. But children's joy was more than enough.

Then, after breakfast, there was a long descent - over grass, over sheep's foreheads, flood meadows and overflowing streams. Finally, we came to a good path in a coniferous forest, which soon led us to the shepherd's kosh. A shepherd came out to meet him, treating his dog with complete tenderness. We clarified the direction of the trail from him and moved on, at one of the halts we stumbled upon a mushroom meadow.


They didn’t check it right away, but in the evening it turned out that most of the mushrooms turned out to be wormy, although they looked strong and clean. Nevertheless, we managed to fry potatoes with mushrooms, thanks to Zhenya.

On the way to the Globus camp site, we were stopped by border guards to check our documents. Seeing Seregina's registration, the elder immediately imbued us with confidence: he also turned out to be from Kostroma. Seryoga, by the way, did not look well that day, it looked like poisoning, but it was not clear what exactly. Even the Narzan springs on the banks of the Nakhar could not revive him, he departed only in the evening.

We arrived at the Globus camp site for dinner, as expected. We had high hopes for this hostel in terms of showering and dining, but were slightly disappointed: there was no dining room at all, the houses for living looked extremely dull (most of us preferred to sleep outside in tents), the word "toilet" caused convulsions in the girls , and the boys tried to bypass it, the shower was one for everyone and cold, there was no bath either, but we still heated the water for ourselves and washed ourselves with the help of a basin and a ladle. However, in general, warm impressions remained from the hostel, largely due to the cordiality and hospitality of the hostess, Zakhara, a lovely woman. Of the culinary memories, the most vivid are the khychins prepared by Zakhara (with potatoes and cheese), for the transportation of which Anya had to use a basin:

In the evening there was a fire, tea, potatoes with mushrooms.

Thus ended our first acclimatization and warm-up ring, which I personally thought was very beautiful. There were still 4 passes left to go, but I will tell about this in the sequel, and I hope to do this in September before leaving for Nepal.

Inspired by our last August trip, not later than two months later we again treacherously invaded these parts. Then, from the Uchkulan fork, we headed to Uzunkol, and further to the valleys of its tributaries, the Myrda and Kichkinekol ( a report on where it is described in general terms what the Gvandra region is like). Now the idea was inciting to slip along the second branch of the upper reaches of the Kuban River, equivalent in scale: Uchkulan-Mahar-Gondaray. The weather and climatic conditions for the implementation of the plan were simply fabulous. Between two cold, rainy cyclones, a window of perfect sunshine fell as if on cue. In the midst of golden autumn. A kind of lightning-fast flash of a bright, but very short Indian summer. To see the snow caps of the peaks with a colorful forest at their foot is my old dream, which for a long time could not come true due to various reasons and inconsistencies. I would not allow myself to waste such a chance again, being on a two-week vacation, under any circumstances. My fellow travelers had similar desires and opportunities. So fate itself kicked our restless brew towards the desired goal.

In general, I liked everything very much. In addition to the expected phytodiversity, I was impressed by the purity and blueness of the water of both the Kuban itself and its nearest satellites. In summer, these arteries look different: turbulent due to the active melting of glaciers inexorably retreating into oblivion, and muddy for the same reason. However, bearing in mind the recent reconnaissance sorties to Uzunkol, I nevertheless caught some points of comparative characterization. For those whose plans include a walking-contemplative style of relaxation without much tension and encroachment on passes, alpine lakes and upper panoramic points, I note that the local valleys do not look as impressive as in Uzunkol. I did not notice the rising peaks in the likeness of the local Kichkinekol horseshoe, Brick and Pyramid. Slightly annoying local abundance of trash from the activities of lumberjacks in the form of abandoned black stumps, branches and logs. The Mahara Valley is studded along its length with giant metal poles of a power transmission line stretching through the Nakhar Pass to Abkhazia. It is necessary to decently dodge so as not to hook hanging wires or poles into the lens when shooting landscapes. Also, with a high probability, I assume that due to the location of mineral springs in Mahara, it is quite a travel road from the village. Uchkulan, and the optional presence of a border pass within the stay of the Kert-Meli glade (the confluence of Gondarai and Mahar), there are quite a few people here at the bases and campsites in the summer. For some, the last factor may seem favorable, but not for cynical types like me. For the totality of the above reasons, the conditions wildlife such a reality can be called a stretch. And therefore, I definitely give the palm to Uzunkol in terms of the external condition and the general dignity of the main valleys. As for the alpine panoramas, there are no complaints. I liked that small fraction of nishtyakov that we managed to catch. But of course, this is another level of plowing.
It is worth highlighting lake Ullu-Kol. This topic is so self-sufficient that it deserves a separate visit to Uchkulan, and is able to satisfy, perhaps, any taste.

And so several times. Another hard to predict obstacle on the road.

Like last time, the whole first day was completely spent on the road and arrangement. Light time has been significantly reduced since summer and this played against us. Having become adept at overcoming the Uzunkol road pits and potholes, Vorobey this time completely spoiled us: he brought us deep into the gorges as far as possible, and to the sights of interest, respectively, as close as possible. At the same time, we chose glades for the camp, one steeper than the other, naturally within walking distance from the side of the car. Both of these factors, as well as fears of more intense nighttime cold above 2000 m, led to a collegial decision again in favor of radial daytime exits with a return to the "base".

So, having stocked up with a Koshkin pass in the village of Uchkulan, in the late afternoon we slowly crawl towards the Globus shopping mall. Halfway along the path, a half-rotted wooden suspension bridge over the Uchkulan River, swinging like a simulator for sea swimmers. On the opposite bank there is a spring with a source of tasty and slightly hydrogen sulfide narzan.

At least, a badge-fly, do not fail!

For 150 and tomorrow we will not go to school?

Around the spring is a mess of mud and cattle manure. Apparently, the local thinness is not a fool and is also not averse to making a pilgrimage here to improve their health. That is why the specific background reigning within a radius of 20 m, reminiscent of the smell of the beloved Motherland in childhood, does not add aesthetics to the source, but rather, on the contrary, causes discomfort.
Then we pass the Globus tourist center and move along Mahar. The road after the fork becomes even more military. But this does not stop Sparrow in any way. Carried away by the process of light road extreme, we manage to slip past the main deposits Mahar Narzan and moor to the gates of the border post. Here, "in time" it turns out that instead of her pass, Lucy took from home the pass of her husband, who is currently absent from our courageous ranks for good reasons. If we were now standing at the checkpoint on the way to Uunkol, then her journey would have ended successfully. But thank heavens, the local order is more loyal. To everyone's jubilation, it turned out that, upon presentation of a passport, she could walk around Mahar up to the next border post under the Nakhar Pass, go to Ullu-Kol and infiltrate up to half of the Gondarai Gorge, but up to the first border post. For some reason, the servants refused to provide the distinguished guests with decent shelter and a festive dinner, but they advised them to drive a little further than their post and camp 100 meters behind the mouth river Trekhozernaya in Mahar. The green guardsman turned out to be right: the clearing here is what you need. Firewood around in bulk. Near river and stream. We fall beautifully. For this, another 150 narzan.

This is what the field looks like in the morning. And no neighbors. Such happiness and free of charge!

The culmination of autumn colors opposite our meadow

In the morning, special-purpose pensioners almost bludgeoned me for getting up early. After breakfast, we climb along the Trekhozernaya River to the Dautsky Range. The goal is to climb one of the Ullu-Kol passes, view at least from above the lake of the same name and visit the upper reaches of the Trekhozernaya. Well, it is desirable to return to the camp today. For the first running day, the plans are somewhat ambitious. Moreover, some of us have not been in the mountains for a couple of months, and the Cat even more. But for him I am calm. Easier than new , who came off the assembly line, the terminator to stumble to death than this pillar with an innate nuclear reactor. As we climbed, the panoramas began to change significantly. For the walker we reach the upper kosh.

Koshara bottom left

Further, the felts of the demon beguiled, the felts of the shepherds confused. Despite the presence of a navigator with a track, we did not rush to the left of the cat, as it was desirable, but to the right. So it seemed more logical and convenient. And cattle breeders with genuine enthusiasm assured that both options are basically equivalent. Plus, again, a packed path ... In general, nothing terrible happened. It's just that this mistake subsequently had to be cut into a clumsy extra hook and hide about an hour of extra time. In the meantime, we storm one tier after another. The panoramas are getting bigger.

In the center are the teeth of Nahara, 3784 m. and the Klych ridge

To the left of us floats a medium-sized blue lake.

Acclimatization on the go. Above Lucy's head is the same lake. Rather left behind at the bottom. On the right, the shoulders of the Gvandra peak, 3984 m, are opening more and more. At any time of the year, a heavily snow-covered, powerful and very beautiful mountain.

It seems that the main lake is already nearby. The last bend and ... the complete absence of the desired reservoir below. Zugunder spent the night there! A roll to the right brought our glorious quartet to the saddle of the Lower Ullu-Kol Pass, adjacent to the East Ullu-Kol Pass. And the lake rested to the left, on the upper tier of sheep's foreheads, cut by a large waterfall flowing just from it. The waterfall can be seen quite clearly from here, but the lake is not at all. Realizing that they had gone astray, they began to quite quickly traverse the summit along the stones, separating the Lower and Eastern Ullu-Kol passes. Then, having replenished the supply of exhausted forces with chocolates, we quickly climbed Vostochny.

Eastern Ullu-Kol pass, 3050 m. Behind the top of Ryndzhi-Age, 3731 m in the Dauta ridge. Hi Petrovich!

The slope of the pass opposite to our ascent is completely covered in snow. At the top left is the top that had to be bypassed from the saddle located in the middle. To the right on the horizon is Elbrus. In good weather, it is visible from many places in Gwandry.

Here he is, eared, closer

Custom hide-and-seek is over. It's clearly visible below...

Lake Ullu-Kol, 2844 m. a.s.l. m. (Big lakes - from Turk.). The water surface area is 16 hectares. One of the largest in the Western Caucasus and dominant in the Kuban basin.

Boom going down to the lake, or how?

In fact, going down to the shore is not an option. Fresh snow on the steep slopes of the passes from the side of the reservoir quickly brought clarity to this issue. We are not so constrained, although we must strive for this.

Who pulled the rope with colored flags? Can you walk around here?

You do what you want, but I went ...

The second part of the program provided for an exit to the neighboring circus of the upper Trekhozerka. Here again an unpleasant surprise worse than the saddle awaited us. The fact is that the East Ullu-Kol pass is separated from the Trekhozerka circus by a descending ridge, which must somehow be climbed over. The incident was that from the side of the Eastern Ullu-Köl the ridge looked sanely passable, but from the side of Trekhozerka it exposed another unpleasant side in the form of steep rocks. Without suspecting anything, we quickly fluttered at him, but then we began to scratch our turnips, how is it now on the other side fall down. And here you would have to make a wise decision: to look around from where you are standing in the general panorama of Trekhozerka, and turn the horses back. So no, they flooded to look for a descent.

The upper reaches of the Trekhozernaya river valley. From here, only the lower blue Lake. To the left, on the upper tiers, there are one more, not counting the small ones. To the right exit to the West Ullu-Kol pass. Now it is obvious that the most logical thread of the route to Lake Ullu-Kol is through the circus of the valley past the lakes Trekhozerka. So you can hook all three lakes and then freely climb the pass.

Like mountain goats we jump along the back of the ridge in search of options for descent to the lakes. Below they felt something that looked like a path, but they did not climb down it to the end and fell into an intermediate gutter separating th spur into two parts and consisting of loose gravel and creeping boulders. On it, they threw another 200 meters of height, until they finally jumped out of there. As a result, we nevertheless got into the neighboring valley, but to no avail: the lakes, in fact, now turned out to be much higher than us. All this hemorrhoids is nothing but down the drain. Who is our scapegoat today?

The junction of two valleys. Mahar flows like a thin thread below. Us there.

A little earlier, on the descent along the loose sea, I provoked a rockfall. He didn’t hit the guys, but he killed a mountain partridge. But having come to her senses, she fluttered, depriving us of an easy hope of feasting on game with narzan. We managed to return home before dark. From this one-day epic, I concluded that with a more rational route, a strong group and a long daylight hours, the tasks set are realistically feasible. And even down to the lake. At the same time, you can return back through the Lower Ullu-Kol and get off at Mahar in the Globus region.

The next day, the people did not show much zeal for an early rise. Yes, and there is no hurry, the program for today is more benign than yesterday's race: take a walk to the end of the Mahara Valley and wonder what else it can surprise us with.

Valley of the Mahar-Su river. View towards the meadow Kert Meli

To the right, an openwork, very beautiful long waterfall appears along the way. An unexpected and pleasant surprise.

We come closer.

The weather just whispers! The beginning of October, and we are on high-rises of two and three thousand walking in the sun in T-shirts. Although it freezes at night. Temperature fluctuations are enormous. At this time, there is no heat and light here for a long time and the cold air envelops you instantly, as soon as a shadow covers you.

Having gone a little further, we again find an awesome waterfall on the right, but of a completely different psychotype. This violent one hides from above in a canyon-like crevice on a steep slope of the ridge and, breaking on the rocks, then flows down to the bottom in an ordinary stream. To get close to it, you should not frailly sway up right along the channel, littered with wet boulders. Something to me after yesterday somehow in the bastard to strain. Yes, and the mood in the morning walking. We decided to split up: the Cat and Lucy, as the youngest, climb to the waterfall, and Sparrow and I, like the more dilapidated days, stomp further along the gorge.

Another bridge

Clear waters of Mahara.

Along the way, it turned out that Sparrow forgot his passport in a backpack left by the glorious aces of canyoning, storming the waterfall right now, and we couldn’t advance further than the borders of the checkpoint under the pass. But, to be honest, we are not very upset and upset about this. Firstly, the passage to the Nahar pass is closed even with a pass and the maximum is allowed to advance to the Mahar lake. And secondly, there is not much time. Time to shed Mahar today and move to Gondarai. A little good.

Upper Mahar-Su. View towards the passes Nakhar, Bulgar, Chaullu-Chat. Behind the supports, which cannot be avoided here, is the border post.

In general, today's walk frankly did not cause an explosion of emotions. We returned to the guys. And they are just super-satisfied, the waterfall pleased from the heart. They didn't guess.

Still, a classy and powerful spillway

Do you happen to have an extra umbrella with you?

View from the waterfall to the opposite fanged side of the gorge. Young beautiful mountains!

Ay, well done! They descended just in time for our arrival. It's time for tea.

We are moving. On the way to the fork of the tributaries of the Uchkulan, we still taxi to the Narzans. You have to be thorough!

Similar bridge

Unlike the Uchkulan source of semi-bestial use, I really liked this fertile place. And the taste of water is awesome, it gives iron with an admixture of organic matter. Fresh, carbonated, cold. You can't buy this in a store.

The orange-brown color on the surface of the soil and stones is given by iron oxides.

The mouth of the Narzan stream with Mahar. So much goodness right in the river...

The source literally gurgles and bubbles on the surface of the exit of underground springs. It seems to be boiling. Shooting with flash gives the effect of the presence of golden sand at the bottom.

There is no fresh. From the depths of the underworld straight into the neck

The road along Gondarai turned out to be as shabby as in Mahara. Nevertheless, Sparrow threw us not a lot, not a little, to the confluence with Jalpakol. For the next temporary shelter, we chose a wonderful clearing in the forest near the river, which was previously thoroughly equipped by someone. And by all indications, the previous owners used it for a long time. Next to the traditional fire pit with stumps and benches, there is a wooden shelf with shelves for dishes and food, steps of an earthen staircase on a hillock, the remains of a bathhouse in the form of a frame covered with black polyethylene, and even a dug-out bucket lined with stones. It turns out early, we mourned the beloved glade on Mahara. This one is no worse.

Lucy completed the picture by erecting a kind of totem near the benches and the fire.

Is it an attempt to speak to your own shadow? "Tell me, uncle, it was not for nothing that the fathers were poisoned by Solntsedar?" Behind the tent is a nursery of a young spruce forest

The only ambush is the abundance of mice fed and insolent to the extreme. One of them tasted Russian cheese in a package, the other climbed into a pack of napkins, enriching them with lace. And another little gray bastard climbed into my tent. But the consequences caught up later, a day later.
In the morning we walk around Gondarai. Lucy accompanies us to half of the gorge, namely to the border post, and returns back, arranging a half-day for herself

Branches of ripe barberry. Although seized by frost, it is still sour to the point of impossibility

Good fellow between the breeches of our smaller ones

The valley of Gondarai turned out to be more interesting and picturesque than the Maharskaya, although in some places it also got from the lumberjacks. More wild and sparsely populated, with a view of rather beautiful, slender peaks. An abundance of cool glades like Uzunkol.

No way this is one of the Gondarai brothers

On the left along the way, at the top of the wooded side of the gorge, in a clearing of rocks big waterfall, 40--50 meters offhand. But Lucy had already turned back, so neither he nor all subsequent interesting things were covered by her. And not a soul on the post. The law of meanness has worked.

The end of the gorge is crowned with a luxurious circus with the Gondarai glacier.

At the foot of the glacier there is a huge rocky glade similar to the Green Hotel in the Elbrus region

And a whole herd of hungry horses, as if lost, or abandoned by someone here. They approached closely in the hope of getting a treat, but apart from unconvincing attempts at moral support, they found nothing.

The long-awaited autumn marafet

Oh those blueberries! Sluggish, frozen, but still does not give rest.

That's okay. It's noon, but it's time to go back. On the way back, you need to turn to the Indrikoy, another tributary of the Gondarai, in order to rummage around there as well.

We have a snack near the mouth of the Indrikoy and at the same time hold a staff meeting, during which plans suddenly change. An idea arises to return to the camp, weigh anchor and move to a new place: to the confluence of Kichkinekol with Uchkulan (not the Kichkinekol in Uzunkol, but another. There are several rivers with a similar name in the KChR, I know three). From there it starts classic route to the lake Ullu-Kol, which we saw from the pass. Now it was possible to come close to him, to the very shore. With the exception of the absent Lyuda, the proposal was adopted unanimously. Let's leave Indrikoy and Jalpakol for later. Moreover, we recently saw the latter from the Coursho ridge, and so far we have lost our appetite. In conclusion, I wanted to choose a more guaranteed option in terms of emotional impact.

We are approaching the camp. Smoke billows from the forest. Luda, ignorant of our plans, brought firewood and kindled a fire. She doesn’t know that it’s not destiny for us to spend the night here. At the pace, we are going forward (that is, back) to Uchkulan. On the way, we tarry once more with Narzan. Having crossed the large Uchkulan bridge, we find ourselves in a huge clearing the size of several football fields. Closer to the mouth of Kichkinekol, the clearing began to be divided by copses into a whole bunch of separate clearings, on one of which we stopped. And again the royal place for the camp among the birches. Third in a row. This is one of the main charms of Gvandra.

At night, he woke up from a rustle and mistook it for the external noise of an animal rummaging through the camp. But when I felt that someone ran over my head three times, I realized that a night hunt for a saboteur could not be avoided. By the light of the lantern, he began to rake things scattered around the tent. The cat at that time was sleeping like a gopher, buried himself in the sleeping bag with his head and sniffed loudly. There, even with a gun. Not like a mouse, a raccoon will not hear next to him. Unless as a result of an attempt of direct violence. A game of hide-and-seek forced upon me began, alternating with a short-distance chase. with obstacles. During the next attack, with his own shorts gathered in a lump, the pest rodent was nevertheless eliminated and thrown into the external environment. The special operation was completed without outside help, but after that the dream flew off for a long time. In the morning I found a hole on the mesh wall of the tent, and quite high above the ground. Apparently, when folding the tent in Gondarai, I grabbed a mouse hiding in its depths. Being wrapped up and trying to find freedom, she gnawed through my mesh. Still got off easy. Could make a hole in the outer cover, or the bottom. Science: You should never leave your tent open. It is necessary to fasten at least the mesh on the doors.

New cool morning. We leave late, at 8.00. They brought flashlights just in case. For we do not know how long it will take for this radial. We won't be back after dark. The fears turned out to be unfounded. The running process took 7 hours in both directions, plus an hour hanging out on the lake. At five o'clock we returned to the camp. We ploughed hard, but the pleasure was awesome. Perhaps this is the highlight of this trip.

Valley of the Kichkinekol River (according to other sources, KichkinAkol). We are already in the alpine, the forest zone is left behind. The height will have to gain about the same as on the first running day. Directly on the course of Rynji-Age.

Here, too, there is a source of narzan on a stream-tributary of brown stones. But there is no desire and time to go upstream the stream bed. Let's not spray.

Omitting all sorts of details, I will move on to the final phase. After a long ascent, we go to the lake Gitche-Köl (Small Lake) - the harbinger of Ullu-Köl. But by the last one you need to overcome another tier with a waterfall

We climb along the waterfall on the right, nibbling ripe lingonberries. The forces are running out, it is clearly time to refresh, but it was decided to make the lunch procedure on the lake itself. Not so much in pursuit of more aesthetic conditions for a meal and a smoke break, but because of the fear of missing out on optimal lighting. Otherwise, all the work is in vain. Finally we reach the shore.

In the middle of the saddle, on which we three days ago kicked out of the Mahara Valley when you first try to see the lake. From here it is even clearer why we did not succeed. Gitche-Köl was not visible from there either, although it is located directly under the saddle.

Ullu-Kol in color and transparency of water looks like Semitsvetnoe in Arkhyz, but much larger than it. And the surrounding mountain circus is incomparably richer. This is one of the largest and most beautiful lakes that I have ever seen. That's right, they came here. From the pass, it does not make such an impression. And you can’t determine the size from there, the lake is like a lake. However, in order to take a good look at it and shoot it successfully, you need to run around thoroughly. It's better to come with an overnight stay. There are parking lots on the coast. Although lower, by a small lake, there are more of them. And better places.

Here and now it appeared before us in all its splendor.

Before dinner, Lucy decided to swim and without any doubts, and with overclocking preludes gurgled into the water. According to her, the water turned out to be warmer than the air temperature. Brr! Winter is on the nose, the wind and altitude are under 3000, and she arranged a beach here, extreme!

The final resounding note has been inserted in this short but euphonious composition. Tomorrow you can go home.

Strange, but where are the cows?

Route

Route book No. 27/3-207

Declared route

Nevinnomyssk - camp site Globus - r. Jalpakol - trans. Knife (1A) - trans. Sunny (1A-1B) - top. R. Uchkulanichi - trans. Peacock (1B) - top. R. Mursaly - trans. Plevako (1B) - c. R. Cherenkol - trans. Cherenkol (1A) - r. Myrdy - a / l Uzunkol - r. Kichkinekol - trans. Dolomites S. (1B) - r. Chirinkol - r. Ullu-Kam - trans. Kurshou Lower (Teshikaush) (1A) - r. Ullukhurzuk - trans. Pilot Mashkov (1A) - r. Bitiktebe - r. Ullukhurzuk - pos. Khurzuk - Nevinnomyssk

Fallback options:

• if it is impossible to pass the Pavlin pass (1B): search for a possibly existing lane. Pavlil Severny (1A), or descent to the village. Uchkulan along the river valley. Uchkulanichi.
• if it is impossible to pass the Plevako pass (1B): r. Mursaly - r. Goralykol - pos. Aktobe - r. Uzunkol - a / l Uzunkol.
• Dolomites S. (1A) instead of Dolomites S. (1B).
• Descent along the river. Chirinkol - r. Ullu-Kam to Khurzuk after the Dolomites S. pass (1B).
• Descent along the river. Ullukhurzuk to Khurzuk after Teshikaush pass (1A).

Route traveled

The itinerary covered is exactly as advertised. Download the track of the passed route

emergency options

The route passes through the northern spurs of the GKH, so an emergency descent is possible from any point along the valley to the north.

In the valley of the river Uchkulan the road goes to the Globus camp site, there is also a frontier post where they can help. Along the river valley Uchkulanichi during an emergency descent will have to reach Uchkulan itself.

Along the valleys of the Mursala and Cherenkol rivers and further along the Goralykol river, you can reach the frontier post at the confluence of the river. Uzunkol and r. Ullu-Kam, where the border guards will help in any way they can if necessary (on some maps this place is marked as Aktobe or the Ullu-Kam camp site).

In the valley of the Uzunkol river, there is always the opportunity to leave the Alps. camps. The valleys of the Chirinkol and Ullu-Kam rivers lead to the already mentioned frontier post (Aktyube), we used this option to send home a participant who sprained his leg (at the frontier post we found a bus coming from the Uzunkol a/l to Nevinnomyssk).

On the rivers Ulluhurzuk and Bitiktebe it is possible to descend to the village. Khurzuk, in addition, with a high probability you can find a car at the Narzan baths in the upper reaches of the Bitiktebe.

Composition of the group

Full name	An experience	b.b.	Responsibilities in the group	Club
Shutkin Andrey Segreevich	4GU 1GR	1985	Supervisor	TK Vestra
Andropova Natalya Evgenievna	1SU	1982	Navigator	TK Vestra
Belkov Oleg Borisovich	1SU	1975	Photographer	TK Vestra
Bogdanov Roman Alexandrovich	LDPE	1976	Remmaster, Chronicler	TK Vestra
Bogdanova Anna Viktorovna	1SU	1979	Medic	TK Vestra
Borovikov Yury Alexandrovich	1SU	1970		TK Vestra
Kazakova Vitaly Vladimirovna	1SU	1985	outfitter	TK Vestra
Mokhnatkina Anastasia Valerievna	1SU	1985	manager	TK Vestra
Orekhov Vasily	1SU	1983	Financier	TK Vestra

Height Graph

Goals and objectives of the campaign

The main purpose of the hike was to pass the training hike of the 2nd category of complexity with the solution of the following tasks: working out the skills of working in a group, gaining experience in passing 1B passes; development of skills of movement on snow and ice relief. The group wanted to go through a beautiful route, including various types of technical obstacles, and evaluate their strength before further trips. The choice of the Gvandra region (Western Caucasus) for the hike is due to the affordability of the region (both financially and in terms of time), sufficient research (there is a lot of literature and reports) and the convenience of entering the region, at the same time, a developed network of alpine camps and frontier posts allows you to easily get off the route in case of bad weather or any other troubles and increases the safety of the route. In addition, the route of the hike was built in such a way that at the end of it the group went to the Narzan springs and was able to enjoy the Caucasian mineral waters to their fullest.

Area characteristics

Brief geographical description

Western Caucasus (Gvandra)

The Western Caucasus is part of the Main Caucasian Range, located to the west of Elbrus. The Western Caucasus is largely a wooded midlands. A characteristic feature of the Western Caucasus is the combination of lush forests along the valleys and mountain slopes with pointed peaks and towers of snow-covered peaks. Many glaciers here descend almost to the edge of the forest. In the stone bowls worked out by ancient glaciers, there are many transparent blue and green lakes framed by flowering alpine meadows, mossy gloomy rocks and talus. The Western Caucasus is distinguished by the greatest natural contrasts - from the glaciers of the Alpine highlands to the subtropics. The peculiarity of the climate is high humidity. Gvandra (Uzunkol) is an area lying at the junction of the Western Caucasus with the Central. This is one of the oldest and well-developed areas of mountain tourism, which includes a 40-kilometer section of the Main Caucasian Range (GKH). The mountains here have sharp outlines and are deeply dissected. Due to the high humidity of the climate, glaciation is quite significant here. The entrances are short. There are trails in the upper reaches of almost all valleys. The area is distinguished by lush vegetation, sharp elevation changes, low average height (3300 - 3500 m), high level of development, abundance of rivers and lakes. There are many historical monuments and memorial signs in the mountains. The average summer temperature is +25C° during the day and +5C° at night. The area is characterized by passes of 1A - 2A category of complexity of different types (snow, ice, rocky, scree).

Tourist features of the area

Among the tourist features of the region, inconsistencies in the names of passes, gorges and peaks on tourist schemes and topographic maps of the region should be noted. For example, in the area there are 5 gorges with the names Kichkinekol, Kichkinyakol, Kichkinekolsu (translated from Karachay, all these names mean “small gorge”), and two completely different ridges are called Cursho. There are usually many tourists and climbers in the Gwandry area. Accordingly, the trails are full and there are no problems with crossings. The location of the alpine camps allows you to loop the route and organize throws to lighten the weight of backpacks and, accordingly, the passage of the route. Throughout the trip we were accompanied by rain. They were only gone for two days. Although, in general, we were lucky with the weather - all the main descents and ascents took place in dry weather. Clouds-fogs. Several times I had to go with almost zero visibility.

Arrivals and visits to the area

We arrived in Nevinnomyssk by train from Moscow at 2.30 am. At the station, by prior arrangement, we were met by the drivers of two gazelles (there were two groups). From the station, part of the group went to the Globus tourist center (where a group border pass was issued), and part - to take the drop to Uzunkol (difficulties arose with traveling to Uzunkol, since the group pass was issued in the globe, and the frontier post in the gorge of the Kuban River (or Ullu- Kam) is located 8 km from Uzunkola). At 12.15, when all the participants gathered at the Globus camp site, had breakfast and rested from the road, the group went on the route along the road on the left bank of the Gondora River.

Hike organization

Security measures

At the pre-trek training, much attention was paid to safety issues in the conditions of a mountain hike. All participants have theoretical knowledge and practical skills in performing belay and self-insurance techniques, as well as technical training that allows them to overcome various forms of mountainous terrain. However, the group had everything necessary equipment for a trouble-free route. Starting from the development of the route, special attention was paid to security measures (alternate routes and evacuation routes for the victims were provided, the traffic schedule was planned taking into account transfers, days and spare days in case of bad weather). When passing the route, we chose the maximum safe places for halts and overnight stays, no movement was made at night, the pace of movement was chosen corresponding to the strength of the participants, visual and voice contact was maintained. When passing the passes, the early time of the day was used; if possible, proximity to rocky slopes was avoided.

Cartographic and navigational support

In preparation for the campaign, we used: topographic maps of the area K-37-024, K-37-026, K-38-013 and K-38-025; ridge "Western Caucasus", publishing house "Okhta", Stavropol (there are inaccuracies in the location of the passes); reports of tourist groups in the area; catalog of passes of the STK "Vestra" site. http://www.westra.ru For navigation and collection of tourist information, we used two GPS-receivers, into which the route track was loaded. In case of a possible failure or accident, the GPS receivers were located at different participants.

Diary and technical description of the route

Day 1 (July 12) Check in

We arrived in Nevinnomyssk from Moscow by train at 2.30 am, at the station we were met by the drivers of two gazelles (there were two groups of us). We agreed with them (not even with them, but with their friends) on the train the day before, so they were not entirely aware of where we needed to be taken, they decided to drive to Uchkulan and look there.

We had to agree on arrivals on the train due to the fact that the Bars travel agency threw us, they called on the eve of arrival and said that the drivers would not be able to meet us at 3 in the morning (they were forbidden to transport at night). We did not want to wait until 8 am at the station, and fortunately we had the phone numbers of the drivers, whose services we once used in the area.

At 6 am we arrived in Uchkulan. One car immediately set off to take part of the people to the Globus camp site, from where the hike was supposed to begin, and the second gazelle dropped off most of the passengers and went to take the drop to Uzunkol. With the passage to Uzunolk, there were some difficulties with the border guards, the driver did not have a passport, and not all of us had a border pass, because. a general border pass was issued and left for the globe (it was a tactically wrong decision, because the frontier post in the gorge of the Kuban River (or Ullu-Kam) located 8 km from Uzunkol, and the frontier post in the Uchkulan gorge 500 m. from the tourist center Globus.

As a result, we started the route at 12.15, having previously spent some time in the sun. In Globus there is a suspension bridge to the right bank, but as we managed to find out, that bank is difficult to pass, so we did not use it. The movement started from the outpost on the road on the left bank of the river Gondor.

From the camp site you can clearly see the valley of the Nozhu river (photo 1.1), it is clear that the ascent along this valley is unpleasant, but our way up ran along the next valley - the valley of the Dzhalpakol river (photo 1.2), more on that below.

After 10 minutes of movement along the road on the left bank of Gondoroy, they crossed the Mahar-Su River on a road bridge, then bypassed some fenced-off area, which is forbidden to outsiders (judging by the sign), all along the same road. At 13.30 we left the road and crossed to the right bank of the river Gondor on a bridge of logs (photo 1.3), located immediately after the confluence of the right tributary - the Dzhalpakol River.

Along the Jalpakol on the left bank, we continued to move along a steep serpentine trail-road (we didn’t get on the trail right away, at first we started to climb a little to the right along the way, confused by some logging exit (photo 1.4), then we traversed to the left and fell onto the trail ( photo 1.5)). After 3 crossings, the trail became not so wide and reached a more gentle area.

At 15.55 we crossed to the right bank of Jalpakol on a log bridge (photo 1.6) and continued to climb the path, which soon left the forest zone (photo 1.7).

At 17.20 we reached the right tributary of the Jalpakol - the Ketmala River (photo 1.8), crossed it along a log (photo 1.9) and camped on a hill with an excellent view of the waterfall in the valley of this very Ketmala (photo 1.10).

Just above the confluence of the Ketmala with the Jalpakol, on the right bank of the latter, there is a kosh, in which we found a guy who consulted us about further movement up.

The weather was clear all day. Occasionally small clouds obscured the sun.

• from the Globe to the bridge on the right bank of the river Gondor: 1:15
• rise from the bridge to the place of overnight stay: 2:50

Landmarks

• 1.1-Zastava Ullu-Kam 43° 21.060′ N 42° 11.705′ E 1602 m
• 1.2-Zastava Uchkulan 43° 19.267′ N 42° 00.018′ E 1663 m
• 1.3-Most Brjovna 12.07 43° 18.088′ N 42° 00.715′ E 1707 m
• 1.4-Most 2 12.07 43° 18.302′ N 42° 01.516′ E 2062 m
• 1.5-Lager 12.07 43° 17.948′ N 42° 02.540′ E 2204 m

Day 2 (July 13) Approach to the Nozhu pass

We woke up at 6 am and left at 8. The night before, we learned from the locals that there was a trail along the right bank of the Ketmala River. Therefore, we immediately crossed Ketmalu back along the log to its right bank and began to climb along it (photo 1.10, photo 2.1).

After about 150 meters, we noticed a path leading into the forest from the river. We went along it to the left in the direction of travel with a slight climb, then reached the next downstream after the Ketmala unnamed tributary of the Jalpakol (8.40) (photo 1.8). Here the trail turns back towards the Ketmala River and goes up the forest in a serpentine.

At 9.20 we reached the upper edge of the forest , where the path is lost, and continued moving along the grassy slope (photo 2.2).

We moved all the time a little higher than the Ketmala River, traversing the grassy ridge between the valleys of the Ketmala River and the nameless tributary (photo 2.3, photo 2.4, photo 2.5, photo 2.6).

In principle, it is possible to reach the Nozhu pass along this ridge, but we decided to abandon this option due to the lack of water on the ridge. In addition, we were going to visit the lake from which the Ketmala River flows.

From time to time, the Leningradets pass appeared ahead. From the west, almost all the time of the ascent, we could see Alakeli (photo 2.7).

The last few meters of the ascent to the lake was carried out directly along the Ketmala River along the scree. Set up by the lake lunch at 13.15. After dinner, we decided not to go anywhere, as we had already collected a lot, and settled down there for the night (photo 2.8), (photo 2.9).

The weather was clear all day, everyone burned out.

• from m.s. to the end of the forest: 0:50
• from the end of the forest to the lake: 3:00

Landmarks

• 2.1-Prival 2 13.07 43° 18.180′ N 42° 02.608′ E 2369 m
• 2.2-Photo 13.07 43° 18.217′ N 42° 02.776′ E 2479 m
• 2.3-Lager 13.07 43° 18.770′ N 42° 04.085′ E 3047 m

Day 3 (July 14) Trans. Knife, trans. Sunny, approach under the lane. Peacock

Per. Knife (Natu) 1A 3262m

• located in the southern spur of the Kursho ridge - the northern spur of the Main Caucasian ridge
• saddle coordinates 43° 19.149′ N ; 42° 03.676′ E ;
• connects gorge of the Nozhu stream (tributary of the Uchkulan river) with the Ketmala stream (right tributary of the Jalpakol river)
• conclomerate-scree slopes, slightly snowy from the north

It was raining from 4 in the morning, around 6 it subsided a little, and we got out to prepare breakfast. About 15 minutes later it started raining again. Of course, we tried to continue cooking under an awning, but a hurricane began and drove us into tents.

As a result, we left only at 10.00, and there were two whole passes ahead.

In one transition they came under the lane. Knife (photo 3.1), which was visible to us from the lake (photo 3.2). We climbed for about 30 minutes from the left edge of the pass take-off obliquely to the center along a kind of trail. The takeoff is not very steep (less than 30 degrees), grassy-conglomerate-scree. At 11.20 went straight to the tour . The saddle is grassy, ​​wide, you can put up as many tents as you like. In the tour, they found a note from the Sevastopol Club of Tourists under the leadership of Gavrilov A.V. dated August 14, 2008.

The descent can be started anywhere, even on a snowfield, even on a loose rock, but in the left part along the half of the slope there is a steep section (see photo 3.3), here we shifted to the right during the descent. And then, without descending too low, we traversed the slope towards the Solnechny pass below the rocky ledges (photo 3.4).

Per. Solnechny 1A 3302m

• located in the Coursho ridge south of c. 3369
• saddle coordinates 43° 19.652′ N ; 42° 03.923′ E ;
• connects Nozhu stream and Uchkulanichi river valley
• conglomerate-scree slopes with small snowfields

After the rocky ledges we climbed straight up in the direction of the eastern saddle of the Solnechny Pass. The slope is not steep (20-25 degrees), tr-sk-os, not dangerous for rocks, movement in a dense group is not required.

On the saddle we left at 14.05, it is rocky, there are no places for a tent. We went light to the western saddle, it is a little lower, but the descent from it towards the river. Uchkulanichi looks much more unpleasant (the rocks are there) (photo 3.5) than from the eastern saddle. On the western saddle, they found a note from Stavropol tourists dated August 14, 2008, they did not take it off, because removed from the eastern saddle a note of the Sevastopol club of tourists under the leadership of Shershnev R.S. dated 09/05/2008 with very incomprehensible handwriting.

The descent began at 14.20 from the easternmost edge of the eastern saddle, where the descent is the easiest along the conglomerate-sk.-os slope, on the steepest section in front of the snowfield we moved in a dense group, then we went to the snowfield and went down along it, bypassing Lake Biryuzovoye on the right (photo 3.6).

In general, Solnechny Lane is more like 1A than 1B.

After the descent, we moved through the snow and scree towards the lane. Peacock, trying not to drop heights and bypassing rocky eruptions from the slope on the right.

We got up for lunch on the side moraine of the glacier at 15.20, from where the Peacock Pass itself was clearly visible. Right before our eyes, to everyone's delight, a rather large snow cornice was crumbling from the pass (photo 4.2).

After lunch, we waited for the sky to clear up and crossed another passage to the median moraine, a little closer to Peacock, where we set up our tents for the night. (photo 3.7).

The weather was so-so. In addition to a thunderstorm in the morning, throughout the day, then a little rain began, then the sun came out.

• from m.s. to the lane Knife: 1:10
• from Knife to per. Sunny: 1:55
• from per. Sunny BM: 0:50

Landmarks

• 3.1-Nozhu 1A 43° 19.149′ N 42° 03.676′ E 3262 m
• 3.2-Solnechnyj 1A 43° 19.652′ N 42° 03.923′ E 3302 m
• 3.3-Obded 14.07 43° 19.585′ N 42° 04.430′ E 3139 m
• 3.4-Lager 14.07 43° 19.484′ N 42° 04.508′ E 3127 m

Day 4 (July 15) trans. Peacock, approach under lane. Plevako

Per. Pavlin 1B 3302m

• located in the northern spur of the Coursho ridge
• saddle coordinates 43° 19.183′ N ; 42° 04.664′ E ;
• connects Uchkulanichi and Mursala river valleys
• slope to the west is snowy, to the east - conglomerate-rocky-scree

The rise that day was early - at 5 am, at 7.30 we have already contacted in bundles and went to the lane. Peacock by closed glacier(photo 4.1). There were no noticeable cracks throughout the entire ascent, trailing was quite easy, the snow turned out to be quite wet throughout the entire ascent and the steepness in the steepest place was about 35 degrees (photo 4.2, photo 4.3). At 8.35 we have already ascended the pass .

The saddle is rocky and scree, unsuitable for spending the night. They removed a note from the same club of Sevastopol tourists under the leadership of Shershnev R.S. with an incomprehensible underline dated 09/04/2008. They tried to bring down the cornice - it did not work out.

The descent from the pass towards the valley of the Mursala River is easy along the conglomerate-scree slope to the snowy step (photo 4.4, photo 4.5, photo 4.6), after descending to which, on the right, the Leningradets pass (1B) is clearly visible.

From the snowy step on the left, we went down to the scree step (photo 4.7), it is also easier to descend from it from the left edge (photo 4.8).

After descending from the scree stage, we had lunch somewhere around 12.30-13.20.

Under the Kursho pass

After training (16.30) we returned to the side moraine of the Coursho glacier and began to descend to the confluence of the Mursala River with its right tributary flowing from the cirque of the Plevako pass. We moved by a traverse of the right bank, first along a scree slope, then along a grassy one. With a minimal loss of height (it is not necessary to go down to the river), we crossed into the valley of the tributary of the Mursala River, along which we began to climb along the left bank (18.15).

The ascent to the glacier under the Plevako pass is two-stage - two ascents along a large scree and along an old green scree to the very right edge of the step. After climbing to the second step, the Plevako pass is clearly visible (photo 4.11).

After climbing the old green scree to the second step, we went through another transition and set up camp on a flat area on one of the moraines.

Weather - partly cloudy, intermittent rain and zero visibility due to fog.

• ascent to the lane Peacock: 0:55
• descent from the Pavlin pass to the training site: 1:45
• descent to the confluence of the rivers: 1:10
• rise under the lane Plevako: 1:30

Total: 5:20

• Snow activities: 3:00

Landmarks

• 4.1-Pavlin 1B 43° 19.183′ N 42° 04.664′ E 3382 m
• 4.2-Obed 15.07 43° 19.210′ N 42° 05.771′ E 2971 m
• 4.3-Lednik Kursho 15.07 43° 18.923′ N 42° 05.902′ E 3104 m
• 4.4-Laer 15.07 43° 18.884′ N 42° 06.546′ E 3033 m

Day 5 (July 16) Per. Plevako, trans. Cherenkol, a/l Uzunkol

Per. Plevako 1B 3200 m

• located in the northern spur of the Coursho ridge north of c. Mursala
• saddle coordinates 43° 18.304′ N ; 42° 07.038′ E;
• connects upper reaches of the Mursala and Cherenkol rivers
• the northern slope is rocky, the southern one is rocky-conglomerate

6.00 - rise. 8.00 - left. For one transition we reached the glacier under the lane. Plevako, where they connected in bundles.

The ascent was carried out in bundles along a closed glacier with a steepness of up to 30 degrees (photo 4.11, photo 5.1). First, along the center of the pass take-off, then along the left edge, bypassing the open ice.

At 9.50 we approached the last rocky part of the takeoff. The length of this section is 50 m (photo 5.2). The ascent was carried out along a triangular couloir, the leader was free climbing, the rest were secured by a prus on a railing rope (photo 5.3).

Saddle sharp rocky, there is little space, the weather is vile, so the ascending participants immediately began to descend from the pass from the tour to the left along the green rocky-conglomerate slope.

The easiest descent starts from another saddle, through one to the east of the one where the tour is located and where we climbed. After the rocky section of the descent, there is a scree ending in gentle snow (photo 5.4).

Descending from the pass take-off, we moved along gentle snowfields and screes towards the Cherenkol pass, trying to minimize the drop in height (photo 5.5).

Per. Cherenkol 1A 3280 m

• located located in the northern spur of the Kursho ridge between the town of Uzlovaya and the town of Myrdy Krugozor
• saddle coordinates 43° 17.284′ N ; 42° 07.807′ E;
• connects upper reaches of the Myrda and Cherenkol rivers
• slope from the north is snow-scree, from the south - rock-scree

We approached the Cherenkol pass, traversing the conglomerate-scree slope (photo 5.6, photo 5.7).

We climbed a steep (less than 30 degrees) snowfield to the right along the course of the rocky-scree pass take-off (photo 5.8), from where we went obliquely along the scree to the tour at 15.50 (photo 5.9). They removed tourists from Novorossiysk under the leadership of Dyachenko N.V. from 22.08.2008.

From the pass opens good view to the valley from which we came (photo 5.10) and to the Belyaeva pass (1B) (photo 5.11).

We descended from the pass from the tour in zigzags along the conglomerate-scree slope (photo 5.12), then to the left, traversing the scree onto the snowy slope (photo 5.13).

On the snowy slope, and then on the grass, we approached the lake, where we had lunch at 16.50 (photo 5.14).

From the lake we went down a steep grassy slope along the left bank to a slight flattening, then one more step lower.

Further descent along the left bank is impossible, so we crossed to the right bank (photo 5.15), where we found a path. We went down the path to the river valley. Myrdy, crossed its two channels along the bridges and ended up near the kosh on the right bank.

On the right bank of the Myrda River there is a trail passing rocky blockages immediately after the kosh. Shortly before the confluence of the Myrda River into the Uzunkol River, the trail passes to the left bank, where there is another kosh. Below the path becomes wider and turns into a road passing through the old frontier. outpost and leading to a / l Uzunkol (photo 5.16).

Weather - rain alternates with the sun.

• approach under the lane Plevako: 1:25
• passing the lane Plevako: 3:15
• Approach to Cherenkol: 1:30
• ascent to Cherenkol: 0:45
• descent from Cherenkol to the lake: 0:25
• descent from the lake to the river valley. myrdy: 2:20
• descent to a.l. Uzunkol: 1:50

Total: 11:20

Landmarks

• 5.1-PLEVAKO 1B 43° 18.304′ N 42° 07.038′ E 3200 m
• 5.2-CHERENKOL 43° 17.284′ N 42° 07.807′ E 3280 m
• 5.3-Obed 16.07 43° 16.772′ N 42° 07.831′ E 2967 m
• 5.4-Alp Lager Uzunkol 43° 17.059′ N 42° 10.430′ E 2041 m

Day 6 (July 17)

The Uzunkol alpine camp has all the benefits of civilization necessary for a tourist on a day trip:

• cafe with hychins
• cabins with clean linens
• they say even mobile communications, but we failed to catch it

Day 7 (July 18) approach under the lane. Sev. Dolomites

We left at 10.40. Rise to the lane. Dolomites Sev. starts from the highest point of the a/l Uzunkol along the trail (photo 7.1). The trail first goes along a grassy cone (and a little to the right along the way there is a beautiful meadow with a lot of strawberries). Then along the bed of a dried up stream (photo 7.2). The ascent is quite steep and hard to come after a day's work.

When the forest on the left ended along the way, we reached a small snowfield. Here the path goes to the left and goes to a flattening, where there is a heap of hefty loose-leaf. After this scree, the trail goes up steeply and comes out on the scree slope of the river valley flowing into the Uzunkol a/l.

Following the folded tours, we pass the sypukha and climb the grassy slope to the Chat camps at 14.50 where we make lunch (photo 7.3, photo 7.4).

After lunch at 15.40 we leave and continue moving up the scree slope on the left bank of the river. Before a steep ascent, the path passes to the right grassy slope, we follow it. We climb the next step along the snowfield in the right part of the slope (photo 7.5). On this snowfield we reach the Chat upper overnight stays where we set up camp at 19.05. From here you can see our pass - Sev. Dolomites (photo 7.6).

Weather: rain in the morning, then sun for a couple of hours, then rain again, clear in the afternoon.

• Until Chat sleepovers 3:15
• to upper Chat nights 2:50

Total: 6:05

Landmarks

• 7.1-Obed 18.07 43° 16.639′ N 42° 11.671′ E 2862 m
• 7.2-Lager 18.07 43° 16.751′ N 42° 12.659′ E 3328 m

Day 8 (July 19) Trans. Dolomites North

Per. Dolomites sowing. (1B) 3461m

• located in the northern spur of the GKH between the Dolomites Sev. and Chatbashi
• saddle coordinates 43° 16.724′ N ; 42° 12.857′ E ;
• connects R. Uzunkol and r. Chirinkol
• western slope is talus, eastern - rocky

We started the journey at 8.00 From the upper Chat camps (photo 7.6) we went along the scree (diagonally to the right just before the pass) to the saddle Dolomites S. at 9.05. At the pass, they found a note from the club of tourists from Sevastopol, already familiar to us, under the leadership of Gavrilov A.V. dated August 20, 2008.

There are two ways to descend from the pass towards the Chirinkol River (photo 8.1, photo 8.2). For those wishing to rappel, we built a railing (about 40 meters long along a steep rock), the rest on the right along the snowfield went down to a wide rocky ledge (photo 8.3), leading down to the left. The rappelers landed on it.

From the ledge we moved traverse to the left down the scree, bypassing the lake (photo 8.4). That. at 14.10 we went down to the lake in its far part (photo 8.5).

On the descent, Yura, who was the first to bypass the rappel, slipped, fell and twisted his leg, so they descended slowly.

From the lake, we walked down the middle of the slope along the left bank of the stream, soon we came across some kind of path, along which we descended to rocky faults in almost the entire valley (17.50). Here the path leaves the stream to the left down the green for a small stretch of loose and further bypasses the faults, leading to a grassy flattening at the bottom (photo 8.6).

Since we had fears that we would not have time to go down to the Chirinkol River before dark, we set up camp at the bottom of this flattening at 19.30 (at the flattest place).

Weather: First half of the day - clear, second - rain.

• from the camp to the pass: 0:50
• from the pass to the lake: 1:50
• from lake to camp: 3:30

Total: 6:10

Landmarks

• 8.1-Dolomity sev. 1B 43° 16.724′ N 42° 12.857′ E 3461 m
• 8.2-Ruksak Tro 43° 16.838′ N 42° 14.712′ E 2406 m
• 8.3-Kamennyj shron 43° 16.838′ N 42° 14.827′ E 2345 m

Day 9 (July 20) descent to the river. Ullu-Kam (Kuban)

We left late, at 10 in the morning, as there was heavy rain yesterday and we decided to dry things a bit. We explored the trail further, it is a logical continuation of the trail going from above along the grassy slope along the stream. The path goes to the left into the forest opposite a large stone with a cave (photo 9.1) and descends first to the left down, and then serpentine into the valley of the river. Chirinkol (photo 9.2). There are other paths that start below a rock with a cave on the edge of the forest, they lead to the same path.

In the valley of the Chirinkol river we cross the swamp and along the river we reach a dirt road, in this place it wade crosses the river to our bank and goes down everywhere along the left bank. A little higher along the road - there is a kosh on the right bank, it can be reached by a bridge next to him.

On the way we go down to the confluence of the rivers Chirinkol and Ullu-kam (Kuban), where we have lunch (at 14.15) not far from the house with thorns growing on the roof .

After lunch we see off Yura and Natasha to the frontier post , where we put on a bus and send to Nevinnomyssk. The border guards helped us - they took the injured Yura in the Urals to the outpost half the way. Next to the outpost catches a mobile connection - we send SMS, then we return to the place of lunch.

While we were seeing Yura and Natasha off, the rest of the group was hiding from the rain in the barn of a house with bushes on the roof.

After returning from the border post, at 19.40 we went along the road on the right bank of the Ullu-Kam (begins next to the barrier on the road leading from the Chirinkol village to the frontier post). We reached the first Kosh , Ali-Murat lives there, we stayed with him for the night (21.10). Tents were set up near the stream of the right tributary of the Ullu-Kama near Kosh. Ali-Murat fed us boiled lamb in shurum.

• To r. Chirinkol: 1:00
• to the confluence of the Chirinkol and Ullu-kam rivers: 2:10
• to kosh: 0:50

Total: 4:00

Landmarks

• 9.1-Pr 8 1 43° 17.121′ N 42° 15.264′ E 2092 m
• 9.2-19 07 43° 16.874′ N 42° 15.247′ E 2097 m
• 9.3-Obed 20.07 43° 19.829′ N 42° 14.384′ E 1812 m
• 9.4-Zastava Ullu-Kam 43° 21.060′ N 42° 11.705′ E 1602 m
• 9.5-Lager 20.07 43° 19.738′ N 42° 15.673′ E 1952 m

Day 10 (July 21) approach along the lane. Teshikaush

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