Climbing the eastern peak of Elbrus - Alexander Petrov. Travel The worse the better

The sun was hiding behind the clouds, evening was approaching, the whole day was terrible outside, I wanted to feel the evening, summer coolness and finally breathe calmly. But there are still a couple of hours until this coolness, which means we need to move on for now. Towards evening we will set up camp and make a fire, but that will be later, and now we have to go.

It all started a couple of weeks ago, summer began and our dreams of a long-planned hike were finally coming true. Our company of 6 people, two couples and Nastya and I, she is very beautiful, but more on that later. Alena and Kirill have been dating for about 5 years, as long as I can remember, they always fight, but at the same time they love each other, and this trip is not just for them, but Alena doesn’t know this yet. As soon as we reach our destination, at the top of the mountain, from where a gorgeous view opens up, Kirill will still propose to Alena. And another couple, they have been dating for only a year, perhaps this is the most romantic couple I have ever met. They are the complete opposite of Alena and Kirill, this sweetest couple Marina and Nikita.

And so, day X, we gathered with the guys at the appointed point, the weather was “Great”, but no one refused to go, it was raining. We decided to get to the transfer point by bus, spend the night, and move on tomorrow, and that’s what we decided on. The transshipment point turned out to be a pretty nice place, a couple of houses, a picturesque area and a watchman, Kuzmich. He put us all in one house. We entered the house and saw a small but cozy kitchen, a small sofa and a TV opposite it, a staircase to the second floor, and there were three rooms; Nastya and I were accommodated. It was late evening, the guys went to their rooms, they joked all evening about Nastya and me, one room, one bed, to be honest, I would happily sleep with her, but I’ll have to lie on the sofa in the living room. I stood on the street and blew smoke out of my mouth, simply smoking. The smoke was sometimes thick, sometimes almost unnoticeable, and what a wonderful smell from a cigarette at night, these are completely different sensations, at night the cigarette stretches completely differently, you want to pull it and pull it so that it doesn’t end, but unfortunately I finished smoking until the filter, and on the street it was all just beginning. The smell of the night, the smell of freedom drove me crazy, my favorite time of day, it’s easier to breathe and the melody of the street is completely different, I live every day for this, to listen and see the night, no matter what time of year, the night is always beautiful.

I was thinking about my own things and didn’t notice how someone came up from behind, it was Nastya:

- Let's go to sleep?

- Don’t I stay on the sofa?

- Well, if you really want to, stay!

I followed her, she was like an angel that night, before that I didn’t notice her as a girl, what a fool I was! She sat down on the bed, took a bottle of wine from her backpack and handed it to me so that I could open it. Somewhere from behind the walls, moans could be heard, this made me even more excited. But not this time, we talked with her all night, she fell asleep on my chest and it was the best sex of my life, not us, but our souls, made love and I fell in love.

We walked all day, the heat was unbearable, but a little more and we would set up camp. Alena found an amazing place, they set up tents there, lit a fire, I stared at the fire, the flame either diminished or flared up again, in it you could watch the dance of two lovers, the fire showed all the passion, all the love, tenderness that was going on between them, I was so engrossed that I barely heard Nastya start playing the guitar.

After dinner, everyone went to their tents, I decided to spend that night under the stars, a sea of ​​stars and I swim in them, clean air, night, a fire and stars, Nastya lay down next to me, we fell asleep on the grass, under the open sky. Another couple of hours and we will get there. The guys and I already knew every little path that would lead us to the place, surah, we ran as children with our parents, potatoes in the fire, songs with a guitar, and most importantly, young parents, now they will not be able to go such a long way, but we will bring they need photos and videos, time flies quickly, just yesterday, my mother took me to first grade, and now she wants to take her grandchildren to school, but for now, alas, I cannot provide her with such happiness.

While I was thinking about my parents, Nikita and Marina had their first fight, and they walked in silence, well, good, you won’t hear this pink vomit.

The moment that our whole company was waiting for, as we had hoped, we arrived at the place in the evening, it was already dark, lights were burning somewhere far away, the sound of a small river could be heard, the moon took its place on the pedestal, mischievous moonlight all around. Kirill got down on one knee in front of Alena, you should have seen her tears of happiness, this once again proves that they love each other very much. I finally made up my mind and Nastya and I are together, but Marina and Nikita remained just as sweet, but with scandals, passion began to play in them, as Kirill says.

This hike changed our lives, we began to meet more often and spend time together, we visit our parents more often. We began to devote more time to each other, and this is the most important thing! Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

The text is large so it is divided into pages.

A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is among a thousand, but a perfect person cannot be found even among a hundred thousand. ( Plato, philosopher)

I have been convinced many times that “tracers” do not see the beauty that is around us. I have observed many times that many people see beauty in the revolutions in the air. Arriving from Altai, I realized that I had been to the most beautiful place. All this time I thought that real parkour was overcoming obstacles in the city, moving smoothly. But this trip changed everything...

Getting on the bus, I felt some excitement, because I had never seen what this Altai was like. We drove all night. The morning when we arrived, when I saw Roman’s car, I calmed down, all the excitement went away, I saw all the beauty around me. I didn't even imagine that it would be so beautiful. Then we got into 6-wheeled ZILs and drove off. Along the way I saw snowy peaks, the beauty of Altai that I had never seen before, I realized that this was just the beginning.

And - here we are. When I first put on a 20-kilogram backpack, I had no idea what lay ahead of me and whether it would be so dangerous.

I stood at the cliff and now the first test is the Descent.

THE FIRST DAY

When I approached the cliff, I saw a steep slope and a very high height. The feeling of hunger disappeared. Oleg’s words cheered me up and I decided to go. I knew that this was just the beginning of my journey, and there was no need to get injured. I was in the top five, which means that we are pioneers - we cannot choose paths where people cannot pass. A guy was following me, his name was Nikita, I saw how his legs were trembling as he descended, without hesitation I took the rope and gave it to him. I held it almost until the descent. Somewhere at the end of the descent there was the most dangerous section - steep, the stones sliding under you. It was at this moment that I began to value my life; with one careless move you could lose it. I pulled myself together and went. Finally, the moment I've been waiting for for a long time - solid ground under our feet - we did it! And after that I felt like a winner, and here another feeling arose, the feeling that you need to overcome your fear, not leave what you can do now unfinished. After the descent, I felt pain in my knee and was hungry. We arrived safely at the stopping place, ate and moved on. We walked, I didn’t have time to take pictures of everything around, rocks grew up imperceptibly, along which we had to walk. Walking along the rocks, I noticed a slight trembling in my legs, my face was sweating. I remained calm and did not react to my instincts - fear, fear of heights. I was very tired, I was aware of it only with my body, and I decided for myself that I needed to act decisively, to make every step firm. At that moment, my legs stopped slipping, and my fingers began to hold the rocks tighter, but there was only one thought in my head: “Be strong and move on.”

Having reached the first overnight stay, I felt all the delight of relaxation; my arms and legs ached. When it got dark, I raised my head slightly and saw the milky way, noticed how there really were a lot of stars in the sky, as if I was watching millions of galaxies. After enjoying the view, I went to bed. In the morning I felt pain in my back, it was very difficult to get up. After I washed my face with ice-cold water and warmed up in the morning, I was ready to go again.

SECOND DAY

On the second day we walked a lot. It was hot. The journey was long. The pain in my shoulders forced me to stop sometimes. We reached the place where we spent the night and rested, because we had covered many kilometers along the rocks, uphill and downhill. It was already dark, and I again sat down to look at the starry sky. I looked and remembered my home, that it was so far away. I thought about what would happen tomorrow. The cold forced me to go to bed.

DAY THREE

The next morning I felt pain in my back and legs again, but cold water and the warm-up brought me to my senses. Hearing that we will be moving icy river, I no longer had a feeling of fear or panic, I simply agreed with it and accepted it as an obstacle that needed to be overcome. And so we went. Having walked halfway, I stopped feeling the tips of my toes. Suddenly I saw our girl (Dasha) beginning to be carried away by the current, she was picked up by the belayers, I quickly caught up with her and held her to the shore. After making sure there was no one behind me, I got out of the water, took off my sneakers and buried them in the hot sand, and even then I still couldn't feel my toes. After a while I began to come to my senses. After checking that my whole body was functioning, I continued walking with our group. Having reached the camp, we had to cross the river again, going around the Chulcha River flowing into Chulyshman with these two crossings. But Chulyshman in this place was deeper and the current was stronger. I was already full of strength, I believed in myself, in my strength, I believed that I could swim.

The first was Oleg, he had to make insurance for us so that we would not drown, but, holding on to the rope, could get over to the other side. Seeing how Oleg swam and then how hard it was to get to the shore with a rope, I gained confidence and strength. I had no doubt at all that we would succeed, but then the owner of the local land came running, screamed a lot and forbade us to cross the river, worried about us. She said that the Mistress of the River does not forgive mistakes and takes away all the weak. And suddenly there was a desire to cross the river, I was excited, there was a desire, but there was no opportunity - we had to give in. Sasha and Vova left to look for more safe place crossings. I stayed to wait for Sasha and Vova. Oleg came up and said that we should stay here, and he went after Sasha and Vova. We waited for a long time, at which time the whole group split up. The main part of the entire expedition group decided to separate, cross the river on a boat, and go to the final point “B”, skipping the test with a crossing along the way. We all stayed and waited.

Seeing the guys returning woke me up again, I knew that now we would move on. It is a very dangerous thing to cross the mountain river Chulyshman. The owner of the land, who did not give us the opportunity to continue crossing with a rope, provided us with a boat instead, and today we decided to cross the river, like everyone else.

There are 10 of us left.

There are 10 of us left (out of 45), the rest of the group went to the final point. Once on the other side, we went the other way; it was too late to go to point “B”. When we returned to the camp, there was no one there yet, I was still worried about one feeling - the feeling that I had not overcome one of the obstacles - the river, I could not. The Waterfall also remained in front of us - the final point “B”. The guys suggested going to the waterfall in the morning. I agreed and knew that tomorrow would be very difficult.

It was already dark and, finally, the separated group returned. Everyone returned in confusion and some panic, many felt bad from such a transition, I only saw how everyone fell on the grass - to rest, and in their eyes - fatigue. I realized that tomorrow I could return like this - completely tired and hungry, but I didn’t feel any fear or excitement. I decided - I’m going, and if I oversleep, I’ve lost, and I’ll live with it all my life. Before going to bed, I realized that there was no alarm clock, but I had to get up very early, then it was as if I had programmed my body to get up exactly at the time I needed.

DAY FOUR

Morning. I got up half an hour earlier than everyone else, it was my small victory - to get up earlier, make a fire, give everyone tea and go on the road. Everything happened as I planned: I lit a fire and made tea. The guys stood up, and in our already formed group we decided to go. The transition was long. We reached the Uchar waterfall (translated from Altai as “Flying”), but the very final point was at the top of the waterfall - the high-mountain lake Dzhulukul, where Uchar originates. Oleg and Sasha went ahead, I was determined and wanted to get to the top. Having asked who was with me, he began to climb up. There were 2 of us. We walked quickly - we had to keep up with Oleg and Sasha. Along the way there were a lot of dangerous moments when you could lose the most precious thing - your life. But at that moment I no longer felt absolutely anything, neither fear nor excitement. With a clear consciousness and determination in his movements, he began to catch up. Having caught up with Oleg and Sasha, we heard that someone was following us from behind, it was another of our charged guys - Vova. And we, without any doubt, began to climb up.

When there were a few meters left before the ascent, I tried not to look back, but having risen, I turned around and tasted the full taste of this victory: “I overcame it, I was able to do it!” We sat down, and again I felt a certain excitement - I remembered that I had not crossed the river, and this remained our uncrossed section. After thinking a little, I decided to just forget it and began to descend. Having descended and almost reached the camp, I was very tired and hungry, but then I heard Oleg’s proposal - to overcome the river (the remaining unclimbed obstacle) by swimming, in a deeper area where there are no rapids and rocks.

And then an explosion occurred in me: I forgot what fear and hunger were. I really wanted to do what I couldn’t do yesterday - overcome Chulyshman on the section where it absorbed the waters of the second river - Chulchi. I gathered all my strength and decided: “We must swim!”

There were 5 people swimming: Oleg, Sasha, me, Rodion and another Sasha. Approaching the river, I saw how fast it was, how it carried away stones with the current, how cold it was when you stepped into it. Taking a deep breath, I took a step and knew - there was no turning back - only forward! After swimming more than half of the way, I began to feel my body going numb, my arms becoming heavier, and I began to breathe more and more often. There is no turning back. There was only one thought in my head: “Swim quickly, because everything is going numb.” And now, I was almost there, I started to worry, and suddenly fear appeared, but I remained determined and knew that I had to swim. Stepping onto the ground, I was delighted. I was incredibly happy at that moment.

I swam! I did it!

The guys all made it to the shore, everything is fine. I stopped thinking about everything, I wanted to sit down and be silent. Another guy swam after us - Timur, who arrived a little later with a group carrying apples bought from local residents. He began to swim, I began to worry about him, but after he stood firmly on the ground, the worries evaporated. Well, everyone arrived safe and sound! A car was already waiting for us, ready to take us home.

Sitting down on a stone, I realized. I realized what real parkour is. These are not jumps in the city that you perfect every day to be better than someone else. This is the moment when you need to overcome yourself from the inside, be it the fear of going down a mountain, climbing rocks, or swimming across an icy raging river. I felt complete satisfaction, there was no longer any burden that would prevent me from sleeping at night.

Seven hours of climbing to the eastern peak of Elbrus means seven hours of headaches, nosebleeds, burst eardrums, thirst, and watery eyes. And our group rushed to the top of the highest mountain in Europe.

In the mountains, the gravitational constant is not constant at all. With a backpack it increased threefold, with each step it increased exponentially, and at rest it dropped to earthly value. And having stopped for the night, people could cover one and a half times the distance in one step, while hanging in the air for a split second. Here the distance is measured not in kilometers, but in hours to overcome it, and the speed is measured in vertical meters per hour. This is some interesting physics in the mountains.

Everyone who stood at the top of Elbrus (5621 m) wanted their loved ones, friends and relatives, with whom they would share their impressions upon arrival home, to be nearby. For everyone understood that neither with the help of countless adjectives from the dictionaries of Ozhegov, Dahl and Suvorov combined, nor with the help of photographs taken on the most professional camera by the most gifted photographer of the Magnum agency, nor with the most hyperactive hand gestures at a speed of 800 gestures per minute, it was impossible to describe what you saw and convey what you felt.

But this thought was far away... There were nine days left before it... Days, remembering which, each participant will be choked with emotions.

THE CLIMBING OF EASTERN ELBRUS STARTED WITH DIFFICULTY

In the meantime, a motley group, consisting of two brigades, was gaining the first vertical meters from the village of Verkhniy Baksan. The brigades walked at intervals of 10 minutes. Every meter made me doubt more and more the adequacy of my assessment of my own strengths. But during the first night, no one voiced this thought. The camp was set up on the left bank of the Kyrtyk River.

While preparing dinner, the first foreman asked for a couple of cans of stew. This is 2 x 525 = 1050 g... Several exhausted bodies rushed to the side, furiously tearing apart backpacks and throwing things away, trying to get to the hated cans. Someone was lucky... someone unloaded...

The first night was restless. For all. Some were physically weaker, some were weak in spirit, and some had a weak stomach...

The teams were leaving the forest area. There were no signs of thrash and frenzy. During a long stretch, during which many felt a sense of receding consciousness and approaching fainting, the column went to the right into the gorge of the Ulluesenchi River. The trail gained momentum, but the foremen did not slow down. The body was sweating.

THE WORSE THE BETTER

Only ascorbic acid and dextrose monohydrate in bearish doses could help maintain consciousness. The group fell 2 hours before the pass. The evening program included a jacuzzi bath. There was no strength, the veins were torn, some were silent, some were not. Hell of a transition. Some of the participants would later call these days the most difficult on the hike.

Day three. The Kyrtykaush pass became a turning point for some, a break for others, and for others it remained just a pass. 3232 m. The feat of the heroes of the Caucasus is immortal in the hearts of the people. 3154 m. Islamchat pass. The brigades were stretched out... The rearguards of the first and second came level.

The group's path was blocked by a mountain river of glacial origin. The group stood up. The alcohol was brutally diluted with alcohol. The sleep was serene, and the parking lot was illuminated by myriads of stars.

The next day, the climbers spent the entire day busy with worries and activities: tying knots, coiling ropes, repairing crampons, mastering the technique of rock climbing with a top rope and rappelling with it. They dried bloody calluses in the sun, healed sprained ankle joints, drank Narzan and bathed in it. Thus, they received additional doses of radiation that were missing in urban conditions.

The group set off on course. Without casualties, she passed the stone bridge over Malka and further along the left bank of the Jila Su she broke through towards Elbrus, to the frozen lake Jikaugenkez. The point of no return has been passed, and the path to civilization now lies only through the eastern peak. This thought could not but excite and excite. The group walked for about 8 hours dry. The dust raised by mountain climbers as they moved along the scree creaked on their teeth. Dry and unpleasant.

The camp stood on a moraine near Kalitsky Peak. The only outlet was the compote, cooked conscientiously, so that the ice ax was already standing.

TYPES OF CRACKS

The next morning, having increased their grip with the help of crampons and tied into the bundles, the group went out onto the glacier. Along the way there were ice cracks, bared with icicles, but smiling and ready to accept bundles at any moment.

There were also sad cracks with a snow gag, there were killer cracks, there were young and old... There were a lot of cracks, but the three teams stubbornly overcame them, some obediently walking around, some jumping over, trying not to look down, some crossing over a miraculously preserved snow bridge.

Three “guides” walked, constantly probing the snow and ice cover with ice axes, walked confidently, walked along the slope of Elbrus to the rocks of the Achkeryakol lava flow. Today the cracks were not hungry, so by mid-day the camp stood at an altitude of about four thousand in the starting lineup. The radial exit, unladen, to the future site of the assault camp was relatively simple.

The group scored six hundred vertical. Six hundred, which in fifteen hours had to be overcome with merciless shoulder weights. The dream was restless.

The altimeter shows 4546. The assault camps have been set up. Climbers, armed with ice axes and trekking poles, go out onto the ice slope to practice self-restraint techniques.

If you fall, you must immediately, before the sliding speed has yet developed, take measures to arrest:

1 - without releasing the ice ax from both hands, turn onto your stomach;

2 - raise your toes so as not to catch the crampons on the slope (otherwise you will turn upside down);

3 - with your hand bent at the elbow, thrust the beak of the ice ax into the slope, lean on it with all the weight of your body and slow down at all costs.

The forecast for the next five days leaves climbers without an acclimatization day. At the first opportunity, the group begins to climb the eastern peak of Elbrus.

CLIMB EASTERN ELBRUS OR DIE

08/31/09. It's 5.30 o'clock. The systems are tightened, the flashlights are on. Having strung themselves on a rope, the climbers moved towards the summit. Step by step, meter by meter... 4600, 4700... 30 minutes, 40, 50...

The team had a dozen meters left before the first halt, when the command “Disruption!” was sounded. – the second climber abruptly changed the vector of movement and began to pick up speed. A moment later, the entire bunch clung to the glacier, into which 7 beaks were stuck, continuing to press the ice axes into the ice with their whole body. The uniform acceleration lasted several seconds... The pulse was under 200... The rope hummed and jerked the systems of the first and third climbers... A tremor ran through the rope from the rope, but there was no chain reaction.

The climbers moved on... 4800... The team entered the zone of incomplete acclimatization. The partial pressure of oxygen decreased, the internal pressure tried to catch up with the external one. Nobody canceled this law of physics in the mountains, especially the brain felt it.

Stopping the flow of oxygen to the brain for six to eight seconds leads to loss of consciousness, and within five to six minutes it causes irreversible changes in the cerebral cortex.

The snow tasted terrible... Because it was tasteless. The climbers furiously thrust oxygen into themselves, tearing their nostrils with a cold air mixture. But even pulmonary ventilation increased by 30% could not save from hypoxia. Hemoglobin was off the charts. Step, second, stop, inhale-exhale, inhale-exhale... inhale. 5500.

The last seventy meters on earth were the most pleasant. When the final goal came into view, when it was a 10-15 minute walk, when the climbers realized that they were at the finish line, when they felt the effect of a powerful drug and they felt so great when...

50 meters, 49.5, 49, 48.5… meters are the most pleasant when your thoughts are already at the top, when you imagine that now after a minute’s rest a group photo will be taken. When you haven’t reached it yet, but you know that now only a broken heart can stop you, when it’s a little more, but you’re sure...

I am sure that all this was not in vain, that 9 days of stress were worth 20 minutes spent at the top, and you know that this is not the last ascent. And now you know exactly how you want to die, and those tears that run down your cheeks are tears of great self-overcoming. You know that if you are overcome by insanity, the last thing you will forget, after your own name, will be the mountains, because such things are never forgotten...

10, 9.5, 9.1... 5621... 5621 and not a meter lower. Seven hours of stomachs turned inside out, diarrhea, headaches, nosebleeds, burst eardrums, thirst, watery eyes, thigh muscles suffering from a lack of oxygen... The body will not forget this for a long time...

And the group burst onto the eastern peak of Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe.

THE CAMPAIGN TO EASTERN ELBRUS CHANGED US

The assault camp received the descending conquerors with hot tea and warm soft sleeping bags. The night threatened a possible light rockfall thanks to the stormy wind that had risen on the rocks. These were just threats.

We left along the route through the Irik glacier, the Irik-Chat pass, and the valley of the Irik River to the southeast at a course of 137 degrees. The brigades entered the forest zone. The camp stopped after a couple of hours of marching to the village of Elbrus. By the fire, in the eyes of the climbers one could read wild joy, fatigue, confidence and devastation. The desire to live on the first day of autumn awoke in me.

And even if a considerable period of time passes, I will not forget how I was able to kill doubts in myself here.

At 23.45 Moscow time, passenger traffic crashed into the metro ring. It was regurgitated from its depths branded train No. 003 Kislovodsk - Moscow. The stream was teeming with people. People's heads were swarming with thoughts, emotions, memories, ideas. Standing out from the stream with shoulder weights and ice axes at the ready, two people walked who were to share memories and emotions with loved ones, friends and relatives. “What a pity that you weren’t around then... It was wonderful.”

Mountains change people. Even Muscovites became so harsh that they shaved with an ice ax, played football with crampons on, and rappelled from their balconies to buy bread.

Post scriptum: For inside use only.

Having gathered at one time and in one place, 14 people say goodbye to the blessings of civilization and go to the mountains of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic to overcome pain and fatigue, storm the peaks and, at any cost, complete their most difficult 100 km in life. This story is about true friendship, adventures and thoughts of a man who broke away from his usual habitat and struggled with his weaknesses and laziness for 10 days. So, part two, camera, backpack - let's go!

The Arkhyz pass at 3000 meters was taken! But ahead of us was waiting highest point hike - 3182 meters and a dangerous climb up the mountain powder. Suddenly, the wind blew again, clouds crawled in and began to rain, besides, all the things under the raincoat were wet due to sweat and personally, I only had two pairs of dry underpants and socks left... with every minute the stones became more and more slippery and in Thoughts began to flash through my head: “maybe it’s not worth it?” But the decision was made for us... We dropped our backpacks and started climbing to the top.

The strong wind at an altitude of 3000 meters pierced through. At this moment the thought came to me again, maybe it’s not worth it? But an inner voice immediately cut off all doubts: “What did you come here for, you dead guy?”. In order to somehow protect myself from the wind, I wrapped myself in a raincoat and continued to climb.

I took with me only the essentials: water, well, and several lenses and a camera... Where would we be without this, although the views around us were definitely worth the effort. See for yourself.

The Abishir-Ahuba ridge appeared before us harsh, gray and cold. It seemed like you were in some northern mountains. Here is a photo from the middle of the distance that had to be overcome to the top (altitude about 3080 meters). Below you can see the same Arkhyz pass where we left our things and common sense.

Despite the fact that half of the walking day and hundreds of meters of grueling ascent were behind us, deep down everyone had the anticipation of climbing the most high peak In my life. So Nastya does not hide her joy.

It was much easier to climb without a backpack, but my legs had long since gone into “wool” mode. In addition, the calluses began to squelch noticeably in the heels... At some point, the climb became steeper, and we found ourselves on a very sharp ridge, along the edges of which there was an almost kilometer-long abyss. Any wrong step could cost not only health, but also life, so even the reckless Grisha walked extremely carefully, clinging to every stone.

Breathing began to become more and more difficult. Still, the altitude was 3 km and hypoxia made itself felt. After every 5-10 steps I had to stand for a couple of seconds. I saw the top and someone from the group had already climbed to it, “Why am I worse? Oh, well, come on, go ahead, one more step, come on.” This is how I cheered myself up for the last 30 meters, which seemed endless to me.

Yes!!! I did it! I climbed my little Everest! The thin and cold air enveloped me from all sides and a sincere smile seemed to be fixed on my face with a stapler. At this moment you completely forget about everything. About all your problems below, about work, studies, relationships and all the difficulties of climbing. We took out the flags and took some photos. although no, I’m lying. A lot of.





Already now, 5 months after the hike, I understand why tourism attracts me so much. During the hike, you plunge into a completely different life, where your social status, the amount of money in your pocket and the presence of an apartment two steps from the city center do not matter. Life is stripped down to the basics as much as possible, in which you can be yourself - without pathos, social masks and all other dirt. Tourist life is somewhat reminiscent of monastic life. You are also deprived of your usual benefits and every day you expose yourself to voluntary tests, fight your fears and learn to understand your body and soul. The mind is cleared as much as possible and all the garbage is replaced by the thought - how to get from point A to point B, eat on time and force yourself to make a small victory over yourself... Over yourself who is frozen in the daily routine, surrounded by unnecessary things, people and stupid goals. Freedom is complete freedom from all problems, a kind of escape from everyday life and the opportunity to live in a world where everything is subject to the laws of nature, and not to the work schedule and the opinion of management. I could talk about this topic for a long time, but then you won’t see the beauty below. Namely, Lake Zaprudnoye in the shape of a heart, where we had to go down for the night today.

To be honest, after visually assessing how much we still have to go, I was, to put it mildly, shocked. And I even doubted that this was physically possible, but Sasha had a different opinion, and he colorfully described what difficulties awaited us below. By the way, our instructor is looking at the mountains and probably thinking about how not to lose these idiots on the upcoming descent.

It is impossible to describe in words how beautiful it is in the mountains. I hope that the photographs will at least half convey the emotions that filled us at an altitude of 3182 meters above sea level. On the left you can see Pioneer Peak, and a little further on the main Caucasus ridge, which divides the Caucasus into two parts - Transcaucasia and Northern Caucasus.

Having descended to the pass, we threw on our backpacks and dropped another hundred meters down, where we stopped for lunch. How nice it was to see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds and warming us up after climbingDzhumarukly-Tebe. And here is our resting place, photographed by someone from the group.


Speaking of lunch. “Lunch shouldn’t be filling, otherwise we won’t get anywhere later.”, said Sanya, and thereby cut off any attempts to eat something in excess of the norm. In addition, we were waiting for part of the group that had gone to see the view from Pioneer Peak. You remember our principle, right? - eat only when everything is in place. Well, well... we sit and wait. Oh, well, and this... here is our entire lunch for 14 people:

After this we were told to rest for about an hour. Everyone immediately began to sunbathe under the high mountain sun, having previously covered themselves with sunscreen. You won’t believe it, but the sun at such a height breaks through even when it’s cloudy and through clothes, so you can instantly catch sunburn, so you should always make sure you have sunscreen on your skin and a hat. Don't forget about your lips. I didn’t take a special product for them with me and only on the third day I started shooting it with my colleagues, but by this time my lips had already become cracked and covered with bloody grooves. It is also better not to leave your eyes without glasses, as there is a chance of damaging the retina. To somehow add something to life thrills It wasn’t enough during the day; the male half of the team went to lie on the snowfield. It didn’t last long, and we jumped up from the icy snow in just a few seconds, but we were cheered up.

So what is next. Then we had to drop almost 700 meters of altitude to Lake Zaprudnoe (that very heart), and I could not even imagine how dangerous and difficult it would be. Having walked about 100 meters along a relatively human-like descent, we came to a rocky wall, from which a magnificent view of the valley opened up, where I again took out my camera. It was down there on the right, where the lake was visible, that we had to go down.

Instructor Sasha and Natasha.

And here is the Arkhyz pass, from which we just descended and on the slope of which our “royal” lunch took place.

What is the difficulty of the upcoming descent? There was no clear route along the slope, and along the entire length of the loose rocks there were stones of various diameters, along which it was necessary to descend with a 23-kilogram backpack, balancing and without falling off. In addition, you need to be careful not to push the stone onto the person walking below. otherwise this stone will fly back to you, unless of course the person is still able to stand up

Our group began the descent. I walked closer to the rear and watched all the stones that flew out from under my feet so as not to injure anyone. The first steps were at a slight angle and on stable stones, but with every meter the situation worsened.

Every now and then someone screamed "STONE!!!" and we trembled with fear, tracking the fall of the next cobblestone. Some of them flew literally within a few meters and forced us to seriously tense up. But even without the rockfall there were enough difficulties. Despite the fact that I had trekking poles in my hands, if I fell, they would simply break, and given the heavy backpack I was wearing and secured to my body, there was practically no chance of surviving in the event of a fall.

On the descent we tried to stretch out as much as possible, keep our distance and walk in a checkerboard pattern. This is where I realized how important buying the right mountain shoes is. It is simply impossible to get through such places without it. The only upsetting thing was that there was a bloody mess on my heels, and every step was given to me only with clenched teeth. The leg muscles experience tremendous tension during the descent, and those who have been on hikes know very well that, contrary to prejudice, going down is much harder than going up. Andrey and I teamed up as a team and tried to help each other in every possible way on the descent. In the photo: the partner paused to take a breath and chart a route along the swaying stones.

This was the first moment during the hike when I became really scared and had an overwhelming feeling of panic. At the end of the hike, almost the entire group will agree that this was the most intense moment of the entire 10 days. This is not surprising. As I already said, we were very stretched out on the slope and everything would have been fine, but in a matter of seconds the highlands were covered with clouds, and we lost eye contact with the guys below. It was impossible to understand how to go, and I had to choose the path based on my own insignificant experience. A couple of times I almost fell down, and my legs almost stopped working and completely “clogged” from tension. Since it was impossible to lay out a clear route due to constant rockfalls (and, consequently, changes in the terrain), we did it ourselves and not without mistakes.

In poor visibility conditions, I came to a steep cliff, which I had to walk around for about 30 minutes. As a result, Susanin found himself on a very steep slope, covered with grass, which treacherously hid the stones. It was now impossible to visually assess their stability, and each step had to be taken in the style of a sapper, checking the cobblestones with a trekking pole.

Suddenly something jerked next to me with violent force. I swayed and began to fall, seeing out of the corner of my eye a bird (something like an eagle) soaring upward, which, frightened of me, abruptly emerged from under the stones... At the moment of the fall, I managed to put out a stick and only miraculously, it withstood my weight with a backpack and did not broke.

In total, the descent took more than 3 hours. Having reached the camp, I fell exhausted and took off my shoes... “Saan, do you have any green stuff in your first aid kit?”. (I don’t have photos from this particular day, but I’ll post the one that was taken a couple of days later - the overall picture is unchanged).

The main thing I learned over the previous hiking day is that no matter how bad you feel, you need to gather your strength, set up camp and prepare food, because at any moment the weather can change and you will remain hungry and without a roof over your head. To somehow come to my senses, I decided to swim in a mountain lake. Crystal clear water, +10 degrees and Grishanya - everything is as usual.

After that, we began to set up the tent and hang out to dry the things that had gotten pretty wet during the descent.

Only at that moment did I first look at the descent that had caused us so much suffering. From below he seemed much more harmless than he really was. Its tiered nature is its main feature. It seemed that the end was about to happen, but it was only the end of another ledge, which was marked by a steep slope and the next tier...

Cold, silent and magically calm - this is exactly how Lake Zaprudnoye appeared before us, shrouded in a series of newly arrived clouds. They came to visit us, flew over the tents and covered our desperate heads, sailing somewhere towards Arkhyz.



The endless third day of march was coming to an end. Traditionally, we huddle in the headquarters tent, play all sorts of games, drink tea and share our impressions of the category pass. Once again, each of us stepped over ourselves and accomplished a feat, so insignificant from the point of view of nature, but so significant in the memories of each of us. Tired but happy, we crawled into the tents and almost immediately passed out, despite the sloping slope and the stones digging into our internal organs. and then they got to us

Day 4. Paradise Valley, magic flip flops and a lost spinner

The morning greeted me with calluses stuck to my sleeping bag and the formation of additional bends on my body from stones sticking into the foam(a polyurethane mat for sleeping on when hiking). But all this seemed insignificant and insignificant when I looked out of the tent - 100% visibility and sun! Not once regretting that I once again got up earlier than expected, I pushed Grisha away, grabbed the camera and went to take pictures of the landscapes.


It's amazing how the same place can look different. Do you remember what this lake was like yesterday? Cold and frightening, but what is it like now?! Just unbelieveble. The snow-white streams of the newly opened glacier flowed with a roar from the rocky wall and from afar turned into a thin white thread dividing the slope in half.

And here is our camp, taken from the opposite bank. The mass in the shadow is the same ill-fated slope that we conquered yesterday. The same tiers that I wrote about just above are very clearly visible. How did we get down there? who the hell knows. I didn't see anything in the fog

Going down to the lake, I was again surprised by the transparency of the water. According to Sasha, this is one of the most clean lakes in the Caucasus. It’s not surprising, the water here is a former glacier.

Another feature of this place is its inaccessibility. You can only get here on foot, since the lake is surrounded on all sides by a “circus” - formed high mountains. Such a relief greatly affects the weather and creates its own in this area.microclimate with amazing beauty valley. It is along this valley that we will go today to the point of the next ascent. In the meantime, let's enjoy Zaprudny again.

I returned to camp just in time for breakfast. The porridge was lazily spread on the plate and forcefully shoved into the body that had not yet woken up. Condensed milk and jam, which sold out in a matter of seconds, were especially in demand. By and large, a tourist has two meals a day - a hearty breakfast and an equally hearty dinner, while lunch is always served as a light snack.

Once again the camp was collapsed, and things were packed into a backpack much more quickly. After consulting with Sanya, I decided to go for the first half of the day in flip-flops from Magnit for 50 rubles, as they would take the pressure off my heels and give my calluses a chance to dry out at least a little. After taking a group photo, we headed down the valley.

Spurred on by the absence of pain, I quickly became the leading part of the group and almost skipped down along the right source of Kyafar-Agur. There were fantastic landscapes all around!

After about 30 minutes, I ran into a herd of cattle and, very carefully, bypassing all the bulls, I reached the place where it was planned to cross to the opposite side of the river.

Despite the fact that the mountain river seems like an insignificant obstacle, it is fraught with many dangers. Slippery stones and a fast stream can instantly knock you into the water, where with a huge backpack you will fight against the rapids untilstate of freshly prepared minced meat. Therefore, we wait for the entire group, which stretched out during the 5-kilometer trek through the valley.

Having waited for the tail, we began to ford the river. While everyone was slowly and lazily taking off their laced trekking shoes, I said "pfft", unfastened the fasteners on the backpack (so that if he fell, he could quickly throw it off) and calmly walked in flip-flops to the opposite bank, looking at the group crossing. Slaps from "Magnit" - the harsh nature of the Caucasus - 1:0.

But to reach the ascent, we needed to cross the mountain river a couple more times. On the one hand, this procedure brought joy to everyone, yes, and the feet were grateful for such bath procedures, but on the other hand, the chance to soak all things in ice water was not particularly pleasing. Therefore, we tried to help each other as much as possible and built living bridges.


Having crossed all the rivers, we went around the mountain and began climbing up the valley.

After 20 minutes I reached the meeting place where we had planned lunch. For the first time in 4 days, I reached noon not in the state of a vegetable, but on the contrary, inspired for further military exploits. In many ways, this was due to the change of shoes and the relatively straight terrain. Although the weather also pleased us with incredible stability and had not rained for half a day. This is the view of the valley and the upcoming climb (to the right). Pay attention to the size of the stones, some of them are as big as a four-story house.

The sausage was sliced, the bread was laid out, and the canned food was opened. We are having another master's dinner. Photo from Marina.

After lunch, a quiet hour was announced, during which I went with Grisha to swim in the waterfall, sunbathed and simply enjoyed the pleasant weather. Thanks again to Marina for the photo.

Then came the moment I had been dreading - I had to put on my combat boots for the climb. The pain again began to permeate the whole body, and every step began to turn into an act of masochism. At some point, the climb reached its apogee, and I was already climbing rather than walking, every now and then, clinging to protruding stones with my hands. I crawled almost without stopping, because I understood that if I stopped, the blood in my shoes would freeze and my heels would finally stick to the heels.
At an altitude of 2600 meters, dense clouds covered the group, and I stopped seeing anyone around. As a result, I reached the top alone and began to wait for the rest of the guys on the Turye plateau.

By this time I had almost no strength left. Exhausted, I lay down on the cold grass and couldn’t even bring myself to put on warm clothes. I was still wearing a wet jacket on top, and thin summer shorts below... Ten minutes later, Nastya came up to me and took this photo.

Grisha, Zhamal and Marina climbed to the plateau before us and went somewhere towards the lakes, where we were supposed to camp for the night. Nastya and I were unable to find them in the dense fog, and it was decided to wait for the group leader with the rest of the participants.

In about 40-50 minutes we arrived on the plateau. Sasha told us in which direction we would go next and suggested we take a photo on the edge of the rock wall. Since I did not have the strength, I asked permission to go to the lakes on my own to meet the “locomotive troika” and set off.

The clouds packed even more densely into the mountain circus, and visibility dropped to 10 meters. The whole earth was strewn with some blue flowers, and I walked on them as if on some kind of luxurious carpet. Then I suddenly almost ran into some kind of body of water. I would not have understood for a long time what obstacle stood in my way if it were not for the wind, which dispersed the clouds for a couple of minutes. The reservoir turned out to be a huge lake covered with ice and surrounded by snow caps. The altitude by this time had already reached 2800 meters above sea level.

Taking advantage of the appearance of visibility, I took up the camera and, not without strong-willed efforts, wandered along the shore ice lake. What did I say about Zaprudnoye? Clean? Compared to what I saw at that moment, Zaprudnoye was the Moscow River... The water was so clear that I could not always distinguish the boundary between liquid and land, as if I was looking at the bottom through the best glass in the world.

When the courage of the beauty I saw released me, I realized that I still didn’t see Marina, Zhamal and Grisha. Attempts to reach them were unsuccessful.At that moment, my pulse jumped noticeably and I realized that I was left alone among the rocks and in thick fog. The guys from the photo shoot were nowhere to be seen either, and I was seriously panicking.

As luck would have it, the cloudiness rolled over the circus even more, as if a huge giant vaper was trying with all his might to tear me away from the group. Jumping onto some high rock, I raised my bright red trekking poles up and peered intently into the gray abyss. Imagine my joy when I managed to discern barely noticeable voices in the frightening emptiness. Having reunited with the group, we wandered around some cobblestones for about 30 minutes and eventually reached the second lake, where the trio that had pulled ahead was waiting for us.

Having reached the camp site, I fell to the ground with the thought that I would die right here. Grisha tried to somehow cheer me up, and we began to set up a tent. At that moment, his partner reached for the spinner, which he had not let go of until then, and realized that an ill-fated nothing was waiting for him in his pocket. After analyzing the day and gutting all his things, Grisha realized that the spinner had been left somewhere in the valley and, thus, was presented as a sacrifice to the gods of the Caucasus. The pain of losing my favorite fidget was multiplied by the pain in my legs, and the tent was set up in half the time.

After that, I took off my shoes - there was no living space on the heels. This will probably seem like a mere trifle to many readers, but believe me, when you climb up a slope, all the load goes into this very place and thus, calluses cause much more pain than during normal walking.
Flaps of skin hung from the heel and prevented the wound from being properly treated. To avoid suppuration, I asked Sasha for scissors and brilliant green. Through simple but painful manipulations, the wound was treated and excess skin was removed. To somehow distract myself, I took my camera and went for a walk. Another rule that I learned for myself during the hike: if you want to live, move.

And I moved. Dissolving into the fog, the figures of the group members and huge mountain peaks flashed. Everything around was drowned in black and gray tones and shimmered with silent calm. It was in these seconds that the realization came of what peace is.

I was left alone with nature, which did not shoot me with bright and colorful colors, but gently enveloped me in its embrace and seemed to ask me to take a little breath after a hard day.

The Agur (Turya) lakes appeared before me in incredible calm. All boundaries were erased, and it was completely impossible to make out where the water began and the shore ended, where the sky began and where it merged with the horizon.

Returning to the camp, I went into the headquarters tent, where at that time the group was already preparing for dinner. Today we had a difficult day, just like any previous one, because every 24 hours we discover something new in ourselves. We find those facets in ourselves that are never revealed in everyday city life. We force ourselves to go through our own fears and the omnipresent “I can’t.” We begin to understand that man is only a small detail of the vast Universe. A detail that imagines itself to be the most important, but at the same time copes with nature with incredible effort, left alone face to face...

We have five more days of hiking ahead of us, which made us look at the world from a slightly different angle. But we’ll talk about all this a little later, when the fog clears and the sun comes out from the east. Day four, altitude 2740 meters, lights out.

This Sunday there was a meeting of friends, as graduates of Lyceum No. 1451 (former school No. 573) and students of school No. 1078 can now rightly be called. Two teams, formed and tempered during campaigns in Karelia, Crimea and Krasnodar, who tested their strength more than once on high-altitude simulators in Ruza, became friends and met more than once for common events - football games, walks. But a one-day trip to the Moscow region was new to everyone. The trip was led by Travel Laboratory specialist Natalya Deeva and the permanent attendant from school No. 1078, physical education teacher Lyudmila Gennadievna Namestnikova. Parents who have long supported the participation of schoolchildren in various projects also joined in.

The team covered the route Snegiri village - Istra River - Miitovskaya station. In Snegiri we managed to visit the military history museum. The starting place was not chosen by chance; Bullfinches is one of the most important historical places in outskirts of Moscow. In 1941, at this place, Soviet troops managed to stop the advance of the fascist invaders. The team has repeatedly raised the topic of respect and memory for the events of that time, during the program “History of Great Discoveries. People who changed the world,” the guys got acquainted with the personality of an outstanding person, Viktor Frankl, who survived a concentration camp.
The next point on the route, the Istra River, pleased us with a pleasant clearing, where the participants prepared a hearty lunch, remembering their hiking experience. We even managed to rest a little; for this we took a flying saucer with us. The route turned out to be difficult. In the second part, you had to choose a road among many paths. It was not easy for the guys who were chosen as guides. But in the end, with a little help, they were able to get everyone to the end point of the route at the appointed time.

Why did they need such a campaign? Why get up at six in the morning and drive somewhere far away, depriving yourself of a computer and TV on the last day off of the week? This team has the answer to that question. And friendship for them is not an empty word, but an opportunity to create a community in which everyone is like-minded, shares common values ​​and supports each other.

“We are incredibly lucky - until recently, strangers found themselves in a team where everyone shares a love of organization, responsibility, friendly communication and, most importantly, tourism. I’m happy to see how the members of my two teams are happy to meet, communicate, and exchange hiking and life experiences,” shared Natalya Deeva.

“When we decided to take part in the festival, the main thing for us was not the competition. Such events, first of all, provide new invaluable experience when you simultaneously engage in several types of tourism. And we were surprised and happy how the rival teams helped each other to overcome the path. Many participants have been living multi-races for a long time, constantly training. They have achieved a lot in this area. This event helped us test our strength, giving new impetus for development,” said Olga.

“After the first hour of the kayak competition we were completely wet, but it’s a matter of psychology. Either you keep going or you give up. Some teams, for example, if they were very tired, quit the race. These difficulties are an excellent test of your partner. This is also a great workout for unusual situations. After all, when you are on a hike with children, you simply do not have the right to give up, but move on and support others. And so that children do not become discouraged, you must be an example for them. And it doesn’t matter at all whether you are wet, cold, or tired. You need to be ready for anything, hold on, working as a team,” shared Marina Fomina.

Our colleagues returned to Moscow tired, but very happy. And this means our race in educating the younger generation through participation in travel continues.

The long-awaited ones are coming May holidays! And the teacher-organizers of the GBOU CDOD “Travel Laboratory” do not sit still: they improve their professional skills, broaden their horizons, and support a healthy lifestyle. Every year they surprise us with their long, interesting, risky journeys. Today we will talk about the travels of Lyudmila Sorokina, Yaroslav Kushinov, Olga Lisitsyna and Yulia Tolstova. Each of them chose their own path.

Lyudmila Sorokina and Yana Zhdanova carry out volunteer activities in the village of Travozna Lhota near small town Straznize. This is the south of the Czech Republic, almost on the border with Slovakia. There are many plantations of special herbs on the hills from which tea is made. Lyuda and Yana help collect herbs. As Lyudmila says, they employ 9 people. There are guys from Finland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia. We wish Lyudmila and Yana good luck. We are confident that they will be able to actively relax and learn a lot of new and interesting things.

Yulia Tolstova went to quite difficult journey to the Caucasus: this is a trip of 4th category of difficulty along the rivers Teberda, Kuban, Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Aksaut. As Yulia said, on the hike she wants to overcome obstacles and test herself. Also Julia will enjoy beautiful views and relax from the bustle of the city. We wish Yulia and her friendly team to succeed! Strength and patience!

Yaroslav Kuvshinov and Olga Lisitsyna went to the mountains Krasnodar region on a hike of 2 difficulty categories. This hike is a continuation of the school - a seminar on training tourism personnel (specialization - hiking) and an excellent opportunity to actively relax. The hike promises to be difficult and picturesque. He will pass through the territory natural park“Big Thach”. The groups will overcome the Acheshbok pass, climb Mount Big Thach, traverse the Agige and Small Bambaki ridges, and see the waterfalls of the Sakhray River canyon. The main objective of a multi-day training trip is to increase the level of tourist training of Instructors.

We asked Olga Lisitsyna what she expected from the hike. The answer was: “To reveal the participants of the seminar, to convey the experience of working on projects, to convey the atmosphere of our camps, to talk about traditions and various “tricks”, to look at future instructors in the conditions of serious tests, and to personally receive vivid emotions from the favorite mountains of the Krasnodar region "

We wish Olga and Yaroslav achievement of all their goals! And, of course, bright unforgettable holiday!

“We want to give all our records great names!” - this is the motto that ended the last day at the camp.

The guys returned from the scenic routes and, with vivid impressions, began to prepare for the award ceremony: the teams created a “Tourist Comic,” made a photo presentation about tourist life and showed videos illustrating record-breaking takeoffs.

And now it’s time to tell you more about the great team achievements and records.

Members of the Elite team assembled the camp in 1 hour 29 minutes, tied the Bayonet and Stirrup knots in 30 seconds as a whole team.

The guys from the Alpha team, competing with the Elite, set a record for putting on skis: 1 minute 15 seconds. Important gastronomic fact: they cooked delicious cakes over a fire in 35 minutes.

The “Travel Time” team competed with participants from the “Fishka” team. They lit a fire with one match and split a 45cm high log into 4 pieces in 45 seconds. At the same time, the “Fishka” team did 20 push-ups with a backpack on their back in 1 minute 12 seconds and cut down a dry tree more than 6 meters high in 1 minute.

By competing, the guys strengthened their fighting spirit, self-confidence and friendly attitude. Everyone competed fairly and fearlessly!

In the evening, travelers were in for a real surprise: memorable gifts from the Travel Laboratory and sweet cakes.

Very soon, friendly spring Moscow will welcome program participants. We are waiting for you guys!

Hello, dear friends!

Life in the camp continues in full swing! Of course, it’s the last day for the guys to get ready for a multi-day trip! And it passed actively and brightly. After morning jog lifts your mood for the whole day! We recommend it to everyone.

The guys were busy distributing food and assigning people on duty. This is a very responsible job!

Then there was the “Risk Management” seminar, because each participant in the program needs to know what difficulties they may encounter on a hike in order to be able to overcome them. We hope that the guys listened to the instructors carefully and remembered everything.

We continue to gain knowledge in the field of tourism! After lunch, the camp played a spinning game “I’m going on a hike.” The children learned how to tie knots, string awnings, make fires and use trekking poles. All this took place in the forest next to the camp: the bright sun was shining, the birds were singing, real spring was felt in everything!

In the evening, all the kids gathered for “Kuban Gatherings”, learned about the history of the Krasnodar region, listened to legends, guessed riddles and even learned one dance! All the guys are great!

Backpacks are packed, groceries are packed, knowledge is gained. All participants are fully prepared to travel through the foothills of the Caucasus. We are looking forward to getting out on the route!

Wait for new news from us!

The project is over for the guys who took part in the first race from March 20 to 29. Let us remind you that we returned from the Krasnodar Territory last Sunday groups of schools No. 2051, No. 888, No. 1078 and gymnasium No. 1811.

This week, all the guys meet again with their teacher-organizers and talk about what new they learned about themselves, their friends and about leadership during the project. They reflect, remember, analyze. And we invite you to remember the past journey, but looking at it through the eyes of the participants, who tried to capture all their immediate impressions in notebooks and team diaries.

Where were you and what did you see?

“When we arrived at the base, each of us realized that we were surrounded by mountains, clean air, beautiful weather and no Moscow fuss. There are a lot of beautiful landscapes and wonderful nature here” (team “Friendship”, school No. 1078, teacher-organizer Natalya Deeva).

“When I was appointed correspondent for the Auk team, I could not imagine how many interesting things I would have to describe with a far from omnipotent ballpoint pen. Every day, despite the presence of a schedule and routine, was unique. Every time you think that the best corner of this region lies before you, nature presents another miracle of its own. We paved the way to the magical Krasnodar landscapes on our own” (Auk team, school No. 888, teacher-organizer Alexander Markelov).

“On a test hike we walked along the Gerpegemsky ridge. It was fun, but we were a little tired. Some learned to navigate and figured out a little how to use the map” (team “Gnomes”, gymnasium No. 1811, teacher-organizer Natalya Remizova).

“On the second day of our journey we had to climb the Shahan ridge. This incredible place, with steep climbs. We had to go there, dividing into groups. The leaders of the day successfully brought their groups to the meeting place, but we were able to meet only after two and a half hours, because... being only 150 meters from each other, we could not find each other. We laughed at ourselves heartily at the end” (team “Vata-Vata”, school No. 2051, teacher-organizer Yulia Tolstova).

“Mount Kizinchi captivated us with its splendor and beauty. The path there was difficult, but it was worth it. We were treated to incredible, breathtaking views. When you are there, you feel like a little person at the mercy of powerful nature.” (Team “Vata-Vata”, school No. 2051, teacher-organizer Yulia Tolstova).

How did the hike change us?

“We became a team and got to know each other better” (team “Gnomes”, gymnasium No. 1811, teacher-organizer Natalya Remizova).

“We have learned to listen to others, accept failures and acknowledge them. We learned how to navigate, conquered many peaks and learned how to descend from them correctly, learned to cook a lot of goodies, quickly set up camp and make fires, and even discovered many interesting knots!” (team “Friendship”, school No. 1078, teacher-organizer Natalya Deeva)

“A hike is not only about admiring the views, but also about “camp” life and transitions between sites. It was hard to walk, and so was organizing everyday life; but we didn’t come here to wander around the parks; and even though a lot of things didn’t work out for us, too many things, we worked on ourselves. As a result, the team leaves this magical land with project certificates and a whole sea of ​​bright emotions that will last a lifetime.” (Auk team, school No. 888, teacher-organizer Alexander Markelov).

“We learned that the most important thing on a hike is to be able to think... A hike is a school of life. Every day we undergo strength tests, and today, when we have already returned to the base, we can confidently say that we have passed them. Our instructors created a very warm atmosphere in the team. Despite the fact that we were far from home and parents, we felt at home” (Vata-Vata team, school No. 2051, teacher-organizer Yulia Tolstova).

Wishes to instructors and teachers

“Don’t know sadness!” (team “Gnomes”, gymnasium No. 1811, teacher-organizer Natalya Remizova).

“We wish all the instructors to remain as cheerful and kind, and in certain situations strict and wise, and to find a common language with every child. It is impossible to deceive children, if they feel sincerity and support, they will be open to new acquaintances, tasks and discoveries” (Vata-Vata team, school No. 2051, teacher-organizer Yulia Tolstova).

Our magical journey in the Krasnodar region has come to an end... Yesterday all participants in the educational project returned from a trip to the camp.

The guys are full of impressions, emotions, their eyes are shining brightly! All day long, the teams vied with each other to tell us what an exciting journey they had made, what beautiful places and attractions they had visited! There were dolmens, waterfalls, rocks, and mountain peaks! Murmuring rivers and a real gorge! Extraordinary landscapes that the guys couldn’t even imagine!

Upon returning to camp, the fast pace of events continued. The teams had to dry their camping equipment and prepare for a creative evening - make a photo presentation and a skit about the hike. The cheerful performance and stories about the journey smoothly flowed into the award ceremony - each participant received a memorable certificate of completion of the program. It was felt that all the guys were very united and didn’t want to leave at all - I wish I could throw my backpack over my shoulders again and go on a trip with real friends with whom I already have a lot in common!

Today the groups are already going home, having said goodbye to Krasnodar region, tomorrow they will arrive in the capital. In the meantime, parents are preparing to welcome their beloved children, we will tell them little secret: completely different schoolchildren will return to Moscow! No, of course, outwardly they are all the same boys and girls. But these will be truly united friendly teams, sincere, brave and at the same time independent guys! We are waiting for our travelers and final news from them!

 

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