Konjakov stone is one of the beautiful peaks Northern Urals. The height of the mountain is 1569m. In the lower part, the slopes are covered with coniferous forests, and higher up to the top there is tundra and stone placers. Every year in July it hosts a festival that attracts more than a thousand participants. Nearby are also the peaks of Serebryansky Stone and Kosvinsky Stone.

2. For clarity, I drew a diagram of the trail to the Konzhakovsky stone (red line)

How to get to Konjak?

Most convenient option get there by car. You can, of course, take buses or trains to Krasnoturinsk, then to Karpinsk, then catch a ride towards the village of Kytlym - but this is a very long way. So, from Karpinsk to Kytlym there is a dirt road. At the 50th kilometer, near the Katysher meadows, the Katysher River flows, and here is the beginning of the trail.

Brief description of the trail (see map):

The trail runs from Katysher meadows to the very top (21 km one way), it is marked with kilometer signs and marathon red flags. Before reaching a couple of hundred meters from the Katysher River, a dirt road goes deep into the forest on the right. Follow it until the fork for 4 km, here turn left. Further straight to the forest. This place can be reached by SUV.

Further through the forest across the bridge on the Konzhakovka River to the Artists' Glade. In this part of the trail the forest gradually ends and the tundra begins. From here begins the difficult climb to the Job plateau. After a few more kilometers along rocky areas to the top of Konjak.

Popular options for trekking to Konjac:

1. Option for the hardy ones. Leave the car at Katysher meadows and set up camp. From here you can easily walk to the top of Konjak, which is 21 km one way. The journey there and there will take 11-13 hours. This is exactly how marathon athletes run ( best time marathon – 3 hours)

2. Normal option. Leave the car at Katysher meadows. Then walk to the point “Meadow of Artists” (14 km). Set up a camp. There is water and comfortable places for tents. The next day, climb lightly to the top of Konjak (7 km one way).

If you have an SUV, then you can shorten the path to the top by 7 km by driving along the forest road to the “car parking” point (see map)

3. Road Karpinsk-Kytlym

4. Eighth kilometer of the trail. Fir forest.

5. Marked trail on the Job plateau

6. At the beginning of summer you can see snow on the slope

7. Alpine meadows with green grass on the Job plateau. Job's Gap is visible in the distance

8. Photos from the mountain marathon

Mountain range Konzhakovsky Stone

Konjak is one of the highest mountains in the Urals, height 1569 meters, located in the southern part of the Northern Urals, next to locality Kytlym. Named after the Vogul hunter Konzhakov, whose yurt once stood at the base of the mountain. In the lower part, the slopes are covered with coniferous forests, and from a height of 1000 meters - mountain tundra and stone placers. Konzhakovsky Stone includes the Serebryansky ridge in the east and the Konzhakovsky ridge in the west.

The highest point of the Serebryansky ridge - Mount Serebryansky Stone (1305 m.), is characterized by big amount rocks on the ridge (rock teeth). The Konzhakovsky ridge includes the following peaks: Mt. Trapezia (1253 m), Mt. South Job (1311 m.), Mt. Northern Job (1263 m.), Mt. Konzhakovsky Kamen (1569 m.), Mt. Tylaysky Kamen (1471 m.), Ostraya Kosva town (1403 m.).

Outstanding places on the Konzhak ridge are the Iovsky plateau with an altitude of up to 1200 meters, on which there is a lake, the Iovsky failure (the eastern slope of the Iovsky plateau) - rocks that fall steeply into the valley of the Poludnevaya river, the Tylaysky failure - the steep southwestern slope of Mount Tylaysky Kamen, Polyana Artists - a clearing in the forest, in the valley of the Konzhakovka River, a popular parking place among tourists.

On a marathon route 42 km long, from the Karpinsk-Kytlym highway to the top of Konzhak and back, an international mountain marathon is held annually, attracting up to 2 thousand participants.

First time at Konjac

While planning our next trip, we discovered that we had been on rivers and lakes, on bicycle trips, but had never climbed the mountains. Alexander, of course, was in the Crimea and the Caucasus, and climbed all the mountains there, but in the Urals, he did not rise higher than Volchikha. We laid out a map of the Urals and saw two attractive places: the Taganay ridge and Konzhakovsky Kamen. They began to choose, and, like true patriots Sverdlovsk region, chose Konjac.

We found out all the details on how to get there from a friend, Alexey Kurochkin - he’s also a traveler, he drives tourist groups. He was in Konjak, most recently, participating in the marathon. The transfer was multi-stage: by train to Krasnoturinsk, then by minibus to Karpinsk, and then hitchhiking towards the village of Kytlym to the Marathon trail.

Road to the foot of Konjac

The first two stages went smoothly - in Krasnoturinsk we bought food at the station, got into the GAZelka and after 20 minutes we were in Karpinsk. There our road passed along the street with its native name Sovetskaya, past the Theological Vvedensky Cathedral (it was under restoration, covered in forests), past a logging base, across the Turya River and further into the forest.

The road was terribly dusty - KAMAZ trucks were rushing along the gravel every 5 minutes to the quarry. We tried to vote, but all the drivers showed that they were turning off soon. Then we walked along the road, so as not to feed the mosquitoes in one place, and somewhere after a few kilometers, a truck finally stopped in response to our calls. I climbed into the cab, and Alexander rode in the back, with the breeze. The driver said that he had been to Konjak many times, and a week ago he even worked there at the marathon - he was transporting something.

He dropped us off at the turn to Veselovka, wished us good luck and left. We moved on. There were no cars for a long time, but the sun was shining brightly, flowers were blooming by the roadsides, and it wasn’t difficult to walk yet. A couple of cars drove past us without stopping. By the way, it should be taken into account that if there are more than two travelers, most likely no one will give you a lift at all; you need to rent a car in Karpinsk.

But we were lucky, another passenger car slowed down and they agreed to take us to a place with the mysterious name Kakvinsky furnaces (they used to burn charcoal there for a metallurgical plant) - that’s another 15 kilometers. The people in the car turned out to be lovers of mountain climbing; they had been to Konjak, and to all the surrounding peaks, and to Denezhkino Kamen, and to the Subpolar Urals, and even to Altai, on Mount Belukha. They advised us not to go to the mountain if there was fog. We crossed the bridge over the Kakva River, where several cars with local vacationers were parked. When we were dropped off at the turn to Kakvinskie Pechi, there was no smell of fog - the sun was shining with all its might.

We walked along the road a couple more kilometers and got into the last ride for today, driven by a very young guy. He was just on his way to Kytlym and promised to take us to the Marathon trail. His speed was decent, and on such a road it felt extreme - stones drummed on the bottom, passengers were thrown up on potholes, and sometimes an oncoming car suddenly jumped out of the clouds of dust. The driver's name was Vitalik, he turned out to be an officer serving in a radar regiment on the slopes of Kosvinsky Kamen, and he told us a lot of interesting things...

Kosvinsky Stone

Kosvinsky Kamen is another mountain next to Konzhakovsky Kamen. Its height is 1519 meters, and the difference with Konjak is about fifty meters. It is made of dunite rock, which is fireproof and blocks scanning radio emissions. Therefore, of course, in Soviet times, a top-secret communication system “Perimeter” was equipped here with a command post, capable of surviving the consequences of a nuclear strike.

Kosvinsky Stone is pitted inside like an anthill - there are tunnels of such a size that heavy vehicles can easily move through them. And the facility continues to be built - sand, crushed stone, concrete, etc. are constantly being delivered there. It is convenient to build because horizontal mines have been preserved in the mountain after platinum mining. To supply the facility, a couple of years ago an additional power line was built and a new bridge was built across the Kakva River. In Kytlym, adjacent to the base, residential houses for soldiers and officers and other infrastructure are being built.

Back in 1993, the former American observer of the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and now one of the leading US experts on Russian weapons, Bruce G. Blair, published this information about the Kosvinsky Stone. Even Putin came to the command post when he was President.

So, after a pleasant conversation, we reached the beginning of the trail to Konjak. Vitalik showed us his military town in the distance and drove on. The path did not at all resemble a road leading to the mountains - it led straight through a low forest. The peaks were visible only in the distance. There were two cars parked in the clearing, and 5-6 tanned, tired young people were hanging out. To the question “Are you going there or from there?” they answered “From there, we’ve been sunbathing there since July 1.”

They also warned that it was very windy and cool at the top, that we could get water at the 9th and 14th kilometers, that it was better to get up at the Artists' Glade, and that we wouldn't get lost - only 3-4 days had passed since the marathon, all the marks were fresh , clearly visible on the trail. The Konjac marathon is when more than a thousand people run 21 kilometers up the mountain and the same amount back, 42 ​​kilometers in total. At first it didn’t seem so strange to us, but then... In general, at 13.20 we went to Konjak.

Climbing Konzhakovsky Stone

After 500 meters the road, quite rocky, began to climb a little. We agreed that at two o'clock we would stop and have lunch. We crossed two rivers and a power line. We came across a whole family with children walking back to the road, the youngest was sitting on dad's neck. Two tourists were sitting on the side of the road, relaxing. So it was clear that Konjak is a popular place. The trail was indeed marked with red ribbons on the trees and bushes, every kilometer there were signs: 2, 3, 4... So at the fourth kilometer we had lunch with pasties and vegetables, rested a little and moved on. Moreover, Sasha put on overalls and a jacket, sprayed his legs against mosquitoes - the insects were already tasting us.

After half a kilometer the road went downhill and there were no signs of mountains. Alexander already doubted whether we were going there. But then the path led upward again and through a gap above the trees we suddenly saw the hefty bluish Konzhakovsky Stone in the heights, as it is now clear - one of its foothills. We happily moved on. And it was becoming more and more difficult to walk: it was the hottest time, there was no shade on the road, the backpacks were getting heavier. And my sneakers also had rather thin soles, so it was very sensitive to step on the stones; it turned out to be such a hard foot massage. Hence the conclusion - on such trips you need to wear shoes with thick soles, preferably ankle boots.

We puffed and puffed, suddenly the road split into two - one part straight and up, the other to the left, there was a canopy and a large table built there. An inconspicuous sign said that Konjak is to the left, and straight ahead is Serebryansky Stone. We turned and the road became shady, but it got steeper and steeper. Up to 6 km. We barely made it, took a break in a clearing, sat on logs of wood, drank water. Just in case, I wrapped my broken leg in an elastic bandage. We moved further, suddenly there was a smell of burning, and to the right of the path stretched a scorched forest with burnt out undergrowth. The tree stumps were still smoking in places. We looked up - and there was just a column of smoke - the forest was burning 700-800 meters higher up the slope. We wondered how we would return if everything caught fire, but still decided to go forward - we were not going to the fire, but past it.

After some time the road ended. There was a cherry Zhiguli car standing in the clearing and no one was nearby. And a narrow path went into the forest - in some places it was earthen, in others it was rocky. And the forest itself has changed a lot: on the sides there were impenetrable jungles of small, skinny fir trees, but here the spruce trees became large and there was more space. We had been walking for quite a long time, but there was still no sign “7th km”. Suddenly the 8th appeared immediately. Apparently the previous one just fell.

We were already pretty tired and thirsty. Then some noise was heard ahead, they thought it was the wind, but it turned out to be the mountain river Konzhakovka. She ran merrily along the stone riverbed; a bridge of three pine logs fastened with iron staples was thrown across her. We rejoiced at the river, like family. We crossed the bridge, threw off our backpacks, undressed and went for a swim in the freezing water. And we also drank it - it was wonderfully tasty. Then we took more photographs, looked around the parking lot - there were homemade benches placed on the bank, a table, and a place for tents. We have increased strength. I didn’t want to leave the mountain river, but I had to move on.

The path, after running a little along the shore, turned into the forest. It was all covered with intertwined roots, mostly spruce. Some kind of bird with a large beak, motley, about the size of a jackdaw, with a white undertail, accompanied us all the time, sitting on the road ahead. She let us get within 2-3 meters and ran back or flew a little further forward. On the path, she busily pecked something from the ground, glancing in our direction. Perhaps on different areas roads, they were different birds of the same breed, I don’t know. But it was more fun to go with them.

A kilometer from the river we came to a large clearing with benches and a table. At the very entrance to the clearing we saw a small spring. This was the checkpoint at the ninth kilometer. We didn’t linger there for long, we just glanced at two dusty jeeps parked in the bushes. The marked path to Konjak led to the right, and to the left went the bumpy road to Kytlym, along which the SUVs got here.

There were 5 kilometers left before the long-awaited parking lot at the Artists' Glade, and my shoulders were already groaning from the backpacks, my office worker's osteochondrosis was making itself known - it was as if a nail had been driven into my right shoulder blade. From the clearing, the path smoothly turned left and up; small streams sometimes flowed down it. Everything was covered with stones, making walking very difficult.

Alexander walked 40-50 meters ahead of me. Suddenly a bark and a menacing growl were heard. I hurried to catch up with Sasha and see what was the matter. I see some kind of furry ball at his feet - it turned out to be a dog, apparently a cross between a spaniel, judging by the face. She bared her teeth ferociously and pretended that she would rush in and tear him to pieces. Then a bearded man rose from the bushes and began to pull the dog away by the collar, saying: “Ugh, Jim, ugh!” He finally sat him down in the grass and said hello to us. The man, despite his rather long beard, had a somewhat childish face, very kind blue eyes and a quiet voice. He said that we were very close to the Artists' Glade, that a couple of groups of tourists had already settled there and would go to the mountain tomorrow. We told him about the fire we saw, and he became worried that the hut was on fire. On this we parted.

Further along the path we began to see very large, thick pines, about two meters in diameter at the bottom. They stood on elongated roots, as if on tiptoe, the earth was washed out from under them. There were also fallen trees, the gigantic roots of which stuck out in all directions in strange patterns for 3-4 meters. In several places the trail was crossed by large streams with clear water - somewhere between 12 and 13 kilometers. We got plenty drunk. A little further on the way we came across a monument on which was the name of the deceased, the dates of his birth and death and the inscription: “Better this than from vodka or a cold.” It turned out that this man, who had just turned 50 years old, participated in the Konzhak marathon on July 2 in 2005, and died right on the run. Well, perhaps this really isn't the worst ending for this person. It's amazing how others make it through this road alive.

Glade of artists

After 13 kilometers we heard a murmur below to the right of the trail, and almost simultaneously we saw a rocky mountain slope beyond the gorge. This was the Konzhakovka river, already known to us, and the first approaches to the top of Konzhak. Then voices were heard, tents appeared... We finally reached the Artists' Glade. All suitable parking spots were already occupied, cheerful people were sunbathing, cooking food over the fire, and chatting. Alexander said to everyone “Fizkult-hello!” and we sank exhausted to the edge of the gorge. They sat like that for some time, looking at the mountains surrounding the small valley on both sides. But Polyana somehow, at first glance, did not live up to its romantic name - it was too crowded and noisy. To get to the water we had to go down a steep slope about 15 meters, the river below didn’t even move, the water was almost stagnant, with midges and specks falling from above. This was our first impression.

Alexander went to look for a free place for a tent and quickly found it - an elongated clearing, fenced off from the main one by bushes. On one side of it there was already a blue tent, the owners of which were not visible, two fire pits were black. We quickly set up our temporary house, collected some firewood, lit a fire and boiled water - it was already seven in the evening, time for dinner. Although from the heat and fatigue I only wanted to drink. While we were having tea, we took a better look around. Our camp was located in a hollow between two mountain slopes, and all vegetation ended about a hundred meters above us. Beyond are bare rocks. The ravine itself is overgrown with low, stocky pines and cedars, as well as birches and spruce trees in the form of shrubs. Rowan berries and some other bushes grew near our tent. From somewhere there was a smell of sweet pine resin - a magical aroma. So there was somewhere to go.

Since we were going to the top of Konjac in the morning, we decided to go to bed early. Sasha’s right shoulder hurt from the backpack, and my feet were buzzing. But as soon as we dozed off, our neighbors returned, began to talk, cook soup on the burner, and have dinner. An hour later they finally settled down too. But even on the second try, sleep did not come to us. Somewhere closer to one in the morning, steps and cheerful male voices were heard near our tent. The two tourists parted mentally, having had a good time beforehand. One said: “Okay, I’ve come.” The second one replied: “Exactly? Well, then Good night" and his steps began to recede. The one who remained stood, sighed, and moved towards our entrance. Alexander leaned out to meet him and unfriendlyly asked: “What do you want?” He answered with the question, “Who are you?” Sasha explained that this is his house, man said - no, mine.

In short, they bickered a bit and Sasha climbed back in, and his drunken comrade fell with a crash into the bushes near our tent (rose hips, by the way). And it began... At first he just groaned and groaned. Then he felt bad, then he hiccupped, croaked, moaned, hiccuped again... Then he screamed in a terrible voice. Then he breathed loudly, as in porn films - it was a man warming his hands with his breath. We couldn’t sleep for a long time - we either laughed at the weirdo, or tried to drive him away, or listened to see if he was getting up; he could easily fall onto our tent while drunk. I gave up and fell asleep first. So you understand, we weren’t able to get up as early as we planned in the morning.

That’s why we started climbing Konjak at almost 11 o’clock. It’s good that I managed to convince Alexander to leave one backpack with extra things at the bottom. We hid it and took with us another backpack with water, food and warm clothes. They decided to take turns carrying. The trail was marked all the way to the top. Where there were no more trees, sticks with red ribbons stuck out, so we could see the path from afar.

Climbing Konjac

At first, the road ran through a forest that looked like a garden - miniature trees, as if trimmed, round bushes, bright green grass and large, tall flowers of the most saturated colors - deep purple, yellow, pink, white, pure blue. I have never seen half of these plants. Then along the edges of the path long tongues of stone screes became visible - the first messengers from the peaks. We took pictures on these picturesque boulders. Back then I had no idea how many of them I would have to see and go through today.

About 30 minutes later the forest ended and we came out into the open. It was hot, especially for me; I carried the backpack first. Areas completely littered with boulders began to come across more and more often. They had to be overcome by jumping from rock to rock like a mountain goat. It was not easy to maintain balance with the backpack; Alexander led me by the hand. Some stones also swayed, trying to slip out from under our feet. The heat was slightly diluted by a fresh breeze from the mountains.

We reached a vast clearing at a height - it was something like a pass with an alpine meadow. The variegated grass carpet with small bright flowers dazzled in my eyes and smelled of honey. Never before have I seen forget-me-nots of such an intense blue color. And all this was covered with a blue sky from above, framed by gray-green mountain slopes. At the very beginning of the meadow there was a small stone sign-column “To the anniversary of the metallurgical industry.” And on one of the rocks on the left slope one could see a white grave monument to another tourist who ended his days on Konjak.

We crossed the pass easily and pleasantly through the meadow; the wind was blowing quite strongly here, so I put on a windbreaker. Our little valley disappeared from view along with the peaks behind. But we had an amazing view of the plateau, two more mountains nearby, mountains in the distance - everywhere. On the plateau on the right there was a sparkling lake, behind it there was a steep cliff, they call it “the failure” here. And the trail, marked with red ribbons, began to climb a slope littered with stones, turning more and more to the left, here we were finally able to determine which of the peaks was Konjak. Although she herself was not yet visible from below.

How can I describe the climb to Konjak by jumping over boulders to me, the owner of a broken, poorly bending leg? I had a decent dose of adrenaline, although I can’t say that it was something extremely difficult either. I told myself - even children can get up here, and this is a wonderful thing for losing weight... But the thought still flashed - where is it taking me? Here is Alexander - he felt great, even with a backpack, even without - he was jumping on the cobblestones, taking photographs, turning his head 180 degrees.

The higher we rose, the more majestic the picture opened up to us, and the smaller I felt. From the middle of the slope it became clear that in two more places, far on the mountains, the forest was burning - columns of smoke were rising there. And then we noticed snow on the right side of the slope. Alexander immediately became happy and shouted “Karamba!” and ordered to turn there. We jumped to the cold white snow, I took a photo of Sasha cheerfully poking around in a snowdrift at the height of July, and we turned back onto the path, if you can call it that. When there were 2 kilometers left to the top of Konjak, we sat down to rest at a tiny stream where we could get some water and drink. We blew out two mugs each, breathed, took another look at the panorama, and again went to the top. At the very top of the mountain there was another high-altitude meadow. The wind was already blowing quite cool and quite strong.

Vertex...

About a hundred meters from the end of the path we heard a loud crash, as if a helicopter was taking off. They couldn’t understand what it was until they saw that it was flags above fluttering in the wind. On the last steps we met several people walking back. At the very top, under the cover of a stone wall, five tourists were boiling tea on a fire and inviting us to warm up. We sat quietly for a while, throwing off our backpack, and then went out to the windy peak to take pictures.

The wind blower knocked tears out of your eyes, it seemed like you were about to fly down. The sleeves of my windbreaker were fluttering as if they were jumping with a parachute. My hands were freezing. Alexander climbed up to the flags, shouted something, waved his arms - in short, expressed wild delight. From the height we could see the nearby bulk of Kosvinsky Stone, and the village of Kytlym, and dozens of peaks to the very horizon, lost in a bluish haze, only then did I realize how large the Urals are, and that this is truly a mountainous country. In the other direction, the terrain was smoother, it was clear that the forest was divided into squares by clearings, riverbeds could be seen in the distance, something glittered between the mountains - maybe also a river or a reservoir.

I suffered quite a bit while photographing Alexander: firstly, my legs were shaking a little after the climb, and secondly, the wind was in the way - it just blew me away, blurring my eyes with tears... Then Alexander himself took pictures of the surrounding panoramas, climbed to the second peak, to the left of the first. But since it was already about two o'clock, we decided to have lunch. Chebureks, it must be said, become terribly tasty at an altitude of 1500 meters. And pancakes with cottage cheese too. Having washed it all down with tea, we still admired the expanses, the blue haze on the horizon, and relaxed... until we noticed that a nasty dark cloud in half the sky was quickly moving towards us. I imagined going down the mountain in the rain and said to Sasha if it was time for us to go. He agreed that jumping on wet stones is not good, and we went back.

We advanced about 50 meters and - oh, miracle! - we met a night resident of the bushes. He looked pitiful and rumpled, and could barely drag himself up the hill. Don't drink, gentlemen and comrades. We told him a few words about our night impressions - he was very surprised and didn’t remember anything. He said that he couldn’t find his tent for a long time. But he apologized and promised not to drink again.

Going down was still not as difficult as going up, but our feet and knees were more tired - after all, we were jumping on stones and we had to spring back. You had to be more careful - after all, if the stone shakes, it is more difficult to maintain balance than when you go up. And besides, my sneakers had come to an end; the sole in the front had completely come off and was trying to catch on something. Then I also pierced my heel (well, at least not my own, but my sneaker). Alexander suggested going down another road, directly, but I objected that we didn’t know whether we were going through that slope, and we wanted to go to the lake. Sasha liked the idea about the lake; we left the trail anyway to shorten the path to the pond.

Quite soon we reached the plateau, already under a gently drizzling rain. It turned out that the grass there grows not on the ground, but on top of the moss. Our legs sank into it almost to the middle of our calves, and below it there were still uneven stones, so by the time we reached the lake we were pretty tired. Rather, one could call it a puddle, in fact deep place barely knee-deep, measuring about 25 by 15 meters, but the water is clean, transparent and tastes like a mountain river. We photographed the lake, the iron pipes abandoned by geologists on its shores, and the toppled tower.

There was no longer any strength to go towards failure, and the cloud was approaching. I wanted to have time to set up a tent before the heavy rain. We walked uphill to the path, through sticky moss and small bushes, our legs got tired, as if we were walking through a swamp. We rested on a large boulder and ate an apple. We saw tourists walking up the path, one of them carrying in his arms... a large red dog. We were a little surprised by this fact. When we finally got back to the marked path, the people with whom we were at the top were resting there. We told them that we were at the lake.

There was not much left yet, and we, having crossed the pass back, went out into the forest-garden and reached the place where the things were hidden. We were glad that they did not get wet, because the rain drizzled periodically, and dived into our clearing. The tent site was free. The evening passed quietly and peacefully: we had dinner, lay in the tent, and rested. Then we talked to the returning neighbors. It turned out that they had been here for almost a week, they left the tent with their things, and they themselves went to different peaks every day.

They live in the city of Lesnoy, they are both over 60. We have been to Konjak many times, and they advised us to take a shortcut to get to it. They said that today our fellow countrymen - policemen from Yekaterinburg - promised to come for a visit. They hid their backpacks in the forest in front of the exit to Serebryanskaya, marked a point on the GPS navigator, and planned to pick up their things and come. But judging by the fact that they did not appear until the morning, the navigator is an unreliable thing, and the batteries may run out. As it turned out later, they searched the slope all night in search of their backpacks, and in them there was food and a tent and everything else.

When we were about to go to bed, a guy with a red dog approached the tent - the same one who carried it in his arms. She says she wasn’t afraid on the mountain, she was just very tired. The dog really looked tired. And the guy came for a reason, he thought that his drinking companion from yesterday lived in our tent, and wanted to invite him again to “sit.” Alexander and I advised him not to do this and told him the epic of the night. The guy agreed that this shouldn’t be repeated and went home.

It rained a little at night, but by morning everything had dried up. Since we were about to leave, I got up early. The sky was blue again, the air was warm - it was just a shame to return to such weather. And then the clouds appeared from behind the pass again. I hurried to make a fire and boil tea. I collected my things. Alexander appeared from the tent.

While I was making tea, cutting sandwiches, and he was doing exercises, the clouds crawled over the mountain, clung to it and began to flow down the slope towards us in clumps. I have never seen clouds so close, except from an airplane. We didn’t remove the tent until the last minute, we were all waiting to see if it would rain or not. Did not go. The sky cleared all around, and only a cloud, clinging to the mountain, still hung in one place. The sun came out, and we again thought about staying another day. But groups of tourists walking past us in a continuous stream reminded us that today is Saturday, and tomorrow we may not leave for Yekaterinburg.

From the mountain, or another 21 kilometers

So we finally headed back around 10 am. And they immediately ran into an acquaintance of mine - he and a friend were walking lightly to Konjak. We happily exchanged plans and impressions, and agreed to call in the city. Further, walking down the familiar path, we counted the groups we came across. The result was 14 companies ranging from 2 to 20 people. So if you don’t like noise and crowds of people, you should go to Konjak on weekdays.

On the way back we again photographed everything interesting. It wasn’t until we reached the Konzhakovka River that I was ready to change my broken sneakers to rubber slippers. Surprisingly, walking on the stones in them was much more comfortable and not hot. On the shore we saw a camp of 6-7 large tents, completely empty. Even the food on the table was left lying around. Apparently, a whole class of schoolchildren set up a base here; we saw them at the spring. Having rinsed our feet and hands in the river again, we continued our journey.

We passed the place where the forest was burning - now there was no more smoke. Further along the road we met a hefty car that was carrying some barrels and a tourist with backpacks. Alexander suggested that the barrels contained a composition for extinguishing fires. We have already seen such barrels in the clearing. Even lower down was a car with a trailer in the back, and a worker was dozing there. We sat down by the stream to have lunch and noticed that 5-6 cars were parked in the bushes behind the car, and another one pulled up with tourists. After having a snack, we went further, and by two o’clock, as planned, we reached the road to Kytlym. They began to catch a ride, but it was not to be. There were few cars passing, almost all of them were full, either military or postal, which were not supposed to carry passengers. There were clouds of gadflies hovering around, the sun was so hot that oh-oh-oh!

We stayed on the road until six in the evening. We saw how people were getting ready to go to Konjak on ATVs, how they were leaving on foot... Finally, a passenger bus went to Kytlym, promising to take us on the way back in about 40 minutes. But as soon as it disappeared from sight, we stopped the KAMAZ, got into it and completely free of charge, although not comfortably, we reached Karpinsk. Alexander just didn’t like the fact that the driver smoked in the cab, and I didn’t feel very comfortable sitting - my legs were numb and I was shaking violently. But the driver tried to entertain us with stories from his life.

Karpinsky Hotel

We left near the Turya River on the outskirts of Karpinsk. We wanted to spend the night on the shore in a tent, because we were still late for the train at seven o’clock. But they were disappointed - everywhere the banks were swampy, old logs were floating in the water, and clouds of angry mosquitoes hovered in the grass. We had to urgently evacuate. We crossed an inconvenient river on a bridge and entered Karpinsk. We asked a local resident where to swim and arrived at a small lake. There were already boys splashing around and a couple sunbathing.

We set up a tent, Sasha collected some firewood somewhere, and I went for water. While Alexander was making a fire pit, I rinsed off in not too clean water. Something told me that I wouldn’t be able to spend the night here peacefully; the reservoir looked too popular among the population. As soon as we sat down to dinner, a group of extremely drunk “vacationers” pulled up, using only obscenities. Seeing that there would be no peace and quiet here, we packed our things and left the unpleasant neighborhood.

At first they thought to stay in the courtyard of the cathedral, but its fence turned out to be unfinished. Then we found out where the hotel was in Karpinsk and went there. On the way, we were also given a local newspaper with the telephone numbers of apartments available for daily rent. The hotel turned out to be more expensive, there was a separate fee for showers, and there was a smell of bleach. So we took a local taxi, driven by our fellow countryman, who moved here two years ago, to the apartment. We liked it - clean, cozy, quiet, everything was there (shower!) and only 200 rubles per person. We drank tea, washed ourselves and collapsed into bed. We slept until ten in the morning. At half past twelve they called the hostess, thanked her, said goodbye and went to the minibus stop to Krasnoturinsk.

It was good to feel clean and rested. We bought some delicious food for the trip, and the Borodino bread was especially outstanding. At 12 we were already at the station, but then it turned out that tickets were only available for seat place. Sitting from seven in the evening until eight in the morning is cool, we thought, and went to the bus station.

There, at first, we were also disappointed - at the ticket office they said that there were no tickets for the bus that suited us at 14.05. We were already planning to go first to Serov, and then somehow go home from there, but Alexander never gives up, he approached the driver, talked to him, and we were put on the bus in some reserve seats. Six o'clock is quite comfortable conditions We didn't find it tiresome. On the way there was a stop at a cafe for 30 minutes - we had dinner and warmed up, and at 8 pm we were already in Yekaterinburg.

What conclusions did we draw from our first mountain hike in the Urals?

Such a journey is only possible for persistent, physically prepared people. In the most difficult moments, we said that we would never go to the mountains again, but after a day or two, when our legs and shoulders stopped hurting, we realized that we wouldn’t mind going back and seeing what we hadn’t seen yet. And there is still a lot of interesting things to do on Konjac. After all, there are even waterfalls on Serebryansky Stone.

You need to prepare for such a hike carefully: read about the route, find and study maps, choose a time to visit good weather(there is often fog, rain, and hail in the mountains).

You should not buy return tickets in advance: you may not be able to get down from Konjak by the appointed time due to the weather, or you may not be able to get to Krasnoturinsk on time if you do not have your own or pre-ordered transport. By the way, there is a cellular connection near the road to Kytlym. "Motive", for example, takes.

Well, if you are still going to Konjak, that’s good. After all, the impressions of real mountains, clean water, wild forests and wonderful air are truly unforgettable!

A little about the sad...

I am glad that I was lucky enough to visit Mount Konzhakovsky Stone back when there was alpine meadows thousands of flowers bloomed... But after the start of ore mining and the construction of the road to the pass, herds of barbarians rushed there in jeeps and ATVs, who simply plowed up the unique high-mountain meadows along with their rare plants. Instead of walking on foot, admiring the beauty and breathing clean air, they leave ugly ruts and heaps of garbage everywhere... The position of our authorities is depressing - to give permission for the extraction of mineral resources, and do nothing to preserve amazing place- Konzhakovsky Stone and its pass. I'm afraid that those who are planning to go to Konjak will no longer see it in the same form as it was before...

How to get to Konzhakovsky Stone

You can get to Konjak from Yekaterinburg as follows. If you have your own vehicle, then everything is simple. Along the Serovsky tract through Tagil, Serov, Krasnoturinsk, Karpinsk, and then a dirt road to Kytlym. In total, about 480 km. Before reaching Kytlym, after the Second Serebryanka River, there will be a road to the right up the mountain. It leads to a mine on the mountain. And a little ahead is the Serebryansky Stone tourist center, and next to it is the Pervaya Serebryanka river.

But it’s better to drive further, to a place called Katysher meadows (Katysher urn on the map), there is also the Konzhakovsky Kamen camp site, and the Konzhakovka and Katysher rivers. Here you can leave your car and, like a real tourist, go up the mountain on foot. The trail is well trodden and marked. So you will feel all the charm of climbing the mountain, with a backpack it will take about 7 hours. From the road Karpinsk - Kytlym along the trail to the artists' clearing is 14 km, and another 7 km to the top.

You can spend the night in a clearing, a river flows nearby, and the next day up to the mountain and down, or back to the clearing. Quite realistic for a normal person. On weekends, the clearing is full of tents, and there are crowds of people on the mountain; it’s better to go on weekdays. If you are frail and sick, you can go straight up the mountain along the first road to the mine, and leave the car there and walk to the very top. You won’t be able to go to the very top, the road is blocked there. And leaving your car on the side of the road unattended is dangerous.

If you don’t have a car, you’ll have to travel 7-8 hours from Yekaterinburg by bus to Krasnoturinsk or Karpinsk. There are many flights. But buses do not go from Karpinsk towards Kytlym every day. Check the schedule the day before. Or a taxi if there are a lot of you. If you went to Konjak alone, you can walk to the end of Karpinsk and vote there on the road. Autotourists will pick you up, but it is not known when. There is also an option by train from Yekaterinburg to Serov, and there is a minibus or bus.

Lake of Geologists

Serebryansky Stone

Peak of Konjac

Mountain country

Kosvinsky Stone

There are more people on weekends

Kerzhaks are representatives of the Old Believers, carriers of a culture of the North Russian type. They are an ethno-confessional group of Russians. In the 1720s, after the defeat of the Kerzhen hermitages, they fled east to Perm province, fleeing political and religious persecution. They have always led a rather closed communal lifestyle due to strict religious rules and traditional culture.

The Kerzhaks are one of the first Russian-speaking inhabitants of Siberia. Here the people were the basis of the Altai masons, they contrasted themselves with the “Rasei” (Russian) later settlers of Siberia. But gradually, due to their common origin, they were almost completely assimilated. Later, all Old Believers were called Kerzhaks. In remote places to this day there are Kerzhat settlements that have virtually no contact with the outside world.

Where live

From the Urals the people settled throughout Siberia, until Far East and Altai. In Western Siberia, people founded villages in Novosibirsk region: Kozlovka, Makarovka, Bergul, Morozovka, Platonovka. The last two no longer exist. Today, the descendants of the Kerzhaks live in Russia and abroad.

Name

The ethnonym “Kerzhaki” comes from the name of the Kerzhenets River, which is located in Nizhny Novgorod region.

Number

Due to the Soviet transformations of society, the influence of such factors as collectivization, atheism, dispossession, industrialization, many descendants of the Kerzhaks stopped observing ancient traditions. Today they consider themselves to be part of the all-Russian ethnic group; they live not only throughout Russia, but also abroad. According to the population census conducted in 2002, only 18 people classified themselves as Kerzhaks.

Religion

People believed in the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, but in his religion he retained faith in various unclean spirits: brownies, water spirits, goblins, etc. The “worldly” - adherents of official Orthodoxy - were not allowed to pray at their icons. Along with the Christian faith, the people used many secret ancient rituals.

Every morning began with a prayer, which was read after washing, then they ate food and went about their business. Before starting any task, they also said a prayer and signed themselves with two fingers. Before going to bed they said prayers and only then went to bed.

Food

Kerzhaki were prepared according to ancient recipes. They cooked various jelly, and as the first course they ate thick Kerzhak cabbage soup with kvass and barley groats. Open pies “juice shangi” were made from sour dough, which were greased with hemp juice. Porridge was made from cereals and turnips.

During Lent, fish pies were baked; it is noteworthy that whole fish was used, not gutted. They just cleaned it and rubbed it with salt. The whole family ate such a pie, they made a circular cut on it, removed the top “lid”, broke the pie into pieces, and ate the fish from the pie with forks. When the upper part was eaten, they pulled the head and removed it along with the bones.

In the spring, when all supplies ran out, Lent began, during this period they ate fresh greens, leaves with shoots of horsetail, bitter turnips (colts), pickled honey, and collected nuts in the forest. In the summer, when haymaking began, rye kvass was prepared. They used it to make green okroshka, radish, and drink it with berries. During the Assumption Fast, vegetables were harvested.

For the winter, the Kerzhaks prepared berries, soaked lingonberries in tubs, ate them with honey, fermented wild garlic, ate them with kvass and bread, fermented mushrooms and cabbage. Hemp seeds were roasted, crushed in a mortar, water and honey were added and eaten with bread.

Appearance

Cloth

For a very long time, people remained committed to traditional clothing. Women wore slanted sundresses made of fabrics (dubas). They were sewn from painted canvas and satin. They wore light canvas shaburs and leather cats.

Life

They have been engaged in farming for a long time, growing grain crops, vegetables, and hemp. There are even watermelons in the Kerzhak gardens. Domestic animals include sheep and, in the Uimon Valley, deer. The people were very successful in trade. Livestock products and products based on deer horns, which are considered very useful and healing, are sold.

The most common crafts are weaving, carpet making, tailoring, making accessories, jewelry, household items, souvenirs, basket weaving, making wooden and birch bark utensils, pottery, and leather production. Burlap was made from hemp, and oil was pressed from the seeds. They were engaged in beekeeping, carpentry, stove laying, and artistic painting. The elders passed on all their skills to the younger generation.

They lived mostly in large families of 18-20 people. Three generations of the family lived in one family. Family foundations in Kerzhak families have always been strong. The head was a big man, he was helped by a big woman mistress, to whom all the daughters-in-law were subordinate. The young daughter-in-law did not do anything around the house without her permission. This obedience continued until she gave birth to a child or the young ones separated from their parents.

Children from an early age were instilled with a love of work, respect for elders, and patience. They never brought up by shouting; they used instructive proverbs, parables, jokes, and fairy tales. People said: to understand how a person lived, you need to know how he was born, got married, and died.

Housing

The Kerzhaks built log huts with gable roofs, mostly rafters. The frame of the dwelling consisted of intersecting logs laid one on top of the other. Depending on the height and method of connecting the logs, different connections were made in the corners of the hut. The construction of the dwelling was approached thoroughly so that it would last for centuries. They surrounded the hut and the yard with a wooden fence. There were two boards as a gate, one on the outside of the fence, the second on the inside. First, they climbed up the first board, crossed the top of the fence and went down another board. On the territory of the yard there were buildings, premises for livestock, storage of equipment, tools, and feed for livestock. Sometimes they built houses with covered courtyards and made sheds for hay called “booths”.

The situation inside the hut was different, depending on the wealth of the family. The house had tables, chairs, benches, beds, various dishes and utensils. The main place in the hut is the red corner. There was a goddess with icons in it. The shrine must be located in the southeast corner. Under it were stored books, lestovki - a type of rosary of the Old Believers, made in the form of a ribbon of leather or other material, sewn in the form of a loop. The ladder was used to count prayers and clones.

Not every hut had closets, so things were hung on the walls. The stove was made of stone and installed in one corner, slightly away from the walls to avoid fire. Two holes were made on the sides of the stove for drying mittens and storing seryanka. Above the table there were small shelves-cabinets where dishes were stored. The houses were illuminated using the following devices:

1. splinters
2. kerosene lamps
3. candles

The Kerzhaks' concept of beauty was closely connected with the cleanliness of their homes. The dirt in the hut was a shame for the mistress. Every Saturday, the women began cleaning early in the morning, washing everything thoroughly and cleaning it with sand to smell the wood.

Culture

An important place in Kerzhak folklore is occupied by lyrical, drawn-out songs, accompanied by a very unique voice. They are the basis of the repertoire, which includes some wedding and soldier songs. The people have a lot of dance and round dance songs, sayings, and proverbs.

The Kerzhaks living in Belarus have a unique singing style. Their culture was influenced by living in this country. You can easily hear the Belarusian dialect in the singing. The musical culture of the settlers also included some genres of dance music, for example, krukha.

Traditions

One of the strict religious rules of the Kerzhaks is to cross the glass when it was accepted from the wrong hands. They believed that there could be evil spirits in the glass. After washing in the bathhouse, they always turned over the basins, into which “bathhouse devils” could move. You need to wash before 12 o'clock at night.

Children were baptized in cold water. Marriages among the people were strictly permitted only with co-religionists. One of the features of the Kerzhaks is their attitude to the truth and the given word. The following words were always said to the young:

• go to the barn and joke there alone;
• do not light it, extinguish it until it flares up;
• If you lie, the devil will crush you;
• you stand in truth, it’s difficult for you, but stand still, don’t turn around;
• promiseha nedahe - sister;
• Slander is like coal: if it doesn’t burn, it gets dirty.

If a Kerzhak allowed himself to say a bad word or sing an obscene ditty, he dishonored not only himself, but also his entire family. They always said with disgust about someone like this: “He’ll sit down at the table with these same lips.” People considered it very indecent not to say hello even to a person whom you know little. After saying hello, you need to pause, even if you are in a hurry or busy, and talk to the person.

From the nutritional characteristics, it should be noted that the people did not eat potatoes. It was even called in a special way “devil’s apple.” The Kerzhaks did not drink tea, only hot water. Drunkenness was highly condemned; they believed that hops lasted in the body for 30 years, and dying drunk was very bad; you wouldn’t see a bright place. Smoking was condemned and considered a sin. People who smoked were not allowed near the holy icons; everyone tried to communicate with him as little as possible. They said about such people: “He who smokes is worse than dogs.” They did not sit at the same table with the “worldly”, did not drink, did not eat from other people’s dishes. If a non-Christian entered the house during a meal, all the food on the table was considered polluted.

In Kerzhak families, the following rules existed: all prayers, knowledge, and conspiracies must be passed on to their children. You cannot pass on your knowledge to older people. Prayers must be learned by heart. They cannot be told to strangers; the Kerzhaks believed that this would make the prayers lose their power.

Traditions closely related to work were very important for the Old Believers. They have a respect for work, which is considered good for the earth and nature. The hard life of the Kerzhaks, persecution, contributed to their caring attitude towards the land as the highest value. Laziness and careless owners were strongly condemned. Often these were paraded in front of large numbers of people. They always cared about the harvest, the health of the family, livestock, and tried to pass on all their life experience to the future generation. It was considered a sin to sit at a dirty “filthy” table. Every housewife baptized the dishes before cooking, and suddenly devils were jumping on them. If a stranger came into the house, they always washed the floor and wiped the door handles afterward. Guests were served separate dishes. All this is related to the rules of personal hygiene. As a result, there were no epidemics in the Kerzhak villages.

After work, special rituals were performed that returned the lost strength to a person. The earth was called mother, nurse, bread-maker. Kerzhaks consider nature to be a living being, they believe that it understands people and helps them.

The people had a reverent attitude towards fire and water. Forests, grass and water were holy in their understanding. They believed that fire cleanses the body and renews the soul. Bathing in healing springs was considered a second birth, a return to original purity. The water that was brought home was collected from rivers against the current; if it was intended for medicine, it was taken downstream, while a spell was pronounced. Kerzhaks never drank water from a ladle; they always poured it into a mug or glass. It is strictly forbidden for people to pour dirty water onto the river bank or take out garbage. Only the water that was used to wash the icons could be poured out; it was considered clean.

It was considered a sin to cry or lament at a funeral; people believed that the deceased would drown in tears. 40 days after the funeral you need to visit the grave, talk with the deceased, remember him with a good word. Parental days of remembrance are connected with the funeral tradition.

Kerzhaks who live today continue to observe religious rituals. The older generation devotes a lot of time to prayers. There are many ancient icons in the houses of Old Believers. To this day, people are trying to preserve their traditions, rituals, religion, and moral principles. They always understand that they need to rely only on themselves, their skills and hard work.

Kosvinsky Stone - mountain range, located next to the Konzhakovsky stone, in the Northern Urals. It is composed mainly of pyroxenites and dunites. In the lower part, the slopes are covered with coniferous forests, and above - mountain tundra and stone placers. Height - 1519 meters.

Details about the top-secret Soviet system located in this mountain were first revealed in 1993 by Bruce G. Blair, a former American intercontinental ballistic missile observer and now one of the leading US experts on Russian weapons. Fearing that a secret attack from an American submarine could wipe out Moscow in 13 minutes, Soviet leaders ordered creation of an automated communication network, strengthened so that it was able to withstand the consequences of a nuclear strike. The system was controlled by a computer similar to the one discussed in “ Doctor Strangelove", codenamed " Perimeter" The system went into full operation in January 1985 g. And it has not yet been dismantled.”

(Perimeter system, Index of the Strategic Missile Forces ALV - 15E601 - a complex for automatic control of a massive retaliatory nuclear strike, created in the USSR at the height of the Cold War. Designed to guarantee the launch of silo-based ICBMs and SLBMs in the event that, as a result of a crushing nuclear strike by the enemy on the territory of the USSR, all command units of the Strategic Missile Forces capable of ordering a retaliatory strike are destroyed.

In the Western press the name was assigned to the system "dead hand" (dead hand ) .)

In the additional explanations that end Smith's book, you can find a link to a more detailed description Soviet computer system "Perimeter", published in 2003 in the Washington Post by Bruce G. Blair. Today he heads the World Security Institute in Washington, a liberal think tank.

The main targets of American Cold War strategists in Russia were objects located under the mountains Yamantau And Kosva in the Central and Southern Urals.

They were huge construction sites set up in the late 1970s, when the full force of US nuclear power was aimed at the heart of the communist complex. Fearing an attack that could decapitate the country, the Soviet government sent tens of thousands of workers to these construction sites. Judging by images taken by US spy satellites, work in these areas continued in the late 90s.

Blair received information about the command bunkers being built (drawings and notes) in the late 1990s from senior Strategic Air Command officers responsible for guiding American missiles to Soviet targets.

According to him, the Yamantau command center is located inside a mountain quartz massif at a depth of approximately 1 thousand m. It is more of a refuge for senior political leadership than a command post, as Yamantau's communications systems leave much to be desired, with quartz rocks preventing radio signals from passing through the mountain.

But this “monument of the nuclear era” pales in comparison with the automated “Perimeter” system installed in the area of ​​Mount Kosvinsky Kamen. According to Blair, “American strategists consider it the crown jewel of the Russian nuclear combat command system, since it can communicate through the granite mass with Russian long-range strategic aviation using VLF- radio signal (3.0 - 30.0 kHz), capable of propagating even in a nuclear war. This bunker is a critical link in the communication network system " doomsday machines"designed to provide semi-automatic retaliation in response to a decapitation strike."

However, for the final launch of the missiles, the Soviet system needed a person to press the button. “This “doomsday machine”, which started working in 1984 year, during the apogee of the era of nuclear confrontation, represented a stunning crown of engineering creativity,” writes Blair. According to him, if the systems “ Perimeter"registered a nuclear strike on Russian territory, and then did not receive any commands from Moscow or other command bunkers, then only one person, located deep in the mountain massif, received the authority to launch the entire nuclear arsenal Kosvinsky Stone.

Blair believes that the Bush administration's interest in bombs that destroy underground bunkers is explained by the desire to obtain a device capable of eliminating " death machine", buried in the depths of the Kosvinsky bunker. If this statement is true, it means that the Soviet system retained its functionality. Perhaps someone knew about the deactivation of Perimeter, but Blair was unable to find such information.

President Bush's nuclear war directive requires the Pentagon to develop destruction plans. Yamantau And Kosvinsky Stone along with 2 thousand other targets in Russia and hundreds in China. But such a strategy requires highly effective weapons with significantly greater destructive power than the bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. It's about about the “doomsday” plan, according to which two underground bunkers are to be destroyed as a result of an exchange of nuclear strikes.

What worries Blair today is not the prospect of a targeted nuclear war along the lines of " cold”, and the so-called accidental war, caused by the presence in the arsenals of states of too easily triggered and unreliable weapons of the previous era.

Colleagues regard Blair as a cautious scientist who raises only real questions. Thus, Stephen M. Meyer, an expert on Russian weapons at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in an interview with the Times that Blair “ requires much more from oneself high standards in the evidence-gathering process than others in the intelligence community ».

His book " The logic of accidental nuclear war”, as well as alarming publications, are another reminder that the illogicality, irrationality and possibility of catastrophic errors on the part of our nuclear command and control systems inherited from the Cold War have never been corrected or adjusted by anyone. They were simply forgotten as soon as the Cold War ended. Judging by his analysis, in those days we managed to avoid a full-scale nuclear conflict only due to chance, not reason.

Nowadays

The initial impetus for the construction of the facility, which did not stop even during the crisis of the 90s, was the spent horizontal platinum mines, which themselves were quite a secret mine during the period of their development. Mount Kosva, by the way, is made of dunites, which are a mineral for the production of refractory materials, and also have another useful property - blocking scanning radio emissions (isn’t it a very valuable property for the military. To supply the site, a couple of years ago an additional Power lines, a new bridge across the Kakva River, a dirt road all year round maintained in good condition. On the road between the city of Karpinsk and the village of Kytlym, tractors with heavy construction equipment and cement trucks regularly move. In the city of Karpinsk, a residential building was built specifically for officers and their families guarding/serving the facility…. In Kytlym itself, adjacent to the base, residential houses for soldiers and officers and other infrastructure are being built.

Everything they know local residents, this is that the whole mountain is dug up like an “anthill”. And those who were there during the construction of the facility say that heavy vehicles move freely through the tunnels, there is a multi-level pass system, and construction departments work in isolation from each other and no one really knows what is being built and why.

Konzhakovsky Stone is the most high mountain Sverdlovsk region, a popular tourist attraction. This peak is located in the Northern Urals, near the village of Kytlym.

The mountain got its name from the name of the hunter Konzhakov, a representative of the Mansi people, who previously lived in a yurt at the base of the mountain. Tourists usually call the Konzhakov Stone simply Konjak.

The height of the Konzhakovsky Stone is 1569 meters above sea level. The rock mass is composed of pyroxenites, dunites and gabbro. It consists of several peaks: Trapezium (1253 meters), South Job (1311 meters), North Job (1263 meters), Konzhakovsky Kamen (1570 meters), Ostray Kosva (1403 meters) and others.

The Job plateau, which is located at an altitude of 1100-1200 meters, is interesting. There is a small lake on it (at an altitude of 1125 meters). From the east, the plateau drops steeply into the valley of the Poludnevaya River through the Job Gap.

The Konzhakovka, Katysher, Serebryanka (1, 2 and 3), Job and Poludnevaya rivers originate from the Konzhakovsky Stone massif.

The highest point of the mountain at an altitude of 1569 meters is marked by a metal tripod with various pennants, flags and other memorial signs.

Altitudinal zonation is clearly visible on the Konzhakovsky Stone. A coniferous forest grows at the bottom of the stone. Then the taiga gives way to forest-tundra. From an altitude of 900-1000 meters, the mountain tundra zone with stone placers - kurums - begins. There is snow on the top of the stone even in summer.

The unforgettable view from the top and slopes of the Konzhakovsky stone will impress anyone. From here you can see the most beautiful mountain ranges, taiga. The view of Kosvinsky Stone is especially beautiful. There is excellent ecology here, clean air.

It is best to start the path to the top of the Konzhakovsky Stone from the Karpinsk-Kytlym highway, where there is the so-called “marathon” - a marathon trail with markings and kilometer markings. Thanks to her, you won't get lost here. The length of the path one way is 21 kilometers.

Konzhakovsky Stone is good for both not very experienced tourists and sports tourists. Quite complex category hikes are also possible here. It is best to go to Konjak for a few days with a tent. You can stop at the “Meadow of Artists” in the valley of the Konzhakovka River.

Since 1996, every year on the first Saturday of July the international mountain marathon “Konjak” is held here, gathering many participants from all over the Urals, from other regions of Russia and even from abroad. The number of participants reaches several thousand. Both champions and ordinary travel enthusiasts, young and old, participate.

How to get to Konzhakovsky Stone:

Konzhakovsky Stone is located in the north of the Sverdlovsk region, 45 kilometers west of the city of Karpinsk. From Yekaterinburg by car you need to travel along the Serov highway to Serov, then through Krasnoturinsk to Karpinsk and along the road to the village of Kytlym. The road to Kytlym is not important. Before reaching Kytlym, at the bridge over the Katysher River there will be a turn to the right - towards the Konzhakovsky Stone.

On public transport you can take a bus to Karpinsk, then take commuter bus to the village of Kytlym to the place described above.