Routes along the South Chuya ridge. Mountain Altai: South Chuysky ridge. Chui steppe. Video about climbing the South Chuysky ridge
It is less visited by tourists, since from the Chuysky tract it is faster to get to the North Chuysky ridge, while the Yuzhno-Chuysky mountains are not even visible from the highway. To see the majestic high-mountain ice shells at least from a distance, you need to get to the village of Ortolyk.
The South Chuysky ridge is truly grandiose - with a mountain height of 4 kilometers, its length from east to west is 70 kilometers. The most popular places here are the Akkola and Taldura valleys, in which the Sofia and Taldura glaciers are located, respectively. The valleys of the Elangash and Karaoyuk rivers are of no less interest to travelers. Moreover, if you can drive to Elangash by off-road vehicle, the marshy terrain of the Karaoyuk Valley without any paths makes it less accessible.
The road to the Akkol and Taldura valleys with their stunning glaciers passes through the village of Ortolyk, from which you turn towards the village of Beltir. Previously, it was called Kyzyl-Mana, and from this distant time the local roads have been preserved, which can only be driven by UAZ and GAZ-66 cars.
If your personal transport not so passable, then in the village of Beltir you can negotiate with the local residents and use their transport services to get to the Taldurinsky and Sofia glaciers. Many people here have the necessary transport. Any car can cover the 29 kilometers from Ortolyk to Beltir without any problems - the first five kilometers here are on asphalt, then the gravel road and the finishing 12 kilometers are again covered with asphalt. Having reached the end of the village, you find yourself on a bridge over the Chagan River - a fork begins from the opposite bank, the left direction leads to the Sofia Glacier, and the right to the Taldurinsky.
The road from Beltir to the Taldurinsky glacier stretches for 40 km, a couple of kilometers from it the passable road ends, and tourists walk the finishing section. The glacier offers a beautiful view of highest peak South Chuya Range, Mount Iiktu.
The path to the Sofia Glacier from the village of Beltir is a little shorter, only 35 kilometers, and this road is much better than in the direction of Taldurinsky. The car will be able to take you almost all the way to the glacier; at the end, you will only have to walk on foot for the last couple of hours of the journey.
The South Chuysky ridge is located in the south of Altai, it is limited from the north by the Karagem, Ioldo-Ayry, Taldur rivers, and from the south by the Dzhazator river. In the east, its border conventionally runs along the Tarkhaty River, to which the Sailyugem ridge adjoins, and in the west it is limited by the Argut River and the Katunsky ridge. The South Chuya ridge stretches in an almost meridional direction for 90 km. Its western part is slightly north of the eastern one.
The South Chuya ridge is one of the three proteins of Altai, the other two proteins are the North Chuya ridge and the Katunsky ridge. Belki is an old name for white mountain ranges (that is, ridges with glaciers and eternal snow). They largely shape the microclimate in the area of the South Chuya Range. Humid air masses enter Altai from the west; the higher Katunsky and Severo-Chuisky ridges delay them, and therefore less precipitation falls on Yuzhno-Chuysky. However, there are enough of them to form large glaciers. All major glaciation covers the northern slopes of the South Chuya Range. The largest glaciers are Taldurinsky and Sofia. He was the first to discover and describe them in late XIX century Vasily Sapozhnikov - Russian scientist botanist and geographer. The Taldurinsky glacier, for a long time, was generally considered the largest glacier in the Russian Altai, but due to global warming, it divided and, as a result, lost its primacy.
The nature of the relief of the South Chuya ridge is alpine, with many outstandingly beautiful pointed alpine peaks. The main peaks of the South Chuya Range from east to west:
Irbistu (3967 m) - highest point, Tymoin (3707 m) and Testoy (3868 m) in the same mountain cluster; separate - Dzhaniiktu (3922 m), next to which there are the peaks Dzhaniktu (3716 m) and Ilyas (3746 m) in the main ridge; further Chuisky Peak (3777 m); in the upper reaches of the Sofia Glacier: Brother (3885 m), Ksenia (about 3500 m) and Sister (3750 m); in the upper reaches of the Taldurinsky glacier: Olga Vostochnaya (3735) and Olga Zapadnaya (3723), Iiktu (3941 m) - perhaps the most beautiful peak throughout the entire ridge; to the north of Iiktu is the peak Metallurg (3933m).
You can read about the history of the first ascents to the peaks of the South Chuya Range in the article.
Glaciers give rise to many rivers flowing from the South Chuya Range. The main ones are: Elangash, Karaoyuk, Akkol, Taldura, Oshtuairy, Meshtuairy, Bara, Tyun, Uzurgu, Tangyt, Tara. Also in the area of the South Chuysky ridge there is large lakes: Dzhankul (Dzhankol), Atkul (Atkol), Karakul (Karakol), Akkul (Akkol), and many smaller ones.
Throughout the entire length of the South Chuysky ridge there is only one pass along which you can get from the southern part of the ridge to the northern part on horseback - this is the Azhu pass (2911 m). It has been used for a long time local population, as evidenced by both the name (Azhu - a pass with a road) and the impressive oval mark on the pass itself.
The fauna of the South Chuya Range is diverse and determined by different types of landscape. The southern slopes are drier, with less water and forests than the northern ones. At high altitudes, in alpine meadows, the Siberian mountain goat is common, and in some places the snow leopard remains - the snow leopard. On the northern slopes of the ridge, especially in the Karagema valley, deer are often found, and wolves and bears are everywhere. The order of rodents is also widely represented, the main representatives of which are the ground squirrel, the marmot and the haymaker. Among the birds of prey, the golden eagle, raven, and steppe eagle are widespread.
Tourist development of the South Chuysky ridge is lower than that of the North Chuysky and Katunsky ridges due to longer and less convenient access roads, as well as due to the fact that Soviet time(and even now) the entire southern slope was part of the border zone, and to get there you need to get a pass. The most popular were two compact areas: the surroundings of the Iiktu peak with the Taldurinsky glacier and the Taldura River, and the surroundings of the Brat peak with the Sofia Glacier, the Akkol River, and Lake Akkul. These two areas are separated by a meridional ridge - the Taldurinskaya fence, through which there are several passes connecting them. Typically, these areas were visited by sports groups, which combined the South Chuysky ridge with the North Chuysky, or Katunsky in their route. The surrounding areas of the Dzhaniiktu and Irbistu peaks were visited less frequently, with the exception of the Azhu pass, popular with ordinary walking groups. The westernmost part of the ridge in the vicinity of the Bara River, and the eastern part in the area of the Sebystei River, saw practically no tourists.
There is practically no commercial tourism on the South Chuya Ridge. In our opinion, it is undeserved, since this is one of the most beautiful and unlike anything else in Altai. We are trying to fill this gap and offer our own routes:
Look in our photo gallery
Route map. View from space
The route I proposed was designed for a minimum of 12 walking days, without any reserve for bad weather, but our trip was now organized for a maximum of 10 days, so it was decided to decide where we would go there and on what route, depending on where we would go by vehicle. To be honest, it didn’t matter where to go, just to go.
There was one young man from the Czech Republic with us in the group, Valentin. He is Russian, but has only lived in Prague for the last 3 years. Therefore, we can say the group was with a foreigner. But just as he was raised Russian, he remained that way. Prague will not remake it.
On July 2 I went to buy groceries, and on July 3 in the evening after work I packed my backpack, since we were leaving on July 4 in the evening at 20:30, and I was still working during the day.
On July 4, everyone met at the station and went to boarding. The train to Biysk leaves at 20:30 local time. I took tickets at the end of June price 333 rubles.
In Novosibirsk, real summer began in early July. In the evening on the train it was +28 +30. Our window did not open, since there was an emergency exit, and apparently there were many places where they did not open in the carriage. When it got dark and people began to fall asleep, sounds began to be heard from all sides (cracks) reminiscent of the loud whistling of night crickets and grasshoppers, and so on all the way to Biysk. Therefore, it was not possible to sleep well. At night on the train it was also a bit hot, +24.
The train arrived on July 5 at 6:20 local time in Biysk. There, at the station, we were met by a car with which we had agreed in advance. On the square in front of the station there were a huge number of cars and all the taxi drivers. They deliver it anywhere.
The surprising thing is that there were no GAZelles except ours. It’s strange, last year there were a lot of Gazelles. While we were loading into the car, the station square quickly became empty, everyone had left. We loaded into the car, how spacious it was for six of us in the car.
We left the station at 6:37. The first kilometer post outside the city showed 354 km. And we drove 6-8 kilometers from the station, well, approximately 345 km.
7:00 373 km of the Chuysky tract. +18 C.
Between 428 and 429 km the border between Altai Territory and the Altai Republic.
8:00 455 km Lake Aya. There were a lot of nebulae on the mountains in the morning.
8:35 497 km Ust-Sema. Those. From Biysk to Ust-Sema it takes 2 hours in the morning.
9:00 527 km.
10:00 579 km ascent to Seminsky Pass.
We stopped at Seminsky Pass for a few minutes, I wanted to take a photo of the stella in the summer. There is a market there already in the morning.
11:00 632 km. At the exit from Ongudai there is a cafe "Fara" - this is for those who suddenly want to eat there in this area. 643 km there is also a cafe on the right.
Stopped at observation deck on the Chike-Taman pass. On the descent from the pass we saw a freshly wrecked car, probably overturned. There is a gas station in Kupchegen.
12:00 675 km.
Before km 684 there are stones and mounds on the left. There is a beach at 692 km at the confluence of B. Yaloman and Katun. There is now a new gas station in front of Inya. At km 713 there is an exit to the confluence of the Chuya and Katun.
It's already lunch time. We stopped at the Chui-Oozy cafe because we no longer felt like eating anything in White Bom. There are always a lot of people there, they cook for a long time and everything smells of communism there. But that's not the case here. There are fewer people, everything in the cafe is new and beautiful, Altai music plays, food is served quickly. After lunch I went to take pictures of the petroglyphs, but to my surprise they were very hard to see during the day. When I was there in January, I could see them better. But I found one that I hadn’t seen in winter. I asked in a cafe what Chui-Oozy means, it turned out to be very simple - the mouth of the Chuya.
14:00 764 km. Stopped for those. car inspection. I went to Chuya to take some photos. And I discovered edelweiss here. I've wanted to see them for a long time. But from all the information I knew, this is that they grow somewhere near the White Bom on the mountain. And then suddenly near Chuya. How lucky.
For some reason we stopped in Kurai. I don’t remember anymore, but the photo speaks of a stop.
15:46 Chagan-Uzun. Since I didn’t really find out where the road to Beltir was, but according to the map it goes through Chagan-Uzun, we went there to look for a road.
We found out that there is a road to Beltir, but we can’t get there in a GAZelle, we have to cross the river there. Let's look for the UAZ, but the one we found didn't go. They sent us to go to Beltir through Ortolyk.
In Ortolyk there is a gas station right next to the highway, we stopped for gas and a UAZ pulled up here. We arrived in Ortolyk at approximately 16:30.
We started talking with the driver about dropping him off somewhere beyond Beltir. He agreed to take us almost to the Taldurinsky glacier itself. He agreed to carry it for 1,500 rubles. They filled him with 30 liters of gasoline and he was on his way.
Was with the driver Small child, then he fell asleep very quickly. Nothing unusual - the driver must be drunk, otherwise he won’t get there. It’s good that he didn’t ask us for a drink. His eyes were red and crowded.
Now how to get to Beltir for sure: If you drive all of Ortolyk along the Chuya tract, at the end of the village there will be a sign for Ortolyk - to the right, turn off and go, there will be two bridges across the Chuya. The first 5 km are asphalt, then up to 17 km there is compacted gravel, and then up to Beltir itself up to 29 km it is again asphalt. Any car will pass.
The road went further and further from the highway and gained altitude. The places became wild and lifeless. Here it is the Chuya steppe, like pictures from Mars, only the color is not red, but yellow. Stones, clay, sand and everything. And nothing else. there is no grass. Impressive when you see it for the first time. There are no photos because we didn’t stop. Finally we reached Beltir.
The epicenter of the earthquake was about 30 kilometers away here. Half of the village was demolished, everything that was made of stone. The wooden houses are probably all restored. Half the village is there, but half is not. For those whose houses were destroyed, a new Beltir was built, not far from Kosh-Agach, and for those who probably did not want to leave, they live here. We stopped at the driver’s parents’ place, he left the child there and drove on.
The driver could not remain silent, he tried to talk all the time. There were 2 main topics: first, he tried to hint to us that everything here depended on him, and that if he wanted, we might not get to the glaciers, second, he tried to prove to me that we were from a travel agency, and that I was here in this group was a guide, since I sat in the front seat and paid money.
At the end of Beltir there will be a school stadium on the left side, after it the road turns left, and then immediately right to the bridge over Chagan. crossed the bridge. There is a fork in the road, turn left along Chagan to Akkol, and we went right along Taldura. The road along Taldura is only for SUVs; you shouldn’t go there in simple cars. Can't go far. The car overheated, especially did not want to move after stopping. At one such stop, while the driver was laying wet mud and grass on the engine, he took a photograph of the Taldura valley.
Along the way, not far from Beltir, on the left slope there was some camping from 5-8 tents. We passed a landslide after an earthquake. This is something incredible. I couldn't take a photo. On the slope of the mountain, a large area of forest, probably 150x150 meters, slid down the slope for several tens of meters. Incredible.
The road was completely bad in some places, and questions were already arising: will we go further or not. But there is no better UAZ for these places. We reached the Dzhelo River at 19:00, and our Altai man said that he simply could not drive further, the road there was bad, and that he would not even cross the river. I had to unload, especially since I had long wanted to get out of the car and even walk. We paid him the remaining 1,000 rubles and filled 510 with 30 liters of gasoline in Ortolyk.
There is a river in front of us. Looking around, we realized that there was nowhere to cross it over the stones; we would have to wade. We changed who had shoes, took our backpacks and went. The river is very shallow, less than knee-deep. After crossing the river, the question arose: where to spend the night. We searched and found a lonely tree about 300 meters away, and next to it there was a nice green clearing, and about a kilometer away there was a winter hut.
We went to the tree and set up camp in a clearing near it. Having only managed to stretch the awning and get the tents, we discovered the approach of a rider from the direction of the winter hut. Having arrived, he quickly explained to us that it was his mowing here and that we should leave here. When asked where we would go, since it was already evening, he explained that it was somewhere further up the Taldura.
We agreed that we would put up tents closer to the river, where there was less grass and more stones, and we would not trample his mowing underfoot. Having agreed, the Altai man watched us for another 10-15 minutes to see what we were doing and, promising to come in the morning to check, left towards the winter hut. And we continued to set up camp.
We set up the tents, and I was already drawn to somewhere on the mountainside to take photographs, rather than sit here near the tents. The sun had already set behind the slope, the sky was with small clouds. It was warm in the evening +15 C.
When I climbed higher on the slope, I discovered a couple of modern Altai graves. They were fenced off (probably from animals). A little higher there was a road to the Karagem pass (n/k) to the Karagem clearing. I walked up the road a little, then went down. The road descends to the Dzhelo River and there connects with the road along the Taldura River. The road here to the pass is good. Fresh tracks are visible. Don’t believe those who say that you can’t get to Karagemskaya Glade - there are fresh tracks everywhere, and several. Near the Dzhelo River, on a small slope, I discovered ancient burial mounds. Since it was already evening, there was no sun, everything was already gray, I decided to come here in the morning to photograph everything.
When the Altai man arrived, I talked to him a little, asking him about the translation of words and names. He said that this place is called Kyzyltash. And indeed here the left slope of the valley was red. Somewhere the stones themselves were reddish, and somewhere there was a lot of red lichen on the stones, as can be seen in the photograph. The valley of the Taldura River is wide and full of forests everywhere. Here, where we stood, there are no traces of fire pits anywhere, we are probably the first to stand here, the Altai probably chased everyone away, or usually everyone passes by this place during the day.
In the evening the temperature dropped to +10 C, but still not like on the North Chuisky Ridge it is always +5 C in the evening. The whole sky was overcast and sometimes it started to rain. I expected that it would rain as usual in the SCH in the evening and for several hours. But for some reason he was not here.
We measured the altitude using GPS: 2100 m. The GPS receiver was an old model, so it measured altitude using atmospheric pressure. In the evening he could show one height, and in the morning 100 meters higher.
By map Google Earth altitude approximately 2085 m.
We walked 0.5 km during the day (in the evening).
In the morning the whole sky was overcast. +6 C. This is quite normal. As I wanted in the evening, I went to take pictures of the Dzhelo River gorge and the mounds. The gorge of the Dzhelo River, completely reddish in color.
We had breakfast in the morning, filled the fire pit with stones, packed our things and left at 8:40. Almost immediately it began to rain. We passed the winter hut, the Altai man never showed up, he was probably sleeping or had gone about his Altai business.
We're walking along the road. There are fresh tracks everywhere. From this we concluded that yesterday the Altai man deceived us about the fact that he would not be able to pass here.
After the winter hut there is a short take-off to the transshipment site, probably about 50 meters away. There was a small mound of stones and a couple of ribbons on a branch. At the pass the rain stopped, the clouds stretched and a blue sky and sun appeared, it became hot, I had to take off my outer clothing.
After the descent there was a swampy clearing. Perhaps this place may be difficult for a UAZ to pass. If this is so, then the Altai man was not lying. Next there was a small river, which we crossed over fallen logs. The passage of a UAZ through it is also questionable. If the UAZ had driven through these places, it would have been able to reach the very last winter quarters. And if it doesn’t pass, then you can only drive a GAZ-66 here.
Then the road goes to the other side of Taldura, and therefore there was a barely defined path along the shore. The river valley is wide. Everything is somehow unusual - the color of the slopes, in places there are sands, swampy soils, a lot of flowers.
On the other bank of the Taldurs they first saw one winter hut, “Kyp”. And then a little further there is another winter hut “Teketuru.” No one was visible near the winter huts.
Soon we reached the place where the road again crossed to the left bank of the Taldura. We walked and thought that there was a ford or something. And to our surprise we saw a bridge over Taldura.
We stopped not far from the bridge to rest; there was a small hill nearby and, having climbed up it, I discovered a small waterfall about 5 meters in the gorge and, moreover, on top it was covered with ice that had not yet melted, and there was also ice lying nearby on the river. We rested and moved on. The road goes up steeply in places and winds to the sides so that you can cut straight along the rocks.
And finally, around the next bend, the long-awaited glacier appeared. To a greater extent, I wanted to see the Sofia Glacier, and then the Taldurino Glacier. But let Taldurinsky be the first.
Going down the road a little we reached the next winter hut “Kokyaryk”. There was no one here either. All in summer pastures. But it is clear that they live here. We have already prepared fuel for the winter.
There is garbage and empty glass vodka bottles everywhere near the winter huts. This is the love of Altai people for nature and their home. It's the same as in big cities. I don't mind getting in the way of my trash, I took it and threw it away right there. In Altai, vodka should only be sold in plastic bottles, so that they can then be burned.
Near the winter hut we rested a bit and went on to look for a place for lunch.
We walked further, and in the distance another winter hut appeared, which was not on the map; smoke was coming from the bathhouse. There's someone here. A few hundred meters before the winter hut, along the direction of travel on the right, we discovered a small lake under a rock and trees nearby and decided to have lunch there. At 12:15. Temperature +18 C.
The location is very good. From here you can even see the top of the glacier and the peaks of the mountains. There are often clearings of edelweiss in the valley. The tops of the mountains are covered with clouds.
We had lunch, rested and moved on. Passing by the winter hut, we didn’t see anyone, only the door to the bathhouse opened a little and closed. Here, too, fuel has already been stored for the winter.
When we moved 100 meters or more from the winter hut (and I kept turning around and watching the winter hut), a woman came out of the bathhouse. She was probably here alone, which is why she didn’t come out when we passed by.
We were getting closer and closer to the glacier, we could see it better and better. Taldura began to have very large spills. We walked along the road until it hit a rock and ended. We realized that the road goes to the other side, as shown on the map.
We changed our shoes and began to look for a ford. I had to go back 100 meters. The spills are very wide in places, but not deep.
We crossed in twos for insurance, in case there were potholes or slipping.
The depth was slightly above the knee. The water is cold, while you walk on the water your fingers quickly freeze, then while you walk on the stones they warm up, then they freeze again in the water. The width of the flood here is probably more than 100 meters, there are 2 or 3 main channels.
We went out onto the grass on the other side and changed into dry shoes. Since we would then have to go to the Leningrad Pass, so as not to walk in vain later, we decided to find a place for a bivouac under the ascent to the pass. A gorge descended from the pass and a river flowed there.
In this place they began to look for a place for tents. About 150-200 meters from Taldura, we climbed a little up through the forest and found a place for tents. There are no fire pits here. We were here first. There is a lot of firewood in the forest. The sun is shining. And there are mosquitoes too.
In the evening I walked along Taldura towards the glacier, still there was nothing to do. There are many animal tracks on the river floods: goats, sheep. There were also traces of a big cat. We never saw the last winter hut.
We measured the altitude using GPS: 2370 m.
According to the Google Earth map, the height is approximately 2335 m.
We walked 18.5 km in a day.
In the morning it was almost clear sky. Which is what I always expect in the morning. This year, July 7 did not disappoint, as in the past - it rained all day (we swam all day, and then almost completely swam in Oroe).
Today is a radial exit to the Taldurinsky glacier. In the morning, before breakfast, I ran to Taldura to take a few pictures, otherwise the weather would turn bad, at least these would be there.
We had breakfast and took with us only clothes, iron, food for lunch, gas and dishes. Everything else remained in the camp.
We left camp at 8:45. We reached the last winter quarters of Kyzyl-Mana. No one was seen here either, but the place was inhabited and fuel was stored. This was probably the largest winter hut in the Taldura valley. There is a lot of grass. There is no road here to the winter hut; it follows the river flood. Traces from this year are visible, probably from a GAZ-66. So you can definitely get here by GAZ-66.
We walked along the floods of Taldura, there were many fresh tracks on it from goats, rams and it’s not clear whose ones. We decided to take a group photo with the glacier in the background.
We didn’t see any parking areas along Taldura here. From the ascent to the Leningradsky pass we reached the new moraine in an hour. At first there is a small lift to the moraine, and then one might say it goes flat.
There are a couple of places on the moraine where you can camp, one place is very large, you can place 10 tents. There are bushes, but you may have to cook here with gas.
The entire glacier and the tongue of the glacier are now clearly visible. In just over an hour from the beginning of the moraine we reached the exit to the glacier. We put on our crampons and went to the glacier. The exit to the glacier is approximately at an altitude of 2540 m.
If suddenly someone wants to go to the glacier without cats, then I would not advise doing so. The slope, although not great, is good. The photo shows that to the right of ice is coming moraine ridge. You can use it to get higher up to the glacier, and there it’s possible, when it’s clear, you can go out onto the ice without crampons, but of course it’s better not to do this.
Iikta is becoming visible better and better. The top of the mountain turns out to consist of a ridge located in the direction of the valley. This is very interesting of course.
We climbed the glacier for about an hour. At about 12:15 we reached the middle ridge on the glacier, there are large stones on the ice. we approached them and stopped there to have lunch there. Height is approximately 2700 m.
I gave the gas burner to the people on duty, and while they were preparing lunch, I went a little higher and to the left to photograph the icefall.
From there Olga 3734 m was very clearly visible. She was probably blonde, all white.
Higher up the glacier, closed and open cracks already began, since we were without any ropes, we did not go any further. After taking photos, we returned to everyone.
The weather was great. On the glacier +12 C. Blue sky, few clouds. I couldn't think of anything better. Just mountain resort some kind.
After lunch, we rested and as a souvenir, I suggested laying a tour on a stone. Maybe someone will see him there by chance.
Just before we left, we took photos on the glacier.
We left back at 14:00. The descent to the moraine, where the cats were dressed in the opposite direction, took 30 minutes. Everything was melting a lot.
Here on the Taldura glacier and in the Taldura valley in general there are very interesting stones; almost every stone has layers of mica, some very small, some larger. All this glistens in the sun. And when you walk, all the stones shine. Of course this is not visible in the photograph.
There are yellowish stones like in the photo, but there are not many of them, and mostly they are all gray. Therefore, you can perceive all this as gold and silver. Incredible. I had never seen anything like this in Altai before. In some places the water was an interesting color. Like liquid caramel.
On the way back we came across small blue lakes on the moraine. When we went there, we didn’t see them.
Walking along the moraine and valley, the variety of colors pleases the eyes - everything is green, yellow, red and various combinations of these colors. This is not like at SCHH. Not so here.
Well, we’ve already reached the winter hut. Although we walked without backpacks, we had almost no strength.
On the way back, in one place I came across a golden root bush.
We arrived at the camp at 17:30. Completely tired.
The day was very hot, even for the mountains +22 C.
The glacier is approximately 8.0 km away.
We climbed the glacier for about 1.5-2.0 km.
We walked 20.0 km in a day.
There was no rain at night. Somehow all this is strange and unusual. You expect it to rain and prepare for it, but it doesn’t. In the morning there was haze in the sky.
We had breakfast. Of course, in the photo this is not the whole breakfast, more of course.
We left at 8:40. First we walked up through the forest and came to a river. It flows into a gorge 10-20 meters deep. When you walk along Taldur and see this gorge, it seems incredible to walk there. And when you get there, it seems like nothing.
The slopes here are steep and there is a danger of a large stone falling from above. And even if it were small, it wouldn’t be good either. A helmet wouldn't have helped anyway.
We rose, we rose, but there was no end to it. The forest below is almost invisible. But finally the flattening is visible at the top. The river has disappeared, it goes under the stones. You can't even hear her.
It became clear where to go to the Peremetny pass.
Lots of beautiful stones underfoot.
After the ascent, you need to go straight and to the left, to the pass there. Then we crossed the stream.
And we came out to a very beautiful blue lake. It took 2 hours to get here from the parking lot.
Nobody expected to see him here. It's not on the maps. But, already now, looking at Google map Earth this lake can be guessed. The altitude here is approximately 2840 m. That is. We have already gained 500 meters of altitude.
Although we had just rested in front of the lake, we stopped here again to rest, drink water, take photographs, enjoy the mountains, flowers and the color of the water. Some couldn't be taken away from the water.
After the lake, we first walked along the stream, it is better to cross to its left bank and walk along the stones; the right one is very swampy. Then the moraines begin. As you move along, you need to stay on the right side, there is a small gorge between the shafts.
Then we came out to another small greenish lake. We rested next to him. It's quite small.
Soon the tongue of the glacier appeared and the pass itself became clearly visible (top left).
Under the tongue of the glacier there is a small but very dirty lake. We arrived here at 12 o'clock. The altitude is approximately 2980 m. The temperature is +18 C. The sky was overcast, so it was not hot. It was actually good.
Near this lake we cooked dinner on gas. We ate, rested a bit, and at 1 p.m. we moved on to the pass. As you move, you now need to climb the moraine to the left. And stay along the glacier. So we came to the very moment of the pass takeoff. Height is approximately 3100 m.
The ascent to the Leningradsky pass 3300 m (1B) began. At first there was nothing, then the slope reached 45 degrees. It became hard and difficult.
The difficulty was largely that the structure of the stones here is layered, the stones are thin as plates and small in size, they slide under each other. There is a slipping of the legs, and there is a danger of falling.
They climbed the pass where they wanted and who could where, or where it seemed easier to whom. As it should be, the group spread out well. There is no end to this rise. It is unclear when it will end.
The smoothing is finally underway. Usually, after leveling off, a new takeoff appears. But this was not the case here. After leveling, immediately the saddle itself and the tour in the middle of it.
Hooray. At the pass. The time was approximately 15 o'clock.
GPS altitude 3280 m.
According to Google Earth - 3320 m.
For designation, let’s round it up and let it be Leningradsky Pass 3300 m (1B).
From the pass you could see the entire Tura-Oyuk valley and Lake Tura-Oyuk. There was a little snow at the pass towards the lake. This is great, in case of water shortage there is something to drink.
Stepping aside and looking at the saddle of the pass, you can draw some conclusions: the saddle is very smooth, compacted and round. This means that there was a glacier on the pass here not so long ago; it smoothed everything over here. A very beautiful sight. And now the glacier is gone.
A big cat was found in the snow. These are probably the tracks of a snow leopard or snow leopard. There is even Mount Irbistu nearby.
Soon the whole group climbed to the pass. Everyone is tired. But strength comes quickly. We rested and started taking photos.
Sitting on the pass, we saw a group that was climbing the pass from the Tura-Oyuk valley. This made everyone happy, but mostly surprised. In the Taldura Valley we saw no tourists at all. And here suddenly there are already tourists right on the pass.
We started descending with a traverse to the left at 15:40. We rested on the rocks. We decided to wait for the group.
After descending one third of the pass, it became clear. that it is better to go down straight now, and not by traverse. Everyone began to descend, and I stayed to wait for the oncoming group. There were 5 people there (2 children). From Yaroslavl.
After getting to know them and talking a little, I began to catch up with my own people. I caught up with them already below. There was water near the unmelted snowfield. We rested there.
GPS altitude 3000 m.
According to Google Earth also 3000 m. That is. takeoff on this side is a 300 m pass, and on that side 200 m.
There is another one marked on the map upper lake Tura-Oyuk. It is not visible from the pass, but upon descent it becomes visible. It was beautiful. It was dark green in color and covered with ice that had not yet melted. I would like to go there.
We rested and went to the lake. When I looked down from the pass, it seemed that it was not far to go from the foot of the pass to the lake. The slopes are almost all covered with grass. The path should be short and easy. But this was wrong. Firstly, there were old moraines everywhere, and there were an infinite number of them. They walked for a long time.
Right in front of the lake, golden root bushes began to appear.
So we arrived at the lake at about 18:15.
Looking towards the lake, and realizing that there was no forest there at all, and, moreover, there was almost no dwarf, we decided to stand right at the beginning of the lake. about 100 meters to the lake itself. The clearing here was without stones and not swampy.
We cooked food on gas. Near the rocks we found bushes in which we collected some firewood. Then, while climbing on the rocks, I discovered that there was even more firewood to be collected on the rocks. So in the evening we will brew tea on the fire and sit drinking tea while warming ourselves next to it. What we did in the evening.
According to GPS near the lake 2746 m.
According to Google Earth, the height of the lake is 2720 m.
The temperature during the day was +16 +18 C.
From parking to blue lake before the pass 2.3 km.
The distance to the glacier tongue is approximately 3.9 km.
Saddle of the Leningradsky pass 5.4 km.
And to the lake from the saddle 3.8 km.
We covered 9.2 km in a day.
The South Chuysky ridge is located (just don’t be surprised!) to the south. The ridges are separated from each other by the valley of the Karagem River. The length of the South Chuya Range from east to west is about 70 km. The peaks of the mountains have a height of almost 4 km, in particular the height of Iiktu is 3936 m, Dzhaniiktu is 3922 m. Some of the largest glaciers of the Altai Mountains lie on this ridge - the Sofia glacier in the Akkola valley and the Taldurinsky glacier in the Taldura valley. The South Chuysky ridge is less visited than the SCHH due to its greater distance from the Chuysky tract. From the Chuysky tract the peaks of the YuChKh are barely noticeable; they begin to be visible from the tract only from the village of Ortolyk. In addition to the valleys of Taldura and Akkola, tourists also visit the valleys of the Karaoyuk and Elangash rivers. In the valley of the Elangash River there is a road for good cross-country vehicles, such as the GAZ-66, but the Karaoyuk valley is almost unvisited, there is not even a visible path, and the places are mostly swampy. The most visited valley in the South Coast is the Akkola Valley.
To get to the Taldura valley (to the Taldurinsky glacier, Iiktu peak) or the Akkola valley (Sofia glacier), you need to turn towards Beltir in Ortolyk. The village of Beltir was founded in 1922. Previously called Kyzyl-Many (red flag). It was a collective farm. They were engaged in raising livestock. In the river valleys that are nearby: Taldura, Akkol, Chagan, Karaoyuk, Elangash, many winter huts were built that have remained here since former times.
From the same times, roadways for UAZs and GAZ-66s have also been preserved. At the beginning of this century, a series of earthquakes swept through the area, the strongest measuring 9.5. The village of Beltir suffered more than others during the earthquake. All stone buildings collapsed. Later it was built new village Beltir, near Kosh-Agach. Part of the population moved to a new place, and part remained to live in the same place. Almost all wooden houses have been restored. The village is quite large. Many village residents have passable transport, and this can be used for further transportation to the glaciers.
On the maps the road to Beltir is marked from Chagan-Uzun, but no one travels along it now. Eat good road from Ortolyk - 29 km. The first 5 km are asphalt, then up to 17 km there is gravel, and then all the way to Beltir there is asphalt. Any car can pass.
Near the village, the Chagan River flows into the Taldura River, and further on the river is called Chagan-Uzun. Beltir means “confluence” (of two rivers). The altitude here is -1936 m. At the end of the village there is a bridge over the Chagan River, after the bridge the road goes to the right to the Taldurinsky glacier, and to the left - to the Sophia glacier.
Along the Taldura valley, a good road goes to the Dzhelo River, a UAZ can reach it without any problems, at this place (to the right along the slope) the ascent to the Karagem Pass and further to the Karagem Glade begins. It doesn’t even make sense to try to drive to the Dzhelo River in ordinary passenger cars. 7 km from Beltir, on the left slope of the valley (in the direction of travel), you can see the consequences of the earthquake in 2003 - a section of the slope (approximately 1 × 0.9 km) along with the forest slid down, this place is now called Arka-Uzuk (“ forest torn down").
Further along the Dzhelo River along Taldura, it is better to drive a GAZ-66 or URAL. It’s even better to walk through the valley, it’s worth it. Moreover, the road is good everywhere. You are guaranteed to see edelweiss - small Altai miracle flowers. The local mountain landscapes, unlike the SCHH, will greatly impress you with their diversity. A few kilometers before the last winter hut you will have to ford the Taldura River to the right bank, maximum depth- slightly above the knee.
A couple of kilometers from the Taldurinsky glacier is the last winter hut in this valley; there are five of them in total. By car you can get to the last winter hut. Then you can walk to the Taldurinsky glacier, climb onto the glacier itself, or simply approach it. From here the Olga peaks and the highest point of the YuChKh - Iiktu 3936 m will be clearly visible. From Beltir to the Taldurinsky glacier is about 40 km.
The easiest route between the Taldura and Akkola valleys is through the Leningrad Pass 3300 m (1B) and further along the lake and the Tura-Okzh river to the Akkola valley.
If you go from Beltir to the left, towards the Sofia Glacier along the Chagan Valley, then the road will be even better than to Taldura. For the first 10 km it is generally perfectly flat and runs through the steppe, which here is more like a desert. Here you will meet mounds.
If you look at the slopes of the mountains, you can understand that they are smoothed by glaciers. This once again proves that the glacier once reached Beltir. Next, small mountains will begin, and the road will pass by two lakes, Karakul (“clean”, “black”) and Akkul (“white”).
There are also winter huts here. You can get there by car (with a cross-country ability no less than a UAZ) only as far as the Tura-Oyuk River. And then in almost 2 hours you can walk to the Sofia Glacier. Those. Almost all the way to the glacier can be reached by car.
From Beltir to the Sofia Glacier is about 35 km. In front of the glacier, the moraine spilled big lake with muddy glacial water, and next to it there are many more small lakes, each in its own moraine bowl, and in each of them the water is of a different color, from black to light green.
But to see them, you will need to move to the right bank of the Akkol River, and the road always goes along the left bank. This can be done either by wading, or by walking to the glacier and using it to cross to the other side.
The easiest route between the Akkola and Karaoyuk valleys is through the Udachny pass 3000 m (1A) along the glacier of the same name.
There is a bridge at the confluence of the Akkola and Karaoyuka rivers on the Akkol River, but the river here spills into two branches, and one of them will have to be forded.
The South Chuysky ridge is part of Central Altai. Located away from popular tourist centers and inaccessible by transport, it is one of the wildest areas of this mountainous country. The South Chuysky ridge is slightly lower than the North Chuysky, its average heights are 3000-3500 m, the highest point is Iiktu peak (3941 m). The main difference between these two ridges is that on the slopes of the South Chuya ridge there is practically no forest - only meadows and thickets of dwarf birch. Thanks to this, many peaks open beautiful review 30-50 kilometers around, picturesque panoramas of the harsh Chuya steppe, Katunsky and North Chuya ridges.
Climate
The South Chuisky ridge is located in close proximity to the arid semi-deserts of Mongolia, which cannot but affect the climatic conditions in this area. Naturally, there is much less precipitation on its slopes than on the North Chuysky or Katunsky ridges, but from here, from the slopes of the South Chuysky ridge, very large glaciers flow down - the Bolshoi Taldurinsky and Sofiysky.
Glaciers
The South Chuya ridge is the second largest glaciation in Altai. The 243 glaciers located on it have total area 222.8 sq. km. Central location occupies the Bolshoi Taldurinsky glacier, the length of which exceeds 8 km, and the area is 34.9 square meters. km. and the Sofia glacier, 10 km long. and an area of 24 sq. km.
Rivers
Large tributaries of the Chuya originate from the ridge - the Chagan, Taldura, Tarkhata, and Irbistu rivers. On the other side of the ridge, numerous tributaries of the Dzhazator River originate.
Lakes
There are very few lakes here, and in beauty they are significantly inferior to the lakes of the North Chuysky and Katunsky ridges. The most picturesque lakes are Akkol and Karakol in the valley of the Akkol River. Akkol, translated from Altai - “white lake”. And indeed, the water in it is light, milky in color. Karakol is, on the contrary, a “black lake”, and this is also true - the water in Karakol seems dark. It is noteworthy that these opposite lakes are located only two kilometers from each other. On the shores of Akkol, tourists often set up a base camp, from where they take walks to the Sofia Glacier or climb the surrounding peaks.
Tourists began visiting this area much later than the North Chuysky or Katunsky ridges. This is due both to the transport remoteness of the area, and to the fact that in Soviet times these places were considered border territory, passage through which was carried out strictly with passes.
Chui steppe
The Chui steppe is the largest intermountain basin of Altai. With a length of 80 kilometers, its width reaches 40 km. The bottom of the basin is concave and is located at altitudes of 1850-1750 meters above sea level. The southern ends of the steppe coincide with the state border of the Russian Federation and Mongolia.
On all sides the steppe is framed by snow-capped ridges - the South Chuysky, North Chuysky, Kuraisky, and the Sailyugem plateau. This is the reason for the harsh climate of the steppe. The absolute minimum temperature is -62 degrees C, maximum +31. However average temperature July is only +13.8 degrees - this is due to the significant difference between day and night temperatures, characteristic of a sharply continental climate. At the same time, the Chui steppe has a very dry climate. The annual rainfall here barely exceeds 100 mm per year, with most of it falling in the summer. In winter there is almost no snow in the basin, so local residents Almost no houses are built with the gable roofs that are familiar to our eyes—a flat one is sufficient here.
The Chui steppe is still home to the rarest representatives of the Altai fauna - gazelle antelope, corsac fox and manul cat. You can see cranes, swans, golden eagles and black vultures. It is impossible to count the local rodents - they live in huge numbers in the steppe. These are gophers, marmots, jerboas, pikas, Djungarian hamsters and many others.
The Chui steppe contains a huge amount of archaeological sites. There are about 20 Paleolithic sites known here, and many monuments from the Bronze and Iron Ages. These are archaeological complexes in the valleys of the Yustyd and Bar-Burgazy rivers, including hundreds of monuments from different periods: Paleolithic sites, burial mounds, burial enclosures, stone sculptures, rock paintings, pottery and iron smelting furnaces, etc. There are a lot of rock paintings - complexes of petroglyphs can be found in the valleys of the rivers Elangash, Chagan-Uzun, Kyzyl-Dzhar, Zhalgys-Tobe and many others. etc.
How to get there
Crosses the Chui steppe federal highway M-52 "Chuysky tract". Steppe areas remote from the highway can be reached by all-wheel drive vehicle. From Gorno-Altaisk to Kosh-Agach go Shuttle Buses, however, the majority of the population use the services of local "taxi drivers". A trip in such a “taxi” to Gorno-Altaisk costs about 500 rubles. From the Republic of Tyva to the Chui steppe there is a dirt road through the Buguzun pass, leading to the village. Kokorya.
Valley of the Taldura River
The Big Taldurinsky glacier is the largest glacier on Russian territory Altai mountains. Located on the slopes of the South Chuysky ridge. It is separated from the Sofia Glacier only by a small mountain range, the Taldurinskaya Ohrada. The area of the glacier is 28.2 sq. km. with a length of 7.5 km. Not far from Bolshoy Taldurinsky there is another large glacier, Maly Taldurinsky. Its length is 2.5 km, and its area is slightly less than 2 square meters. km. Nearby is the highest point of the South Chuysky ridge - Mount Iiktu (3936 m.)
How to get there
The road to the village of Beltir turns from the Chuysky tract beyond the village of Ortolyk. From here to Beltir it is 27 kilometers on good asphalt. Then the asphalt gives way to gravel. Not far from Beltir, on the right (orographically) slope of the Taldura valley you can see the consequences of the 2003 earthquake - a giant landslide. The road winds all the time along the banks of Taldura, either flying up above the water, or vice versa, descending down to the river. In the upper reaches of the valley, the soil is very swampy, but if you have a winch, a shovel and a head on your shoulders, overcoming these obstacles will not be difficult. The road does not reach the Taldurinsky glacier itself, breaking off 2-3 kilometers from the beginning of its tongue.
Akkol River Valley and Sofia Glacier
The valley of the Akkol River is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the South Chuya Range. The Akkol River originates from the Sofia Glacier, one of largest glaciers Altai. The ice thickness here reaches 160 meters. The glacier was first described by Prof. Sapozhnikov in 1895. He also named the surrounding mountains - Brother (3885 m), Ksenia (approx. 3500 m) and Sister (3750 m). In the river valley there are picturesque lakes Akkul (" White Lake") and Karakul ("Black Lake"). Indeed, in Akkul the water is milky white, while the water in Karakul is black. The slopes of the valley are very beautiful. They combine stones, eternal snow, larch and cedar forests, thickets of dwarf birch and alpine meadows. Especially bright colors can be seen here in August-September. At this time, autumn reds and yellows contrast with gray stone, white snow and green tree needles.
From Lake Akkul you can take walks to the Sofia Glacier. Six kilometers along a picturesque trail from which you can see beautiful views to glaciers, snow-capped peaks of Ksenia, Olga and Brat, as well as many small lakes of a wide variety of colors.
How to get there
You can get to Lake Akkul by all-terrain vehicle. As on the way to the Taldurinsky glacier, first we must get to the village of Beltir. Further on, the roads to the Taldurinsky glacier and Lake Akkul diverge. The road to Akkul goes to the left, and to Taldura - straight along the valley. The length of the further path to the lake is about 30 kilometers, the first twenty of which are a relatively good sandy road. Apparently, this used to be the bed of the Sofia Glacier. Branches constantly go from the road to different sides. They lead to the camps of shepherds, of which there are quite a few in the valley. Altaians graze livestock here and harvest grass for the winter. Next begins a stone road with steep ascents and descents, shallow fords and marshy meadows.
By car you can drive about 5 more kilometers after the lake. Further on, the path is blocked by steep slopes of the valley. The Sofia Glacier can only be reached on foot.
Valley of the Elangash River
The Elangash River originates from covered eternal snows slopes of the South Chuya ridge. The main attraction of the valley is a gigantic rock art complex. Stretching 18 kilometers deep into the valley, it reaches a width of 1.5 km. Scientists here copied more than 30,000 drawings. The most common subjects of petroglyphs are deer, goats, a procession of bulls, anthropomorphic figures, camels, chariots, fighting animals, etc. The drawings are made using the technique of dot punching and graffiti. The complex contains images belonging to different periods, from the Bronze Age to the present day. Among huge amount ancient drawings you can find a modern image of a truck. For some people this causes indignation, for others it causes a smile. I believe that in a thousand years this drawing of a car will become as ancient as the Scythian images of deer.
Only one shepherd and his son live in the valley. Their house is located in the upper reaches of the river, not far from the pass into the valley of the Tara (or Dara) river, on the southern slopes of the ridge. He happily talks about his herds. Yaks, for example, serve as an excellent barometer. They graze on the slopes of the surrounding mountains, and if the herd goes down to the foot, expect bad weather.
From the Elangash valley, through a simple but lengthy pass you can get to the Tara River valley. These are already the southern slopes of the South Chuya ridge, and the Tara is a tributary of the Dzhazator. This pass is best suited for motorcycles and ATVs. There is no road, but the ascent along a grassy and then rocky slope is quite gentle and quite passable even in bad weather. It is not possible for even an experienced driver to cross the pass by car.
How to get there
You can get to the shepherd's parking lot by all-wheel drive vehicle. The road is bad, rocky, and your car's tires can be seriously damaged. Just above the parking lot the road ends. From here you can walk on foot to the upper reaches of Elangash, to the foot of the Irbis-Tu peak ("Snow Leopard Mountain"), whose height is 3967 m, and to the Elangash-Tara pass, from which in clear weather you can see scenic view to the South Chuysky ridge.