Report about hiking-ski trip 1 difficulty category (participation)

Denegkin stone 1985 year

Report about backpacking trip 2 difficulty category (participation)

This report was made long time ago, but I hope it will be useful for somebody. In those far times all tourist’s equipment was rather primitive to today's measures. As for me it was the second trip which had sports category with rather hard condition. Mistakes which there were made, I tried do not repeat further. In those far times tourism was more mass occupation. To collect group in hiking trip was simple. People willingly went in a wood, the truth, some participants obviously were not ready to such conditions, likely, because did not understand - a taiga and a forest park about a house, these are big differences.

Women in our group had in backpacks hair curlers, eye shadows, lipstick, facepowder etc. I reached 18 years and these women were much more senior than me and I aside named their "grandmothers". A ski at all was not wide as tourist or hunting, and narrow racing. About expanded polystyrene mats, GPS, normal maps, ergonomic backpacks in those far times nobody heard, therefore all our equipment was a padded jacket and canvas backpack. But people were emotional, mild, and in something even unusual. One of our participant was guy about 25 years old. He was very unusual and about him in general it is possible to write the story about the unlucky person. Aside I give to him code name "Slasher".

April, 27, 1985. (The first day)

Group started at 16.25 then crossed river Sharp on logs almost lost-free except "Slasher" which fell into the river and got wet. Preliminary we learned how to go down from abrupt slopes. The ferry on the logs thrown on ice borrowed about 1-1,5 hour. We had first cold night in tent on snow. Thin bedding was made from our clothes. We slept three together in a double sleeping bag.
We had a stew from the tin-can which was inflated from an end face. For morning, I thought, there will be only corpses. Strange, but all is normal. Dressed on spending the night jacket under a waist, clothes it is more under itself, than on itself. Night was very cold maybe because we were rolled out from tent.

April, 28, 1985 (the second day)

We woke up at 7.00 - coldly, were started after breakfast at 8.30 and passed lost-free stream 5-7 meters of width. To cross the stream we cut pine and dropped it on the other stream-bank and used it as a bridge. The insurance: at falling in water it is necessary to fall adrift that has not been under a tree and to throw off strap of rucksack.

The next we passed a bog where water depth about 20-40 of centimeters. After left a bog we found cut-through and continued our trip in knee-deep snow. The ice crust rather rigid, but sometimes it broke under us. Had a short dinner and go on. Till evening we went on snow. For five minutes everyone went ahead for making a track for other and then fell off aside. We went on system 25*5 (25 minutes we go, 5 minutes we have a rest). On the evening all our group was tired out. At 19:00 we have stopped on lodging for the night. Singed some song and tried to play the guitar. It is a pity but nobody can play the guitar.

April, 29, 1985 (the third day)

We have risen early, but have left late, but on a ski. My ski-binding is very bad, the enemy would not wish. Group moves uphill - it is enough difficult, but on a ski a bit easy and if take off them you will go down waist-deep. At 10.40 we have stopped on rest. Our altitude is approximately 800-900 meters, because we are higher than border of a forest.

In a two hour we got mountain “Denegkin stone” but not to peak and into a saddle. There is very cold and blowing hard. We had a nosh and have begun descent. I moved down on my tail to middle of mountain. My ski-binding is very bad I turn my feet but ski run directly. I was exhausted to climb down a mountain, but if to take off a ski then go down to snow. I went down by breast-deep of a three times and understand it is enough. Therefore has moved down from a hill straightway through bushes and small trees.

The descent was finished and we have reached the river but the acrobatics here began. Snow became friable and deep. When the thin ice crustes has broken the leg with ski go down waist-deep in snow. Then I unfasten ski-binding and dig out my ski, put it on an ice crust and go forward, through 10-20 meters recurrence of exercise with excavation a ski. So, we had great acrobatic exercise. Well, I am tired but have good condition (1 category on ski races helps), and these "grandmothers" and " Slasher " - in general have an agonal condition.
The plan of distance for this day has not executed. We stopped on lodging for the night before a house of the hunter, therefore spending the night again in cold, but time already 22:00, it is time to fix a camp. Today I am the attendant. Supper cooked in 12 of night. At 1:30 we went to bed.

April, 30, 1985. (The fourth day)

I woke up at 5:10, made a fire and prepared breakfast. After well-cooked food we broke and burn out our guitar because nobody can play guitar and string was broken from a frost at night.
We left at 9.40, for 20 minutes have reached a small house which could not reach in the evening. Four persons from our group ("grandmother" and "Slasher") will go with us only up to settlement Solva, and is farther home because can not go by reason of weariness and problems with equipment.
"Slasher" is out of luck in this campaign. The axe and all sharp subjects in his backpack for some reason always press to him back. Some times he complained to me, that his backpack is discomfortable and his back aches. Probably he hinted that would like to throw a part of things from his backpack to me. I have advised him reorder a backpack that something soft adjoined to a back. But the trouble does not come one, last night he has put to be dried the ski boots at a fire and has overlooked about them. We have rescued boots, when have noticed in darkness that from them brings down a rich smoke. Boots has distorted and they looks like flipper. In the morning he has woken up, put on boots- flipper and has gone behind the favorite backpack. Without thinking twice he has pulled a strap and has broken off half-and-half a backpack, which was fast frozen to snow. People, looking on this show, simply have began laugh oneself helpless.

Well we have got Solva! At last I have dried out for all these days. And that I sleep in wet jacket, in a wet sleeping bag, on snow, in tent - a disorder!

After dinner we have gone further on the main Ural ridge. Advantage at semifixed ski-binding with gumboots before racing ski-binding with boots has appeared. When we passed river on a ski on ice with water above I have received more pleasure in gumboots than girls in ski-running boots.

We got out of Solva about 5 kilometers and stopped on lodging for the night. The first time I was not cold when slept. But we were with Sergey in a double sleeping bag and Alexander in single. At daybreak he trained us to warming shiver of any professor, the tent too shivered.

May, 1, 1985. (The fifth day)

We have risen and have left early. On a ski we have reached saddle and have got it for one and a half hour then have eaten chocolate and sweets. A some person were felt at descent of mountain, but have dexterously braked as learned our chief of campaign Valera Isakov but one girl has dismayed and sliding with acceleration at descent up to the extrusive under snow stones which helps her to stop.

She has made it very effectively. First she was knocked by a back about one stone then has flown up on half-meter and crashed against next stone. Valera nearly got infarct from such flights.

After descent we had a nosh and moved up to river Liampa. We well passed about 8 kilometers but when have reached up to river snow began to caved in. Again we got an acrobatics – every time after of 10 meters you dig out a ski from under snow. In such rate we could pass for 3 hours about three kilometers. To go further is not meaningful and we stopped on lodging for the night. In the evening we celebrated the May Day - have made a pie.

May, 2, 1985. (The sixth day)

We have risen early, but have left late. Before dinner on a strong ice crust we have skiing about 10 kilometers and reached up to Alikin’s house. He is fantastic oldster! During 30 years he lives single in a taiga and has built 13 small houses where he spend the night when hunting. There we had a nosh gave him a few our food and went to Europe - Asia border to one of his small houses. We reached up to there for 4 hours and 20 minutes - distance was about 14 kilometers. Now the fortune was with us - snow caved in a bit.
After supper we early went to bed. There was first warm spending the night in a small house. I fell asleep somewhere in 10 of evenings and woke up at 4:50. I made a fire and helped Lena to fix breakfast. For the last day we passed 24 kilometers.

May, 3, 1985. (The seventh day)

After breakfast we have gone to settlement Solva i.e. for 3 days we have rounded the Ural ridge and returned to settlement. We spent 3 hours for ski trip and were there about 11 a.m. Foods which we left in a small house has been stolen but it is not big problem, there is enough food in our rucksack. In a hour we met tourists from Ural State University comprised one guy and 8 ladies. Guy had unreal size backpack it is likely ladies give him lot of things from his rucksacks. This unfortunate guy staggered around the road - young women tired him out. In our group only Sergey has such condition. Yesterday he had a nose blood and our physician said it is result of overwork.
Our plans are the next. From settlement Solva we walk along the road to the mountain Krev (height of 1310 meters) by the suspension bridge through the river Sosva and further along this road.

The river Sosva we reached on a ski. Unfortunately, the bridge was on half-meter under water. I got my feet wet and got corns on feet. Through one and a half kilometer we stopped for dinner. At last I have thrown out my damned ski, but it doesn’t make my live easier. Our leader loaded me an another's ski and kit from Sergey’s a backpack with his boots. After dinner we have passed about 10 kilometers and have risen on lodging for the night. For whole day we walked about 30 kilometers.

May, 4, 1985. (The eighth day)

We early got up and early started - exactly at 6:00. As usual I was late because I had washed up our pots and I need to hurry after our group again. Ours «mountain wolves» never wait for nobody. I found in a wood the real hunting ski and took it for future ski trip. For day we should reach settlement Kalja (30 kilometers), and therefrom by bus to Severouralsk. The train departs at 17:23 so it is necessary "to plough". My “lovely” corns hurt very much. I feel myself as I walked on hot pan. Advice for future: never wet your feet and pierce corns as soon as possible. The first I gathered myself and passed about 20 kilometers but then run down. I hardly pottered along the road about 2-3 kilometers but here we caught the passing lorry which helped us to reach settlement Kalja. In Severouralsk we were at 12:00, bought tickets – our trip is completed.

E-Mail: medvedev_victor@mail.ru