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1 Day. Arrival to Barnaul transfer to the office. After breakfast, on the comfortable buses or suitable vehicles transfer to the first place of spending overnight (farmstead, 10 hours, 850 km). The road runs along the “Chuisk route’. This is most psychologically difficult part of the route to Biysk is 167 km. of rather tiresome road, because there is nothing to see: forest - steppe, but nevertheless it is beautiful. Lunch in a café. A bit more, and here they are - mountains. From the village Tuekta it is the gravel road which changes into asphalt. In the evening: bath house and dinner cooked from fresh village products - meat, potato, self-made cheese, herbal tea. Accommodation - in small houses with fireplaces. But further on.. all the overnight spendings will be in tents. And food will be prepared by cook on camp-fire or gas.
2-3 Day. After nourishing village breakfast (porridge, pancakes, cheese - cakes, village curd, cream and tea with honey or jam) - transfer (1hour) to the starting place with load horses. Ascending causes accumulation of big personal and group outfit, plus food. Participants of sport groups often carry all these in their rucksacks and its weight can be up to 35 kg. You can believe this is a heavy rucksack. That’s why we rent load horses. We distribute equipment and food stuff on load horses. Personal outfit participants carry in their rucksacks. Two days tracking starts for the foothills of the mountain range Kara - Turek (3060 m) at the same time it is a good acclimatization phase, up along the river Kucherle to the base camp on the Ak - Kemsk (2150 m) lakeside. The second day will be especially difficult because this the first day with rucksack, in spite not heavy. Besides on the same day the participants will start advancement along “vertical”. The second and the third days - permanent up the mountain slope, and on the fourth day we will cross Kara - Turek, at an altitude of 3080 m. According to statistics the most actual questions of these days are: ”How much is left? Is there still a long way ahead?” Don’t be surprised, the answer will be simple: “No-o-o, we are nearly there! or No-o-o may be 40 minutes left!”
4 Day. Crossing the mountain range Kara - Turek (3060 m). If the weather is good, possibly it is the best spot for Belukha massif observation. Further on -descending to the Ak - Kem lake where we will stay in our base camp on the territory of MChS camp and prepare for ascending. There is a pitched tent for 15 - 20 persons where participants can have their meals and spend their leisure. time. The kitchen - tent is equipped here also but permission for entering it have only cooks.
5 Day. Today - depending on weather and tactical thoughts we have rest and prepare ourselves for ascending, or actively prepare ourselves and close to the lunch time depart for “Tomsk camps”. Those who don’t know should be aware that Altai “Tomsk camps” in the world of Alpinists are as famous as “Pastuhoff Rocks” in the Caucuses. This is an interval overnight staying at an altitude of 3000 m. Here in the mountain cabin some people after ascending, have rest and recall the past and others with hidden trepidation and envy listen before start. We move up forward along Ak - Kem glacier. Here it is the real kingdom of Yeti “snow demon”. And really here very strange footsteps can be found sometimes. The footsteps are covered with snow and they do not look like Homo sapiens footsteps. Who knows? In any way, all the time, the feeling that somebody is observing you is present. Skeptics will say:” this is simply the process of acclimatization and everything can loom! This is a hallucination complex!” No comment… Ladies and gentlemen! We stay overnight in tents. Now all the participants live in the tents by two. And here is what each “two” gets: food (sublimated stuff it is a hot food, sausage, cheese, canned fish, ring-shaped cracknels, crackers, chocolate, dried fruits) set of gas table ware, gas burner and two gas bottles 450 gram each). After short instruction during the time of ascending participants cook food on their own till return to the base camp on Ak - Kem.
6 Day. The day of exercises. Special technical training. Ice exercises on glacier “Arbuz”. Be ready - it is the special super intensive course. This is the learning of the skills that will help you not only to make ascending, but also to stay alive. And as usual the participants have the most emotional experience while training the “self holding on the ice slope” exercise.
7 Day. In spite of early morning al participants are already out of bed. After breakfast departure for the foot hills of the mountain range Delone (45 minutes). Firstly, guides hang hand - rails on the range “Delone” (3400 m). After crossing over the mountain range - passing across over the huge snow - ice field of glacier Mensu (Sapojnikov). Further on - again ascend for the range Berelsk, but without rope hand-rails. Everybody is busy with camp arrangement, we pitch tents on snow. Spend overnight at an altitude of 3520 m.
8 Day. Rising at 4 am, breakfast. The first obstacle today is the mountain range TKT with the height of 3800 m. Here overhangs a huge icefall, it is the spot where glacier on the steep relief starts to crack, creating specific relief with giant cracks - “seracs”. It becomes difficult to breathe. Ahead is the next “hand rails” spot - Belukha mountain range with the height 4300 m. The vast saddleback is opening from the range and the second Belukha’s peak. And now the storm starts. After 3 hours of work on rather steep snow - ice slope the participants find themselves on the highest summit of Siberia! In the case of good weather we can have here 30 minutes rest , and after that descending to the Berilsk saddle. The snow cave will serve as interim camp in the case of bad weather. After a short rest - descending to the “Tomsk camps” on Ak -Kemsk glacier. The maximum caution and orderliness are demanded from the participants while descending! In the conditions of deteriorating visibility, sometimes, it becomes necessary to move at accelerated tempo. And this demands from participants god physical preparing.
9 Day. Today we are in prospect of descending to the base camp on the lake Ak - Kem, and it means we can relax. Good bathhouse will be a real present. There is no more marvelous bathhouses than on the Ak - Kem lake. And after the steam chamber to dive in Ak - Kem, with the water temperature +4 C. Everybody has a free time. “It was a day, it was a rest!“
10 Day. Reserve day in the case of bad weather.
11-12 Days. We had a good rest yesterday but today is tracking across the mountain-forest and forest-steppe zone with light rucksacks. Variants are:
a) over the range Kara - Turek (3050m. here is the best spot for Belukha observation) along river Kucherla till village Tungur;
b) along river Ak - Kem, over the range Kuzuiak (1340 m). The choice depends on the weather and conditions of participants.
13 Day. Arrival and overnight staying at the farm (Katanda). And again bathhouse! With exit to the mountain creek. Goodbye - gala diner cooked with the fresh village food products. Overnight staying in the houses with fireplaces.
14 Day. Village breakfast (porridge, pancakes, cheese - cakes, village curd, cream and tea with honey or jam). Arrival to Barnaul. Transfer to the hotel Centralnaia:
15 Day. Transfer to the airport.
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