Bzerpinsky Cornice, Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Russia - “Bzerpinsky Cornice is one of the best mountain routes in Krasnaya Polyana. Full description of the route: where to go, what to see, how to behave when meeting a bear.” Yoga tour "Krasnaya Polyana - Kholodny Camp"

In the process of regular and frequent travel, fatigue began to accumulate more and more, not so much from the hikes themselves, but from the endless journeys by car. And so, for a change, I wanted to consider the option of a convenient and stress-free ride into the mountains using public transport. One was quickly found. The outskirts of Krasnaya Polyana with super-developed infrastructure ala - every whim for your money, in this regard, they simplify the task to a minimum: in the morning in Krasnodar you sit on a comfortable swallow and in the afternoon you find yourself somewhere in Rosa Khutor. After 100 meters you transfer to the cable car and after 15 minutes you are already in the mountains at an altitude of 1500 m among a centuries-old relict forest. What else do you need? True, it is not entirely clear why the swallow, instead of its characteristic swift flight, crawls along the rails, like a wounded horsetail? It's a little annoying, but it's probably the way it should be.

Outside the train window is the coastal strip of the sea. There are very few people on the beach, but all the pipel present at the moment give themselves over to the water element and take air baths to the fullest. Of course, the water is 21 degrees, the gentle sun of the velvet season. The most thrill. I can’t believe that not far from here, somewhere up there it can be really cold.

Civil, clean and cultured to the point of discomfort. AND The greens are still bright and fresh for summer.

I was kindly pleased with the initiative of the administration of our valiant State Committee for Nature Reserves to organize the sale of tickets to the territory of the reserve in the building of the Alpindustria shopping center, near the Gazprom Laura cable car. This eliminates the need to buy tickets in Adler or Krasnaya Polyana, as was previously practiced, and travel here with a transfer. As for the rest of the moments, I did not experience any special bursts of joy from the realization of my presence in the highly restricted zone of the reserve, rather the opposite. With a minimum of costs for arranging shelters, the money is pumped out here regularly, since there is an abundance of assorted people roaming along legal routes. The huntsmen are bloodthirsty and focused on unambiguous, merciless reprisals against illegal immigrants. Some specimens are so ferocious that it seems that if you give them free rein, they will shoot everyone around with their guns. Apparently, with a meager salary, all these crowds of frenzied tourists got to their core. Even in comparison with the rather conservative Lago-Naki, the order in the local diocese is almost draconian. If there, if you have a ticket for a “daytime session,” you can wander around almost anywhere, and even spend the night without much risk outside the designated areas, then a step to the left, a step to the right from the main path means execution on the spot. The tickets must indicate each individual radial, lake, and top of the head. And we also found ourselves in the active phase of the deer rut, which was the reason for the closure of some recently operating routes. This imposed additional restrictions on movement and general behavior. In addition to the basic prohibitions, in the reserve it was forbidden to smoke, breathe deeply in fresh air, take a leak in the wrong place, make faces and tease bears, pull the tails of deer, talk loudly and chase mating drunken hedgehogs through the bushes.

But at one and a half thousand meters everything looks a little different. Gradually the picture is changing.

Well, without excessive sarcasm, the territory mentioned here is actually favorable for active family recreation and fairly safe mattress-making for poorly prepared groups and individuals. Something between the purely wild and civil levels. The well-paved trails are equipped with signs and, in some places, benches, tables and even awnings. On the Bzerpinsky cornice there is a shelter with two houses for 20 people each, common outdoor toilets and government tents, rented out along with the internal stuffing necessary for overnight accommodation. The latter is for those who prefer to walk here lightly in exchange for the determination to part with the extra cabbage in their pocket at a price of 600 rubles. from the nose overnight (cheaper than shag!) The rest of the conscientious semi-ascetics put up their own tents in the clearing free of charge, but on wooden pallets allocated for this purpose, by analogy with the Fishtin shelter.
In summer it is probably very beautiful here, since the subalpine meadow zone from Bzerpi to the Kholodny camp is represented quite extensively. Now the grass has withered, but somewhere in June-July everything blooms and smells fragrant against the backdrop of snow-capped peaks. Well, the most interesting thing, in my opinion, is the multi-peaked Pseashkha ridge, exceeding the 3000 m mark, with its glaciers on the north-eastern slopes. But the problem is that from the path between the two shelters, only the Sugarloaf peak, or Pseashkho Sugarny, is more or less visible, and all neighboring panoramic high-rises, except for the Bzerpinsky peak, are prohibited. Some for now, others not at all. True, from the Kholodnaya River valley the view of a good half of the ridge with the glacier was still pleasing. And the valley itself is very beautiful. The glades, interspersed with birch forests, were vaguely reminiscent of Myrdy. Therefore, it’s still worth walking from the Bzerpinsky cornice to the Kholodny camp for the sake of this valley with a view of Pseashkha.

So, having stocked up with tickets, we board the cable car and sail through the air to Pikhtovaya Polyana. From there to the Bzerpinsky cornice there are two or three walks, depending on the physical condition of those daring and the severity of their burden. Half of the climb is covered through the forest, half through the meadow.

Volodya was so loaded with lard that one backpack on his shoulders was not enough.

Upon exiting the forest, travelers will find tables with benches where they can catch their breath and kill a worm.

From here you can see a nice view of Chugush, Aibga, Agepsta. Bzerpinsky peak is almost nearby. But there is no water in this parking lot. Minus one star.

On the left is Mount Chugush, 3238 m, with a glacier visible at the top, on the right is the trapezoidal Mount Vorobyov, 2854 m (when did he manage to do this...?)

Bzerpinsky cornice with a shelter in a clearing. This is something like a pass leading to the hanging valley of Pseashkha. The altitude is about 2000 m. It doesn’t seem like much, but now, when people below are swimming in the sea, it’s already steadily freezing here at night. On the left is Mount Perevalnaya Yuzhnaya, 2503 m. - an excellent panoramic point. But not to our liking...

Sartire shelter near a picturesque cliff. Not for use by those suffering from bouts of sleepwalking.

The fog is creeping on your heels. There was no trace left of the recent warmth. Cold and dampness will take over the position of this high-rise now until the next morning.

Only one tenant from local Sochi settled in one of the houses. It’s approaching night, the coldest of all that we captured there, and there are no rangers in the camp. And they are unlikely to show up. This advantage is worth taking advantage of. We spent this overnight stay comfortably and for free. At dinner, the boy said that just yesterday everything here was white with snow, and at night the thermometer dropped to minus 5.
In the morning we blew up in the direction of Kholodny, but with a run into the neighboring Dzitaku valley to the lakes. Along the way, in the upper reaches of Urushten, we turned to Lake Maloye, which, in fact, turned out to be not small at all, but quite decent, of medium size.

We returned to the main path, reached the adjoining Jitaku on the left and decided to run radially there lightly, taking only lunch and gas (balloon) . In order to easily find the backpacks hidden in the wind-worn low forest upon my return, I look for a suitable sign. This was a decent-sized pile of bear droppings right on the trail. You definitely won't pass by. We boasted of our goodness against her. Another 20 minutes walk and we are at the lakes.
Among them is one Big (that’s what it’s called)

and several small ones, literally stuck together in a heap, which overall adds originality to this natural complex.

There's nowhere closer...

The shores and shallows of almost all lakes are ideal for swimming. The water is clean and warms up well in summer. An excellent place for a picnic and relaxation, full of smooth and fairly trampled spots for tents, which clearly indicates their regular presence. But again: it’s too bad to officially put them here. Picnics and drinking vodka are always welcome, but while away the night, no, no.

Another small and torn one. A little further from the rest

We dined at the Bolshoi as expected.

We leave Dzitaka and return to the upper reaches of Urushten

At a noticeable bear mark we load the surviving backpacks that were not subjected to the beast’s search. Now - Cold. I hope he doesn't live up to his name too much tonight.

Holodnaya Valley. At the end is the Pseashkha ridge with the Kholodny glacier, which gives rise to the river.

We are approaching the camp.

Apparently you can’t count on a ceremonial meeting with music, gypsies and a tame bear.

Who lives in the mansion?

There are plenty of tent pallets and one guest house in Kholodny. There are no official tents provided, because this camp does not enjoy the same commercial success as the Bzerpinsky Cornice. That is, many times fewer people come here to spend the night. A separate house in the forest for the caretaker of the shelter. This unpleasant and unfriendly type checked our tickets, gave us something like a brief briefing, and shocked us with the news that it was forbidden to light a fire even in an equipped fire pit. Apparently, the dude mistook us for suckers without a clan or tribe. I had to convince him of the wrongness of such an erroneous position in life. Realizing that we wouldn’t be able to hang cheap noodles on our ears, he reluctantly turned on the rear, muttering with displeasure the condition that it was inadmissible to collect firewood within a radius of 100 m from the camp. Dear, what are you talking about? Yes, at least 200! Then the huntsman warned that at night, horned males, exhausted by love-sickness, would definitely scream around us. But there is no need to be afraid of them, he assured, and tightly closed the door of his own house behind him...

Developing a morning plan to search and capture a herd of wild bison

In the morning the weather is excellent again and we, having slept tolerably and not too frightened by the night roar, move lightly into the Kholodnaya valley to the glacier of the same name.

Crossing the Kholodnaya River on the bridge

Ahead along the way, the magnificent Pseashkha with the Kholodny glacier in the center opens up more and more.

We begin to climb along the rocky bed of the stepped sloping madder. The glacier once spread here, but then crawled up a considerable distance.

However, despite our best efforts, we were never able to climb the glacier. Just before taking off on his tongue, we ran into insurmountable obstacles. The snowfields that melted over the summer made the passage in the rocks almost impregnable. Stone, ice and moisture made a dangerous explosive mixture. In an unsuccessful attempt to force this matter unceremoniously, without equipment, Vovka and I almost got stuck in some butt and barely got out again, splashing out the corresponding dose of adrenaline. Olga acted smarter, turning on the reverse at the right time.

The walk to the Kholodnaya Valley also turned out to be useful because we scouted out the route to climb one of the three-thousanders - Mount Mramornaya, with minimal probability of falling into the predatory clutches of rangers. But this is a foundation for the future.

We return, collect firewood along the way and spend the night on Kholodny again. That night the deer trumpeted somehow less intrusively. Maybe many of them have already created healthy, strong families as an example and to the envy of fussy and stupid little people? By the way, due to ignorance, their roar can easily be confused with a bear’s and can be seriously ruined, tarnishing their reputation.

On the morning of the fourth day, we collapsed our portable camp and moved back to the cornice in order to climb Perevalnaya Yuzhnaya from there and explore the rest of the upper reaches of Pseashkha.

It's nice there, but we don't need to go there...

However, Yuzhnaya, to our sincere displeasure, was also “sealed”. Actually, the idea was initially hatched to climb Sugarloaf, but two reasons stopped us: the omnipresent fierce rangers and fresh snow on the entire body of the peak. Its ridge is narrow and its slope is very steep. And if you make a noise from there, you will poke your head down until you erase yourself. Not this time. Then the Bzerpinsky peak remains.

Climbing to Bzerpi Peak. View towards the camp. On the left is the same Chugush with a glacier.

At the peak. Height 2482 m.

Sunset on the Bzerpinsky cornice.

Fifth day. Descent down, departure to Adler and swimming in the sea. In some strange way, we found ourselves in Adler only in the evening. Horseradish decided to go not by train, but by bus. In the end it took much longer. At night, the oak tree pressed on the cornice, intensified by a cold, unpleasant wind, and here the heat was 30 degrees. What a paragraph! The daily temperature difference for the body is more than 30 degrees.

Taking advantage of Vovka’s hospitality, we had lunch at home and ran to the beach. They splashed into the water already in the dark. The body felt blissful from the freshness that suddenly washed over it. The fatigue disappeared, as if the hike had never happened. My sister went home straight from the beach, and I decided to stop at Vovka’s and swim in the sea again in the morning, despite the deteriorating weather. But the storm that broke out the next day convincingly cooled my impulse.

However, there was still half a day left before the swallow to Krasnodar and we needed to do something with the time. Therefore, Vovka took me to the Adler arboretum, which I really liked. It was raining, but we managed to explore the territory of the park.

Palm alley

Banana thickets

and bamboo

Redwood Alley. Another ideal place for a tent

Eucalyptus

Angel girl with the face of an old woman

Now go home. I feel like I haven’t had enough time, despite my almost week-long stay in the “south.” Apparently, this is a rare case when I didn’t rape myself to the core on a hike, but just warmed up well. Plus, golden autumn is a favorite time in the mountains. It's just a pity that it's so fleeting...

1st day:

• Ascent to the cornice of the Bzerpi River (height 2000 m) (cable car + on foot), accommodation in the camp, 2 hours rest, lunch.
• 14:00 ascent to Mount Perevalnaya, Yuzhnaya Peak.
• 16:00 descent to camp, rest, tea.
• 17:30-20:00 sightseeing tour of the valley of the Pseashkho mountain range. Horizons to the peaks of Sugar Pseashkho, the glacier of the Pslukh River, entry to Lake Maloye, swimming in a mountain lake, if desired. Return to camp.

Day 2:

• 07:00 leaving the Bzerpi camp, walking along the trail to the Dzitaku lake valley, overview of the valley and seven lakes, swimming.
• 11:00 return to the trail to the Kholodny camp.
• 12:00-13:00 accommodation at the camp, rest.
• 15:00 radial exit (hiking from the camp without backpacks) under the Kholodny glacier, vaucluse (exit of the underground river to the outside), the valley of the Kholodnaya river, access to the lower part of the glacier, with shoes and the necessary physical exercise. preparation (ropeless passage of rocks, crossing the moraine, access to the lower part of the glacier, group of no more than 3 people). Return to camp, rest.

• 07:00 departure from the camp, return to the Bzerpi camp.
• 10:00-14:00 rest.
• 14:00 descent to the cable car. Krasnaya Polyana and home.

For you

Yoga and a lot of walking will bring us physical and spiritual pleasure. And to work through the emotional part of our self, we included work with a transpersonal trainer in the program. Personal growth training “On the Edge of the Possible” allows you to take a break from routine, look at yourself, your family, and your work from a different perspective. See the prospects of today, solve the problems of yesterday, fill tomorrow with luck, happiness and wisdom.

In the training program:

• Creation of individual good luck talismans;
• Drawing Mandalas;
• Formation of a positive picture of the world through working with visual images;
• Working with internal resources;
• Ways to achieve goals (“Walt Disney’s Creative Strategy”).

More about the area

Krasnaya Polyana has long been considered the most beautiful place in the Caucasus. The mountain peaks of Aigba and Achishkho in the south and north rival the grandeur of the view of the Main Caucasus Range. The highest points around Krasnaya Polyana go up to 3000 meters. Mountain slopes completely covered with snow from November to March, the proximity of the sky, the crystal fast Mzymta - all this creates the impression of crystal clear clarity.

Pseashkho (Pseashkha) is a mountain range in the Western Caucasus, 20 km from the village of Krasnaya Polyana, in the upper reaches of the rivers Urushten, Malaya Laba, Pslukh, on the territory of the Caucasian Natural Biosphere Reserve. Belongs to the Main Caucasus Range.

The toponym “Pseashkho” is translated from Adyghe as “high-water mountain,” apparently due to the fact that several rivers fed by glaciers originate on the slopes of the massif.

The Pseashkho massif is limited on the west by a trough valley with the Pseashkho pass (2014 m). This valley, about five kilometers long SSW-NNE and about 500 m wide, was carved out by an ancient glacier. The longitudinal slope of the valley is so small that the passage of the Pseashkho pass is imperceptible.

From the southwest, the Pseashkho massif is limited by the valley of the Pslukh river, from the east - by the valleys of the Malaya Laba and Chistaya rivers, from the north - by the valleys of the Kholodnaya and Mramornaya rivers. The southern end of the massif can be considered the Aishkha pass (2401 m), the northern end is the Mramorny pass (about 2800 m).

The Pseashkho massif is a complex mountain unit with ridges of different directions and peaks from 2500 m. The following peaks are distinguished in the main massif: Northern Pseashkho (3256.9 m) - the main peak of the massif; Southern Pseashkho (3251.2 m), Uzlovaya (3196 m), Sugar Pseashkho (Sugar Loaf settlement) (3188.9 m), Western Pseashkho (2899.8 m)

The Pseashkho massif is interesting for its 11 glaciers. The largest of them, the Pseashkho glacier, is the largest glacier in the Krasnodar region. A glacier of the karova-valley type, 3 km long and 1.5 km² in area. To the north of the highest peak of Northern Pseashkho there is the Mramorny glacier, which gives rise to the Mramornaya River. Also on the northern slopes there is the Kholodny glacier, from which the Kholodnaya River flows, flowing a few kilometers later into the Urushten River. A peculiarity of the glaciation of the Pseashkho massif is that the first glaciers of the southern macroslope of the Greater Caucasus appear here from the west. Over the past decades, the area of ​​glaciers has been decreasing.

The Dzitaku Ridge is the territory of the Caucasus State Biosphere Reserve. The Jitaku Valley is a pass type, that is, the Main Dividing Range passes here along the bottom of the valley. Five lakes, located at an altitude of 1900 meters above sea level, are located close to each other and attract with their purity and beauty. The most significant lake is Bolshoye, with an area of ​​20,000 m² and a maximum depth of up to 10 m. The phenomenon of another lake, Two-Faced, is that the flow from it is carried out both on the northern slope and on the southern slope, that is, in the basins of the Urushtena and Laura rivers. This is a very rare occurrence. The Jitaku ridge rises above the valley from the west. Translated from Abkhazian, Dzitaku means “waterless hill.” The peak of Dzitaku is 2819 m. It offers a panoramic view of the Northern (3257 m) and Southern (3251 m) peaks of the Pseashkho massif, the Kholodny glacier and the valley of the river of the same name, the valley of the Urushten, Chugush and Achishkho, Aibga rivers.

The Kholodny glacier is located on the northern slopes of the Pseashkho ridge. Area 0.5 km² The Kholodnaya River flows from it, flowing into the Urushten River.

What do we do

From morning until late at night we will walk and enjoy the unique views, breathe crystal clean air and live to the fullest. The practice of yoga in the midst of all this greatness, under the very sky, will help us absorb the unbridled energy of mountain rivers, the silence of mountain lakes and the power of mountains. The only things better than mountains are mountains...

Copied from the site "Self-knowledge.ru"

At the foot of the grandiose northern wall of Pseashkho lies the Kholodny karova-valley glacier, which gives life to the stream of the same name. The view of the Kholodny glacier was captured in photographs, calendars, and albums. The Pseashkho massif is limited from the west by a trough valley with the Pseashkho pass (2014.2m, n/c). This five-kilometer valley, about 500m wide, was carved out by an ancient glacier that no longer exists. It stretched in the south-north direction. The longitudinal slope of the valley is so small that the passage of the pass point (Pseashkho Lane) may not be noticed. Two spurs extend from the peak of Northern Pseashkho (3256.9m). The short, steep northern ridge cuts deeply into the Mramorny glacier; here the glacier is divided into western and central parts. The northwestern ridge also goes down steeply, bordering the western edge of the Mramorny glacier. After the saddle, which is the upper reaches of the couloir along which stones constantly fall onto the Kholodny glacier (for which this couloir received the nickname “garbage chute”), the spur rises sharply upward with two sharp rocky teeth. These battlements are clearly visible from Kholodny’s camp. The western prong has an elevation of 2936.4 m, the eastern one is 30-40 meters lower. Further, the spur descends to the northwest, dividing the basins of the Kholodnaya and Mramornaya rivers.

The hike to the Cold Camp, located near the glacier of the same name in the vicinity of the Pseashkho massif, partially coincides with the route to the Bzerpinsky Cornice and, along with it, is one of the most successful1 solutions for exploring the mountains. The path to it does not require significant physical preparation: the trails are good and for the most part run through the gentle expanses of the hanging valley. There are a number of monuments along the route: during the Great Patriotic War, it was in the area of ​​the Kholodny camp that fierce battles broke out for the Pseashkha Pass, as a result of which the enemy was stopped and did not reach Sochi.
The route to the Kholodny camp is designed for three days with an overnight stay in tents and radial excursions1 to the Kholodny glacier, to Mramornaya Mountain, the Stone Castle, to the Dzitaku lake valley (Semiozerye valley). During the hike, you can admire the glaciers and peaks of the Pseashkha massif, which are visible from the village of Krasnaya Polyana, from as close as possible.

Route description:
Day 1
Ascent from the village of Esto-Sadok by cable car 3S from the Alpika-Service State Enterprise to the Pikhtovoy shelter (height 1660 m) at the Gazprom State Transport Center. The walking part of the route1 begins from the cable car station. We walk along a dirt road and then a well-paved mountain path to the Medvezhye Vorota tract, located on the slope of Mount Tabunaya Yuzhnaya. From here you can see the Aibga ridge (Southern Side Range), the Assara ridge and the Chugush massif - a massive three-thousander with the lowest glaciers in the Caucasus. Then the trail goes traverse (direction perpendicular to the direction of ascent or descent on the mountain) for about another hour with a gradual increase in height, until it ends up on the Bzerpinsky cornice, where we have lunch. After lunch - hiking along the Pseashkho valley to the Cold Camp itself. The length of the walking part of the route is 11 km. Overnight.

Day 2
Early rise and radial exit to the town of Mramornaya, to the Kholodny glacier, to the town of Kamenny Zamok (options). Overnight in Kholodny camp. The length of the walking part of the path is 5-9 km.

Day 3
Get enough sleep, wake up moderately early. Camp gathering. Return trip to the Jitaku Valley with swimming in the lakes (optional). Upon arrival at the Bzerpinsky cornice - lunch and rest. Descent to the cable car. The cable car takes you back to the village of Esto-Sadok. The length of the walking part of the route is 11 km.

We brought a lot of good things from Tenerife, as well as the habit of hiking.

For many years I wanted to go to real mountains to contemplate the hats, but things didn’t work out. Work in Moscow or trips to other places, postponement and sudden end of the season, WHO in the North Caucasus region and ten lazy reasons =(. This can go on forever! And we haven’t had long-distance road trips for a long time. I Google, I come across a wonderful place, I collect information, I persuade Nastya and at 4 am our Japanese woman is already driving down the M4 Don (within the rules, of course). Let's leave out the road trip from Moscow to Krasnaya Polyana: let's not talk about the gap in the cultural code with the capital, let's keep silent about requests, cordiality, the valor of the state traffic police, and I won’t even say a word about shame.

Ok, we are in Krasnaya Polyana and at 9 am, with the first Gazprom Alpika cabin, we rise to Pikhtovaya Polyana. Say hello to the mountains! What could be better? We haven’t been among these gray-haired giants for a long time; they haven’t changed, but we haven’t changed much.

From Pikhtovaya Polyana our hiking path begins into the mountains in the direction of the Bzerpinsky cornice and the Kholodny glacier. We have 2 backpacks, a supply of water to the alpine meadow area and food for two days. We drop 50 meters in altitude, enter the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve (this is our second Russian reserve for the summer) and begin a long climb through a fabulous alpine forest. The beauty around us is terrible, the weather is wonderful, our backpacks don’t weigh us down, the fir trees, like empires or Burj Khalifas, demand to be looked at, we look and slowly eat up the climb meter by meter. After eating about 300 meters we go to the Medvezhye Vorota tract at 1940 meters. There are tables here and someone is already eating =))

We only climbed for about an hour, but not a trace remained of the clear sky; clouds flew in and blocked the view of Achishkho. Hid!

And we have very little left to the stopping point! We go around Mount Tabunaya and after an hour of walking we find ourselves on the Bzerpinsky cornice. And behind it is an alpine valley, stretching between the South Perevalnaya Mountains and the Pseashkho Massif. The endless beauty and intoxicating aroma of herbs simply blows my mind, even though September has already begun. And what was in ours cannot be put into words at all.

The Bzerpinsky cornice takes its name from the Bzerp river, which crawls from the Pseashkho pass and loudly falls down the cliff. Immediately, having taken out his ID, the grandfather from the operational service checks our documents for passage through the Caucasus Nature Reserve. In the pistol holster, in the temples there is gray hair, in the eyes, I don’t know, probably happiness. I envied him.

It's time to have a light snack and relax after getting up. There are already several tents around, burners are heating water, someone is sunbathing, girls are doing yoga, a couple of guys are building a new toilet by the cliff. The Bzerpinsky cornice has become a popular place lately. Of course, there is amazing beauty here, there are tents from the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Club, proximity to civilization and one of the 2 permitted places to spend the night in the reserve. There is an easy climb nearby with beautiful views of Krasnaya Polyana and Medvedev's dacha. This is such a wonderful and easy place to go that I highly recommend it to everyone!

While eating delicious food, we look around. Let's go there!

But we are not used to easily accessible places! Our path today lies further into the mountains, through the Pseashkho pass, Lake Maloye, to the Kholodny glacier, not far from which we will camp.

Nastya says that she likes it, but the sun tries to get into her eyes!

We follow an excellent path to the pass. In this part of the Caucasian Nature Reserve, they have worked on the trail and signs, the route markings are clear, there are signs, and boards have been thrown across the streams. The walk is very comfortable!

I look to the left:

I look directly:

I look to the right:

Indescribable beauty everywhere! Out of the corner of my eye I notice the peak of Sugar Pseashkho... =))

And below lies the smooth surface of the pass. Behind Nastya you can see the cross to Defenders from the Nazis, and a group of tourists of 3 people. This pass is an amazing place, you seem to walk along it and not notice anything unusual. But they notice the rivers. From the pass they flow in different directions. The Bzerp flows to the Black Sea, and Urushten flows into the Malaya Laba, then into the Krasnodar Reservoir and then into the Sea of ​​Azov. Now you’re standing on the pass, watching them flow in different directions and thinking... Holy shit!

We meet an elderly couple. Very happy and smiling, full of mountain happiness =) Everything is in our hands!

By the way, in the mountains everyone greets each other and expresses respect in every possible way. And below it’s quite the opposite. Although there are all the benefits of civilization, amenities and, again, the sea. Come on, it’s so comfortable here in the blog that I don’t want to remember anything else. 😉

Along the trail to the Kholodny glacier there are snowfields. In September! Although these are not hats, it turns out that this beauty can be seen almost all summer. And I so often put off going to the Caucasus Mountains in order to see them for sure.

And we go to the shore of Lake Maloye, which is located halfway to the Kholodny camp. We lie down on the grass, take out some treats and begin a session of cleansing the mind. No, first the treats, and then consciousness!

My consciousness is in that cloud. ommmmm

Nastya calls me to follow her, and we set off to the final point of our route for today - the Kholodnaya River. Yes, she's wonderful!

Have you forgotten about Urushten? This small stream will gain strength and reach Krasnodar from the Caucasus Mountains!

Stopping in front of another stream, we chatted about something. Suddenly, from the noise behind me, I turned around, and behind me there were already 7 horses with people. Jaegers. The horses, pushing us away from the stream, rush to get a drink. One huntsman jumps off and lies down on the stones, drinking cold water.

Hello!

Hello. To Kholodny?

Put them on horses.

Thank you, we will drown ourselves =)

Well, as you wish

Have a good day!

Amazingly, these people here protect the nature of the Caucasus Nature Reserve, which is almost gone. Very modest salaries. There is such beauty all around. Something to think about. Somehow this is wrong.

Gradually the landscape changes and we find ourselves among dwarf birches. It seems they are in the Red Book. Somewhere below, the grown-up Urushten rumbles, full of mushrooms and thoughts of camp. I just want to go and eat some hot food. We collect water from the stream. Drink. I can taste the beginning. Let's stomp.

Around the bend a new valley opens up. At its end lies a large cloud, but whoever is hiding under it is immediately easy to recognize. Glacier! That is, this grandfather cannot be melted by the sun. So it goes.

Well, all we have to do is cross the Kholodnaya River, which originates from the glacier, and we are in the camp. The river temperature is invigorating!

Well, we reach our overnight destination. Camp Kholodny is located on the edge of the forest, not far from the river and glacier. There are 2 booths here, inside of which you can bivouac, as well as tents of the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Club, where we will spend the night. I want to tell them thanks a lot, they bring beginner tourists as close to mountain hiking as possible.

This is the view from Nastya’s and my hotel for the night. A chic frame made of a pallet, a tent and 2 sleeping bags. A thousand stars above your head - as a gift for karma. What could be better?

By the way. See the red flag? This is a memorial to the Defenders and Heroes who stopped the German specialized and high-tech mountain rifle division Edelweiss in these places. The Nazis assembled a special squad from climbers and indigenous residents of Bavaria and Austria. They walked through the Caucasus mountains for several years together with our climbers, studying the landscape and terrain. And then the Edelweiss division tried to capture the Caucasus Mountains and reach Sochi. For the Nazis, this would be a strategic victory in the war in southern Russia.
At the cost of their lives, men, boys and girls defended hospitals on the Black Sea. There are a lot of people from Sochi tourist clubs on the lists of dead defenders.

The platoon climbs up, and at the river -
The one you were paired with before.
We wait for the attack to the point of anguish,
And here are the alpine arrows
Something is out of whack today.

Stop talking
Onwards and upwards, and there...
After all, these are our mountains,
They will help us!

You are here again, you are all collected,
You are waiting for the treasured signal.
And that guy, he’s here too.
Among the shooters from “Edelweiss”.
They need to be thrown off the pass!
Vysotsky 1966

The sun is setting. The mountain in front of us puts on a cap. Sasha, the head of the camp, says: “The mortar woman put on a veil. Gorgeous!"

Immediately after the sudden Kranopolyan snowfalls this fall, we went to the Caucasus Nature Reserve. To the "cornice", Lake Dzitaku and to the Kholodny camp. To say “beautiful” is to say nothing. A few photos and words underneath them are below.

On Bzerpinsky cornice you can go there and back in a day, thanks to the Gazprom-Laura ski lift, which immediately lifts you +1100 meters relative to the level of the valley and you literally walk through the alpine zone in half an hour or an hour.
But, if you have enthusiasm, then it’s better to go overnight.

Against the sky - Aibga ridge(from right to left: Gorki Gorod, Alpika and Rosa Khutor). Well, in the background is the Gazprom-Laura, from which you start moving.

Literally after 1.5 hours of a leisurely walk you are already on the “cornice”. The all-round panorama is good. Perhaps it is here, at the observation points of the “cornice” (Tabunnaya, Perevalnaya, Kogot) that the best views in Krasnaya Polyana are found! Although, someone might, or the GorkiGorod circuses, I admit.

The guys from the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Club (KMC), who support camping on the ledge, wrote to me that "goes down the path".

Yes, it does. Still, 35-40 cm at above-zero temperatures is no joke. It is not surprising that on a 500-meter section of the trail we had to cross at least 4 small avalanche bodies (LS, size 1). But the period of avalanche danger has passed, the slopes have already unloaded, and you can tramp calmly.

And here is the campsite of the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Club. This season the guys supported 2 permanent camps: at the Bzerpinsky cornice and at the Kholodny camp. That is, in the most correct places in the reserve, from the public. For very reasonable money, you can come and spend the night here without carrying tents, mats, and sleeping bags with you (a mega option, in fact!). That is, you can make a 2-3-day excursion to the most beautiful places of the reserve generally light, taking only a thermos, warm clothes and snacks.

Wardroom. Here you can cook yourself, or use the prepared food option. Comfortable. Well, sit down in the evening and talk about life, of course.

From this camp on the ledge you can make radial trips to observation points (Perevalnaya, Kogot), to lakes (Small and Bolshoye Dzitaku). Well, if you want to go deeper into the mountains, look at the glacier closest to Krasnaya Polyana, then take a walk to the Kholodny camp.

Autumn is coming...

Jitaku Lakes.

There are many places along the paths (well-maintained, I must say) - signs, stands, benches. All this was installed in preparation for the Olympics, but it is in quite working order, although the 4-6 meter snow cover in winter makes itself felt... So, if you see fallen stands somewhere, etc., especially on the slopes, do not be surprised , these are not some kind of vandals, but Mother Nature. Few things can withstand such a snow load in a humid climate.

In several places there are sheds and even shelter houses (here they are called “alpeshki”). This season, the reserve has put locks on the alps, so the “accessible yard” is over (accommodation in the houses costs 500 per nose, you need to pay when purchasing a permit to visit the reserve). But the canopies, tables, benches, all this remains publicly accessible. And it really helps when you want it already "finally sit down and drink some tea" with some kind of freaky look.

Many monuments and signs about events Great Patriotic War. After all, it was here that it was possible with extremely small forces not to miss and stop the German rangers going to the Black Sea through the Caucasus. The heroism of those soldiers inspires respect. Read the information on the stands, and these are the metal books on the stones (see photo). This is not an emasculated story, but a real one, you read and see "this hill that was held by 21 people for a month".

I have never seen such a number of WWII memorials as here in any place in the former USSR, although noting such things is one of my regional interests. There was an unwritten tradition of installing them in large numbers. Every holiday home, tourist camp and construction team considered it their duty to set them up for any anniversary of some battle or feat. Therefore, at one historical place, 10-15 of them could easily form.

But, the most amazing thing (and, again, causing wild respect!) They continue to do this even now! For example, this stele near the Kholodny camp was erected in the early 2000s. And this is not an isolated case.

And here it is Camp Cold. This season it is already closed (winter is just around the corner), the guys have closed down their farm. So there's no one here... grace. Only bears and red deer, and restless mice, are making preparations for winter)).

And here it is Kholodny glacier in your bowl. You can walk straight to it, the walk up the valley is not very long, just enough to stretch your buns.

In general, while it is raining everywhere and general "From St. Petersburg with apathy and indifference", we have golden days here. So, those who are still thinking about how to spend the autumn should think about coming for a week to walk through the golden autumn of Krasnopolyansk)).

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Receive pass to the Caucasian Nature Reserve possible in