The highest point of the Urals is the saber mountain. Subpolar Ural. Vyatka land and Komi - republic

Administrative affiliation: Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (Khanty-Mansiysk) and the Komi Republic (Salekhard). However, unofficially, the city is considered the capital of the Subpolar Urals. Intu, which is the central transport hub of the Subpolar Urals, located on the Moscow-Vorkuta or Moscow-Labytnangi railway line.

Population: as well as in the Polar Urals, there is no population here, as such. The indigenous population of the Subpolar Urals are Mansi and Komi-Zyryans, who left these lands after a big epidemic that killed all their herds. The indigenous population was forced to withdraw from their homes and move down the rivers to the valley.

There are no settlements in the mountainous regions of the Subpolar Urals, except for individual camps of reindeer herders and geologists: there are large settlements only in the flat regions of the Urals. The western slope is more or less inhabited, but on the eastern slope, except for the village of Saranpaul and isolated sites, there is nothing else.

Geography: Subpolar Urals - the highest part of the Urals, territorially limited by Mount Telposis in the south and sources in the north. The highest point of the Subpolar Urals - (1895 m). The total area of ​​the mountain range is 32 thousand sq. km. The ridges of the Subpolar Urals are distinguished by alpine landforms, high peaks, asymmetric slopes, high passes and deep river valleys with high rocky walls. The highest ranges are concentrated in the central part of the massif.

The largest rivers of the Subpolar Urals -, - belong to the basins of the Kara and Barents Seas.

In Yugyd Va are also popular ecotourism and ethnographic tourism: some travel companies organize tours to reindeer herders' settlements and accommodation there with immersion in the daily life of reindeer breeders.

How to get there: Geographically, the Yugyd Va National Park is located on the territory of the Komi Republic, or rather, the regions of Inta, Pechora and Vuktyl. The directorate of the park is located in the city of Vuktyl, branches are in the cities of Inta and Pechora: the directorate must be visited in order to get permission to pass the route in the national park. Here you can also organize a transfer to the desired starting point of the route - the directorate of the national park can contribute to this.

You can get to the park from the cities of Vuktyl, Inta, Pechora, the villages of Synya, Aranets, Kosyu, Kozhim-mine, Kozhim, Priuralsky and some others: it all depends on what the group's goal is. There is a regular bus from Vuktyl to the village of Podcherye, the only settlement located on the territory of the national park. Vuktyl itself can be reached by bus or rented car from Ukhta.

The cities of Inta, Pechora, as well as the villages of Synya, Aranets, Kosyu, Kozhim-rudnik are stations of the Northern Railway with a message from Moscow to Vorukta or Moscow to Labytnangi. At the same time, you should pay attention to the fact that fast trains in small villages and at half-stations do not stop.

From Inta there is a dirt road to the mountains, which can hardly be driven by an ordinary car, so it is better to hire a Ural or a GAZ. Traditionally, all routes start from Bolshaya Bolbanty Lake (130 km from Inta), where travelers will be delivered by off-road vehicles from the Urals. There are also options for car transfer to the Sanavozh camp site (100 km from Inta) and the crossing over the Kozhim River (80 km from Inta).

Mountaineering in the Subpolar Urals

Sablinsky Range and Mount Saber

Route description: The Sablinsky Ridge is located in the Komi Republic and is the most technical and interesting route for climbers. The highest point - mountain saber(1497 m), which was chosen by both climbers and mountaineers, and there are good reasons for that. The Sablinsky Ridge is one of the most beautiful ridges in the Subpolar Urals. In addition, it has one more indisputable advantage: having separated to the west from the main massif of the Ural Mountains, it is more accessible for radial sorties from the surrounding rivers and allows for significant variations when compiling a hiking or mountain route. The Sablinsky ridge, due to its height, is visible from afar - literally over 100 km - and attracts adventurers with its snow-white peaks. The steep, sheer eastern slopes of the Sablinsky Ridge are accessible only to climbers with special equipment.

The main peak - Mount Saber - is a peak in the shape of a saber, overhanging to the east. The western slope of the Saber is more gentle - about 30 °, the eastern one is steeper, about 60 °, closer to the top the slope breaks off with sheer walls, is rich in glacial cirques, snowfields and tarns. The western slope is recommended for hiking, the eastern one for mountaineering.

The ascent along the western slope partly runs through a coniferous forest, which ends at an altitude of 600 m, giving way to larch, mosses and volcanic rocks. Rising to the top, do not forget to admire the gradually opening views of the Pechora river valley: in the distance you can see the city of Pechora itself, and a section of the Northern Railway. But the most stunning view awaits travelers at the top of the Saber: almost the entire Ural is visible from here.

How to get there: from the Pechora railway station of the Northern Railway on a hired vehicle (Ural, GAZ).

Mount Narodnaya (Poengurr)

Route description: Mount Narodnaya (with emphasis on the first syllable) - the highest point of the Ural Mountains: 1895 m above sea level. The Mansi called it the beautiful word Poengurr, which in translation from Mansi means "top, crown, head."

Mount Narodnaya is located on the territory of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, within the Yugyd Va National Park, and is distinguished by hard-to-reach slopes and a plateau-like, flat top. The northern slope of the mountain is most suitable for climbing, and the preferred time of the year for this, of course, is summer - from about July to mid-August. The slopes of Narodnaya are rich in kars, in which there are the purest lakes, glaciers and snowfields.

However, Narodnaya is attractive not only as the highest point from which you can see almost the entire Ural - as far as the eye can see. Climbers have also chosen its western and eastern slopes for difficult ascents and training.

How to get there: In order to get to Mount Narodnaya, you must obtain permission from the Directorate of the Yugyd Va National Park, on whose territory the mountain is located. The directorate is located at: Verkhnyaya Inta, st. Dzerzhinsky, 27a. Upper Inta, in turn, can be reached by train of the Northern Railway. Here, in the directorate, you can order a car that will take you from Inta to the Zhelannaya industrial base, located near Bolshoye Bolbanty Lake. The base will need to overcome a distance of about 15 km to the foot of the mountain, moving upstream the Balbanyu River.

Hiking and skiing routes of the Subpolar Urals

Tourist base "Ozernaya" and shelter "Upper Vangyr"

It is very convenient to start hiking and skiing routes, as well as combined (pedestrian-water) routes from a tourist base conveniently located in the Subpolar Urals " Ozernaya and shelter "Upper Vangyr". Here you can also complete the routes, or mark the base as one of the intermediate points on the route: for rest, replenishment of supplies or (God forbid) receiving medical care.

From the base "Ozernaya" you can make both hiking and skiing, as well as water trips lasting from 1-2 days to several weeks. The base is located in a great place: the Voyvozh-Syn river valley. In the immediate vicinity of it there are two beautiful peaks: Chest and Shuda-Iz, on which everyone can make radial ascents as a warm-up before a more difficult hike.

From here it is also possible to go on routes along, to Hoffmann Glacier, and conquer the beautiful nameless ridge at the headwaters of the Ozernaya River, as well as take an easy walk in the picturesque Ozernaya river valley: there are a lot of options, for every taste, for any level of training and for any period.

From the tourist center "Ozernaya" to the shelter "Upper Vangyr" can be reached in one day, and from the "Upper Vangyr", in turn, you can start the route along ridge impregnable, visit the Parnuk plateau, and climb the pearl of the Subpolar Urals.

Route description: The Research Ridge is located in the northern part of the Subpolar Urals, on the border of the Komi Republic and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. It extends 175 km north of the river, and its highest point is (1895 m), which is also the highest point of the Ural Mountains.

The Research Ridge includes: the Torgoveyiz ridge, Mount Keftalik, mountains at the headwaters of the Nyamga, Vyrayu and Kobylayu rivers, the Neroika, Salener, Manyinsky mountains, the Impregnable ridge, the watershed ridge at the headwaters of the Hobeyu, Naroda, Manaraga and Balbanyu rivers with the peaks of Mansiner, Narodnaya, Karpinsky , Didkovsky. In the north, the Research Ridge continues the Wolverine Ridge.

In this area, you can organize a route of any category of complexity: there are easier options, with gentle and not too tiring climbs and low passes (from 600 to 750 m above sea level). For example, along the southern part of the ridge in the upper reaches of the Puiva and Torgovaya rivers, as well as between the upper reaches of the Shchekurya, Manya and Bolshoi Patok rivers.

People's Itinsky Ridge

Route description: The People's Itinsky Ridge is the northeastern continuation of the Research Ridge, adjoining it, as it were, in a checkerboard pattern - a little obliquely. The People's Itinsky Range extends for 100 km to the northeast from source to source, and, along with , and other rivers of the western slope. However, it also has its own characteristics.

In the upper reaches, the river is fast, the channel is narrow, in the middle reaches the channel expands to 50-100 m, powerful rapids and large stones appear in the channel, the banks are high, rocky, overgrown with dense forest. Sometimes the river goes into narrow rocky gates. After the confluence of the tributary, the Vangyr Kosyu turns north and spills up to 150 m, significantly slowing down and flowing out onto a flat area with gentle, swampy shores. In the middle reaches, you can drop off the route near the village of Kosyu with the railway station of the same name with the message Kotlas-Pechora-Vorkuta.

In the lower reaches, the river spills in places up to 500 meters, breaking into countless branches and oxbow lakes. The current is almost disappearing.

There are a lot of fish in Kosya: salmon, whitefish, Siberian grayling, taimen, but remember that fishing in any form is strictly prohibited on the territory of the Yugyd Va National Park.

Main obstacles on the route: unlike some other rivers of the Subpolar Urals, the rapids on the Kosya are nominal. The most famous nominal rapids on Kosyu are Cedar, White Horse, Trek and Bezgil. However, almost all of these obstacles can be called a "threshold" with a big stretch: they are mostly passed without viewing and without insurance - along the main stream between the stones. The exception is the Bezgil rapids, which in high water can be dangerous due to strong pressure against the rock of the opposite bank. Overkiel at the very beginning of the threshold is not desirable, because beyond the threshold the river goes into a narrow ten-kilometer canyon, in which it is very problematic to carry out rescue work. There are deep pits in the channel behind the rapids and in the rocky gates. The most famous is located beyond the threshold of Bezgil - the Round Pit.

famous Mount Manaraga(1663 m) is located very close to the source of Kosyu - about 20 km. Therefore, mountain lovers, connoisseurs of unique mountain beauties and high-altitude views, should definitely go on a radial trip to Manaraga: it is worth laying down 1 day for this. You can recognize Manaraga by the characteristic jagged ridge on the top, resembling a bear's paw - this is exactly how the name of this beautiful mountain is translated from Mansi.

Tributaries of the Kosyu:, Vangyr, Big and Small Saryuga, Big Inta (right).

How to get there: just like Kozhim, Kosyu flows in the Yugyd Va National Park. The route should start from the source of the Kosyu River, or from one of its tributaries, which can be reached by hired vehicles from the city of Inta. The most convenient drop-off point from the route is the Kosyu station of the Northern Railway on the Moscow-Vorkuta or Moscow-Labytnangi route. The station is located in the middle reaches of the Kosyu and is good for starting a “mattress” rafting.

Big Son

Seasonality: June - September

Route description: The Bolshaya Synya is the left tributary of the Usa River, which belongs to the Pechora basin. This is a picturesque, stormy, rapids mountain river - exactly the way a river in the Subpolar Urals should be. The entire route along the Big Son runs through the territory of the Komi Republic and the Yugyd-Va National Park. In the upper and middle reaches of the Bolshaya Synya, in some places it breaks through tight rocky canyons with walls up to 70 m high. The upper reaches of the Bolshaya Sonya are rich in rapids and rocky shores, the fall speed is average, there are no serious obstacles as such. After the last limestone cliff of Sgoryk Kyrta, the river turns to the west and acquires a flat character and a calm course with small rifts and low rocky islands that divide the channel into numerous channels.

Bolshaya Sonya is full of fish, but even here you have to remember about the ban on fishing throughout the Yugyd Va reserve.

Attractions on the route: The Upper Gate of the Big Son (Sokotovo) is the main attraction of the route, located in the upper reaches of the river, and is a picturesque rocky canyon, which is also a unique geological object. In the Upper Gate area, the river goes into a narrow (60 m) rocky canyon with vertically standing layers of limestone rocks, forming a bizarrely shaped wall with notches and battlements resembling the ruins of a medieval castle - it was this place that Zhukovsky once called the "Pechora Alps".

Every now and then along the route there are fossils with the remains of ferns and leaves clearly marked in them, the age of which is about 200 million years.

How to get there: from the railway station Synya, a branch line with the message Moscow (Kotlas, Usinsk) - Vorkuta in a rented car to the village of Synya, from where you can start rafting. The drop point from the route is the railway bridge across the Bolshaya Synya, from which it is only a few kilometers to the Synya station. If desired, the rafting on Bolshaya Son can be continued to the confluence with the Usa and the village of Ust-Usa, from where you can get to Pechora by hired vehicles (about 120 km).

The subpolar Urals are the largest mountains of the Urals. Here is the highest point of this system of mountains - Narodnaya (1892), as well as Mount Manaraga (1662), which is also called the "Queen of the Ural Mountains".

Our ski trip took place from February 28 to March 18, 1997. We started from the Kosyu station and ended in the village. Priuralsky. During the trip, 324 km were covered, a group in full strength climbed the mountains of Manaraga and the city of Narodnaya.
Below is a text that was written at the same time by Boris Prokhorov. Photos by Bochkarev Evgeny, Yakushev Alexey and Kanov Mikhail.

At the beginning of March, we, six tourists from Magnitogorsk and Snezhinsk, were the first to pass the most difficult route through the mountains of the Subpolar Urals this year.
The preparation was long and difficult. It was necessary to choose equipment and products so that the trip would not turn into "carrying weight over a given distance." A "menu" was developed, where almost every gram, balanced in calories, was taken into account.

And here we are at the place of the beginning of our trip - Kosyu station. Five o'clock in the morning. Deaf godforsaken station and we, six with backpacks and skis, on the platform. We go along the powdered railway track and suddenly on the right in the darkness we see the contour of a steam locomotive. Behind him, another and another. There are dozens of them here, linked by whole trains! Stalin's camps read in books, the "cold war" and the "emergency reserve in case of war" come to mind. But then it dawned, we get up on skis and - on the road. Behind - the last signs of civilization, ahead - taiga, mountains and full autonomy for the next twenty days.
The warm wind brought us additional difficulties - the skis "stick". Then two more troubles were added to this trouble - the inaccuracy of the map and the almost complete lack of visibility. We determined our location very, very approximately. (GPS navigation did not exist at that time)

We went out at -30, but suddenly a thaw came. The photo shows one of the attempts to cope with sticking snow.

Good wood for our stove.

It was necessary to clean the sticking snow from the skis by any means at hand.

Mikhail Kanov

At last the mountains appeared ahead. We think with excitement about what awaits us - after all, the local Ural Mountains look more like "small such Alps" than the South Ural hilly peaks we are used to. The first pass - and a wonderful panorama of the Pechora Alps opens up to us (as the Subpolar Urals are sometimes called in the tourist literature). The weather improved that day, and we saw the highest part of the entire Ural Range in all its glory: mountain peaks and domes rearing up to the sun, cut by wooded valleys.

Belfry South (peak of Sverdlovsk tourists)

The descent down the slope to the valley of the Kosyu river was a pleasure, and then - "plowing", laying ski tracks on virgin soil. To the right and left of the wall are mountains more than a kilometer high. A strong headwind is blowing across the river. But we are even glad of it - after all, the wind compacts the snow and there is practically no need to "trail". We are moving fast. The further we go into the mountains, the grander they become.

Kosyu river

Evgeny Bochkarev

Finally, we are at the foot of the queen of the Ural mountains, its most beautiful peak - Mount Manaraga. Translated from the German Manaraga (1662 m) - "bear's paw". And indeed, with its outlines, it resembles a lying bear paw with sharp claws of rock towers reaching into the sky. From top to bottom - more than one kilometer. The ascent to the top took us about 5 hours. We reached it almost before sunset. During these hours, the mountains are especially beautiful. The frosty air falls with hoarfrost, thousands of sparks shine in the rays of the setting sun between the huge teeth of Manaraga. The spectacle is magnificent. And the descent from the top on skis is breathtaking and would not leave any skier indifferent.

Ascent to Manaraga

Teeth of Manaraga

Now we had to climb Mount Narodnaya, the highest mountain in the Urals. A day later, we set up camp in the tract of the Oleniy stream. The next morning at dawn we set off for the ascent. Behind the back - light backpacks with down jackets and grub. The sun gilds the peaks, and below, in the valley, it is frosty. Moisture evaporates from the peaks, turns into small clouds clinging to the slopes of the mountains. We enter a narrow gorge with steep rocky scree walls and put on "cats *" boots - we have to overcome 700 meters of a steep, sometimes rocky, sometimes icy slope. The sun shines brightly in the neighboring gorges and over the mountains, a cloud hangs in our gorge and falls down with thousands of snow needles. My heart is anxious - has the weather worsened? We begin a difficult climb. The sun finally looked into our gorge, the cloud cleared, and a wonderful landscape appeared to our eyes. Pyramidal peaks are connected by narrow sharp rocky ridges. These pyramids rise like shepherds in cloaks above the "herd" of lower rounded mountains. And all this shines with whiteness, and only below, deep in the gorges, like grass in a pasture, the forest blackens.

Manaraga top left

The rise was possible only in "cats".

On the washboard

Alexander Solovyov

Having overcome a steep ascent, we reach an inclined plateau. Another 400 meters of height separates us from the top. We walk slowly, enjoying the new angles of the picture unfolding below us. And here we are above all the surrounding mountains. For several thousand kilometers around and above on earth - no one! The top of Mount Narodnaya (1895 m)! A strong wind beats in the face, waving over the chebet ridge from Siberia to Europe. Below is the white ocean of mountains. We leave a note at the top, and - down ...

On the top.

Note for the next climbers.

Boris Prokhorov

Only in the evening we returned to the camp. Stars and a comet shine brightly over the mountains, and we, in a large cozy tent, near a light stove, celebrated our victory and March 8th with a warm campaign.

The next day after lunch, the weather worsened - it began to snow again, which greatly hampered our progress towards the next goal - the Bear Pass. It snowed for three days, there was absolutely no visibility. It is impossible to "take" the pass in such weather. I had to give up climbing Mount Belfry. If we fail to overcome two passes the next day, we will have to go back. But the weather took pity on us - the snowfall ended. And with a headwind, deep we move forward. Due to the low cloudiness, the peaks and the sun are not visible. There are only two colors around: white and gray. The forest has long ended, and there is not a tree behind which one could hide. Ahead, the white snow of the pass merges with the white sky.
On this difficult day, we camped while it was still dark. Because of the avalanche danger, we had to abandon the passage of the second pass and take an alternate route, which extended our journey by another day. Time and products - back to back. Now, by all means, we must move forward.

Makurin Sergey

The late arrival of winter has affected these parts as well. Nature, as if recouping for being late, poured and poured snow. Avalanches descended even where they should not have been in principle. We were witnesses and a little bit - participants in one of these cases. Three avalanches in a row descended before our eyes. Moreover, each subsequent avalanche arose from the roar of the previous one. At first, when the avalanche is still weak, it rolls over small trees on the slope, bending them down like lashes, but below with a roar it breaks and buries centuries-old trees under it.

on the left Yakushev Alexey

The snow is deep, but, having tactically correctly built our movement, we overcome 20 km a day.
The bad weather that constantly pursued us did not allow us to climb to the top of the Saber Ridge. Only for a few minutes did the panorama of the ridge open up to us: a giant rocky ridge rises above the frozen swamps.
We left by the Aranets Pass. A narrow passage between two gloomy rocks, lonely crooked larches, and on the right - steep snowy slopes of the Sablinsky ridge covered with clouds.
This is how we remember our farewell to the Subpolar Urals.
Behind the pass there is a hut brought up to the very roof, where we met the first people in 20 days - tourists from Kotlas, who have been waiting for the opportunity to climb the Sabre for a week.

from left to right: Sergey Makurin, Alexander Solovyov, Evgeny Bochkarev, Alexei Yakushev, Mikhail Kanov, Boris Prokhorov sat down

Having overcome 60 km in a day and a half, we finished the hike in the village of Priuralsky, on the banks of the Pechora. Behind - a ski track 300 km long, in front - the road home. And then ... What will happen next, you can say with lines from the song:
Take a look at the top
last time,
Whisper the word to her.
The mountains will do without us,
Only us without them
not enough...

Once having visited the Subpolar Urals, you will definitely want to come again. Because it is impossible to remain indifferent to its harsh, but beautiful nature!

Having visited these parts in the summer on ATVs (4x4 Сlub No. 12'2012) and in the winter on snowmobiles, we became infected with ... the “polar Urals” virus.

In summer, some interesting places are available here, in winter - others. But even for a couple of trips, it is impossible to see everything interesting. Last year, we discovered that in one of the huts of the Vangyr shelter, where tourists stay, there is no stove. So we decided to combine another sightseeing and rolling voyage with a good goal - to deliver warmth to the shelter!

COURSE EAST
We are moving out of Moscow in cars with trailers, heading for the Urals. There you can climb the highest Ural mountain Narodnaya (1895 m) or visit the camp of real reindeer herders in the tundra. You can see the symbol of the park "Yugyd-Va" - the picturesque mountain Manaraga, and if you cross the Ural Range, then you will find yourself in Asia.

Having reached Pechora - a city on the river of the same name, we turned to the village of Aranets, from where the shortest way to the mountains. The route is rolled, only 60 kilometers to the first pass, and Mount Saber (1497 m) is already visible in all its glory. This time we laid a circular route near it.

Enchantment of the Subpolar Urals.
This area is worth it to go here and for 2000 km. And at any time of the year!

In Arantz, a delicious dinner and a heated sauna are waiting for us. We admire from the window the views of the ridges and passes, where we will soon have to go. March is the best time to travel here on snowmobiles. During the day, the temperature does not drop below minus 15 degrees, and the daylight hours are already quite long.

FROM PECHORA TO SABER
We start in the morning. The team has five snowmobiles: two Lynx Ranger 49, Polaris Assault 800, Artic Сat Сrossfire 800 and Ski-Doo Renegat 800. We meet groups of skiers. Someone returns from the mountains, someone just rises. Lots of schoolchildren. In the northern regions, the traditions of going on hikes in whole classes with teachers at the head are still preserved.

Before the pass we stop at the post of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. There is radio communication, several modern snowmobiles and trailers for them. During the period of tourist activity, rescuers serve on a rotational basis. Very friendly people! We communicate, talk about our plans and sign up in the register - anything can happen in the mountains in winter.

Having crossed the ridge, we arrive at the Ozernaya base, where we stop for the night. We fire up the oven and cook dinner. For the first day we covered 120 kilometers - not bad.

OVEN - EVERYTHING'S HEAD!
Each snowmobile is tied to 60 liters of operational gasoline. The main stock rides along with the stove in a sled that two Lynx take turns pulling. In the morning we refuel, it becomes easier, but still the average speed of the column does not exceed 30 km/h. Luckily the road is paved too.

Moscow heat on the "Vangyr". We specially brought this stove from the capital. Let it warm the weary traveler

Usually in the mountains, most of the way winds along rivers and canyons. And you always need to be prepared that open water and large boulders will meet. Sometimes, in search of the right direction, you have to make your way, wasting valuable fuel and taking risks. This time we have last year's track with us, so we quickly get to the goal of our "mission" - the shelter "Vangyr".

The installation of the stove did not take much time, it was still light, and we set off to get acquainted with the surroundings. They wanted to climb the nearest unclimbed pass - it wasn't there! Although unloaded, only one Artic Cat Crossfire 800 felt at home and was able to drive to the very top. The rest got stuck in a narrow bouldery river, on overgrown slopes and in deep snow ... Toward night, having dug out snowmobiles, they returned to the hut. The fire crackled pleasantly in the new stove, it became warm, and we shared the impressions accumulated during the day for a long time.

Winter hut "Kushnik". In this hut on the Aranets tract, many tourists and travelers find shelter and rest.

SUBPOLARIAN ELDORADO
The main task of the next stage is to get before dark to the border of the Komi Republic and the Tyumen region, where Mount Neroika (1646 m) rises above the Research Range. There used to be a quartz mine here. Back in Soviet times, it became unprofitable - quartz is cheaper to grow than to mine in the wilderness. But the small village still exists, and enterprising watchmen allow fishing and extreme sports lovers to spend the night in empty houses. At dusk we were there. And again there were long evening conversations and all sorts of incredible stories. This time about countless Ural treasures…

Strange as it may sound, people have been digging on Neroika for several hundred years! In this wild land, here and in the area of ​​​​Mount Narodnaya, deposits of both precious stones and gold are concentrated. And although in translation from Mansi "Neroika" means only "Old Man Mountain", we could not refuse to visit the old mines. Suddenly lucky!

The snow on the slopes is very hard. Strong winds do their job! And having run into a stone, you can easily roll over

It is not easy to get to the adits - they are located at an altitude of about 1000 meters. We use the forest hut as a base, where we leave the sled with fuel, and set off in search of adventure. True, it took several hours to break through a narrow hole in the dense snow and look underground. Everything has been preserved there since the 80s, when these developments were closed. Crossroads made of rails, old trolleys… Some corridors and drifts are blocked by huge blocks of ice. They dug the entrance to another shaft - it turned out to be even longer than the first. They say that the length of the tunnels reaches several kilometers! It is very easy to get lost in them and there is a great danger of collapse. But it is hardly possible to stumble upon a nugget here ...

Returning to the hut, we notice that in our absence a group of skiers visited it. But everything remained untouched - such laws. We support traditions: leaving the next morning, we leave extra products - maybe someone will come in handy.

Fascinating view! From almost every pass or peak, amazing pictures open up.

THE WORLD UNDER THE FEET!
And on the last day of the trip, we still dared to storm the Sabre. You can drive to the top of Narodnaya on any snowmobile, but only a powerful mountain climber can climb here. The only way goes along a very steep, almost sheer slope. At the top there is a platform 10 by 10 meters. It was scary to be the first to decide to climb, but that's what we came here for. And I hit the accelerator! Ranger, obediently rumbling with the engine and drawing along the slope with either the right or the left ski, began to climb up. The last 100 meters the snow became loose, and the sound of the engine changed - I had to press the trigger all the way. The skis are suspended in the air, and the only way to steer the snowmobile is to properly shift your weight. A little more, and here it is - the top! Here you need to urgently stop, because further the abyss ...

Having noted at the post of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we leave the mountainous area. Once again we were lucky with the weather and route choice. We were on schedule and everything went off without incident. We received a lot of positive impressions and, in gratitude, left a little of our warmth to the cold Subpolar Urals!

It is the most famous, the most imposing and the most beautiful of the geographical regions in the chain of the Ural Mountains. Small in length, it is the most powerful in terms of height and number of mountains, ridges and massifs. Here is the main peak of the Urals - Narodnaya (1895 m), and one of the most beautiful mountains in the entire Urals - Manaraga and Saber.

Immediately after Shchugor, the watershed Research Ridge begins, going strictly to the north, with famous peaks such as Neroika, Tatishcheva, Narodnaya, Karpinsky. Even to the north of the mountain, the Narodo-Itinsky ridge continues, going already to the northeast. In the area of ​​Mount Narodnaya, there is a powerful tectonic uplift over a large area, up to 100 km wide.

The northern border of the Subpolar Urals passes in the region of the Khulga River, which originates a quarter to the south of the Grube-Iz mountain.

In the west, this massif of mountains closes the Saber Range. Between Saber and Narodnaya, among other interesting peaks, the beautiful Manaraga stands out with its extraordinary shape.

The relief of the ridges is mainly alpine, with traces of karovo-dalen glaciation, with deep trough valleys and moraine ridges - traces of ancient glaciation.

The area is often visited by tourists, mainly in the Sabli-Narodnaya area, although there are many interesting peaks, lakes, waterfalls and glaciers. It is quite difficult to go through the entire Subpolar Urals. The expedition "Big Ural-91" covered this path from the weather station on Shchugor to Narodnaya in 11 days, and the entire Subpolar Urals and part of the Polyarny to the railway near the village of Polyarny - in 32 days, carrying a month's supply of food in backpacks.

We offer to see the most beautiful places of the Subpolar Urals in the mode of relaxation, without backpacks, taking care of food and firewood with a lot of vivid impressions and a trophy catch.

Climate , suffice it to say that winters last from 7 to 9 months. Permafrost reaches a depth of 25-100 m. Unlike the Northern Urals, there are many glaciers here, scientists counted about thirty of them.

We invite you to the Subpolar Urals - touch UNESCO World Heritage Site "Virgin Komi Forests"

Mount Neroika

Translated from Mansiysk, "The old man (man) is a mountain."

According to the Mansi, the world invisible to us is inhabited by spirits. Every swamp, every lake, every meadow, and also every bay and steep bank of a river, has its own spirit, whether male or female; in some places there are several.

Within the Subpolar Urals on the Sygva and along its tributaries, the Ner oyka was considered the owner. Nobody can find the doors of his "crystal house" until now. Whoever tried to do this, everyone died. Ner oyka is considered the most peaceful hero. He was so strong that he did not take weapons in his hands, he did not shed blood, and the enemies from one of his glances turned to flight or turned to stone.

He was the owner of all the deer in the Urals, and is also known for the fact that he stole his elder brother's wife and bought off all his deer for this, except for one choir and one important one. But the deer of Ner oyka did not follow his brother and fled. Since then, there are many wild deer in the middle and lower reaches of the Sosva and there are no domestic deer at all.

Nearby there is a mountain Ner ekva - the wife of Ner oyk'i. Mansi do not go to this mountain. This mountain is so sacred that during the ritual of worshiping it, a treat is arranged at a great distance from the mountain itself.

Pyramid

A beautiful mountain of regular quadrangular shape, slopes of kurumnik and scree, i.e. stones, which suggests its artificial origin, but upon closer inspection you notice that this is not so. It stands on the very edge of the main ridge, almost separately. It is not possible to confuse.

Mount Saber

The ridge has a steep eastern slope with difficult passes. The city of Saber breaks off to the east with especially high and steep walls, its many hundreds of meter plummets are a record for the Subpolar Urals. The western slopes are more gentle, from here you can climb the Saber without climbing equipment. A simple ascent along the hollow from the border of the forest leads to a car with a lake (~ 840 m), then goes ~ 30 gr. ascent along a scree hollow to the saddle of the Hoffman Pass (~1200 m). Further, a somewhat more difficult ascent along the ridge (with rocky gendarmes bypassing the shelves on the right) to the couloir leading to the summit peak. Here it is desirable that the peak is not hidden by clouds, otherwise you can easily get lost among the rocky ledges and go to dangerous areas.

Manaraga - "Queen of the Mountains" and

Narodnaya - "Top of the Great Urals"

You can climb to the top from the west, along the ridge, along the rocky steeps, between the caravans, but it is more difficult. It's easier to get to the mountain along the spurs from the north... From here, the easiest ascent. The slopes of the mountain are composed of gneisses and metamorphic schists. There is a lot of quartz in them, so the highest peak of the Urals differs sharply from all others in its steely dark gray color ... Behind each ridge, which seems to be the last, a new one opens.

Mount Narodnaya nothing stands out from the surrounding masses. The same hard-to-reach slopes, karts and cirques filled with snow and ice, small mountain lakes with clear and icy water, powerful accumulations of stone boulders on the peaks and slopes. And yet, a few tens of extra meters put it in first place among all the mountains of the Urals. The second highest Ural peak - Mount Manaraga (1820 meters) was explored in the summer of 1935 by a small geological party led by A. A. Chernov in the upper reaches of the Kosyu River (Western Saledy ridge). (N.P. Arkhipova. How the Ural Mountains were discovered. 1977)

Manaraga translates as "bear's paw". Indeed, the shape of the mountain is very unusual and with its "watchtowers" resembles a bear's paw. This peak cannot be confused with any other peak in the world. It has its own unique charm and magical appeal. Everyone definitely wants to return to Manaraga.

The next day we overcame the not at all difficult Aranets Pass and ended up in Asia. The picture to the east that opened up before us from the Aranets Pass was sharply different from the one we had seen the day before. Before us opened a panorama of mountain ranges and peaks, towering over countless glaciers and snowfields.

Bird's-eye

This mountain splendor was complemented by countless lakes formed as a result of abundant snowmelt. It was the primeval world of nature, untouched by human civilization. Involuntarily, thoughts came to mind that such a picture was repeated here hundreds and thousands of years ago. This strong feeling always visits me when I get into new mountain ranges. You feel like a grain of sand in the endless world of eternity.

We began to descend and soon found ourselves in close proximity to the blue lakes. It felt like spring was around, not July. On the mirror surface of the lakes, huge ice floes calmly floated. On the slopes of the ridges, partially freed from snow and ice under the rays of the July sun, northern grasses and flowers were already rising. Of the trees, individual larch trees dominated, towering above the world of snow, stone and the first spring greenery. All this is reflected in the water surface along with the clouds running across the blue sky.

Above the blue eyes of the lakes

I describe in such detail my impressions of the beauty I saw because even then the decision arose to create the painting “Polar Spring”, which was done after returning to Moscow. Unfortunately, this work was stolen from the Odessa cinema. Only a black and white photo has survived in my album. Now, when I am writing these memoirs, I again give myself the word to return to this topic and try to revive this unforgettable spring of the subpolar Urals.

We continued to descend down the banks of one of the turbulent rivers, originating from the glaciers of the subpolar Urals. Gradually, northern birches, stunted, but so dear to the heart, began to appear on the banks. On one of the clearings among a small forest, not far from a small waterfall, we made our parking lot in order to be able to wander lightly along the slopes of the Subpolar Urals and admire the beauties of the Russian North.

Ural waterfall

The next day we climbed the mountain slopes, from which the views of the Hoffmann Glacier and Mount Saber, which dominates this part of the Ural Mountains, opened. I made some pencil sketches and sketches. It was then that I decided to create a large panoramic picture of the Subpolar Urals, in which I was going to reflect the impression that I had when I looked at the Urals from a bird's eye view.

In the evening we watched a huge bright orange moon right from the tent, which hung low over the mountains. The day after, we had to make our way back.

Ural circumpolar

As I wrote earlier, we decided to go back the same way. Having overcome the Aranets pass, we began to descend to the west, towards the Pechora. The trail was clearly visible and we, being already light, walked quite quickly, 5-6 kilometers per hour. The main thing was not to lose the path. On the very first day we met with “our Balts”, but this time it was not he who caught up with us and overtook us, but we found him sitting by the road. Having greeted him, we, without stopping, moved on, so as not to lose the gained momentum.

“All tourists eat the same foods,” Alla said unexpectedly, picking up empty bags of pea soup and Anniversary cookies from the ground. After walking a few more steps, we found an unopened package with four tablets of dry alcohol, necessary to kindle a fire in case of rainy weather. One tablet was enough for us to boil a large mug of water for making tea or coffee at daytime stops, when, in order to save time, we limited ourselves to sandwiches. And then, almost simultaneously, it dawned on us that this could be the remains of one of our daily "emergency supplies" that I wrote about earlier. There was no doubt when, after a dozen or two steps, we saw candy wrappers from Citron sweets, with which it was very pleasant, tired after a long day's march, to drink evening tea.

At the first night on the way back, the supply left by us was in place, so dinner went on as usual, with a fire, pea soup and a portion of raw smoked sausage with tea.

Parking on the bank of the stream

In the morning, refreshed, we went to the next stage. I would like to note that in addition to cloudberries, which grew in abundance in the swamps, in the forest, right on the path and around it there were a lot of aspen mushrooms, so young and strong that it even hurts to pass by. In the second half of the day it began to drizzle, but this not only did not slow down our progress, but the ensuing coolness added strength to us. We reached the creek, where the last stop was planned, at about six o'clock in the evening. Crossing to the other side, we, as expected, did not find anything. We had to go to the village of Aranets about eleven kilometers. The rain stopped, dinner practically did not take place, we felt cheerful and decided to complete the last part of the route and that evening go to the Pechora coast and spend the night there. This was supported by the fact that near the village, as I wrote above, we had left a large reserve for the last, final part of our route to the valley of the Kozhim River.

Ural boletus

We quickly moved towards the desired goal. Twilight had already fallen, the last kilometers remained. Fascinated by the approaching finale of this multi-kilometer hike, we forgot that after the village of Aranets, for safety reasons, we bypassed two large lakes on the right. Now we were in a hurry and remembered this only when the black expanse of a large lake opened before us late in the evening. The path, having reached the shore, turned into wooden footbridges lying above the water and leaving into the darkness of the night.

Tired enough for the day, we went ahead. When we reached approximately the middle of the lake, it turned out that the wooden platform gradually went into the water with its right side, and only a part of the left side of the bridges remained above the water. After about three meters, the wooden platform also gradually completely leaves the water. I went first and when I reached the middle of the dip, my feet in rubber boots were in the water and it was good that I managed to hold on to the left side of the deck, which is above the water. In the middle there was a moment when my right foot slipped, the backpack pulled me down. With great effort, I managed to do push-ups on my left leg and keep my balance. The wife saw all this and successfully repeated this risky maneuver.

Fortunately, on the second lake the footbridges were in order, and we safely reached solid ground. Now we had to find our hidden things. In the dark, this was not at all an easy task. When we hid a week ago, everything seemed very simple and clear: here is the path, here are the birch marks, then 30 steps to the left, perpendicular to the path and a noticeable tree with large roots. But in the dark I had to make several unsuccessful visits, then even return to the outskirts near the village of Aranets and again go along the path to the turning point. To our great joy, everything turned out to be safe and sound, and in half an hour our tent stood on the banks of the Pechora.

Bad weather. The village of Aranets on the Pechora.

Early in the morning we were awakened by a male voice. I got out of the tent and saw a man. He turned out to be a resident of the village of Aranets, engaged mainly in fishing. Apologizing, he asked where we came from. Convinced that we had come last night from the direction of the Ural mountains, he told us the reason for his so early visit to us.

An old friend came to visit him from Latvia (if my memory serves me right, they seem to have served in the army together). A friend decided to go for a walk to the Ural mountains. He took the gun, the rope and the dog from the owner and left. You have probably already guessed that it was the "Balt", whom we met on the trail when we walked back and forth. The man said the dog had returned alone two days ago. We told him about our meetings with his friend. He was greatly surprised when we told him that his friend was without a gun. The man thanked us. Seeing a bag of mushrooms, he offered to exchange the boletus for salted white salmon. We offered him to pick up mushrooms just like that, because we most likely will not be going to cook. We packed a tent and began to wait for the ship Zarya to get to the city of Pechora. In the afternoon, the Aranets fisherman reappeared and told us the end of this story with his friend, which we unwittingly witnessed.

He said that his friend had returned. It turns out that he hid the gun to make it easier to walk, then he could not find this place. To his misfortune, he went in boots, without a footcloth and rubbed his legs to the blood, then the dog left him. He finally returned today with the gun, emaciated and exhausted. Now his legs are given various lotions.

The fisherman still brought us the promised white fish, but we never told him about the loss of our “emergency reserve”. At first, of course, we were angry at his friend, but then, on reflection, we understood the situation. Apparently the dog found our groceries, but the bag was littered with rocks. Most likely, she began to bark and the “Baltic guest” of our fisherman came to bark. Being hungry, he had to take our food. May God forgive him.

In the evening, we boarded the Zarya and drove to the city of Pechora, from where we were to move on to the third and last route along the Subpolar Urals.