Strange rocks on the road to Terskol Peak Observatory. Observatory in the Elbrus region. Shelter "Ice Base"

Having slept well in the new place, we get up early and go to Verkhniy Baksan to get border passes. Some areas need them.

We ordered them in advance, they were ready in about a week from my online request. It was very pleasant to communicate with the employees of the Nalchikov border detachment: over the phone they explained everything to me in great detail, how and what to write, asked where it would be more convenient for me to pick it up, etc. Knowing this procedure locally, we were pleasantly surprised by such politeness and efficiency. We called the outpost in Baksan, and it turned out that you can get ready-made passes at any time of the day or night.

3. View of the Baksan River valley from the village of Verkhniy Baksan.

We hitched a ride back to Cheget, packed light backpacks and went to Terskol. The beginning of the route to the observatory is approximately from the middle of the village, this is a road going up to the right from the highway going towards Azau through the village of Terskol. The road is dirt, it was made back in Soviet times for the construction of an observatory. Jeeping, which is familiar to us Sochi residents, is not common here: the road is quite decent for an SUV, but tourists are not carried here. To acclimatize, everyone walks on their feet. Or, as we were told, this is not accepted here, “in the mountains you need to listen to silence.”

At first the road goes along the right bank of the river, but then goes up around the bend. There is no need to cross the river over the bridge.

4. We pass sheds with all kinds of living creatures. Below is the village of Terskol.

The serpentine road smoothly rises up through the pine forest and soon emerges into the alpine.

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We climb along meadows of alpine herbs.

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Opposite us, below, in the valley of the Baksan River, we see strange “pyramids” of clearly modern origin. It turned out that these anti-avalanche structures appeared after a large avalanche blocked the road to Azau and the flow of the river. “Pyramids” cut the tongue of the avalanche, destroy it, and falling avalanches no longer cause severe destruction.

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Steep avalanche couloirs look like this from afar.

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Below is the Azau clearing and the sources of the Baksan River.

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The Donguzorun glacier “Seven” is visible from here “in full height”.

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Flowers grow on rocks and steep walls.

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Elbrus is a fairly young volcano, which has erupted over the past 1.5 million years. Its gentle cone is divided into two peaks with a height of 5642 m and 5621 m. The mountain range that makes up Elbrus is composed of deep crystalline rocks - granites, gneisses, as well as rocks of volcanic origin - tuffs and diabases. We have come to the exit of such volcanic formations.

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Memorial plaque to our soldiers. Here, during the Great Patriotic War, there were serious battles with the German “Edelweiss” - well-trained brigades of mountain shooters and climbers.

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The Elbrus region is the favorite vacation spot of our director Stanislav Govorukhin. Here, at the waterfall, he filmed scenes from the base camp of the film “Vertical”: the actors bathe in the waterfall, stand in the grotto behind its streams, and the tent of Vysotsky, the radio operator and doctor, also stands here.

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At a bend in the road we saw a strange hatch: I remembered the series “Lost”, they also had bunkers with hatches in the most inappropriate places :) This is a hatch at an altitude of 3100 m in a dirt mountain road :)))
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We climb a little higher along the road and find ourselves on the territory of the observatory. Terskol Peak Observatory is an international astronomical observatory founded in 1980 on the Terskol peak by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 3 km from the peak of Elbrus (at the foot, on the southern shoulder, of Elbrus), at an altitude of 3150 meters above sea level. Is: a branch of the State Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; international observatory; is part of the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research (MC AMEI).

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Terskol peak with sharp ridges of weathered rock.
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The observatory began to be built in the 70s by young astronomers of the Main Astronomical Observatory of Ukraine under the leadership of Yaroslav Yatskiv. 5 instruments of varying power were installed. But progress required larger tools. Therefore, in the second half of the 80s, a Zeiss-2000 telescope was ordered from the Carl Zeiss Jena company. In 1986-1988 a dome with a diameter of 20 meters was installed; in 1988, the Ts-2000 telescope was delivered to Terskol peak through the Novorossiysk seaport. From the autumn of 1990 until 1994, installation of the telescope was suspended due to lack of funding and changes in the political situation. In December 1992, the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research was created. Zeiss 2000 was installed in 1995. But now it’s desolate, there’s not even any security.

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Panoramas of Terskol peak and the view from it.

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Sochi residents, they are everywhere :)
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We came very close to the tongue of the Terskol glacier.
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This was the highest point of our hike; it was already evening. We took a short rest at the 105th picket and hurried down.

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The way back through the forest was shortened along a steep path down.
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The route turned out to be with an altitude gain of 1100 m (from the Cheget clearing to the 105th picket), the length is about 20 km. Objectively, walking in the Elbrus region is easier than in our mountains, despite the height. Good protective glasses and sunscreen are required. That's all for today :) In the next topic I'll tell you about the cable cars of Cheget and Azau, summer skiing and our path to the top (which we never conquered).

May 22nd, 2014

Hello comrades. If anyone doesn’t know yet, at the beginning of May we tried to climb Elbrus. But the weather on all the days of the ascent was so vile that in the end we did not ascend for weather reasons. But there were adventures - full of pants, and joy too.

There will be only five reports: Terskol and the surrounding area, Glade Azau and the surrounding area, Cheget and the surrounding area, the lower part of Elbrus (“Old Krugozor” and “World”), the upper part of Elbrus (“Barrels”, “Shelter 11”, ascent attempt). The reports will be relatively small in my understanding, no more than 80 pictures per report, because in cities I always shoot more, and reports on cities over 200 go off scale.

The first report is about Terskol. Terskol was interesting to me primarily because everyone was talking about it, and it was mentioned a thousand times on the Internet as a starting point for a trip to Elbrus, but it is absolutely impossible to really understand what kind of Terskol it is and what it is eaten with. That’s why I walked around Terskol and took pictures of it. In addition, from Terskol we tried to climb to the Terskol Peak observatory - on the only fine day during our entire stay in the Elbrus region. And again we didn’t make it because we were turned away because of the avalanche danger.

So, Terskol is officially a village with a population of just over 1000 people. But in reality there are a lot more people there, because hotels, rentals, camp sites, in general, are tourism. And Terskol looks not like a village, but like an ordinary Soviet town of 5-7 thousand inhabitants.

Terskol was founded in the 1930s to serve the mountaineering school and mountain recreational area of ​​the USSR. I didn’t find the exact year, but in 1935 the village already existed. I didn’t see any pre-war buildings there - apparently everything was made of wood. Like this.

I walked through Terskol itself on one of the many rainy, nasty days when everything was cloudy and foggy. Walking from Mount Elbrus to the village, the first thing you do is cross the Garabashi River.

You admire the drop-shaped lakes that appeared in places where artillery shells fell during various wars in this region - both the 1990s and 2000s.

And here is the gun. But not military, but avalanche.

Such cannons are fired at slopes to cause an artificial avalanche in potentially dangerous places.

And finally, we enter Terskol. The quality of the road and infrastructure is visible to the naked eye. But Crimea is ours.

Massage services are very popular in Terskol.

Clients are grazing.

The devastation surprisingly coexists with new buildings, which look strange among the dilapidated huts and broken-down roads. This is the local Emergency Ministry base.

General view of the village. The house on the right is interesting in some ways.

Either before the war, immediately after the founding of the village, or after, during its reconstruction and expansion, several barrack-type houses were built - long, two-story, with rooms for a family and bathrooms on the floor. Here they are on Google Maps, five of them: . Now they are covered with new metal tiles, lined and whitewashed. But the spirit remained. Do you see the old pipes sticking out?

Historical element of decoration on the end:

Modern decoration element. Here is the eternal USSR.

The outermost barracks were restored with creativity. Pay attention to the double-headed silhouette of Elbrus at the end.

The shops.

Due to the intensification of the tourism industry, there are a lot of buildings under construction, and many are already in operation.

The result of construction in 90% of cases is as follows. And no matter where the construction trailers were removed, they stick out in the background everywhere.

Local fire department.

The central square of the town is located near the local sports club.

There is a donkey here.

City emblem.

The extinguished eternal flame in front of the monument to the mountaineer fighters who defended the Elbrus region during the Second World War.

Opposite are some pigsties and monuments, which we will come to a little later.

At the entrance to the park there are ingenious benches made from tires from Belaz.

Another camp site.

Element of tourism infrastructure.

Carefully! Avalanche danger!

Anti-avalanche pyramids.

Ove-e-e-e-e-echki!

Jaguar from behind the bushes!

This is already closer to Cheget. Since Cheget is a ski resort village, the part of Terskol, which is directed towards Cheget, has been improved with new hotels and their decor.

Ove-e-e-e-e-echki (part 2)!

Koro-o-o-o-o-ov!

There, beyond Baksan, is Cheget!

It was difficult to find an angle so that not a single rusty piece of iron or gas pipe would fit into the frame.

And now we suddenly plunge into good weather. I filmed the rest of Terskol and the climb to the observatory on the only sunny day.

A mosque is finally being built in Terskol. In Kabardino-Balkaria there is a mosque in every village, usually modest and small.

And here is a view of the monuments - a small memorial complex near the power distribution station.

Nearby is an undestroyed old station.

Obelisk is a mass grave. Here lie 38 warrior-defenders of the Elbrus region who died in 1942 during the defense of Terskol.

Nearby is a new granite list of someone. I don't know who. For all those who fell in the battles for the Elbrus region - not enough. Perhaps these are those who fell here in the Caucasian wars in the 90s.

Monument to journalists who died in the Caucasus in 1994-1996.

Separate grave, recent - in addition to the 38 above, two more bodies from the 1940s, when the glaciers receded, were recently found and buried separately (one identified).

And now we will crawl up to the Terskol Peak Observatory.

There are cowsheds, pigsties and knee-deep mud.

The backs of old iron beds are in the fence.

Mountain streams.

The Terskol Peak Observatory was built in 1980, and for 9 months of the year you can only walk to it with trekking poles; transport cannot get there. We are currently walking along the May road, which is already free of snow.

From here the views are incredibly beautiful.

Where I am in the photo was taken by Ira Kurmanaeva. Here Earl and I are going into the distance.

Earl is showing me something.

This is me, round and with a potbelly.

Before the boundless beauty.

The road gets steeper. Soon it will no longer be passable for transport.

And me again.

This is infinity, brother.

On a rock, about 15 meters above the path, a memorial plaque is suddenly discovered. For me this is truly sacred. There is a sign - you need to crawl up and take a photo.

Our trail is visible on the right.

The legendary waterfall "Maiden's Braids". Everyone takes pictures of it in June, when it is wildly full of water due to active melting. In May it is quite modest. There are no legends associated with it, it is simply considered beautiful. I didn’t get it, I don’t really care about such beauties.

But I love such beauties. When it’s simple and nothing more.

And here it is! The only time we managed to see the peaks of Elbrus. All other days, without exception, they were covered with clouds. Yes, yes, those two hills over there. They are deceptively close, although in reality you can’t get there in a day.

Then we walked up through the snow, and here it was, here was the observatory...

That's when we were turned around. A lot of snow on the slopes and the scorching sun are a sure sign of an avalanche. Come down, comrades, there is nothing to catch here. And we went down.

But we will definitely come back here again.

In the next part of the report, we will wander around Cheget - the ski resort of the entire Elbrus region and the only peak we have somehow mastered.

Very little time was allocated for acclimatization - 4 days, the ascent was planned for the fifth. Therefore, without wasting time, on the first day we arranged a walk to the Terskol Observatory and the Maiden's Braids waterfall.

Glade Azau is located at an altitude of 2300 meters, and the Terskol observatory and waterfall are located at an altitude of 3150 m above sea level, so the elevation gain will be 850 meters. The duration of the walk is about 6 hours. Since then, my understanding of “walking” has expanded greatly!

The path begins from the village of Terskol with a smooth climb.

I advise you to definitely take drinking water with you, since the road to the waterfall is long. Also a windbreaker, despite the fact that we went in July and the air temperature was about +30 degrees Celsius, in the mountains there is often a cool wind blowing from the glaciers. You can easily go on this walk in sneakers; trekking boots are not needed. In the first days I galloped like a mountain goat, for which I received a couple of comments in my direction from Lena the gymnast, about why this world is so unfair, I gallop, but for some reason it’s hard for her. But nothing. Everyone will be rewarded. I simply didn’t know it then. A walk to the waterfall is worth taking even if you are not planning to climb, as the road winds over the gorge and offers breathtaking views.

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Glade Azau is in full view.

Mount Cheget with a cable car and part of the Semerka glacier.

But it’s definitely impossible to pass by this and not pay attention to it! This geological formation is called “Basaltic Columnarity” or sometimes colloquially “Lava Organ”. Basalt is a rock of igneous origin, that is, arising during an eruption, and we must not forget that Elbrus is a volcanic mountain, and it was once active. By the way, even now they say that somewhere there, on Elbrus, there are small fumarole fields, of course not like in Kamchatka or Iceland, but gases are slowly coming out. So, basalt rock is formed during the eruption of magma, and when it hardens, pillars like this are formed, if the surface is flat, then the pillars are flat, if the surface bends, then the bending of these pillars follows the surface, perpendicularly. And here is just such an example!

To get to the waterfall you need to leave the road leading to the observatory.

Suddenly, two peaks of Elbrus appeared from the clouds.

And also the Irik glacier.

We also reached the observatory itself, some along the road, and some straight along the embankment. The most interesting thing is that in terms of time it turned out almost the same, since all the time that was saved by shortening the path was spent fighting the loose debris. But there we were met by a fence and guard dogs. We decided not to tempt fate; there were no sausages.

Acclimatization: ascent to Cheget.

The next day we decided to climb Cheget, but not the full climb from the very foot, but using a cable car.

Tyrnauz.

From the last station of the cable car there is a small path leading to the top, so we followed it.

At such altitudes, even in summer there is snow in some places. The height of the Cheget peak is 3761 m above sea level. Here you definitely need to wear trekking boots. On mountain trails, stability is important, as is ankle protection. Then I didn’t attach much importance to it, but simply followed the recommendations. But much later, I fully realized how unpleasant it is when a sharp stone cuts into your flesh, if you lose your vigilance a little and stumble, looking at the surrounding beauty. And also listened to the stories of the older generation about the seriousness of the mountains. No, this is not insidiousness. But they simply do not forgive negligence. This is the quintessence of life. All decisions there lead to quick results. In real life, the consequences can last for years.

And then he stepped in the wrong direction, got injured, or went down the slope along with the stones. You didn’t choose the right place to spend the night with a tent, and at night there was a rockfall and in the morning you, with a broken leg, watch how slowly but surely your friend with an open craniocerebral injury dies, how he moves around in the vicinity in delirium on all fours, and you do nothing you can't help his agony. And another one died immediately. The weather is bad, there is a snowstorm, and rescuers will only come in a few days to pick up one, but there were three. Or how an avalanche covers the entire mountain camp in one night, with all its inhabitants at that time. Who so quickly managed to become close people to you. Or a group of children walking with an instructor, 10 children stepped on a flat stone on the path, and the eleventh stepped on it and slid into the abyss with it. Why? This is not deceit. It's just life. And in the mountains, if you want to return there, you need to take into account all possible options, and there is no place for recklessness. But there is a place for mutual assistance. All these stories were not read, but heard from the lips of my teachers. Therefore, even climbing Cheget, I slowly but surely began to understand the seriousness and monumentality of these places.

The top was hidden in the cloud, so we decided to stop at the clearing of this milk and there was a little bit left, so it was a formality. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the climb we were wearing T-shirts and shorts, we finished the climb in pants, sweaters, vests, windbreakers and hats. In my experience, even in good weather in the mountains, almost anywhere above 2500 m there can be a cold wind. And sometimes very cold. Therefore, no matter how hot it is below, always take with you a small backpack and the kit described or close to it. Hot tea in a thermos and water always help.

Also pay great attention to sun protection. At altitude, the sun burns your skin instantly. And until the skin peels off in layers. Therefore, be sure to take hats, caps, arafatkas, balaclavas and sunscreen with you. And, as always, trekking poles will help you. It may seem that you are young and full of strength, and why do you need some kind of poles like those old Nordic-walking guys. But, this is only with normal pressure and normal inclination. Poles make walking and climbing in the mountains much easier, and sometimes even save lives. We descended already in heavy clouds.

Acclimatization: transfer to Shelter 11.

On the third day the weather was still cloudy, as when climbing Cheget. We decided that it might be cloudy only at the lower levels, but there might be clearing on Elbrus. In any case, Azau did not want to sit in the clearing. But here another consequence of the CTO regime and the case in general awaited us. The cable car was not working, we were waiting for some spare parts from France. A solution was found - to ride in the back of a GAZ-66 truck along with building materials for the Shelter or Barrels.

Transfer to GAZ-66 cost us 2000 rubles. per person and some percentage of our nervous system and gray hair, especially among our women who were traveling in the cabin, and our fellow American traveler Bogart. Not only was it raining, visibility due to the clouds was poor, the slope of this road we were driving on was quite high, but this GAZ also periodically overheated and stalled. The driver jumped out of the cab, lifted it and poured water onto the carburetor, cooling it, and then, when the water ran out, he threw snow on it. How do you think it started? From the pusher, so to speak. Or rather, it was a very special, local pusher. Since no one was pushing him anywhere, the car simply rolled down the mountain in reverse, and turning on reverse gear, after a powerful transmission shock, it started up. At this very time, our women were usually ready to jump out of the cab and walk. We, in the back, simply took a stance corresponding to the inclination and grabbed the handrail. So slowly but surely we drove for about two hours. Poor American snowboarder Bogart suffered a lot, and I didn’t listen to a lot. He lamented over his own recklessness that he had gone downstairs to get some things from the hotel. It turned out that these things are not so valuable. How crazy everyone is here, especially the crazy driver. Why did he even come here! How he wants to live! So I had to calm him down for part of the way.

Thus, in the miracle car GAZ-66, we drove to the “Gara-Bashi” tourist center in the common people’s “Bochki”.

Their altitude above sea level is 3800 m. This is an intermediate hotel for climbers, skiers, and snowboarders. On the barrels we transferred to a snowcat and rode it to Shelter 11.

Shelter 11 is the highest mountain hotel in Russia, it is located at an altitude of 4100 m. It was once considered the highest mountain shelter in Europe. It was created in 1932, and from 1938 to 1998 there was a three-story building, which was captured by German troops during the war. In 1998 there was a fire and the hotel was gone. At the time of 2009, Shelter 11 was a group of container houses scattered along the rocks. We settled in one of these. Also, one of the containers is a common dining room with a gas stove, the use of which is included in the price. Then it was 500 rubles per person per day. The containers are not heated; for some time they provide electricity from a diesel engine to recharge the electronics. So you only have to warm yourself with warm clothes and sleeping bags. Even for a shelter, sleeping bags should be taken based on a comfortable temperature of -10. The temperature outside is about 0 or a slight minus or a slight plus. But the weather in the mountains changes often, so this is approximately. There is no point in living there for a long time. Since at such an altitude the body does not fully recover even in sleep. Therefore, every day spent there and climbing, you spend your body’s reserve forces. We had gas burners and gas with us just in case, but they were of no use; everything was in the dining room.

You might think that it was not sporty, first on a truck, then on a snowcat. But don’t forget that we had little time and there will still be enough workload in the future.

Acclimatization: climbing the Pastukhov rocks.

The next day we decided to take an acclimatization walk to the Pastukhov Rocks, at an altitude of 4800 m. It allows you to understand how you will feel at altitudes, and also allows your body to get used to it a little. It came quite easily to me. I was already thinking, well, where is this famous miner? It’s not the time yet Misha, it’s not the time yet, you’ll be in trouble. Mountain sickness, or mountain sickness, is essentially a state of hypoxia, that is, a low oxygen content in the body. And in the mountains, especially at altitudes above 4000 m above sea level, the oxygen content in the air begins to decrease. Hypoxia also occurs during alcohol intoxication, and this is what causes inappropriate behavior in the mountains in some people, which can sometimes lead to loss of life. But this doesn’t mean that when you take a gornytka you will feel like after a glass of cognac, no, the sensations will be like after abuse in the morning, when everything is already bad.

This doesn’t mean that I wasn’t tired at all, of course I was tired, everyone gets tired, but I just didn’t have those negative feelings that I expected and about which I had heard so much. In good weather, from the Pastukhov rocks there are excellent views of the Caucasus Range. But it was cloudy.

Everything that was above the Pastukhov rocks went into deep milk. People also went into this same milk, hardly to climb, but rather also to train at high altitudes while there was at least some visibility.

In winter, as they say here, there is usually solid ice, sometimes called “bottle glass”. In such cases, only “cats” can save. We had quite loose snow. But still, the cats borrowed from a friend helped a lot.

This was the second day of my stay at Shelter 11.

Somewhere in Georgia.

The beautiful Elbrus opened in the evening. This was the first time we saw him so close. As I said, the weather changes quickly there. It seems that at 13:00 we were on the rocks and everything was in the clouds. And now it’s evening, around 20:00, the sun is setting behind the magnificent Elbrus.

And it would seem to be just a stone’s throw away, so close, well, an hour, two, but it’s only a short distance away! Well, get up people and let's go while there is still light! Here is the slanting shelf, yes, you can see it from here! It's not far from here! But of course this is an optical illusion. Great to see each other from a distance. The word mountain in my imagination did not fit this object in any way! A mountain is something much smaller in my understanding then, but it is power, it is volume, it is such a stronghold that it was even difficult to call it a mountain then.

Equipment for climbing Elbrus

Now a little about equipment.

Let's start with the feet.
• For climbing you will need good plastic or so-called mountaineering mountain boots. Yes they are expensive. From 10 t.r. and higher. And mostly 15-25 tr. I went in regular Scarpa Kailash GTX trekking boots with Gore-Tex. Do this No need! My inexperience and complete illiteracy of the seller in the tourist store who recommended them had an effect. According to her, they should have been enough. Well, that's enough. But my feet were freezing. Of course, the boots are not insulated, gore-tex only so that they do not get wet. But they were still a little damp, and along with the fact that there is no insulation and I unknowingly wore some warm trekking socks and some thin ones, the result was wet and frozen feet. Later, after climbing in another store, I asked their purpose, the answer was mountain tourism. “Is it possible to go to Elbrus?” - I asked. “You can go to Elbrus if you want to lose your health.” But I was lucky.
• Warm trekking socks with Primaloft and Merino threads. With reserve.
• Thin, non-cotton socks.
• Thermal underwear, both long johns and a T-shirt with sleeves. On the body there was thermal underwear made of Polartec PowerDry, on the legs Alpine Lowe Aleutian, an analogue of Polartec Powerstretch. Now I would wear a thinner one, either PowerDry or with wool weave. But it was also possible.
• The top layer on the legs is insulated ski pants. But in a good way, it is recommended to wear either storm membrane pants or softshell tourist pants for thermal underwear, on which in case of a sharp cold snap you need to wear insulated self-resetting pants - this is a more correct option.

Top.
• I had a Vaude Polatrec 200 fleece on my thermal underwear and an “Equipment” windbreaker with a hood. And of course there was a down jacket. At that time, I didn’t have a membrane storm jacket without insulation, and I needed to have one instead of the windbreaker I was wearing. You should always have a down jacket. Because at night and in case of weather changes you walk in it. And when it’s hot, wear a fleece or vest with lightweight fleece and a storm jacket. It is advisable to wear layers so that you can quickly adapt to the weather.
• The gloves are made of Polartec PowerStretch. Plus the “tops” are insulated. When your hands start to freeze, put them on top of the first ones.
• Trekking poles are also required. They recommend an ice ax, but we didn’t take it in July.
• On the head is a windproof hat made of WindStopper or with GoreTex, eVent, or another membrane. Balaclava.
• Neck buff. High-protection sunglasses and a ski mask. I didn't have the last one. But it was necessary.
• The backpack you will go with for the climb is 35-40 liters. It should fit a down jacket, a thermos of at least 1 liter with tea, a first aid kit, tops, a camera, a navigator, a walkie-talkie (if used in a group).
  In general, at that time I barely scraped together the minimum set of equipment that I would not recommend going with. The down jacket was not mine either.

After the ascent, I realized that I was wrong. Equip yourself correctly and completely. Read lists on the Internet, consult in stores, consult with experienced comrades and instructors. Mistakes in the mountains are unforgivable. Frostbitten limbs or something else will remind you of this all your life. Or they may not remind you...

Tourist route: Terskol village (2150 m) - Maiden's Braids waterfall (2800 m) - back along the same route.
Round trip distance: 10 km. Travel time there: 2-3 hours Travel time back: 1-1.5 hours Ascent altitude: 2800 m

Shelter "New Horizon"

Tourist route: Terskol village (2150 m) - Maiden Braids waterfall (2800 m) - New Horizons shelter (2900 m) - back along the same route. Round trip distance: 12 km. Travel time there: 3 hours. Travel time back: 1.5 hours. Ascent altitude: 2900 m.
Views: panorama of the Main Caucasus Range, Mount Elbrus, Mount Cheget, Azau and Cheget glades, Cheget ski lifts and ski slopes, Terskol River valley. There are convenient places for tents and a clean stream nearby.

3. Terskol Peak Observatory

Tourist route: Terskol village (2150 m) - Maiden Braids waterfall (2800 m) - New Horizons shelter (2900 m) - Terskol Peak Observatory (3100 m) - back along the same route. Distance there and back: 15 km Travel time there: 3-4 hours Travel time back: 1.5-2 hours Ascent altitude: 3100 m
Views: panorama of the Main Caucasus Range, Mount Elbrus, Mount Cheget, Azau and Cheget glades, Cheget ski lifts and ski slopes, Terskol River valley.

4. Shelter “Ice Base”

Tourist route: Terskol village (2150 m) - Maiden Braids waterfall (2800 m) - Terskol Peak Observatory (3100 m) - New Horizons shelter (2900 m) - Ice Base shelter (3700 m) - back the same route. Distance there and back: 24 km Travel time there: 4-6 hours Travel time back: 3 hours Ascent altitude: 3700 m

Views: panorama of the Main Caucasus Range, Mount Elbrus, Mount Cheget, Azau and Cheget glades, Cheget ski lifts and ski slopes, Terskol River valley, Garabashi and Terskol glaciers. Description: The buildings of the Ice Base shelter were previously used as a warehouse for construction materials during the construction of Shelter 11. Then the Ice Base shelter began to be used for free overnight stays for climbers. The shelter consisted of wooden houses with 2 rooms, in which there were floorings for sleeping and a stove. The shelter is currently not in use. However, the place where the shelter is located is very beautiful, picturesque and popular among tourists. Along the way you will meet: a monument to Soviet soldiers, the 95th and 105th picket.

5. Mount Cheget

Tourist route: Glade Cheget – top of Mount Cheget – glade Cheget Distance: 3100 by cable car + 2200 on foot Travel time there: 2 - 3 hours Travel time back: 1 - 2 hours Ascent altitude: 3769 m

6. “Turya Lakes”

Tourist route: Elbrus village (1800 m) – “Turyi Lakes” (2550 m) - back along the same route. Distance there and back: 18 km Travel time there: 3-4 hours Travel time back: 1.5 hours Ascent altitude: 2550 m

7. To the Great Azau glacier

(Azau ​​Glade – Big Azau Glacier – Azau Glade). Tourist route: Distance there and back: 8 km Travel time there: 1-2 hours Travel time back: 1 hour Ascent altitude: 2800 m

8. To the upper reaches of the Irik River

Tourist route: Elbrus village (1800 m) – Irik Narzan – Irik river valley (2400 m) – Elbrus village (1800 m). Distance there and back: 14 km Travel time there: 3-4 hours Travel time back: 2 hours Ascent altitude: 2400 m

Two to three day hikes

9. Lake Syltrankol

Tourist route: Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) – Syltransu river valley - Syltrankel lake (3200 m) – Syltran pass (3400 m) – Mukal river valley (2750 m) - Kyrtyk gorge - Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) Distance to and from return: 28 km Travel time: 2 – 3 days. Lifting height: 3400 m

Description: The hike will introduce you to one of the largest alpine lakes in the Elbrus region. Exit from the village of Verkhniy Baksan climb to a height of 3400m. Overnight on Lake Syltran. The second day we go to the Syltran pass and descend into the Kyrtyk gorge. Overnight near Narzan. The third day is a descent to the village of Verkhniy Baksan.

10. Along the path of the builders of the “Shelter of Eleven”. (Ice base map)

11. Glade “Green Hotel”

Tourist route: Terskol village (2150 m) - Maiden Braids waterfall (2800 m) - Terskol Peak Observatory (3100 m) - New Horizons shelter (2900 m) - "105th picket" (3370 m) - Shelter “Ice Base” (3700 m) - back along the same route. Round trip distance: 24 km Travel time: 3 days Ascent altitude: 3700 m

Description: The hike is intended for acclimatization, as well as for training with ice axes and walking in a bundle. Departure from the village of Terskol, ascent to the Observatory, overnight. Day two: departure to the Ice Base. Dressing in full equipment. Start of training at the foot of Mount Elbrus. After training, descent to the bivouac. The third day is a descent to the village of Terskol.

12. To the rock of Ullukaya

Tourist route: Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) – valley of the Kyrtyk river (2180 m) – Ullukaya rock (2840 m) – Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m). Round trip distance: 23 km Travel time: 2 – 3 days Ascent altitude: 2840 m

Description: The route will introduce you to the picturesque valley of the Kyrtyk River and the Ullukaya caves, where traces of ancient man’s habitation were discovered.

13. Svan trail to Mestia hut

Tourist route: Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) – Ski lift (1640 m) - Adyrsu river – Dzhailyk mountain camp (2320 m) - Adyrsu glacier (2700 m) – Mestia hut (2750 m) – Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) Round trip distance: 18 km Travel time: 2 – 3 days Ascent altitude: 2750 m

Description: The route will introduce tourists to the upper reaches of the Adyrsu valley - the kingdom of eternal ice and snow. Along the route you will meet: a stone river, a waterfall, the Ullu-tau alpine camp, a spring-waterfall, a silver spring, and Mount Ullu-tau. For those who are unable to have a child, in the upper reaches of the Adyrsu valley there are female and male stones, the “Embryo” stone and a clearing of desires. Many couples come here to ask for a child.

14. Around the world Kyrtyk – Syltran

Tourist route: Verkhniy Baksan village (1520 m) – Kyrtyk river valley (2180 m) – Ullukaya rock (2840 m) – Mukal river valley (2750 m) – Syltran pass (3400 m) – Syltrankel lake (3200 m) – Verkhniy village Baksan (1520 m) Round-trip distance: 28 km Travel time: 3 – 4 days Ascent altitude: 3400 m

Description: This circular route is interesting to follow in any direction, but it should be noted that the Syltransu valley is shorter and steeper than the Kyrtyk valley. Therefore, passing the pass from Kyrtyk is preferable for groups that have not undergone high-altitude acclimatization.

15. Around the world Syltran - Irikchat

Tourist route: Upper Baksan village (1520 m) – Syltrankel lake (3200 m) – Syltran pass (3400 m) – Mkyara moraine – Mkyara glacier (3159 m) – Mkyara pass (3850 m) – Irikchat river valley (2690 m) – Irik Narzan – Elbrus village Round-trip distance: 30 km Travel time: 5 – 6 days Ascent altitude: 3850 m

Description: The route is acclimatization. Large differences in elevation, the highest altitude is 3850 m - Mkyara Pass.

16. Climbing Mount Elbrus. Classic route

Tourist route: Azau glade (2370 m) - Station "Krugozor" (2950 m) - Station "Mir" (3450 m) - Shelter "Bochki" (3900 m) - Shelter "Eleven" (4100 m) - Pastukhov Rocks (4800 m) - Saddle (5325 m) - Top of Mount Elbrus (5642 m) - back along the same route Distance there and back: 23 km (of which 14 km on foot) Travel time: 12-14 hours Climbing height: 5642 m

Description: The classic route to Mount Elbrus is the most popular among beginners who already have some hiking and climbing experience. Before conquering Elbrus, a several-day acclimatization program is carried out. The conditions of the program are negotiated individually and depend on the condition of the participants, weather conditions and other circumstances.

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 Heads of the observatory
• 2 History of the observatory
• 3 Observatory instruments
• 4 Departments of the observatory
• 5 Research directions
• 6 Main achievements
• 7 Interesting Facts
Notes

Introduction

Terskol Peak Observatory- an international astronomical observatory founded in 1980 on the Terskol peak (Kabardino-Balkaria, Elbrus region, Russia) by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 3 km from the peak of Elbrus, at an altitude of 3150 meters above sea level. Is: a branch of the State Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; international observatory; is part of the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research (MC AMEI). Since January 1, 2005, the observatory has been operated jointly by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Terskol branch of INASAN and the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research. Next to the observatory is the Baksan Neutrino Observatory.

1. Heads of the observatory

• since December 1992 - Taradiy Vladimir Kirillovich - Director of the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research
• now - Alexander Vasilievich Sergeev - deputy director of the observatory

2. History of the observatory

The observatory began to be built in the 70s by young astronomers of the Main Astronomical Observatory of Ukraine under the leadership of Yaroslav Yatskiv. Sergei Borisovich Novikov also contributed to the choice of location for the observatory. 5 instruments of varying power were installed. But progress required larger tools. Therefore, in the second half of the 80s, a Zeiss-2000 telescope was ordered from the Carl Zeiss Jena company. In 1986-1988 a dome with a diameter of 20 meters was installed; in 1988, the Ts-2000 telescope was delivered to Terskol peak through the Novorossiysk seaport. From the autumn of 1990 until 1994, installation of the telescope was suspended due to lack of funding and changes in the political situation.

To save the Ukrainian high-altitude observation base, on the initiative of the State Autonomous Okrug of National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Physiology named after. A. Bogomolets (his laboratories were also near Terskol) in December 1992, the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research was created. Director of the center Vladimir Taradiy. Zeiss 2000 was installed in 1995. In 2001, construction began on a hotel for astronomers. Since the summer of 2007, the Odessa Observatory, together with PulCON, has been carrying out restoration work on the 80-cm telescope.

3. Observatory instruments

• Horizontal solar telescope ATSU-26 (D = 65 cm, F = 17.75 m, commissioned in 1989, regular observations began in 1992)
• Small horizontal specialized solar telescope SEF-1 (D = 30 cm, F = 3 m, operated 1985 - 1992)
• Zeiss-600, Cassegrain system (D = 60 cm, F = 7.2 m)
• Zeiss-2000 (D = 2 m, F = 6.3 m (with gearbox), F = 16 m (Richie-Chritien focus, field of view 1.2 degrees) or 72 m (Coudet focus, field of view 5 arc min.), optical Ritchey-Chritien-Coudet system, introduced in 1995; since the mid-2000s, it has been operated jointly by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Terskol branch of INASAN RAS and the International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research) + FLI PL4301E CCD camera (with a 50x50 mm chip, field 11" x 11" installed January 2009)
• Telescope RK-800 (D = 80 cm, F direct focus = 228 cm, FCassegrain = 10 m) Cassegrain system of the Odessa Astronomical Observatory
• Celestron 11" (D = 280 mm, F = 2.8 m, robotic telescope)
• Meade 14" (D = 356 mm, F = 3.56 m, robotic telescope)

• GPS time service
• Multi-camera spectrometer of high and ultra-high resolution (Rz= 40,000 ... 500,000) at the coude focus of the 2-m telescope
• High-transmission pendant spectrometer at the Cassegrain focus of the 2-m telescope
• High-speed two-channel photometer for synchronous observations in a network of telescopes
• High-performance nitrogen-cooled CCD imagers for spectral and photometric observations

4. Departments of the observatory

• Solar physics
• Physics of Solar System Bodies

5. Directions of research

• “Astrospace research in the Elbrus region” (state of the atmosphere)
• astrophysical research

• Optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts
• asteroseismology (high-frequency oscillations of stars, observations under the Whole Earth Telescope program)
• Giant planets and their satellites (astrometry and photometry)
• Near-Earth asteroids (astrometry and photometry)
• Comets (state of gas and dust)
• small-sized GEO fragments (Space debris)
• Searches and studies of exoplanets (photometry)
• Sun
• X-ray double stars, cataclysmic variables
• Searches and observations of TNO

6. Main achievements

• The observatory conducted daytime observations of Mercury to map the planet's surface in support of the Messenger mission
• The observatory hosts traditional conferences dedicated to near-Earth space and asteroid hazard once every 2 years.
• Ultimate sound led 1 hour before the beginning of 2009 it was 23.5 stars. Vel., and after 25 stars. led (change of CCD camera).

7. Interesting facts

• On March 29, 2006, a streak of total solar eclipse passed through the observatory
• For more than half a year, the observatory is cut off from the outside world due to the large snow cover. The only way to get there is to climb on foot to a height of 3100 meters.
• The observatory is guarded by dogs

Notes

1. Peak Terskol (Caucasus) - astroosvita.kiev.ua/HTML/infot_ph4.html
2. The mean seeing in this site is about 1 arcsec. The average number of clear night hours is about 1000 - www.terskol.com/telescopes/index.htm
3. International Center for Astronomical and Medical-Ecological Research
4. Sergei Borisovich Novikov died - www.astronet.ru/db/msg/1245909
5. 1 2 http://www.mao.kiev.ua/sol_ukr/terskol/ters_all.html - www.mao.kiev.ua/sol_ukr/terskol/ters_all.html Solar telescopes on Terskol peak
6. The Horizontal Solar Telescope at Terskol Peak - www.mao.kiev.ua/sol/sol_w2.html
7. http://w0.sao.ru/Doc-k8/Telescopes/small/Z2000/ - w0.sao.ru/Doc-k8/Telescopes/small/Z2000/ Zeiss-2000
8. CCD for Ts-2000 - www.astronomy.ru/forum/index.php/topic,46533.msg861604.html#msg861604
9. http://lfvn.astronomer.ru/news/2006/09/0002/index.htm - lfvn.astronomer.ru/news/2006/09/0002/index.htm The first measurements of small-sized GEO fragments were made on the two-meter Zeiss telescope -2000 at Terskol peak
10. There is the first light from an 80-cm telescope on Terskol - lfvn.astronomer.ru/forum/index.php?topic=130.0
11. Terskol Peak - www.astro-observ.odessa.ua//index.php?go=Content&id=28, Odessa
12. Astrospace research in the Elbrus region - w0.sao.ru/Doc-k8/Telescopes/small/Z2000/
13. Exploring the Sun at Terskol Peak - www.mao.kiev.ua/sol_ukr/terskol/ters_txt.html
14. The Terskol Observatory supports Messenger's flight to Mercury - www.astronomer.ru/news.php?action=1&nid=277
15. A scientific conference of astronomers ended in Terskol - www.astronomer.ru/news.php?action=1&nid=78
16. International conference "Near-Earth Astronomy - 2003" - www.astronomer.ru/news.php?action=1&nid=77
17. Conference "Near-Earth Astronomy - 2007" - www.inasan.rssi.ru/rus/conferences/OZA_2007/
18. Scientists expect days of eclipse - www.astronomer.ru/news.php?action=1&nid=300
19. ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY ON THE SLOPE OF ELBRUS - nauka.relis.ru/25/0411/25411112.htm