Rescue of violators from the ice trap of Belukha: the story of rescuers. Tips for girls and still inexperienced tourists
- Badge "For Climbing Belukha" is awarded to citizens Russian Federation, foreign states and stateless persons who have climbed the highest mountain peak of Siberia (Altai) - East Belukha (4506 meters) and have climbing confirmation from: guides of LenAlpTours CJSC, mountaineering instructors with a mountaineering instructor certificate, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Ak- Kemsky PSS.
- The Belukha Climb badge was established by CJSC LenAlpTours, the St. Petersburg Mountaineering Federation, the Altai Republic Mountaineering Federation in 2006. Rewarding of persons who have made the ascent is made at the request of the climber in accordance with these Regulations, starting from 2006.
- Description of the badge "For climbing Belukha".
The badge "For climbing Belukha" has a certificate and a number. The climber is awarded with a badge and an attached certificate indicating the number and name of the climber. The icon has an oval shape. On the front side of the badge, in the center, a white image of the snowy contours of the Northern Wall of the Belukha massif against the blue sky in the upper part and against the background of the blue image of Lake Ak-Kem in the lower part. The badge is bordered by an image of a climbing rope with an icebal and a carabiner attached to a quickdraw.
Labels on the badge:
- against the blue sky - CLIMBER”, just below - the flag of the Russian Federation and in numbers - the height of the Eastern peak of Belukha -“ 4506 »
- on a white background of the contours of the Belukha massif - " BELUGA»;
- on the blue background of lake AK-Kem - " UCH - SUMER"(translated from the Altai language -" three springs ").
On the reverse side of the badge is a serial number.
It took almost three days for the rescuers to reach the Kemerovo tourists who were trapped in the Belukha glaciers in the border zone. The participants of the rescue operation told Sibnet.ru why they had to wait so long for help, how the climbers survived without a tent, how they greeted their rescuers, and why they did not return to civilization in the end.
Last Friday, weather forecasters issued a storm warning for the Altai Mountains, and on Saturday the weather deteriorated sharply. On Sunday, August 12, rescuers received an SOS signal from the Ust-Koksinsky district, where Belukha is located.
Four residents of Kemerovo got in touch by satellite phone and said that they were blocked at an altitude of 4.1 thousand meters. The strongest wind tore their tent and carried away the equipment that could help them descend at least to Lake Akkem, where there is a seasonal rescue post.
Rescuers would have had to walk to them from the post for about three days, the situation was complicated by bad weather - it was raining here, turning into snow, a strong wind was blowing. It was decided to send a helicopter for the climbers, which arrived in the Altai Republic from Kemerovo on Monday and waited several days for permission to take off. The aircraft took off from the Gorno-Altaisk airport only at 16:00 on Tuesday, but three hours later the tourists were filmed from Belukha.
The hardest route
The tourists turned out to be no longer young and quite experienced climbers, the youngest of them is 48 years old, the oldest is 53 years old. They overcame one of the most difficult ice and rock routes - category 5A, while category 6B is considered the most difficult. Rescuers are not gods: how to return alive from Altai
The men planned to traverse (the passage of two or more peaks, and the descent from the previous peak should be in the direction of the next one) of three peaks and had to climb the Western, Eastern peaks and the peak of the Crown of Belukha Mountain.
“Four tourists were sitting on the western plateau. There was a lot of cloudiness, the pilots did a great job. First they flew above the clouds, then they dived into the so-called window, and managed to get to those in distress. They flew up in a helicopter, took them away, lowered them to Akkemskoye Lake, to our rescue base, ”said Yury Shvarts, 1st class rescuer of the Altai search and rescue squad.
Welcome - Welcome
According to one of the pilots, the head of the aviation department of the Siberian Regional Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Sergey Zubov, the operation proceeded normally, but the cloudiness that kept around mountain peaks. But the wind that caused the emergency was normal.
“The clouds were all around the mountain, including at the landing site. It also hindered the excess - a height of four thousand one hundred meters. It was a field covered with fresh snow. When landing, a cloud formed, we had to very clearly maintain the place, but we managed to land very close to the tourists, ”said the pilot, the only pilot in the Krasnoyarsk Aviation Rescue Center who has a permit to fly to high altitudes.
The pilot explained that altitudes over three thousand meters are considered difficult, the machine becomes inert, uncontrollable, and, as a rule, there is no place to land. And this time it was not possible to fully land the car for loading people. It snowed in the mountains for two days, more than a meter of it poured, it was slippery. In touch mode, the crew held the helicopter while the tourists loaded their belongings and boarded themselves. The help of rescuers was practically not required, the Siberian Regional Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry clarifies.
According to Zubov, the preparation for the operation was not long - it was a long wait for permission to take off: “We waited a long time for the weather, Belukha Mountain was covered with clouds for two days, today a window appeared, and we managed to do everything in 3.5 hours.”
Having flown up to the mountain, the rescuers searched for the climbers for no more than 15 minutes. Because of the cloudiness, we had to fly around the peak in a circle; tourists were noticed on one of the sides. Since Sunday, the men have been in contact with the rescue post every three hours, and therefore they already knew that they were flying after them. By the arrival of the board, they trampled on the snow with their feet the inscription Welcome - Welcome.
Shelter in the snow and gas burner
All this time, tourists were at an altitude of 4.1 thousand meters above sea level. They had warm clothes with them, a supply of food and a gas burner, on which they melted the snow.
“Since their tent was torn apart, they dug into the snow, made a cave with the help of its remains, and lived in this place. They had food, but they were running out of gas - only half a cylinder remained. If today we could not take them off, they would have to do without hot food,” said rescuer Schwartz.
He added that the tourists were physically weakened, they had to spend their energy on heating their shelter, and they also ran out of food. The temperature at this height was from zero to five degrees below zero, dropping to minus 12 at night. However, according to the rescuer, the men were not in danger of frostbite. As a result, none of them needed medical attention.
Often, tourists go on difficult routes without calculating their strength, they often make some mistakes that can cost a person their life. However, here, according to Schwartz, a combination of circumstances played a big role.
“Everyone can get into bad weather, regardless of whether he is a trained tourist or a beginner. Of course, they had a hard time. It's good that everything ended well, ”concluded the interlocutor.
Violators?
The rescue ship returned to Gorno-Altaisk without the tourists rescued from the trap, they remained at a seasonal rescue post near Lake Akkem. The fact is that the border between Russia and Kazakhstan passes through the Belukha massif. According to a representative of the power structures of the region, the tourists entered the border zone without special passes. And at the seasonal rescue post at the foot of Belukha, border guards were already waiting for them.
“At the entrance to the Ust-Koksinsky district, at the border control post, they told the border guards that they were going to the Tomsk camps, but they themselves went much higher, where the five-kilometer border zone is located. They should not mislead the employees of the customs post, but simply issue passes,” the interlocutor said.
Now climbers face administrative proceedings and a fine. However, they got into trouble and survived, and this is already great luck. Just a week ago, while descending from the top of Aktru on the Severo-Chuysky ridge, two climbers from Novosibirsk fell off and Kemerovo region, a resident of Kuzbass failed to survive.
And three years ago, in August 2015, four experienced climbers from Tomsk died while climbing the Maly Aktru glacier on a route of medium difficulty. They ignored a warning about worsening weather and froze to death on a slope after it started to rain and it got very cold. Help could not arrive in time due to bad weather and darkness.
Photo: © Ministry of Emergency Situations in RA
Chronicle of accidents
search and rescue operations for 2007 and early 2008
Govor V.V., Novosibirsk, ZMS, vice-president of the TSSR,
international class instructor, associate professor of NSU
1. Tragedy on the ski route III category of complexity with Krasnoyarsk tourists.
On February 11, 2007, the group of sports tourists consisted of seven people. Leader - Vyacheslav Popov, born in 1963, had experience in high-altitude ascents, participated in tourist sports trips the fifth and sixth categories of difficulty, climbed Khan-Tengri Peak (6995 m) in the Central Tien Shan. The group included: Sergei Bulgakov, born in 1983, Evgeny Shvedov, born in 1985, Alexander Mikhailov, born in 1984, Ayuna Sanzhieva, born in 1977, Alexander Belyak and Anton Esipenko, born in 1985. R. One of the settlements Shushenskoe, Krasnoyarsk Territory, the rest - from the city of Krasnoyarsk. The head of the group Vyacheslav Popov, Ayuna Sanzhieva, Anton Esipenko and Sergey Bulgakov died.
The route documents of the group are issued in accordance with the Rules. The route is approved by the IWC of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Tourism Federation. The group officially registered with the control and rescue service of the city of Abakan. The preparation of the participants of the ski trip was appropriate for the passage of the declared route of the third category of difficulty.
The accident happened on the way down a frozen waterfall, more than 100 km from the Snow Leopard camp site, which is located on a small left tributary of the Bolshoy On River. Four fell off the ice while descending and fell from a high frozen waterfall. Later, three went down to the victims, and assessing the situation, made a decision: one remained with the victims in the taiga, and two went to the nearest telephone connection, which was at the Snezhny Leopard camp site, to call rescuers. They walked for 2 days in the taiga. On February 13, after 4 p.m., the tourist who came first reported the incident to the rescuers. Further in the press appeared the most incredible stories. About "an unregistered group of climbers traveling at their own risk and falling off the ridge." Such information could get into the press only through the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Details of the tragedy: for the descent from the frozen waterfall, two hooks connected by a loop were hammered into the rocks. At the moment of the start of the descent of the group leader, one of the hooks flew out, and the second one remained, however, the jerk was enough to disrupt the leader and 3 more participants, who were at the moment of the start of the descent of the leader without a lanyard in the descent zone. Since the surviving three participants at the time of the collapse of the leader and three participants were only approaching the scene of the tragedy, they saw only the consequences of the failure: a torn hook and a rope hanging on the second hook. There are no living witnesses to the tragedy. One can only guess what came first: the hook jumping out under load or the leader's fall, which caused the hook to be pulled out, the participants to be thrown off by the released rope, or their attempt to hold the one who started the descent. However, the statement to the press of the head of the rescuers that “... that the group was not registered” is puzzling. And the assumption, "... that the presence of at least one means of communication would make it possible to avoid" such a tragic outcome ... ". Rescuers reached the scene only on February 15. This raises the question, so what did they show us on central television on February 13 and 14?
The group was registered in the rescue service in the city of Abakan, in the rescue service, which has a zone of responsibility in the area of the campaign. Why not register there? And again there is a question of connection. Who and when informed sports tourists: what channels are used by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and what are the possibilities of communication with them through these channels? What radio stations can be used for this? Sports tourists do not yet have money for satellite communications, and a heavy long-range radio station or radio beacons cannot be physically carried away in addition to the traveling cargo.
Trouble does not come alone... After the funeral of Krasnoyarsk athletes, which gathered more than 300 people, the president of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Federation of Sports Tourism returned home to his wooden cottage, which caught fire at night from a short circuit. Saving his wife in the fire, a man who had previously defeated one of the most terrible forms of oncology died. We mourn and express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
2. At the resort "Krasnaya Polyana" March 04, 2007
An avalanche descended in the area of the Salymov circus, in the Aibga ridge, in the area of the 4th stage of the chairlift, there are victims: a ten-year-old boy from Tuapse died, presumably, three more people (skiers) can remain under the avalanche. On ski resort"Krasnaya Polyana", where people can remain under the snow after an avalanche, three groups of rescuers from three regions were sent: Kuban, Adygea and Sochi, about 50 rescuers. At night they arrived at the scene of the incident. On March 5, the search for people continued, who, according to eyewitnesses, were covered by an avalanche. About 140 people, 5 units of rescue equipment, 5 cynological teams are working at the emergency site. It is likely that there is no one else under the rubble, but the rescuers are guided by the words of eyewitnesses, therefore, in parallel with the search, they conduct an active survey in all nearby hotels if any of the guests have disappeared. Nobody reported about the missing people, but the rescuers admit that, for example, a family could remain under the avalanche, the disappearance of which no one noticed. That is why the work continues. Given that Krasnaya Polyana is preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics, passions have flared up over this accident. On the fact of the death of a child, the Sochi prosecutor's office opened a criminal case. Assumption - the tragedy occurred due to savings. The head of the press service of the Southern Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation believes that the tragedy could have been avoided: because earlier the Alpico Service company, which operates cable car, several times refused the services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, whose specialists would ensure the safety of skiers. In particular, they organized duty posts, constantly monitored weather conditions and the condition of the slopes, and carried out rescue operations even more quickly. But, in his opinion, while tourists prefer to save. Despite the tragedy in Krasnaya Polyana, tourists do not refuse trips to this ski resort. “Reservations are not removed,” representatives of travel agencies stated.
3. In a major car accident on the territory of the Altai Territory on 06/08/2007
water tourists from Barnaul, Udmurdia and the Chelyabinsk region died. In an accident on the Barnaul-Biysk highway, KamAZ and two minibuses collided: GAZ-322132 and Mercedes. Four people died among the passengers of the Gazelle. Five passengers were hospitalized, three of them are in a very serious condition. The driver of the Gazelle refused hospitalization. The KamAZ driver is in serious condition, he was hospitalized at the Novoaltaysk Central Hospital. One of the 11 people in the Mercedes minibus, which took the brunt of the crash, survived. The remaining 10 passengers died. All of them were returning from rafting in the Altai Republic. Six are residents of the Udmurt city of Votkinsk, one is from the Chelyabinsk region. The authorities of the Altai Territory contacted Udmurtia. Possibly June 10th charter flight the bodies of the dead will be brought home. The regional administration will take all measures to meet and accommodate the relatives of tourists who died in the accident. As the vice-governor of the Altai Territory noted, there has not been such a major car accident in the Altai Territory for at least 20 years.
4. When crossing the river. Akkem (right tributary of the Katun river) 06/21/07
at 2:30 p.m., a horse stumbled on a horse route near a tourist, Yulia Sergeevna Tomilova, who lives in the city of Berdsk, Novosibirsk Region. As a result, she fell from her horse into the river and was carried downstream. She was part of a travel agency group. The search for a tourist by the forces of the group and passing tourists did not give any results. On the same day, the group reported what had happened in the Akkem PSP, descended to the end of the Lower Gorge and continued on their way to the village in the morning. Tungur, Ust-Koksinsky district, from where on June 22, 2007 at 21.30 hours, they contacted the ARPSP duty officer in the city of Gorno-Altaisk by phone. On June 22, 2007 at 09.00, 3 people were sent to search with the Ak-Kem PSO together with the local population and specialists from the Vysotnik camp site (Tungur settlement) consisting of 7 people. In total, there are 10 people with horses in the search group. The director and employees of the Govor Brothers travel agency only returned early in the morning from the Altai Mountains on June 27, 2007, where the search for the local guide (horse breeder) Viktor Tadyrov is still being carried out by the efforts of social activists and an instructor-guide and brought the body of the deceased tourist Yulia Tomilova to Berdsk. (Residents of the city of Berdsk, 34 years old). The instructor-guide will stay in the search area until the termination of search operations by local guides-horse breeders and residents.
The chronicle of events found out during the analysis of the accident: On June 21, from 14:00 to 14:30, an accident occurred while crossing the Akkem River on horseback, when Tomilova Yu.S. fell into the water and was carried away by the current. When trying to help her, the local horse breeder-guide Viktor Tadyrov threw himself into the water and was also carried away by the current.
On June 22, 2007, at about 19 pm, instructor-guide Kremer A.A. called the office of the Govor Brothers travel agency. this route and reported the accident, and that at the first moment the search for Tomilova Yu and Tadyrov V. was organized by the group. As a result, a section of the river downstream to its entrance to the canyon was scanned, but Tadyrov and Tomilova were not found. After that, the instructor-guide reported to the Akkem rescue point, where at that time there were 8 rescuers of the Gorno-Altai PSO, who began to organize a search. The instructor-guide brought the group to the village. Tungur and sent on a rented minibus to Novosibirsk. Immediately after receiving the information, the management of the travel agency contacted the PSS of Gorno-Altaisk. And they received confirmation that the PSS knows about what happened on the river. Akkem accident and carry out search work. On this moment The missing hikers have not been found. In the travel agency "Govor Brothers" a round-the-clock duty was established in the office.
06/23/07 instructor-guide with local residents We drove out in a GAZ-66 car to the search area (“Three Birches”). The travel agency informed the rescuers about this. At 16-00, after another connection between the PSS of the Republic of Altai and the Akkem PSO, the rescuers informed the travel agency that the body of Tomilova Yu. hard to reach place gorges of the Akkem River, the body is tied and placed in the water for cooling. The travel agency discussed with the PSS further transportation work: up to the path to lift in the hands of rescuers and local residents, then drive along the path on horseback to a clearing where a helicopter can land. After delivering the body to the specified place, the rescuers contact the travel agency, and it organizes a helicopter flight.
On June 24, 2007, at 14:00, the Govor Brothers travel agency was informed that the body of Tomilova Yu.S. was delivered to the agreed place and placed there in the water. The management of the travel agency ordered a helicopter, the departure of which was scheduled for the morning of June 26th. It was decided that the director and his staff would leave for Gorno-Altaisk at night and, upon arrival, fly out together with the rescuers to the place. The delay in the departure of the flight that evening was due to insufficient light time for the return of the helicopter with the body to Gorno-Altaisk and the fact that Tadyrov V.D. was still being searched, and it was necessary to conduct a search flight over the river. Katun and r. Akkem. At 22 o'clock, before the departure of representatives of the travel agency in the city of Gorno-Altaisk from the village. Tyungur called the instructor-guide and said that the body of Tomilova Yu.S. delivered to the village Tungur and asked the travel agency to help her transfer the body to the morgue of the village. Ust-Koksa. The travel agency contacted the PSS, and the rescuers called the Ust-Koksinsky police car, which delivered the body to the morgue of the district hospital in the village. Ust-Koksa, accompanied by an instructor-guide and a friend of the deceased. At 10:30 pm, the travel agency's employees and the director left Novosibirsk for the city of Gorno-Altaisk, and on the way to Berdsk they took a relative of the deceased. In the city of Gorno-Altaisk, in the PSS of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Altai, they clarified all the formalities and outlined an action plan, additionally taking a UAZ car, they drove to the village to remove the body. Ust-Koksa. Having completed all the necessary formalities, the body was sent to the morgue in Gorno-Altaisk, accompanied by a relative of the deceased. The director of the travel agency left the village. Ust-Koksa in the village. Tungur and agreed there with local horse breeders-guides to continue the search for V.D. Tadyrov, leaving the instructor-guide there for coordination, as a representative of the travel agency. He returned to the city of Gorno-Altaysk, where he resolved all issues related to further transportation, as a result of which, on June 26, 2007, the body was delivered to the city of Berdsk, where a funeral took place on June 27, 2007 at 15:00.
Special comments on the incident:
1.
On equestrian routes, when riding horses, choosing the path, driving tactics, and ways of overcoming obstacles, the leading role belongs to the local guide (horse breeder).
2.
The route does not include crossings on horseback across the Akkem River, except for its source (near Akkem Lake), where there is practically no current and there is a boat crossing, as well as over a bridge in the lower reaches of the river.
3.
A fallback option with a descent along the gorge of the Akkem River is not considered even in exceptional cases, due to the presence of talus on the left bank in front of a narrow gorge with a canyon.
4.
Viktor Tadyrov, at the time of his death, had been accompanying tourist groups in the area for 45 years and was one of the most experienced, reliable and responsible Altai guides (horse breeders).
5.
Voucher Tomilova Yu.S. sold by the Berd branch of SIATT, the contract with the tourist was concluded in the same place, the insurance policy of Reso-Garantia was issued in the same place. The management of the travel agency contacted the insurer "Reso-Garantia" in Novosibirsk and Moscow on insurance payments and controlled the process until the insurance was paid.
6.
There is a completed itinerary book with the lists of the group members about knowledge of safety regulations (TB) and the signature of the instructor-guide about the safety briefing in the travel agency, a safety briefing log with the lists of the group members, general and equestrian information sheets. The text of the briefing on safety on the horse route.
As a result of the analysis, it turned out the following: that the direct cause of the death of the tourist Tomilova was not established in view of the pronounced universal decay of the corpse. Most likely drowning due to damage to the body received when it was moved by a water stream in a mountain river. It is known that she fell from a horse into the Akkem River, separated from the horse and, on the section of the river viewed by the group members, could not get ashore. Although at some point, tourists who observed the development of the National Assembly noted that she rose to her feet near the shore, but then fell into the water and the stream carried her further. The reason for the fall from the horse was that the horse stumbled while being in the water stream while crossing the Akkem River. The crossing was carried out in the middle reaches of the Akkem River and was not included in the approved route.
The local horse breeder, guide Tadyrov V.D., who organized the crossing of the group and was the first to cross on horseback, heard Tomilova's cries for help and tears from his horse, jumped into the water and swam after Tomilova. On the section of the Tadyrov River, which was being viewed by the members of the group, I did not catch up with the tourist Tomilova by swimming, and they separately, being in the stream of water, disappeared around the bend, first Tomilova, then Tadyrov.
06/23/07 Tomilova's body was found in a hard-to-reach place in the gorge of the Akkem River. The remains of Tadyrov's body were discovered at the very end of September in a woody hall located in the lower reaches of the Akkem River. It is not possible to establish the direct cause of death from the remains. Presumably drowning due to damage to the body received when moving it with a water stream in a mountain river.
The decision on the crossing, the choice of the place of the crossing, the assessment of the water situation, the method of crossing the Akkem River in this place and the order of movement were chosen and established by V. Tadyrov. Instructor-guide Anna Kremer, in accordance with the established order of movement, closed the column. V. Tadyrov began the crossing, without waiting for the gathering of the entire group and the arrival of the instructor-guide A. Kremer, who was closing the column. At the start of the Akkem crossing, the group deviated significantly from the approved route and by that moment had overcome two crossings, which were also not included in the approved route. The movement along the equestrian route proceeded according to the planned schedule. They came to Lake Akkem at the planned time and here they adopted a “Decision to change the route” by a majority of votes. Instead of reconnaissance of the conditions for ascent to the Kara-Turek pass, they made two days, losing time to leave the area along the way of entry or through a lower pass, bypassing the Tekeli River gorge.
As a result of the analysis carried out by the ICC, it turned out the following: on June 21, at about 15:00, a group of tourists in the amount of 7 people, a local guide-horse breeder and an instructor-guide of the Govor Brothers travel agency, making an equestrian route III k.s., agreed with the ICC along the route of the village . Tungur - trans. Kuzuyak - hand. Oroktoy - r. Tukman - lake. Kildu - r. Tekelu - lake. Akkem - trans. Kara-Turek - r. Kucherla - pos. Tungur approached the crossing over the river. Akkem. Thus, changing the approved route. The change of the route was not agreed with either the travel agency, or the ICC, or the rescuers of the Akkem PSP, and was adopted at the general meeting of the group by a majority vote on Lake Akkem (i.e., the opinions of the group members were divided, but the decision was made).
At the third, on this day, crossing over Akkem, not far from the entrance to the Lower Gorge, the horse of Tomilova Yu.S. stumbled, and she fell (possibly jumped) into the water and was carried by the current. Hearing the cries for help, Tadyrov V.D., who was on the other side at that time, jumped into the water and tried to catch up with the tourist by swimming, but did not catch up with the viewed section of the river and they were swept around the bend, no one else saw them. The instructor-guide with the rest of the group was just approaching the crossing point. She crossed the river on horseback. Akkem also examined from the shore, the riverbed to the entrance to the canyon, but Tadyrov and Tomilova were not found. Tomilova's body was discovered by rescuers and local residents. The remains of Tadyrov were discovered by local residents at the end of September. The causes of death of Tomilova and Tadyrov have not been established due to severe injuries to the corpses.
The disciplinary commission of the ICC SFD found: that the death of Tomilova Yu.S. and Tadyrova V.D. happened due to an accident. The accident occurred due to the fact that Tomilova Yu.S. when crossing the Akkem, when her horse stumbled, she could not stay in the saddle and let go of the reins and the horse, as well as an attempt by the guide Tadyrov V.D. help her out. The concomitant cause of the accident is the change of the route, inconsistent with the ICC, the travel agency and the Akkem PSP, adopted by the majority of tourists at the general meeting. An indirect cause of the National Assembly was the failure to maintain the path along the left bank of the river. Akkem is in working order, forcing local residents to build it with a change of banks with several fords. It is noted that Tadyrov V.D. previously categorically refused even the transportation of cargo shipments along the banks of the river. Akkem on horseback, not to mention the tourists in the fallback option for leaving the route, so the travel agency did not even consider this path as a spare, although with the exception of the moving scree in front of the “Lower Gorge”, which is walked on a lead, on the old trail of others differing in complexity there are no places, especially crossings. Since the group successfully crossed the river crossings twice. Akkem and by the time of the accident partially overcame the third, and later the participants who remained on the right bank also crossed, it can be concluded that the water level in the Akkem River at the time of the accident was not high and that this was really an accident.
… Beginning of October 2007 In a forest hall, located in the lower reaches of the Akkem River, a local resident found the remains of a man, identified by a waist belt. This is Vitaly (known to tourists as Victor) Dzhudovich Tadyrov, who tragically died in the Akkem River on June 21, 2007 at the age of 45 while trying to save a tourist who fell from a horse into the river. Buried in the cemetery of the village. Tungur.
5. When descending from the lane. "Big Berel saddle" 22.06.07
one of the tourists from the group of the BJI Ministry of Internal Affairs received a leg injury, he is able to move. At 05.00 Moscow time, 2 rescuers left the Ak-Kem PSO to provide assistance.
V.V.'s talk: Interestingly, on the Internet, the “victim” himself categorically denies this fact. What is this? An attempt to explain why few rescuers were looking for on the river. Akkem?
6. Incidents from 09 - 19.06.07 in the Republic of Altai.
When crossing the mountain river Bashkaus in the Ulagansky district, a vacationer from Novosibirsk, Valentina Osipova, drowned. Her body has not yet been found. Since the beginning of July, nine incidents involving tourists have occurred in the Altai Republic, in which eight people were injured, four were killed, four were missing and two were rescued.
7. The rescue operation in Altai was successfully completed on July 13, 2007,
where a group of tourists descended into the Geophysical cave, located 38 kilometers from locality Sarasy (foothills on the border of the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic). At the appointed time, the tourists did not return from the route and did not get in touch. At about 13.00, two groups of rescuers left for the cave, but, fortunately, their help was not needed: the tourists came to the surface on their own. But passions ran high, the details are set out in the collection.
8. When climbing Mount Belukha 16 07.07.
Aleksey Korzhavin, head of the Yekaterinburg group of tourists, fell off the cliff. A group of tourists from the city of Yekaterinburg, which was not registered with the PSS, climbed to. Beluga whale through the Delaunay pass. At the pass, the leader of the group, A. Korzhavin, fell off a cliff, suffered a broken rib, concussion, and spinal injury. A group of rescuers from the Ak-Kem PSO, consisting of 4 people, went out to transport him from the crash site to the Tomsk Parking shelter, where the helicopter landed. As of 20 o'clock. 00 min. (MSK) A. Korzhavin died before the rescuers arrived. Korzhavin's body was transported from the crash site and is located at the Tomsk Parking Shelter. On July 18, 2007, the body of the deceased Alexei Korzhavin was delivered by helicopter to the city of Gorno-Altaisk, where it turned out that the relatives would have to transport the body of the deceased to Yekaterinburg at their own expense, since Alexei Korzhavin had not been registered with the Altai Republican Search and Rescue subdivision. Registration is required in order to receive assistance in evacuation in case of danger. In order to be able to call a helicopter for help, he needed to insure himself with an insurance company that had an agreement with the Altai Republican Ministry of Emergency Situations. The Yekaterinburg tourist did not conclude any contracts, which means that the costs are borne by relatives. One hour of a helicopter flight in the Altai Republic costs about 46,000 rubles, and it takes an average of 3 hours to transport a body to Gorno-Altaisk. It turns out that the relatives of the deceased must pay almost 140 thousand rubles to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the republic for the delivery of the body only to the city of Gorno-Altaisk.
9. Total since the start of the 2007 water season
in the mountain rivers of Altai, 12 people were injured, of which 9 people died - messages on the Internet.
10. In the Altai Republic on July 18, 2007
when rafting on the river. Katun killed a resident of Belarus. The tragedy occurred on a simple section of the Katun River, 10 km from the village. Katanda died Sergey Bulak, born in 1963 - a resident of Belarus. The body of the deceased was found 200 meters from the scene. The prosecutor's office of the Ust-Koksinsky district is investigating the details of the incident. On one of the difficult rapids, the raft capsized, as a result, the athlete died, unable to cope with the flow of the river.
V.V.'s talk: It is said that the tourist died “on one of the difficult rapids” and, strangely enough, the report states that there are not even simple rapids on the Katun River. The village of Katanda stands on the Katanda River, the left tributary of the Katun, 12 km above the village. Tyungur: “The raft capsized, as a result, the athlete died, unable to cope with the course of the river” If this really happened in specified place, then the question arises, was he wearing a life jacket correctly? And is it an athlete? Maybe this is still a tourist who paid money to local "guides" for rafting down the Katun to the mouth of the river. Akkem? Such rafting along a simple section of the Katun is carried out by one travel agency and local "guides".
Commentary on information:
Tatiana: Sadly. Well, just the day before yesterday (07/22/07) I saw how a raft turned over in the Ust-Sema region, or rather, most likely it was turned over, and with laughter the people swam after the raft, losing their oars ... I don’t know how it ended, but the last two bathers began to gradually fall behind the raft. By the way one climbed onto an overturned raft and started dancing there, it was noticeable that the people were not quite sober and thus had fun.
Major: You shouldn't joke about things like that. This is not for you on the lake, in shallow water. Katun is the only river that has all 5 difficulty levels ( V.V.'s talk: Here Major clearly got excited. Firstly, there are six categories of route complexity, and secondly, there are many such rivers even in Russia, for example, the river. Yenisei with origins).
Irenok: In fact, Katun has a level no higher than the 3rd category of complexity ( V.V.'s talk: another connoisseur of sports route classifications! Indeed, on the Katun, depending on the sections and the included tributaries, there are all categories of difficulty, including the sixth. The complexity of the routes along the Katun seriously depends on the water level. Don't forget that r. The Katun begins from the Gebler glacier descending from the southern slopes of the Belukha massif and ends (changes its name) 10 km below the city of Biysk, and also has raftable tributaries: Upper Kuragan, Koksa, Lower Kuragan, Kucherla, Akkem, Argut with a network of sources, Chuya with origins, Ursul, Sumulta, Chemal and Biya).
salnikov for irenok: About the third category is not true. Very much depends on the place from which to start the rafting. C Katunsky Cheeks, which are located upstream of the village of Ust Koksa - r. Katun is a five river.
11. A group of tourists from the city of Kemerovo 25.07.2007
came to the banks of the river Cairo, the left tributary of the river. Argut. Having pulled the rope, the first tourist, Artem Kvashnin, began to cross the Cairo River. During the crossing, the tourist was carried away by a strong current in the river. Argut.
12. A group of female tourists 28.07.2007
as part of 6 people at the same place along the path, she approached the Cairo River and, seeing the rope stretched by the previous group, one of the tourists began to melt down. During the crossing, she was carried away by the current, while trying to help her, two more women were carried away. Missing: Natalya Nazarova, born in 1970 (Kharkov), 50-year-old resident of Moscow, 68-year-old resident of Samara.
A stretched rope across the river. Cairo and a backpack on the shore were seen by water tourists from the city of Novosibirsk, passing the route of the VI category. along the river Argut. However, below the mouth of the river. Cairo, during the rafting, watermen in the river and on the banks did not find anything. The head of the group reported this to the IWC immediately upon his return to Novosibirsk. The IWC transmitted a message to the Gorno-Altai PSS. From 04.08.2007 to 09.08.2007, a group of rescuers carried out work to search for 4 tourists from two groups who disappeared at the mouth of the Cairo River. Rescuers crossing the river The right bank of the Argut River was explored on foot from the place where it flows into the Katun River to the mouth of the Shavla River. Then on a catamaran they crossed to the left bank of the river. Argut and on foot, inspecting the shore, climbed up the river. Argut to the mouth of Cairo. The rescuers' return journey took place mainly along the Argut River, the search was carried out from the water, while both banks were examined. On the bank of the river Argut, after the water subsided in it, the rescuers found a backpack, which they handed over to the operational duty officer of the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Altai Republic to further determine its belonging. By water, the rescuers reached the mouth of the river. Argut, where it flows into the Katun, and about 4 - 5 km passed downstream of the river. Katun to the highway. On August 11, 2007, due to the fact that the search did not bring the expected results, seven rescuers of the Altai Territory returned to Barnaul from the Altai Republic, as reported by the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. Altai Territory. V.V.'s talk: The Argut River belongs to the sixth category of difficulty, it can be passed by a very limited number of specially trained water tourists on special ships. In addition to the strong current on the Argut River, there are a number of complex named rapids, in addition, the banks of the river are difficult to pass in some places, but there are paths.
13. As reported on 25.07.2007
Three Omsk tourists disappeared in Altai. The search for three tourists from Omsk, who went camping a month ago, has begun in the Altai Republic. Women who are 45-48 years old went to hiking By mountain passes in the Ust-Koksinsky district. On July 23, 2007, they were supposed to go to work, but by that time they had not returned from Gorny Altai to Omsk. Colleagues and relatives asked the rescuers for help orally from an employee of the International exhibition center"Intersib" that a group of women, consisting of three people aged 45 - 48 years from Omsk, went on a hiking trip along the route from the village. Tungur - Lake Akkem - Yarlu valley - Yarlu-Bochi pass - Suulu-Boch pass - r. Suulu Airy - r. Baltyrdag - r.Argut - r. Shavla - the confluence of the Shavla and Argut rivers - the confluence of the Akkem and Katun rivers in the Tungur region, then in the city of Barnaul. The group led by Natalya Nikolaevna Kulishkina departed from Omsk on June 24, without insurance, was not registered with the ARPSP. ( V.V.'s talk: besides an approximate route containing difficult crossings through mountain rivers, it is known that they should be at work on July 23, but did not appear until July 25, 2007). An employee of the Intersib Center at the Ministry of Emergency Situations was recommended to write an application to search for colleagues. On July 25, 2007, at 11:00 Moscow time, during radio communications, the group was reported to the PSP (search and rescue station) "Ak-Kem". During July 25-26, 2007, a group of rescuers in the Yarlu valley and nearby places of possible accommodation for tourists made inquiries about them. Orientation is given and the reliability of the information is checked through the duty officers of the Ust-Koksinsky region and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. ( V.V.'s talk: you can find out about the arrival and departure of tourists from the border guards who issue passes for entering the border zone). 07/26/07 at 18.24 Moscow time from the Acting Head of the Main Directorate of the EMERCOM of Russia for Omsk region a message was received by fax with a request to assist in the search for an employee of the International Exhibition Center "Intersib" - Kulishkina Natalya Nikolaevna and together with her Melnikova Olga Vasilievna and Dizer Marina. They were going to visit 5 energy stones along the above route ( V.V.'s talk: route documents were not drawn up, they did not receive consultations on the route, therefore, they could well have made a mistake in planning the traffic schedule and setting target dates, which was later confirmed). At 19.02 Moscow time, the husband of Melnikova O.V. called the rescuers. - Dmitry Kizima and reported that the group left Omsk on 24.06. to Barnaul railway, then by taxi to the village. Tungur. They had 10,000 rubles each with them, they had tourist equipment, they didn’t have climbing equipment ( V.V.'s talk: on this route and not necessary), food stock for 4 weeks ( V.V.'s talk: the control period is usually set by the time required to complete the route plus 1 - 3 days for bad weather and other unforeseen circumstances), there are no means of communication. They have no relatives and acquaintances from among the local population in the Altai Republic. Melnikova O.V. – born in 1969 works in the company "Springs of Health" in Omsk, and Dizer M. - born in 1972. place of work is unknown. After leaving Omsk, they did not get in touch. Husband of Melnikova O.V. sent an application with detailed description and photographs of women by fax. The search and rescue team of the ARPSR was involved in search and rescue operations. On July 27, 2007, at 10.30 Moscow time, the phone of the duty officer of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Republic of Armenia received information from an employee of the Intersib International Exhibition Center that the missing women got in touch and are currently on their way to Omsk.
14. In the Republic of Altai on July 29, 2007 on the Myushtu-Ayry glacier
(Katunsky ridge, area west of Belukha) a Moscow climber was seriously injured. During the climbing camp in the gorge of the river. Kucherla, in the area of the Myushtu-Ayra glacier (near the city of Belukha), a resident of Moscow, Vladimir Kavunenko, was injured. (? V.V.'s talk: confusing surnames is an unforgivable mistake for professionals). A signal for help was received by the Ak-Kem seasonal rescue post. Rescuers reported that the victim received a head injury and was in a non-transportable state. On July 30, with the help of a helicopter, a group of rescuers and doctors, he was taken to the republican hospital in the city of Gorno-Altaisk. Climbing camps from Moscow have been under control at the Altai Republican PSP (search and rescue unit) since July 19, 2007. All participants in the event are insured by the Military Insurance Company. The group climbed to Beluga.
Comments on information:
qwert: 72-year-old Vladimir Dmitrievich Kavunenko is a legend of Russian mountaineering. He began to practice this sport in 1952, in 1968 he received the title of master of sports of international class, and in 1987 - the title of Honored Coach of the RSFSR. As a coach, he trained 48 masters of sports of the USSR in mountaineering. Vladimir Kavunenko personally made 18 ascents of the sixth category of difficulty, 48 ascents of the 5th category of difficulty, of which 22 were first ascents and 28 were first ascents, and also led 18 climbing expeditions (Altai, Pamir, Tien Shan, Andes, Africa). In 1973, Vladimir Kavunenko received the title of "Honorary Lifeguard of the USSR", and in 1999 - "Honored Lifeguard of Russia". From 1992 to the present, he has been the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Association of Rescue Units of the Russian Federation. In 1970, for participation in search and rescue operations in Peru, he was awarded the Peruvian government award and the Certificate of Honor of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, in 1985, for multiple participation in rescue operations in the USSR and abroad, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor, and in 1988 for leadership and personal participation in rescue operations during an earthquake in Armenia - the Order of Friendship of Peoples. In 1995, Vladimir Kavunenko made a parachute jump to the North Pole." And yet - there is no route of the "second" category of complexity to Belukha. There is a route of category 2B, the easiest of the available. ( V.V.'s talk: but not from the side of the Myushty-Ayra glacier). Well done Muscovites! We got registered with the search and rescue squad of the Republic of Altai, insured with the Military Insurance Company. Only here's the trouble - as if all the insurance did not go to pay for the helicopter.
And now about who really suffered on this day. 07/29/07, when climbing to the Beluga whale as a result of the fall received multiple bruises, multiple champion of the USSR in mountaineering and rock climbing, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Kosmachev Oleg Semenovich. Earlier it was reported that “the head of the training camp Vladimir Dmitrievich Kavunenko suffered. According to updated data, Kavunenko Vladimir Dmitrievich was not injured, his state of health does not cause concern. We apologize to the relatives and friends of Vladimir Dmitrievich” We add that the severity of the injuries was exaggerated and does not correspond to reality. On July 30, 2007, Kosmachev Oleg Semenovich was taken to the republican hospital in the city of Gorno-Altaisk by a Mi-8 helicopter with a group of rescuers and doctors from the Disaster Medicine service. He was given first aid on board the helicopter. At present, after a thorough examination by doctors of the republican hospital, Oleg Semenovich's condition is assessed as satisfactory, he is active, his body temperature is normal, there are no pathologies from the internal organs except for a fracture of the 8th rib. The climbing sports and educational expedition led by Vladimir Dmitrievich Kavunenko started in the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the great Russian scientist, the founder of practical astronautics. The place of the expedition is a hard-to-reach area of the Altai Republic. The expedition began on July 19, 2007, its goal is to find an unnamed peak, about 4000 meters high, conduct reconnaissance and make the first ascent in order, using the right of pioneers, to give the mountain the name of S.P. Queen. Expedition route: Moscow - Barnaul (air flight), Barnaul - Gorno-Altaisk - settlement. Tungur (bus), pos. Tungur - the northwestern shoulder of the South Chuya Range (helicopter). The expedition was carried out under the auspices of the Russian Space Agency, as one of the events dedicated to honoring the memory of S.P. Queen. The mission of the expedition is to perpetuate the name of S.P. Queen, creating him a grandiose miraculous monument in one of the most beautiful corners of the planet - Gorny Altai. The tradition of naming such geographical objects like mountain peaks, formed a long time ago. As a rule, these are always meaningful names, names are symbols. Among the organizers of the expedition and its participants are climbers who have previously made first ascents more than once. With the direct active participation of the expedition members, peaks appeared on the maps of Russia: “Peak of the 850th anniversary of Moscow”, Peak of the “2000th anniversary of Christianity”, “Underwriters Peak”, “Gumilyov Peak”, “Peak of the 60th anniversary of the Victory”. The expedition is headed by Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Master of Sports of International Class Kavunenko Vladimir Dmitrievich. The expedition is attended by: Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Professor, Doctor of Science, Moscow State Technical University. Bauman Myslovsky Eduard Vikentievich, who in 1982, as part of the USSR national team, made the first night ascent of Everest; master of sports of the USSR, multiple champion of the USSR in mountaineering and rock climbing, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Kosmachev Oleg Semenovich. The organization of the expedition in the climbing area is carried out by the Chairman of the Federation of Alpinism and Rock Climbing of Gorny Altai, Master of Sports of the USSR Vladimir Dmitrievich Shumilov. Prominent figures of Russian cosmonautics took an active part in the preparation of the event: Twice Hero of the USSR, pilot-cosmonaut Viktor Petrovich Savinykh; Deputy General Designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Yanko Grigory Konstantinovich; Vice President of Energia Corporation Hero of the USSR, Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Sergey Konstantinovich Krikalev; Twice Hero of the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Ivanchenkov Alexander Sergeevich; Deputy Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Gagarin, Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Valery Grigorievich Korzun; Hero of Russia, pilot-cosmonaut Valery Ivanovich Tokarev; Hero of Russia, Pilot-Cosmonaut Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin The expedition included climbers: Kulinchenko Dmitry Vladimirovich - General Director of ZAO Malakut Assistance; Kirilenko Mikhail Vladimirovich - executive director of Rosles Re LLC; Nilov Vladimir Leonidovich - Deputy General Director of Promtex-Orient LLC; Romanov Evgeniy Dmitrievich - Head of the Agency Sales Department of the Uralsib Insurance Group; Romanova Natalya Evgenievna - President of the Society of Foreign Students of the University of Chattanooga, USA; Rybakov Sergey Nikolaevich - Deputy Head of the Agency Sales Department of the Uralsib Insurance Group; Pavlova Lidiya Nikolaevna – Head of Claims Settlement Department, Uralsib Insurance Group. The expedition is supported by the Association of Rescue Teams of the Russian Federation. General Partner and General Insurer of the expedition SOGAZ Insurance Group Partners: Nakhodka RE Reinsurance Company, Rosles Re LLC, Oakshot Insurance Broker, Malakut Assistance CJSC service company.
15. When rafting down the Lower Katun in the Altai Republic on July 30, 2007.
the director of the Tomsk branch of MTS OJSC Gennady Zarya died. August 1. The funeral took place in Tomsk at 11.00. Gennady Dawn was on vacation and rested in the area of the village. Chemal. Bought a ticket for a day trip.
Comments on information from the Internet:
Guest: What are the instructors there for? It's kind of like Russian roulette. No, I don't have a foot on the rafting anymore. And I won't let my loved ones in.
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Most likely this was an accident ... somehow I was in the "sump" near the "Royal Hunt", went to the "famous" waterfall ( V.V.'s talk: Kamyshlinsky), and there he saw the state of the “rafters” driving... People professionally involved in this sport will never get behind the wheel drunk...
Z: It depends where to raft. In general, for the rafting you need to be sober, and ready for any turn of events.
I: You know, everyone was sober. I was struck by the fact that the minimum was done to avoid a tragedy. Neither the vest nor the helmet saved. In such places, special means of rescue must be developed. Signal rockets, because there are many camps along the Katun and you can come to the rescue quickly enough. First aid kit, for assistance on the water. Instructions on how to provide first aid. Rescuers who should supervise these places. This can be done even at the expense of the same company that organizes rafting, especially around dangerous places. And of course, such dangerous rapids are only for professionals. We learned about the 4th category of difficulty of the threshold when we were already there. ( Zhigarev O.L.: the complexity of obstacles, in particular thresholds, is determined by the category of difficulty. Difficulty category - determine the complexity of the entire route). It's very scary when they take a person on board, turn him face up, and you recognize someone who is very dear to you. And you can't change anything. Remember that in these places the nearest village is several tens of kilometers away. That there is no connection. There are no cars. And you, going with your wife, with your husband, with your children, with the people you love, risk the most precious thing you have. As for the instructors, they should be professionals, not just "cool", "risk" guys.
16. Hydro hang-glider 31.07.07
fell into the river Katun from a height of 300 meters due to a fallen wing. A teenager from the Republic of Korea who bought an air excursion crashed on this hydro hang glider. The Barnaul Transport Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident in the Chemalsky District of the Altai Republic. The operational-investigative group arrived in the area of the incident on August 2. The Aviachim-hydro hang glider, which belongs to the class of an ultralight aircraft, belongs to a resident of Barnaul, who "worked" on it, providing services to tourists who want to look at the area from the air. The pilot of this vessel is the coach of the children's youth sports school in Barnaul. On July 31, at about 7:40 p.m., he took a teenager from the Republic of Korea, born in 1992, on board the plane and took off with him into the sky. 10 minutes after takeoff, the wing of the aircraft collapsed, and from a height of 300 meters the aircraft fell into the Katun. After the fall, the pilot independently got out of the cockpit and kept afloat. The passenger remained in the cockpit and showed no signs of life. Some time later, water tourists from a passing raft helped get out of the water, after which the pilot was taken to the Chemal Central District Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a closed fracture of the left hip, blunt abdominal trauma. The body of the passenger was sent to the morgue in Gorno-Altaisk. On the same day on the fact of violation of traffic safety and operation rules air transport which negligently caused the death of a person, the Barnaul transport prosecutor's office initiated a criminal case (part 2 of article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Recall that last year, in 2006, a Corvette seaplane fell into Lake Teletskoye and sank, killing 3 people. The reason is the human factor.
17. The Bashkaus River - the death of a Yekaterinburg kayaker from a cliff and his search
(collected and restored from numerous publications).
August 1 (July 30 - 31), 2007 in the Altai Republic during the passage of the water route along the river. Bashkaus at the end of the "Lower Gorge" was lost 28-year-old tourist (kayaker), television operator, from Yekaterinburg Andrey Eremin. Information about this was received by rescuers on August 1 from the head of a group of tourists, unregistered with rescuers and uninsured, we add that does not yet have issued route documents, consisting of 15 kayakers. The group passed water route VI category of complexity on the river. Bashkaus from the village. Karakudyur to the mouth of the river. Chebdar. During the rafting, one of the participants, Andrey Eremin, being afraid to pass the next threshold, decided to move by land (he had a portable radio set) from the mouth of the Kyzylgykh River, a tributary of the Bashkaus River, and, naturally, lagged behind a group of kayakers (or deliberately refused to raft in order to go out on foot from the gorge, assessing his capabilities as a kayaker in rain flood conditions, but, as it turned out, overestimated his climbing capabilities). The group took his kayak and continued rafting. The last time Andrey got in touch with the group by radio, he crossed the Kyzylgykh River on July 30th. The next day, July 31, the group completed the passage of the Lower Gorge, left the mouth of the river. Chebdar to the highway and, without waiting for Eremin, went to the Ulagan regional center, from where the leader informed the rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Altai Republic about the incident by phone. Having received the message, the rescue service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations began search and rescue operations. Six people were involved in the search in the Ulagansky region, but the search by such forces on difficult terrain did not give any results and they were stopped due to the fact that the further route is very difficult to pass and requires special mountain equipment and watercraft. ( V.V.'s talk: Did the rescuers really not know where they were going and, accordingly, were not equipped?). It was planned to involve a helicopter in the search at this stage, but the Ministry of Emergency Situations stopped the search, since the group was not registered, Andrei has no insurance, and since there is no one to pay for the helicopter, he is not sent. The kayaker's friends gathered in Yekaterinburg and decided to go in search of him. The first group of volunteers was organized by Andrey's friend Anton Khudozhnik. They insisted on the resumption of search work by rescuers and raised money for a helicopter. The first group of eight people headed by Anton Khudozhnik set off from Yekaterinburg. Andrey's friends, quite logically, immediately intended to connect a helicopter to the search and had a good idea that it was inconvenient for a helicopter to land there mountain gorge, but still the helicopter had to be raised, at least for search. If the search from the helicopter was not successful or the money ran out, they were determined to search on foot. They have been looking for Andrei without a helicopter for a week, and so far to no avail. The chances of finding him alive are estimated by specialists to be 50/50. ( V.V.'s talk: if we exclude an accident, then there were precedents for a successful exit from the Lower Gorge, so there were much more chances to get out, especially since the place and direction of the exit were known). But the rescuers used the helicopter only after the arrival of his friends in Altai. Finally, Andrei's friends arrived in Altai - eight people, some of them will go to the place where Andrei was last seen, by car. ( V.V.'s talk: By car, you can only drive up to the beginning and to the end of the Lower Gorge of the Bashkaus River, this is too little). The volunteers decided to explore the area on foot. By the end of the week, 20 more volunteer friends will arrive to help them. In the meantime, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Anton Khudozhnik began a search - on a helicopter, which was finally brought to the search. It should be noted that the helicopter was sent to search only when Andrey's friends arrived and paid the rent of the aircraft, since the group from which the kayaker fought off was not registered and not insured. Already at 3 o'clock in the helicopter's operation, from the air, rescuers noticed a man resembling Andrey Eremin lying on one of the Altai rocks. Anton the Artist suggested that Andrei was unconscious, as he was very exhausted, and was sure that his friend was alive. He probably climbed a rock, but most likely his strength was depleted and he lost consciousness ( V.V.'s talk: strange assumption. When climbing a rock, they do not lose consciousness. It is lost only when falling off a cliff, after a corresponding blow). After discovering and determining the location of a person lying unconscious on a rock, the task arose of how to raise him. The attracted helicopter could not land and even hover here. The terrain in this place is very complex. Landing at the scene is difficult due to the steepness of the gorge and the abundance of trees. Only the Mi-8 helicopter can work here, but the Ministry of Emergency Situations does not have it now. As Andrei's friends found out, such helicopters at that time were generally a rarity in the Altai Mountains. I had to return, marking a place on the map to search for the Mi-8 helicopter. At first, they found out that the Mi-8 was in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kemerovo Region, they even agreed that it would fly in search, but they could not use it, since the head of the central office first stated that the weather was bad, and then that the helicopter was being repaired. ( V.V.'s talk: perhaps this is the right decision, because the wound from the loss of a group of snowboarders and the crew of a military helicopter that has not previously flown in Altai mountains). Andrey's friends can't find a MI-8 helicopter that would help them get to the rock where their friend is lying. They turn to the rescuers of Novosibirsk and Barnaul to use their helicopter (and find out that the rescue services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in southern Siberia do not have helicopters at all and the rescuers use rented flights or order flights from the forest guard).
After Andrei was found, at 10 am, a group of rescuers went to the place where he was lying, but it was a long walk and the path was technically very difficult, so it is unlikely that rescuers would arrive at the place that day. At the same time, if a MI-8 helicopter had been sent to the rocks where Andrei is located, it would have been possible to save a lot of time. Meanwhile, Andrei has been unconscious for at least a day, but his friends are sure that he is alive. The Russian Emergencies Ministry said they are aware of the situation, and rescuers on site are doing everything possible to save the tourist. The Ministry of Emergency Situations make a decision to land a group of rescuers from an existing helicopter to a more distant place from the rock, where a kayak was found lying motionless and at the same time forbid Andrei's friends to go to the place of his discovery on foot, referring to the lack of a specially trained instructor. ( V.V.'s talk: were all Eremin’s friends really not prepared to work in a rocky gorge and they couldn’t be given an experienced rescuer or two, three ... Nobody closed the area, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations cannot prohibit the exit of a group of volunteers, as well as refuse registration, which is so often say in the press).
Another Mi-8 with a mountain crew was found in Barnaul, but, most likely, on this day, before dark, he would not have time to take off. A few days after the discovery of the scene of the tragedy, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations with a helicopter began to lift the body of Andrei Eremin. The fact that the found body belongs to Andrei Eremin, by this time, the rescuers had no doubts. Since friends identified his clothes from a helicopter. It was assumed that the rescuers, after lifting the body into a helicopter, would deliver it to the nearest morgue, where doctors would conduct an examination and establish the cause of death. ( V.V.'s talk: if possible, too much time has passed). In the meantime, the identification of the found body has not passed, the relatives and friends of Andrei Eremin hope that it is not him. On August 13, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported in a helicopter that the body of Andrey Eremin had been lifted from the cliff. The fact that this is the body of a Yekaterinburg kayaker, his friends from that moment do not doubt, Andrei's brother Pavel said, because Anton Khudozhnik participated in the operation to lift the body and identified Andrei Eremin. Neither the rescuers nor Andrei's friends prefer to talk about the exact cause of death until the rescuers take the body to the morgue and an examination is carried out there. Presumably, the kayaker fell off the cliff, which caused death - such a conclusion was made by the doctors of Altai. The injuries on the body are very serious, so Andrey Eremin was brought to Yekaterinburg in a closed zinc coffin. Andrey's father and his friend Anton Khudozhnik collected certificates and materials that can confirm that the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Gorny Altai conducted a search and rescue operation unforgivably long, and the ministry itself is not provided with equipment and does not have a flexible structure. Relatives and friends of Andrei on the fact of the protracted rescue operation turned to the Minister of Emergency Situations Shoigu and the President of Russia V.V. Putin.
18. When climbing the Peremetny pass on 04.07.07
Alexei Rasskazov, a tourist from Moscow, went missing. The search continues for a tourist from Moscow, who, according to the preliminary version, fell off the Peremetny pass on August 8, 2007.
19. When climbing the Kupol pass (North-Chuysky Range) in the Altai Republic on 07.07.07.
Sergey Polyakov, a member of a tourist group from Biysk, broke loose and received a head injury. The victim was taken to climbing camp"Ak-Tru", where he died from his injuries. The body of the deceased was taken to the morgue. Kurai.
V.V.'s talk: Dome Pass (1B, 3565m, snow and ice). Location: Severo-Chuysky ridge, peak Dome of Three Lakes. Slope orientation: north-south. Connected valleys: river valley. Aktru and the river valley Dzhelo. Total travel time: depending on the chosen route from 5 to 7 hours.
20. In the mountains, the area of Krasnaya Polyana 09.08.07
lost a group of tourists of ten people, four of whom are children. Presumably, tourists are at an altitude of 2.5 thousand meters above sea level in the region of the Malalaba River. On August 1 (nine days ago), the group left the Kuban village. Kropotkino and went to mountainous area. On August 9, in the morning, one of the members of the group called the rescuers and said that they had lost their way. The stock of food that the tourists took with them was designed for seven days. On July 10, 2007, rescuers from a Mi-8 helicopter found the tourists in the area they were supposed to be and took them to Adler. On August 10 at 11:00 a.m. the helicopter landed in Adler with 10 people on board, all alive and well. Before the hike, tourists did not register with rescuers who could advise tourists: what to do if you get lost in the forest, where to go, what to eat, how to sleep. But whether the group had issued travel documents is not reported.
21. Incidents on the water as of August 14, 2007
In the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Altai, a significant increase in tragic accidents with tourists is associated with an increase in the number of tourists: the weather conditions this season are very favorable for recreation.
July-August 2007 years on the river Katun happened ( V.V.'s talk: registered) 7 incidents on the water, 2 people were rescued, 6 people died (including 1 child), 6 people went missing. ( V.V.'s talk: 14 people were injured in total. In 2006, during the same period, 4 people died on the water. Since the beginning of July 2007 on the river. Katun state inspectors of the GIMS for small boats of the Altai Republic conducted 14 raids and patrols. 60 violations of the requirements of the Rules for the Use of Small Vessels and the Rules for the Protection of the Life of People on the Water were identified. 60 administrative offense protocols were drawn up, fines were imposed in the amount of more than 30,000 rubles.
22. A tourist from the Nizhny Novgorod region died in Gorny Altai on August 24, 2007.
During rafting on the Chulyshman River in the Ulagansky district of the Altai Republic, a tourist from the Nizhny Novgorod region died. According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Altai, the traveler fell out of the raft while passing the river. The body of the deceased was delivered to the city of Gorno-Altaisk. In total, since the beginning of the year, six tourists have been injured in the Altai Republic, 11 have died and four have gone missing, the Ministry of Emergency Situations noted.
23. All Russian tourists, cut off from the world by the elements, are rescued in the Himalayas. 29.09.07
employees of the Russian embassy in India assured that there were no other Russians in the Himalayas apart from those rescued. Four Russian tourists- Georgy Churakov, Sergey Kazakov, Svetlana Kazakova, Sergey Mamukhov - were blocked in the Indian part of the Himalayas due to bad weather. In addition to four Russians, seven German citizens and an Australian were missing. According to Andrei Zhiltsov, the organizer of routes in the Indian Himalayas, four Russian tourists are at an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level. Four Russian tourists are rescued in the Himalayas.
News agencies reported that about a hundred tourists, including Russians, disappeared in the Himalayas after a snowfall, later it turned out that the panic was raised in vain. The Russian Embassy in India reported that four Russian trackers were stuck in the mountains - by 15.00 all of them were safely evacuated. Due to snowfall in the mountains, about a hundred climbers disappeared, including several Russians. Several groups of tourists from Russia, Germany and Australia, as well as their Indian guides, disappeared in bad weather. After a heavy 36-hour snowfall, contact was lost with them. Local authorities reported that an urgent rescue operation was being prepared. One person died. Soon the Russian embassy in India denied the report of dozens of missing people and victims: “These are stories. Information about the disappearance of tourists in the Himalayas is not true. In fact, according to the embassy, tourists, including Russians, did not disappear, but got stuck in the mountains due to snowfall. All this time they kept in touch with them, and when a woman in the group became ill, she was evacuated at the first opportunity. Four Russians: Georgy Churaev, Sergey Mokhov, as well as a married couple Sergey and Svetlana Kazakov, made a pedestrian crossing along the route Gangodri - Badrinath at altitudes of 4 - 5 thousand meters. Together with Russian trackers (tourists), three tourists from Germany set off on the journey. The group began the campaign on September 17, and on the night of September 20-21, bad weather blocked it in the mountains. Heavy snowfall, which did not stop for more than 36 hours, locked tourists in the mountains. Svetlana Kazakova developed altitude sickness - the woman's body could not properly adapt to the altitude. In order not to develop cerebral edema, she had to be urgently taken to the hospital. Travelers who had a satellite phone with them contacted the rescue services. The Russian embassy, having learned about the incident, asked for help in carrying out the operation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of India. Due to bad weather, the rescuers managed to reach the place only two days later. Two army helicopters spotted the tourists. They were delivered food and medicine, and Kazakova was evacuated. She is in the hospital and her life is out of danger. Four Russian tourists, who found themselves blocked in the Indian Himalayas due to bad weather, were taken by helicopter to the nearest settlement. According to the director of the travel company that organized the trip, Sanjay Saini. "I have great news - all the members of the group - four Russian tourists and four Indian guides - were rescued," he said. A group of four Russian tourists, accompanied by local guides, one of whom received frostbite, made a two-day hiking trip to a popular pilgrimage site - the village of Badrinath in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, where the Hindu shrine is located, the agency's source said. The weather in the climbing area deteriorated three days ago, it began to snow, and the roads to Badrinath, which is located at an altitude of about three kilometers above sea level, were destroyed by landslides in several places. Russians and several other groups of tourists from different countries were cut off from outside world in the area between Badrinath and the nearest settlement of Joshimath, which is located below. The operation lasted two hours and ended at 3.30 local time (2.00 Moscow time). Svetlana, who suffered from mountain sickness, was the first to be evacuated and placed in the Joshimatha hospital, her health is not in danger. Next to her are two other Russians. The fourth was flown by an Air Force helicopter to Badrinath due to the weather. “From there to Joshimath, an hour and a half by car, the road has already been cleared, so he will soon be reunited with his comrades.” A group of eight people was evacuated from a height of 4480 meters, the height of the snow cover there was almost two meters. “You have no idea what I went through, how I prayed that the sky would clear up so that the helicopter could make another flight.” From Joshimath, tourists will be sent to a military airfield in the village of Bareilly, after which they will return home. “Some of them were planning to visit the high-mountainous village of Kedarnath, but I won’t take them there - it’s too big a risk,” said the director of the travel agency, who organized the rescue operation at his own expense. So far, nothing is known about the fate of other foreigners - Germans and Australians, as well as several groups of Indian tourists, who, along with their escorts, were cut off from the outside world by bad weather. Usually the season of travel to high-altitude shrines in the Indian Himalayas, which annually attract thousands of pilgrims from all over India and foreign tourists, ends in October, but this year the cold snap came unexpectedly and ahead of schedule.
24. Early October 2007
in the Garhwal Himalayas, an accident occurred with a Russian group of tourists, as a result of which two people died of diseases. On September 27, 2007, a group of Russians of 10 people, without issued travel documents, went from Gongotri to Badrinath. The route of passage is a standard trekking from Badrinath to Gongotri, 92 km long. The first part of the route (2/3 of the distance) is a gradual ascent with a climb relative to sea level: from 3000 m to 6000 m with access to the pass. The second part of the route (1/3 of the distance), descent from 6000 m to 3000 m. Most of the route passed in snowy conditions atypical for this time of year: along the path covered with a significant layer of snow. For acclimatization, 2 radial exits were planned: first from a height of 4000 m to 4600 m and in the middle of the route from 4500 to 5500 m. First radial outlet was carried out, the second due to bad weather conditions and, as a result, behind schedule, was not. Weather conditions: at the end of September, a cyclone came too early in the Garhwal Himalayas, and a large amount of snow fell. In the first part of the route from 23.09 to 03.10 the weather was unstable, it often snowed. The second part of the route took place in clear weather: during the day in the sun up to +25 degrees, and at night it is cold down to -15 degrees. On October 15, a cyclone with heavy snowfalls again came to the mountains.
25. In the Katun Ridge on 10.10.07
from the top of the Mensu Glacier ( Mountain Altai) rescuers evacuated the body of a tourist who died two years ago (2005). Rescuers evacuated the body, presumably one of the members of a tourist group from the Republic of Belarus, who went missing at an altitude of about 4000 m under the Eastern Belukha peak in July 2005 as a result of a snow and ice collapse. Presumably, this is a citizen of Belarus, Kirill Korshak, who fell under an avalanche in 2005. As ITAR-TASS was informed in the Siberian Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation in Krasnoyarsk, the man's body was found after an avalanche and melting of ice on Mount Belukha.
Recall that the tragedy occurred on July 20, 2005, when a huge mass of snow and ice collapsed on the camp of mountain climbers from Minsk, located on the slope of the mountain. Belarusian tourists at that time were preparing breakfast. Four people were killed and five tourists were injured. The bodies of two dead Belarusians - Alexander Prokhorov and Vladimir Belanovsky, were found, but the bodies of the group leader, 54-year-old Georgy Moskalev and 28-year-old Kirill Korshak, could not be found. Mount Belukha, where the tragedy happened, is the highest point in Siberia (4506 meters above sea level). On the slopes of the Belukha massif and in the valleys, 169 glaciers with a total area of 150 square kilometers are known. The case with the Belarusian group, which occurred in July 2005, is far from the first in a series of unfortunate incidents. For example, in 2002, four Russian travelers also died under a sudden avalanche, and on July 20, 2004 (to the same day with the “Belarusian” tragedy), while climbing Belukha, a 33-year-old climber from Bryansk fell into the abyss and died. Local rescuers several dozen times a year have to rescue climbers of mountain peaks who have got into emergency situations here by helicopter. Locals believe that on the top of Belukha there is a country of spirits. They say that everyone who wants to get close to her innermost secret is thrown off the mountain.
26. Around 17:00 24.10.07 (local time)
on the Yurunkash River in China, as a result of a coup of two catamarans, the head of the expedition, Honored Master of Sports, seven-time champion of Russia Chernik Sergey Ivanovich and his son, two-time champion of Russia Chernik Ivan Sergeyevich, died. On October 27, 2007, at about 5 p.m. (local time), when the remaining members of the team of Sergei Chernik on the Yurunkash River in China tried to leave the area of the campaign, as a result of a catamaran coup, two-time Russian champion Smetannikov Vladimir Borisovich died and Tishchenko Dmitry Ivanovich went missing. Details of accidents and their analysis are given in this collection.
27. In autumn 2007, near the Ioli weather station, in the Sovetsko-Gavansky district of the Khabarovsk Territory
at night, while drinking alcohol, a quarrel arose between those deployed camping tourists and a hunter from the village of Kopi. A drunken hunter fired indiscriminately at the people sleeping in the tent. Three tourists were seriously injured, resulting in one of them dying. The 51-year-old hunter was detained by local residents and locked up in a winter hut, not far from the Ioli weather station, so that he would not do stupid things. In the morning he was found dead. The hunter hanged himself before the investigators arrived in the winter hut. One of the tourists who received gunshot wounds died at the scene, two more were hospitalized. A criminal case was opened on the fact of the attack on Khabarovsk tourists ("Murder and attempted murder of two or more persons").
28. Rescuers of the city of Gorno-Altaisk 25.10.07
started searching for a twenty-year-old resident of St. Petersburg, about the loss of which the girl's mother sounded the alarm. She told the police that on October 2 her daughter had gone hiking in the mountains from the city of Gorno-Altaisk. Since then, there has been no news of her. Mobile phone tourist is not responding.
(V.V.'s talk: this is the very case when you really need to register with the Ministry of Emergencies, if you have not already issued travel documents, then at least inform in writing the thread of your route and the target dates to choose from: rescuers, close relatives and (or) close friends. It is most likely that the girl went to the mountains with a "wild" group or with a "wild guide". large group the abyss simply cannot go missing, since there are relatives, friends, there must be a deadline and a route. Since there were no statements about the disappearance of other tourists, it is most likely that there was no group, as such, and the girl simply left home. The safety recommendations above are based on the International Traveler's Code. And the Ministry of Emergency Situations can only be advised one thing: you don’t need to drive everyone under registration, you just need to understand who, first of all, is interested in the safety and control over the movement of “their groups and participants”. And this is not the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but organizations whose groups go on routes, including the IWC, travel agencies and federations. They know the routes and deadlines of their groups well and control them, interact with rescuers if necessary, but they do not particularly need total registration and control, as well as recommendations from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, because they know their business. Here it is necessary to clearly divide the powers. If the rescuers public service, then their work, for which they receive money, is rescue, and not warehousing of papers, and rescue at any time and in any place on an alarm call, and not according to pre-developed plans. Calculate how many routes on average one travel agency has, multiply by the number of travel agencies and by the number of arrivals and get a figure that is not real for registration and control. At the same time, there are quite a few "wild" groups and "wild" guides, and that's exactly what they need to deal with).
29. There was the first tragedy of mountaineering in new year holidays 02.01.08 in Gorny Altai.
In the Aktru gorge (Kosh-Agach district), a member of a group of climbers consisting of 3 people, a candidate master of sports in mountaineering, Mikhail Nedopoiko, who fell into a crack on the Small Aktru glacier, to a depth of about 15 meters, died. Climbers went without the organization of simultaneous insurance. The body of the deceased was removed by rescuers and taken to the Ak-Tru climbing camp, where it was handed over to representatives of the Novosibirsk region.
30. According to reports dated 07.01.08, that from 02 to 12 January in the Aktru gorge
rescuers are taking measures to ensure the safety of training camps for climbers from two regions of Siberia. Number of participants - 40 people, half - from Tomsk region, the other - from the Kemerovo region. On January 7, one of the participants of the training camp after a fall was injured in the knee joint. Rescuers sent a climber to the village. Aktash, where he received medical assistance. The condition of the victim is satisfactory, and he returned to the base in "Aktra"
31. When descending the Nizhny Novgorod group,
consisting of 5 people, a tourist from Nizhny Novgorod Arkady Karusevich and suffered a shoulder injury. Tourists could not raise the victim from the cave on their own, since he is at a depth of 240 m. Basargino, Altai region, received on January 7 from the participants of the descent. On the same day, the first group of rescuers arrived at the scene, descended to the victim and conducted reconnaissance. After the arrival of the second group of rescuers on the morning of January 9, an operation began to transport the victim to the surface. To do this, it was necessary to hang about 300 meters of safety railings. By evening, the rescuers of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Altai Territory had successfully completed work on transporting Arkady Karusevich from the cave. The second tourist from this Nizhny Novgorod group, Usanov A.S. Born in 1977, in the mountains, he received frostbite of 2-3 degrees of fingers of the right and left feet while walking to the cave on January 4. Both tourists were hospitalized on January 10 in the central district hospital of the Altai region, which is located 30 km from the scene. Whether the group's route documents were issued is not reported.
32. On the Severnaya River on July 5, 2006, 3 Moscow tourists were killed.
Rescuers are doing everything possible to search for Moscow tourists who disappeared last week while rafting on the Severnaya River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The area of work of rescuers has been expanded, it covers a large territory of the Turukhansk region. In the city of Igarka, on the banks of the Yenisei, a control and observation post was set up, where rescuers are on duty. They follow the course of the river. At this point on the Yenisei, a net will be set up, if only the flow of water will allow it. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 28 people and seven pieces of equipment (Mi-8 helicopter, two hovercraft, four watercraft) are involved in the search.
Five tourists from Moscow, having rented a helicopter, arrived on July 5 at the Severnaya River, located 119 kilometers from the city of Turukhansk, and began rafting on two catamarans. In the afternoon, on the rapids of the river, both catamarans capsized. The search for tourists began on July 6. On the same day, 12 kilometers upstream of the mouth of the Kol River, a tributary of the Severnaya River, two out of five tourists were rescued. Later, on July 11, the body of another tourist was found in the Turukhansk region. The fate of two more people remains unknown. The Severnaya River is a rapid river of IV - V category of complexity, on which only specialists of the highest category are allowed to raft. Without escort, without rescuers, without personnel specialists, it is impossible to work there. Even the rescuers say: the places are wild, the taiga is all around, the nearest settlement is more than 100 kilometers away. And right now the northern rivers are the most full-flowing. The disappearance of tourists could not be known for a long time, because the tourists, bypassing the safety rules, did not register with the local Ministry of Emergency Situations - the control and rescue service. They learned about the disappearance of tourists from the pilots of a local airline, who noticed inverted catamarans from the air. According to employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, accidents among amateurs extreme species sports originate, mostly from carelessness. People overestimate their capabilities, neglecting safety rules. It happens that highly qualified professionals also die - the element is the element, but the majority is still due to their own frivolity. “The trouble is that a lot of people, and especially newcomers, do not register with the search and rescue unit, which means they are not able to keep in touch when passing checkpoints and on the route,” says Yevgeny Borshchakov, head of the search and rescue unit and rescue of people at sea and water bodies. Experts believe that another problem is the fact that Russian amateurs extreme sports suffer from the so-called advanced amateur syndrome. This was stated by an experienced dive instructor, director of the diving center OK club Sergey Ogloblin, speaking at a round table dedicated to the problem of tourism safety. “After five dives, they feel like they are real pros. They neglect the minimum safety precautions, dive without special training and the necessary equipment, and even use the services of illegal diving centers,” Ogloblin said. The “Advanced Amateur Syndrome” is typical not only for divers, but also for lovers of other extreme types of recreation. “With such a dangerous mentality of tourists in Russia, there is no clear scheme for training instructor guides, the industry is full of amateurs,” said the director of the department skiing travel agency "Wind Rose" Vladimir Dubinin. - Certification on a commercial basis is passed by all and sundry. Moreover, in the Russian Federation there is, perhaps, not a single insurance company that could provide professional insurance to extreme tourists.” Experts believe that in order to prevent accidents, it is necessary to introduce financial and criminal prosecution for non-compliance with extreme safety measures and unjustified risk. It should be noted that this practice already exists in a number of European countries, for example in France. Another real way to solve this problem is travel insurance. According to the experience of other countries, the costs of the work of doctors and rescuers are paid by insurance companies.
One of the biggest stupidities in the tasks assigned to us was the work on Belukha (the highest point of Altai, 4.506 m). When we got to it, the snow lay, starting with a thousand and a half. Larisa sent a radiogram to Biysk with a request to cancel the work due to a large layer of snow, avalanche danger, etc.
We were reminded of our duty to the Motherland. Larisa did everything right: she tried to mitigate her responsibility for the accidents that she foresaw. Fate decreed that everything worked out for us. Other people have died.
At altitudes of more than three thousand, the layer of snow exceeded 1.5 meters. Below we did it in about a week, although five more men from another detachment were transferred to help us. I had to dig holes in the snow to get to the ground and take metal measurements, and it was desirable to bring the radiometer probe closer to the soil.
When we got to 1,500, we were allowed to thin the grid, but continued to demand that we shoot all the way to the top.
Two stationary camps were organized: one at the edge of the snow at one and a half thousand, and the second at three. A path about one meter wide was cut from one camp to another so that a horse under packs could pass along it. The trail meandered from the lower camp to the upper one, and at the height of the upper camp it went horizontally. The length of this "shelf" was 150-200 meters. There were radios in both the upper and lower camps.
Every morning, at dawn, I loaded onto Isterika everything that the guys in the upper camp needed (there were eight of the strongest and most experienced men) and went upstairs. Late in the evening I went downstairs with samples. It was necessary to go through the snow (especially the ledge) while it was frozen.
Several days passed and in the first half of the day a group of mountain tourists from Novosibirsk. There were eight of them: five men and three girls. They pitched a camp away from ours. According to them route map they had to climb to the top of Belukha. I was not present at the meeting, because I was in the upper camp, but Natasha later told me that they explained the whole danger of the route to the guys and offered to wait for me and go to the upper camp together in the morning. I repeat, I knew nothing about tourists. Somewhere around four o'clock in the afternoon we, in the upper camp, heard the sound of an avalanche, but did not attach any importance to this: avalanches came down often. At the beginning of the eighth I moved "home". I reached the "shelf" - there is no "shelf": it was blown away by an avalanche. I returned to the camp and told Brekhov: "Get in touch, you have to dig the shelf in the morning - it's blown away!" Volodya called Larisa, and she asked: "Do you have tourists?" "What tourists?" Larisa told. Both we and they rushed to the "shelf". We got there in 15 minutes, and walked from the bottom for almost an hour. They started screaming. Someone responds, but it's very quiet, and it's already dusk. Hard to see. Only those who lived then know what pocket flashlights of the 1960 edition are. Light from them, like from a candle - to light up the tent.
Why didn't anyone else die that night? Heaven saves fools ... Everyone climbed into the avalanche (or rather, into its frozen trail). Brekhov insisted that everyone tie a three-meter halyard to their belt, in case the avalanche started again and felled someone. We started from the shelf and went down. There are no probes, no light ... About an hour later, three hundred meters below the shelf, we found two. Alive and not very broken. Guy and girl. Found only because they lay practically uncovered. They let the guys down to the lower camp, and then Larisa demanded that everyone go to bed - in the morning they would look again, but there was no strength left.
By some miracle, we managed to contact Kosh-Agach, and we were promised a helicopter with rescuers and equipment in the morning.
We went out to the slope still dark. A couple of people on horseback with axes were sent to the nearest forest to chop sticks - probes. When the helicopter arrived at about eleven o'clock, we had already left the slope. The snow "released", and the avalanche could start moving again. During the morning we found three, or rather two living men and the body of one girl. Already five. Where are the other three? More than a day passed before they fell asleep. The hope of finding survivors was fading away.
Two rescuers arrived. The men brought a dozen factory probes, two stretchers, luboks and painkillers. One rescuer was also a paramedic.
They wanted to take out the two heaviest ones (I didn’t take the Mi-2 anymore), but the helicopter failed to take off. The pilot cursed: "Well, my engine should go for overhaul, but they sent it!" In short, a second helicopter flew in from Kosh-Agach, both of them took off with joint efforts and took out four alive ones, and we started searching for the remaining three.
We found another male body, the paramedic said that the guy did not wait for us and died of hypothermia. Two were never found. I heard that a year later one body thawed out, and one remained under the snow. On Belukha there is not one such.
The living said that their deceased leader did not wait for the temperature to drop and led them up the snowfield during the day. Everything was going well, but when they were walking along the ledge, the girl walking last threw a snowball at the leader walking first. He turned sharply and hit the snowy slope with his backpack, after which the snow "went".
Like this: the foolishness of the leader (candidate for master of sports in mountain tourism), one playful snowball - and four corpses, and four cripples!
Located in Altai, on the border with Kazakhstan, Mount Belukha (4509 m) is one of the most famous peaks in Russia. Akkem gorge, from which most climbing routes start, is popular with tourists because of the unique nature, wonderful views, and legends associated with this place.
The classic route to the summit is classified as 3A. Routes of this category require some technical skills, which, with a strong desire, can really be mastered in 1-2 days of classes. On the Russian side, the slopes of Belukha have a northern exposure - therefore, here you need to have good physical fitness and be prepared for the fact that even in summer you will have to work at temperatures down to -15. In this, Belukha is very different from the four-thousanders in the Caucasus and Asia - the climate here is much more severe.
When choosing equipment for climbing Belukha, you need to remember that the roads to it end 50 kilometers before the base camp. It turns out that the equipment should be suitable both for long transitions in the rain (in Altai, heavy rains for several days are not uncommon at all), and for hurricane winds and severe winter frosts. And in the backpack you will have to fit food, special and bivouac equipment. To be honest, it's not an easy task.
The peculiarity of climbing Belukha is that the whole event looks more like camping trip than for ordinary climbing camps. Here you will not return from short exits to a stationary camp. Almost every day begins with preparations, packing all the equipment in a backpack. This point should also be taken into account when choosing equipment.
They go to Belukha in winter and summer. And this is a completely different mountain. The equipment doesn't make much of a difference. The list below is for summer climbing. In winter, respectively, you need a warmer sleeping bag, a winter puff, double climbing boots, and, of course, you won’t reach in sneakers. If you are going to Belukha in the winter, the list of special equipment below needs some adjustments. We specifically noted those items of equipment that differ from the summer set.
Clothing, footwear, protective equipment
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It is advisable to take two sets: Thin thermal underwear made of Polartec power dry fabric for the approach. In case of hot weather, you can also have a T-shirt. Dense thermal underwear made of material like Polartec Power Stretch - for climbing and, possibly, for approaching in very bad weather |
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Breeches or trousers made of lightweight fabric |
needed for the approach. Another option is to wear shorts over thin thermal underwear. |
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Pants and jacket made of thin fleece |
Fleece acts as base layer |
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Membrane jacket and pants |
As mentioned above, rains in those parts are not uncommon. Clothing based on Gore-Tex pro is the most wear-resistant and impenetrable. |
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Lightweight puff or jacket with synthetic insulation |
If you already have a good puff, you can do without it, and not buy an analogue on synthetic insulation. However, keep in mind that the puff can get wet in a few days of approach. To prevent this from happening, the puff should be stored in a high-quality hermetic bag and not put on in bad weather without a membrane jacket until reaching the glacier. |
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Socks |
Two or three pairs (sets) of socks. Choose specialized models for trekking above the boot top. |
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Buff (Buff) |
In case of strong wind or sunburn. You can also use a balaclava, but most of the climb it will be too hot. |
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A cap |
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Sunscreen |
With a high protection factor |
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The road to the foot of Belukha passes along a forest path with a very difficult terrain. If you refuse to have a full-fledged spare shoe, you can very easily lose your chance to climb. Firstly, in case of bad weather, climbing boots can get wet, and it will be very cold to be on the glacier in them. Secondly, even in good weather, mountain boots always rub blisters, even in the conditions of ordinary climbing camps. Here, as soon as you get off the bus, you will have to make many hours of transitions every day. Both of these problems can be solved with lightweight trekking boots or running shoes. The main requirement for such shoes is the presence of a hard sole, with a tread suitable for moving under a backpack, over difficult terrain. Trekking shoes are usually lighter and more comfortable, but if you have ankle problems, it is better to use light or even medium trekking boots. |
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Climbing boots |
For the glacier on Belukha, classic climbing double-sided boots are suitable. For example, Scarpa Ortles GTX, Zamberlan 2090 Mountain Pro GTX, Asolo Aconcagua GV. If the shoes are not new, they must be impregnated before leaving, giving water-repellent properties. |
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(with margin) |
When climbing Belukha, you have to work in very different weather conditions. Modern multilayer gloves with membranes can stay dry after a day on the glacier. However, even slightly worn gloves sharply lose their moisture-proof properties; they are hot and uncomfortable to work at positive temperatures. In addition, the possibility of losing a glove cannot be ruled out - in such a situation, the importance of a spare pair can hardly be overestimated. For climbing Belukha, it seems appropriate to have one pair of multilayer gloves with a membrane (Arcteryx Zenta AR or Rab Guide) and a pair of lightweight gloves made of windproof material, such as Marmot Evolution. Also, on approach days, it's a good idea to have a pair of protective gloves, like the Camp Axion Light, BD Crag Glove, or the more comfortable Phenix Trekking 2 BK. |
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Personal special equipment
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Minimum 60 liters. Before choosing a backpack, it is worth clarifying the conditions for dropping off. Some firms offer to throw most of the cargo to Lake Akkem (2-3 days walk) on horseback. In this case, it would be best to have a bag of 70-100 liters, and a regular assault backpack of 40-50 liters. A backpack will be needed to carry the things necessary for spending the night during the launch and, of course, during the ascent. If you plan to cast without horses, then you can recommend a universal backpack, which will be used for both casting and climbing. It must have a volume of at least 65 liters, with a small dead weight. Very handy here will be a well-thought-out suspension system. This volume allows you to significantly speed up the daily gathering of the camp. In addition, practice shows that with a height of 180 cm, this backpack can be used even on technical climbs. Although, of course, a smaller backpack is better for storming the summit. |
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Lanyard mustache |
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descender |
If you work with your own ropes, the “basket” is better (BD ATC-Guide). For working with old stiff ropes that guides can hang, it is better to have a regular "eight". |
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Cats with anti-slips * |
The presence of anti-skids on the long summer snow and ice route is MANDATORY! For climbing Belukha, lightweight aluminum crampons like Grivel Air Tech, or more wear-resistant Grivel G10 will be enough. *For winter, you should choose a more technical model - for example, Petzl Vasak. |
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Ice ax * |
It is optimal to take a light ice ax, such as Camp Corsa. *On winter ice lightweight ice axes can be a real curse. With them, even cutting ice for cooking can take many times longer. Therefore, it is worth having something more weighty - classic ice ax models will be just right. (Grivel Nepal SA). |
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Helmet |
Preferably a lightweight model, such as the Petzl Meteor helmet. |
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strapping |
It also makes sense to take a lightweight harness. Lightweight yet fully adjustable Petzl Aquila. |
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Carabiners |
The optimal set of carbines for climbing Belukha:
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Personal equipment for bivouac and trekking
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Rug tourist |
Keep in mind that there will be overnight stays in the snow. A self-inflating mat is smaller than foam and provides better thermal insulation, but it must be transported inside a backpack and protected from punctures. |
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Sleeping bag |
Extreme -20. For climbing Belukha it is best to have sleeping bag made of high quality synthetic material. The climate there is quite humid, and every day you need to pack a sleeping bag in a backpack and it does not have time to dry. And whether the leaders of the event will take a rest day before going to the glacier and climbing is a big question. For this reason, a down sleeping bag here is a very risky option. |
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Tent |
Carry it for a long time, so it is better to choose the lightest four-season tent. |
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Thermos |
The optimal volume is 0.7-1 l. |
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Head Torch |
The group should have at least one powerful flashlight for night orientation, for example, Petzl XP, BD Storm or even better BD Icon. The rest of the participants can get by with simpler flashlights (Petzl Tikka+ or BD Cosmo) |
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Trekking poles |
You need a fairly strong model with a small weight. Compactness in assembled form is not so relevant. The time-tested Black Diamond Trail model will do just fine. It is very desirable to have enlarged rings with you so that the sticks do not fall into the snow - otherwise they can break very quickly. |