Mount Belukha: height, description, coordinates, interesting facts. All the sights of Belukha, legends and traditions ↓ In which mountain is Belukha Mountain located

World cinema has made more than one attempt to visualize paradise, one of the most beautiful and memorable for me is the film “What Dreams May Come” with Robin Williams in the title role. Traveling around the world, I became convinced that many places on the planet evoke delight and surprise, but if I imagined what paradise looks like, then the image of the Altai Mountains definitely appears before me. Yes, yes, not at all endless glossy, sugary beaches and villas on the equator... I adore mountains, and a trip to Altai was my first trip to the “big” mountains. Since then, I have seen the Alps and Andes, the Himalayas and the Tatras, all of them different and beautiful in their own way, but it is Altai that I consider the most vibrant and emotionally colorful mountain range in my travel collection.

Nicholas Roerich considered this peak one of several places on our planet through which the Earth receives the divine energy of the cosmos. Altai shamans clarify that Shambhala is located inside the sacred Belukha, but in a different spatial dimension.
Shall we walk to the foot of Belukha?

A very remote village in the mountains:

The locals here are not friendly at all (except for the fact that almost everyone is drunk):

The route was classic for this region - three days of travel to Lake Akkem along the Akkem River up and down the Kucherla River.

Epic shot :)

Those who don’t want to walk for three days can fly by helicopter :)

Akkem and Belukha... this was the first shot taken in the valley of the lake, and even though the photo was taken on a cheap but cool point-and-shoot camera at that moment, for me it refreshes the emotions of that evening when, after three days of walking with a thirty-kilogram backpack over my shoulders, I finally saw that same panorama of the crystal clear lake and the majestic slopes of Belukha...

Nearby there is an absolutely stunning place - the “Valley of the Seven Lakes”, we climbed here during a “day trip” on Akkem.

Akkem and Belukha are very popular places among followers of Roerich’s teachings. Nicholas Roerich considered this peak one of several places on our planet through which the Earth receives the divine energy of the cosmos. Altai shamans clarify that Shambhala is located inside the sacred Belukha, but in a different spatial dimension. And you can see it only in a modified state of consciousness, and this is not given to everyone.

"Museum on the opposite bank":

There was also a professional photographer near our camp, whose work I later identified on a photo site under the nickname neutral4nik. In the photo he is wearing a red jacket, he has stunning landscapes from Alatay to the Himalayas.

Mount Belukha is the highest point of the Altai Mountains (4506 m), crowning the Katunsky ridge.

In India, far in the south of Asia, they knew that in the north, in the mountainous country of Altai, on the right bank of the Katun, a multi-headed mountain rises high into the sky, the significance of which is equal to the world Mount Sumeru. In the Indian sacred Vedas it is written that Belukha is called upon to determine the “center of the four oceans,” since it is located almost at an equal distance from the three oceans - the Arctic, Pacific and Indian, for which it is called the “umbilical cord of the Earth” in ancient writings.

Belukha has several names, each nation has its own. One of the names that the Altai people themselves gave her is Tsagan-Ubugun - “White Old Man”. The gray-haired head of the “Old Man,” according to their ideas, reached the very top of the world, which is located near the Big Dipper.

In 1926, Roerich made an expedition to the Altai Mountains to the foot of Belukha. The Golden Mountains (according to one hypothesis, the word “Altai” came from the Turkic “altan”, “altyn” - “golden”) interested Roerich as the northernmost point of the mountainous world of Central Asia, as one of the main corridors along which ancient peoples moved from the center of Asia to the plains of Siberia and further to Europe. As a place of interest for its ancient culture and philosophy.

Not far from Belukha in the Uimon Valley, Nicholas Roerich found dozens of ancient monuments and burial structures of Altai unknown to science. In his diaries, the traveler, for example, mentions kereksurs (grave mounds made of large stones), “steles of nameless peoples,” “deer stones” (mysterious slabs covered with images of deer with antlers thrown behind their backs and with ornately twisted appendages), “stone figures” (sculptures of “women”, called kesers, which allow one to imagine in detail the cut of the clothes of the ancients). The local population associates the stone graves with legends about tribes that passed here long ago. For example, about a tribe with high culture, great knowledge and a wonderful name - Chud. According to the stories, the tribe was in mortal danger, and it was forced to leave through its secret underground passages in an unknown direction. There is a version that the local ancient mounds with stone rubble are the walled-up entrance to the mysterious dungeons of the Chud. Roerich immediately remembered the legend, widespread in India and Tibet, about the underground city of the Agarti people.

According to one legend, Belukha is the birthplace of Buddha; it was from here that he went to India and Tibet.

Our helmsman is Stas!

Such a mug of tea in the evening after a day of walking is absolute euphoria; no all-inclusive 5* cocktails will give you such a feeling!

"Tomsk sites" (3100m) on the glacier - this is the highest point of our hike. From here the climbers begin their ascent. Although we called this place “Tomsk overnights”.
During the day it is +30, at night -5 in July.

This is how the “Tomsk sites” look in panorama:

Serious guys, it’s not like we are mattress pads:

Parents of mountaineers also have children who spend their holidays on glaciers in a tent:

Extreme or hiking?

Of course, I love when the adrenaline tickles, I like extreme sports. But when traveling, I chose tourism and hiking without extreme sports. Mountaineering, kayaking and other extreme sports are not my thing. Life is beautiful and should be enjoyed, and not subjected to unjustified and pseudo-controllable risks. It's my opinion.

A helicopter from the Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuates a group of Belarusian climbers who fell asleep at the final stage before the ascent:

And we go down:

This picture is very consistent with real sensations (those in the subject will understand:):

On the way to Moscow, the train met European tourists who had flown to Asia from London and were then traveling back on trains traveling through transit points. There is even this guide:

These are the real adventures:

Technical details:

We traveled to Altai for a long time... by train overnight Kyiv-Moscow, two days - Moscow-Novosibirsk, night - Novosibirsk-Biysk and another whole daylight on the Gazelle to the village of Tungur...

Very, very beautiful mountains, absolutely incredible, diverse and rich nature. All this is Gorny Altai!

If you are promised “golden mountains”, then you will have to go to the Altai Republic. Because that’s where the so-called “Golden Mountains” are located. This large mountain range is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Belukha is considered the most beautiful of the “golden mountains”. Due to the unusual shape of the peak, it is also called the Three-Headed.

Roof of Altai

The height of Belukha reaches 4509 m. It is the highest peak in Altai and one of the highest in the country. It is located in the Altai Republic and is administratively “assigned” to the territory of the Ust-Koksinsky district. The mountain is actually the crown of the Katunsky ridge, through which the state border between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan passes. Since the peak is covered with snow all year round, this is where its name – Belukha – comes from.

Photo: The Golden Mountains of Altai are under UNESCO protection

In the distant past, natural elements had to work hard to create a beautiful landscape. Volcanism made a significant contribution. Mountain building continues to this day. Evidence of this was the powerful Chui earthquake, which occurred in 2003. Local residents believe that it was caused by the transfer of the so-called “Altai Princess” to the museum. Archaeologists dug up the mummy of a young woman on the Ukok plateau.

The mountain range willingly demonstrates its restive character. It is replete with cracks, faults and thrusts - signs of tectonic activity. The almost vertical northern slope is considered the most inaccessible. Significant areas on the mountain are occupied by screes and moraines, which make movement difficult. Geologists call these places “an open-air museum of geomorphological processes.”

Since Belukha is located in a dangerous seismic zone, there is a fairly high probability of witnessing a small earthquake. Most often these are small sharp jolts, from which the legs involuntarily give way. As a result, the danger of landslides and avalanches increases in the mountains. In theory, tremors with an amplitude of up to 8 points are possible!

Photo: The top of Belukha is always covered with snow

When planning to conquer Belukha, you should keep in mind that the climate here is far from heavenly. If the air temperature in the valleys on average fluctuates around +7°, then at an altitude of 4 km, even at the height of summer it can be -20°. It's even worse in winter. In January, temperatures often drop to -40° and can remain at this level until the beginning of spring. Most snow falls at an altitude of 3 thousand meters. The foehn reigns here - a gusty dry warm wind that blows from the mountains to the valleys. Perhaps it was named that way by analogy with a hair dryer.

kingdom of water

As you know, water can be in three states of aggregation - liquid, solid and gaseous. In the area of ​​low temperatures, ice reigns - there are 169 glaciers on the slopes of Belukha! They cover an area of ​​150 square kilometers. For comparison, Liechtenstein has the same dimensions. The mountain is covered on all sides by a strong shell of six large glaciers. A large amount of snow mass and the movement of glaciers inevitably leads to an increased risk of avalanches.

The largest glacier, 10 km long, is named after Vasily Sapozhnikov, a famous professor from Tomsk University. Using a special barometer, he determined the height of Belukha back in 1895. The Big and Small Berel glaciers have slightly smaller areas. All of them are slowly creeping down at an average speed of 40 m/year. Among them there are also record holders - for example, the Tronov Brothers glacier covers as much as 120 m during the year.

You should not think that the kingdom of water in the vicinity of the mountain is limited only to eternal ice. In mountain valleys, fogs are frequent guests, and streams and small rivers cannot be counted. Glaciers feed such relatively large rivers as Belaya Berel, Kucherla, Idegem and Akkem. All of them belong to the alpine type with maximum summer flow and minimum winter flow. The rivers are distinguished by their rapid flow. Sometimes turbulent streams form small waterfalls. The most picturesque of them is considered to be the Placer Waterfall. It was formed on the river of the same name, which is a tributary of the Katun.

There are also picturesque lakes. Water filled the carts - bowl-like depressions, as well as trough valleys - peculiar channels that were “dug” by glaciers sliding down. One of the large lakes is called Kucherlinskoye. It is located at an altitude of 1790 m on the northern side of the Katunsky ridge. It is home to grayling and rainbow trout. Another large lake is named Akkem. It is a natural monument.

Snow leopard's den

In 1997, Belukha and its immediate surroundings were declared a natural park of the same name. Unlike nature reserves, the protection regime in such formations is less strict. Among the local “Red Book” birds, it is worth noting the lentil (not to be confused with a plant of the legume family!), the golden eagle and the Altai snowcock. Hamster voles can be seen everywhere. Rarer representatives of the fauna include lynxes and mountain goats.

But the rarest animal in Altai is the snow leopard. It is also called the snow leopard. Previously, the animal was hunted for its beautiful skin. As a result, there are no more than 7 thousand individuals of this beautiful animal left in the world. Now hunting for it is strictly prohibited. The snow leopard is so rare that scientists have still not been able to fully study its habits and way of life.

The characteristics of the flora are determined by the elevations. Spruce, coniferous, fir and cedar forests stretch up to a height of 2 thousand meters. There are birch and rowan trees. Above, shrubs predominate, including honeysuckle, currants and raspberries. There are lingonberries. The meadow zone is grass. It is curious that on the slopes there are areas of tundra and even alpine swamps. The rarest plants are larkspur, rhodiola and aconite. And the assortment of wild onions alone includes more than 30 types!

Conquest of Belukha

For the first time, attention was paid to Belukha 300 years ago. Chronicle sources testify to this. However, it came to practice only in 1835, when the famous traveler Friedrich von Gebler, during an expedition to Altai, first determined the height of Belukha. The measuring instruments of that time were not very accurate, so the height was only 3362 meters. In 1895, the rector of Tomsk University Vasily Vasilyevich Sapozhnikov obtained a more accurate result. Thanks to him, the mountain “grew” to 4509 m.

Photo: The surroundings of Belukha are a great place to relax

After the scientists decided on the height, climbers took up the summit. Samuel Turner was the first to try to conquer Belukha in 1904. Alas, he failed. Only ten years later did the brothers Mikhail and Boris Tronov rise to the top. After this, the climbing path to Belukha did not become overgrown.

In recent years, exotic methods of conquering and developing Belukha have appeared. So in 2000, climbers Igor Levkin and Ivan Usanov paraglided from the peak for the first time. And three years later, Dmitry Shchitov skied down from it. The dizzying descent took only a couple of hours.

Belukha is a popular climbing object. Most often it is stormed from the south side. This climb belongs to the difficulty category 3A. The climb from the Tomsk sites has approximately the same level of difficulty. Athletes climb through the Mensu glacier and the Delaunay pass. The climb over Delaunay Peak is more treacherous. However, the most difficult method of climbing the Akkem Wall is considered to be the most difficult. It belongs to category 4A-4B.

One should not think that Belukha is exclusively a diocese of mountaineers and rock climbers. Classic tourists and just vacationers come to these places. On Lake Akkem they stop at the Belukha camp site, and on the Akkem River at the Vysotnik camp site. Guests are offered rafting on mountain rivers, horseback riding and hiking tours, car tours with fishing, as well as excursions around Belukha - to the Multin lakes and the Chulyshman valley.

How to get there

To conquer Belukha, you will first have to take a train or fly to Barnaul. From there there are buses to Gorno-Altaisk. The distance between the cities is about 300 km. From the capital of the Altai Republic to the mountain is another 250 km. From the bus station there are buses to the village of Tyungur. From here to the foot of the mountain is only 50 km. This section of the path will have to be walked or ridden on horseback.

Our tourist club offers the following hiking programs:

Tell your friends!

Some time ago I wanted to visit such a wonderful place as Mount Belukha (Altai) and after returning from the climb, I decided to write a couple of lines. I am writing for myself, in order to somehow structure what I saw and felt, and for those who want to learn more about Mount Belukha and the ascent to it (including ours).

The idea of ​​climbing Belukha was born about six months ago after a conversation with Rostislav from Climbing Brothers. Then he said that my experience was not enough to climb Lenin Peak and suggested that I try something more difficult than El. The choice fell on Belukha. So, in short, the idea was born to go to Belukha and the project #ShataiAltai2019

what we saw with our own eyes while climbing Belukha

I called out to the community “On the Edge”, so we gathered, and we are going to the highest peak of the Altai Mountains - Belukha (4509 m).

Until this moment, I had not been to Altai and everything that I saw on this trip and ascent was for the first time in my life. Never before have I climbed so deep into Russia, and here it is straight away - Siberia. Before the trip, I read almost nothing and did not look at the topic of Belukha and the Altai Territory, so as not to be distracted and not to form my own perception. This approach has the right to life when you go climbing with more experienced guides, and we had such in our team.

We'll talk more about guides below.

I’ll say right away that when I sat down to write this material, I didn’t quite understand what was worth talking about. During the 16 days that our team spent on the trip, so many events and dialogues happened that it would have been good to sit down with a small book. The length of an article for a blog requires less detailed attention to the facts, so if you still have questions after reading, please leave a comment and I will answer your points of interest.

In the meantime, let's begin.

Mount Belukha Altai - description, characteristics, height

photo of two Belukha peaks from the camp at the Tomsk sites (on the left - Eastern, on the right - Western)

Mount Belukha (Three-headed)- is located in the Altai Republic, located in the Ust-Koksinsky region, part of the mountain system of the Altai Mountains and belongs to the Katunsky Range massif. Belukha is located on the border of 2 countries: Russia and Kazakhstan. Since Belukha is located in a zone of seismic activity, avalanches and rockfalls occur quite often in this area. They say that in a few years, it is quite possible that the route we took to the top simply will not exist.

New cracks, faults and cliffs will appear in the places where we have passed and the path will disappear forever.

Mount Belukha height (Three Peaks)

• Eastern Beluga— height 4509 meters above sea level,
• Western Beluga— height 4435 meters above sea level,
• Peak Delaunay— height 4260 meters above sea level.

Mount Belukha Altai Mountains - coordinates on the map

• Latitude - 49°48’26.7
• Longitude - 86°34’53.5

How to get there and how to get to the foot of Belukha

Our expedition was represented by participants from Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Hong Kong. We flew from our cities through Moscow, then flew to Barnaul, and from there we headed to the village of Tungur, which is located 600 kilometers from Barnaul airport.

Aeroflot, which we flew, in Sheremetyevo managed to lose our luggage, and this did not give us the most vivid impressions. After all, if the luggage had not been brought the night before leaving on the route, then everything would have been very bad. By the way, Aeroflot managed to lose my luggage on the way back, and my backpack arrived in Kaliningrad only on the second day after my arrival.

Below I will briefly tell you about the route we took to get to the foot of Belukha.

Barnaul - Tungur village - Vysotnik-1 - Three Birches

From Barnaul to Tungur it’s a 12-hour drive by minibus along the Chuysky tract, which becomes really bad after Ust-Kan. Pit on pit. Arriving in the village of Tyungur, we stopped at the Vysotnik-1 base, which is the starting point for people who go to see or climb Belukha. A lot of different things have been written about “Vysotnik” on the Internet. I will say that I liked it for the most part.

cafe on the road to Tyungur

the famous bridge in Tungur over the Katun River

at the camp site Vysotnik-1

After spending the night here, we threw our backpacks and bodies onto the “Gaz-66” (in the common people Shishiga) and set off through the passes, the names of which I no longer remember, to the “Three Birches” parking lot. This journey took us about 2 hours.

on Gaza-66 through the pass through the forest to Three Birches

Three Birches - Vysotnik-2

From Three Birches we had to walk about 22 kilometers with backpacks weighing 25-30 kg (we carried food, tents, equipment, clothes) to the Vysotnik-2 base, which is located 3 km from Lake Akkem. We walked first through the forest, then along the bed of the Akkem River, which originates from the lake of the same name.

along the Akkem River

The 22 km trek took us 2 days (there). At the end of the first day, we saw Belukha with our own eyes. I won’t say that at that moment I was greatly struck by what I saw. I was busy with questions about the hike and all my thoughts were about how to carry my not-so-small backpack to the parking lot.

over there on the horizon - Belukha

The path we followed is a separate matter. Forest, stones, roots. It's not like walking on asphalt in the city. When we went to the ascent, we were full of strength. On the way back down, it started to rain and this path turned into a muddy and wet hell) I repeatedly slipped and fell (despite trekking poles) and I still don’t understand how I didn’t break something or twist myself.

The water in the Akkem River is icy, but everything is wonderful for Victor)

Arriving on the second day of the hike to the Vysotnik-2 base, we stopped for the night. We spent the night under the roof, in relative warmth, which was very useful. In general, the issue of maintaining heat during mountain hikes and trekking is one of the critically important topics. If you are wet and cold, then your strength will leave you very quickly. That is why it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of things, sleeping bags, tents and dry them in a timely manner.

Vysotnik-2 – Tomsk parking lots

From the second Vysotnik, our path ran past Lake Akkem to the Tomsk sites. And it was one of the three most difficult days (in my opinion) of the hike. We walked about 17 km in a day. Our path ran past the border post on the lake, past the chapel of the Archangel Michael, then over huge stones (kurumnik), then along the glacier and all the way to the parking lot. And almost all the time we had to walk, gaining altitude.

access to Lake Akkem

The most difficult part of the path begins just beyond the lake. You are walking with a heavy backpack along the kurumnik. No, you're not going. You crawl, you creep, you climb, you get angry because of this stone chaos. You have to constantly be attentive, be on the alert and find balance so as not to stumble or fall apart. If you were injured during such a transition, you could immediately forget about the climb.

up the hill

they say this is the highest chapel in the world - the Chapel of the Archangel Michael

Having galloped around the kurumnik to our heart's content, and having visited the chapel of the Archangel Michael, after some time we moved to the glacier and, in addition to the stones, we had the chance to see huge masses of ice and snow, interspersed with boulders. I remember that at some point I joked that the trek to Belukha is an opportunity to visit several worlds at once: the world of greenery, the stone world and the kingdom of ice and cold. I remember how we walked, but the glacier did not end.

Akkem glacier and our guys are going up

It was truly an endless road to the top, in not the best weather. It took us about 9 hours to travel from Lake Akkem to the Tomsk sites. The dogs are tired.

Lera on the Akkem glacier

Arriving at Tomskiye, we had to pitch a tent and prepare food. The weather completely deteriorated - a piercing wind was blowing, rain was dripping, the temperature dropped to zero. And this is summer in the mountains.

photo of camp “Tomsk parking”

I wanted to take off my wet clothes. Get into the sleeping bag. Fall asleep. That’s what I did, having first taken a couple of antigripin tablets for prevention, because I was starting to shiver.

Snow and ice activities (SLZ)

The next day, snow and ice activities awaited us on a nearby glacier with the funny name “Watermelon”. We learned to use ice axes, cut ourselves off when we fall, walk in crampons and ropes, rappel and jumari.

view of the Arbuz glacier from the Tomsk sites

Jumaring is a technique for climbing a steep wall using a special device called a “jumar.” Zhumar can climb up the rope and prevents him from sliding down.

But rappelling is the opposite, the process of going down steep slopes. During it we used a simple piece of hardware called a figure eight. It stops the rope under the influence of friction and prevents it from flying down. This technique is used when descending steep slopes.

Why is SLS performed? The answer is simple - to survive. Without knowledge of technology there is nothing to do on serious ascents. That is why, even before the trip to Belukha, we practiced these elements in Kaliningrad at the climbing wall, and practiced SLZ on Elbrus last year. Therefore, he says that we were complete “zeros”, I would not.

Tomsk sites - Delaunay pass - Mensu glacier

Panoramic view of Mount Belukha from the Tomsk sites - Belukha in the center, dark on the left - Delone Peak (cut off), on the right (above the tent) - Western Belukha

The next day, early in the morning (04-00 am, if I’m not mistaken) we went out to the Delone Pass in order to climb it and go to the assault camp on the Big Berelskoye Saddle (BBS), from where we went out to storm Belukha.

The Merry Turtle Club approaches the Delaunay Pass

This is where all the skills acquired at SLZ came in handy. The Delaunay Pass is a climb of 250-300 meters with a slope of 45-50 degrees at an altitude of about 3400 meters above sea level. You climb it with a backpack, using a harness (system) and a jumar. You fasten yourself into different ropes and gradually crawl higher and higher.

As a person who has always been afraid of heights, I preferred not to look back, because the height was very decent for me. The main thing was to focus on the task “here and now” and just do your job. Hence the small number of photos and videos from this climb.

This is what people see when they climb the Delaunay Pass and look back

We crawled up for two hours. When we climbed up, the snow-covered beautiful valley of the Mensu glacier opened in front of us, through which our further path ran. This is incredible. I remember, and I get goosebumps. Endless snow fields, to the left and right - mountain peaks, and in the center - a narrow path along which we had to walk. The weather was calm, the sun was frying in a frying pan so that the snow melted underfoot.

When we walked through the snow in a bundle, I began to fall through and had difficulty walking forward knee-deep in the snow.

View of the Mensu Glacier from the Delaunay Pass

nice 3D graphics showing where we were going. Taken from open sources.

It wasn't an easy path for me. Walking together in deep snow is still a pleasure. We walked over the gaps and were thirsty. The water of those places, extracted from snow, is not rich in minerals and salts. It's almost a distillate. Even isotonic drinks don't really help. You drink, the feeling of thirst leaves you for 5 minutes, then comes back again. Hot. Sunlight reflected from snow and ice is blinding, and only glasses can save you. Without glasses you will quickly go blind and lose your vision.

All these memories now seem chaotic to me, and the difficulty of the route is gradually forgotten.

I remember that when we passed the plateau called “Frying Pan”, a descent awaited us. We dropped the altitude so that we could then start climbing up the pass again to the assault camp. By then I was almost exhausted, and the only thing that helped me was to take off my things, stay in thermal underwear (it was very hot) and follow a simple plan.

I walked, taking 10-15 steps, alternating them with stops to breathe. 5 inhalations and exhalations and forward again. It was quite difficult to breathe, as the altitude was already more than 3000 meters above sea level.

crossing the Mensu glacier to the assault camp. Just before the altitude drop.

In general, on this trip, I experienced some strange things with my physical form. I seemed to be preparing, running, walking, working out - but still, it was harder than I initially expected. I don't have an answer as to why this happened, honestly.

One way or another, we reached the desired camp on the Big Berel Saddle. They arrived and fell. I laid out a foam mat and just lay down in the snow, because I simply didn’t have the strength to set up a tent right away. They appeared later, after the food that our guys who were on duty that day had prepared.

reached the assault camp and fell

Having set up the tent, we began to prepare for the ascent. We will, of course, talk about it later. In the meantime, it’s time to pause and tell you something about this.

Weather on Belukha in summer in June-July

Weather at the Big Berel Saddle on the day we arrived there

If they ask me about the climate on Belukha in the summer, I will answer briefly - harsh. During the time we were there, we saw almost everything. Heat and sun, rain and wind, snow and hail, partly cloudy and strong winds. Everything changes very quickly and I wouldn’t be sure that in an hour the weather will be the same.

That’s why you have to have several sets of clothes with you - from a light waterproof membrane jacket to a warm and heavy down jacket. And be prepared to constantly change clothes.

When we climbed to the top of Belukha, a very powerful wind was blowing there, but it wasn’t particularly cold. The temperature is around zero and the sun is shining. When we went back down to the assault, at night there was a storm with rain, which threatened to blow the tents away from the saddle and everything around was in fog. When we went there, the sun was shining and there was no wind at all. These are mountains, here everything changes instantly and you need to be prepared for anything. It makes sense to look at the current forecast only a day ahead.

In general, the temperature during our ascent (for the entire time) ranged from -5C to +20C. The partial pressure dropped as we gained altitude, and perhaps this was the reason why I experienced bouts of altitude sickness a couple of times.

The first time was during the ascent along the Delaunay Pass, the second time directly during the assault on the summit. Both times it felt like a drill was being screwed into my right temple. I think I got off cheap, because our guys had worse attacks. Overall, this is the second time the miner has spared me. There were almost no problems on Elbrus either, except for stomach surprises when I was shaking the mountains in the Cheget area.

The pressure at the top of Belukha is two times lower than normal - I found out this after returning home.

Photos and videos of Belukha

This time, realizing that a difficult (in every sense) climb awaited me, I did not take my FujiFilm xt-10 mirrorless camera with me and it stayed at home. Filmed exclusively on smartphone Huawei p20lite. Huawei survives its second mountain trek. All photos and videos of Beluga were taken by me on this smartphone, which, reinforced with a special protective case, goes to the mountains with me.

Since before the trip I had not resolved the issue with the solar battery, it was decided to take a 20,000 mAh power bank. I shot on Huawei in airplane mode and spent about 35% of the battery charge per day. It was enough for me to take photos and videos without fanaticism. At night, the phone and power bank were with me in my sleeping bag. The phone was completely turned off at night.

It’s good for you to have a rest on Belukha, they said...

By the way, one of the participants, Andrey, had with him a power bank and a Goal Zero solar battery - according to reviews, it’s a very cool thing, it works as it should in the mountains, accumulates charge and charges all devices as it should. The downside is the high price.

You can see some of my photographs, as well as those of our participants, in this article, as well as a video blog about climbing Belukha.

Video 1 - From Kaliningrad to Altai

Video 2 - Worlds of Altai

Video 3 - Mount Belukha: climbing to the top of Altai

Video 4 - Reviews about climbing Belukha

They write quite a lot about Belukha on the Internet. For example, the first ascent of this mountain was carried out in 1914 by the Tronov brothers, Arkady and Boris. But in my opinion, these are the ones that deserve attention, especially since we heard stories about them right on the spot from our guides and discussed these facts with them.

Messner on Belukha

In 1996, the world's most famous climber, Reinhold Messner, did not climb Belukha. Not having reached some 100 meters, he turned around and walked away, stopping the ascent. The official version is bad weather, the unofficial version is a woman. Messner was with his wife in Altai, collecting material for his book “Holy Montains” and filming parts of a documentary about the mountains in this region. It was decided to climb to the top with my wife and cameramen, but the weather decreed otherwise. Or maybe it’s not the weather at all, who’s to say now)

Skiing and paragliding from Belukha

In 2000 (July 20), a paragliding flight was made from Eastern Belukha by Igor Levkin and Ivan Usanov. And in 2003, Dmitry Shchitov performed an extreme descent along the Akkem wall (that’s a kicker). To go down, you first need to drag all the junk down there, if that)

Mysticism and esotericism

The top of Belukha is almost equidistant from the Arctic, Indian and Pacific oceans. It is believed that the center of the Eurasian continent is located here, and somewhere here the entrance to Shambhala and Belovodye is hidden. Fans of Roerich and Blavatsky are looking for the entrance to these mystical palaces and cannot find it. Probably not enlightened enough.

Climbing Belukha

But let's return to the story about our ascent. As you remember, we reached the Big Berel Saddle and the assault camp located there. I think from now on it’s worth telling in more detail, since it is the assault that is of interest to the majority of those reading these lines.

assault camp on Belukha, from here they go to the top of Altai and Siberia

But before we go forward, in every sense, I want to say a few words about the guides and instructors of our expedition. Moreover, I will not specifically list the regalia, but will simply write my subjective opinion about these people, as I remember them in this ascent. This is worth doing if only because, together with these instructors, our group climbed to the top in its entirety, which rarely happens.

our group before the start from Vysotnik-2

12 participants and three guides began the climb, rose, and descended unharmed.

Guides

• Vasily Emelyantsev(Climbing Brothers)
  Vasya is a wonderful person. He is very similar to one of my Kaliningrad acquaintances, in his communication and facial expressions. He loves to tell jokes (A little slower.. - forever in my heart), collected, attentive to details, has some kind of inhuman endurance and patience in dealing with people. Positivity and responsibility are Vasily’s main traits, in my opinion.
• Andrey Nekrasov(High-altitude climber)
  We didn’t communicate with Andrey very much, as he mostly walked in front with our fastest guys. The main strategist of our ascent has been walking in the Altai mountains for many years, knows all the places and apparently has some kind of inhuman endurance. At the moment, this is the most serious guide I have ever walked with in the mountains.
• Roman Kovalev(High-altitude climber)
  Roma was almost always somewhere nearby. We always walked together with him. Roman is a great lover of adventure, climbs mountains and caves, studies in graduate school, is outwardly very calm and friendly, but when the group is in danger, he switches to swearing Russian and begins to swear in unprintable words. Overall, a cool and sociable guy, especially if you ask him the right questions.

Upon arrival in Vysotnik, all management (strategic) of the ascent went into the hands of Andrei Nekrasov. Vasily Emelyantsev continued to study tactics. And this was the only true and correct decision, because Nekrasov has many years of experience “loitering” around the outskirts of Belukha and understanding how best and more efficiently to make the ascent successful.

For example, on the night of the climb we were divided into 3 groups: fast, medium and slow. Each team consists of 4 people + 1 instructor. The groups left at different times, starting at 01-00 with a break of half an hour. And this was done very opportunely, because we approached the top at about the same time.

I was in the middle group, and I remember exactly that I really wanted to sleep during the ascent, especially in the first part of the journey. I wanted to sleep because when I went to bed at 20-00 in the evening, I could not sleep - it was noisy in the camp. Moreover, it was our turn to be on duty, which meant getting up earlier than the rest of the group. Everyone had to be fed and thermoses filled with water.

Difficulty of the route to the top

Speaking about the complexity of the route, I will say that we followed the classic route, 3A. There is also a route of difficulty 3B along the ridge, but I don’t quite understand how this can be done. There are also four routes - 4A and 4B, which go along the Akkem wall, looking at which you look and say “Not this time, not this time.”

As I already said, we went out at night, and shining flashlights on the snow in front of us, we understood little of what was happening around us. There was darkness all around, and a ray of light was lost in this darkness. Later it turned out that this was even better than if we had walked and seen WHERE we were going and WHERE we were passing.

When it began to get light and the first rays of the sun illuminated the route I had taken, I felt a little faint (you remember that I’m afraid of heights, right?). Cliffs and abysses are the most “light” thing I can say when remembering these morning landscapes. And there were also steep slopes covered with ice and snow, and also...

In a word, it was scary. But the worst fear was yet to come.

on the way up

When dawn broke, we approached the first, almost vertical wall, where ropes and railings were hung. A strong wind was blowing. The height of the wall is 50 meters. You need to climb up, and do it as quickly as possible and go to the side. There is a glacier hanging over the wall, which can collapse and no one knows when it wants to do this. Now, tomorrow or in 100 years. Therefore, we are crawling up right now. On the way up, I notice that the new fleece glove has come apart at the seam and my right hand very quickly becomes dull and stops working normally with the jumar.

Somehow I got to the top, looking exclusively in front of me and driving my crampons into the ice wall. Upstairs I took out mittens to put on and warm my hands, but I couldn’t even untie them - my hands wouldn’t obey. The guide of the neighboring group, who came up next, helped me deal with the knot, for which I thank him. We moved on, but this was far from the end.

Before the decisive breakthrough

We went higher and higher. We passed ice walls, jumped over cracks that had no bottom, walked across ice bridges over abysses, and all this while the wind howled and amazing mountain views. And over all this disgrace the red-yellow sun rose.

the horizon is littered with fear

I remember how at one moment I saw a beautiful wall with hundreds of icicles of various shapes. The morning light was refracted in them, forming fantastic patterns. I would be glad to photograph this unprecedented beauty, which I have never seen (and it is unlikely that I will ever see it again), but the place was dangerous, we walked without stopping, and I simply did not have the right to slow down our team, endangering the lives of five people, for the sake of one frame.

By that time, we were already at an altitude of more than 4000 meters above sea level. If something happened, it is unlikely that a helicopter would fly here. By the way, calling a helicopter to the Tomsk parking area costs about 80 thousand rubles, and on the way back one of our participants, Igor, needed it, and his legs were bleeding. The helicopter took him and Tony (Hong Kong) straight from Tomsk, where they hobbled from the assault camp and delivered them half an hour to the Vysotnik-1 base.

We climbed up to this glacier using ropes

The total time it took us to reach the top was about 6.5 hours. Just before the top, another steep wall awaited us, which we had to overcome with the help of jumaring. It was not climbing, but climbing with a jumar in one hand and an ice ax in the other hand.

I remember that when I climbed up, I was exhausted at the end. There were only 5 meters left to the end of the rope, and my battery was dead. I'm breathing, but there's not enough oxygen. Our instructor, Roman, looks at me and says nothing. Words are superfluous here, everyone understands everything. After 2-3 minutes I come to my senses, being a few meters from the top. I remember some kind of anger took over me. I’m thinking, “What the hell did you do all the way, did you come all this way just to stand five meters away? Aah, bitch, let's get in..."

And I climbed under these life-affirming mantras.

At the top of Belukha (4509 m)

I remember everything as if in a dream. The instructors said that we had very little time, the weather could get worse, and we wouldn’t be here for long. And the wind was not conducive to sitting meditatively on top of Belukha. Essentially, the peak is several hills connected by a small plateau. The instructors were forbidden to walk along the edges, as there were breakdowns and deaths of people. At the top of Belukha there is a geodetic tripod, a memorial plaque about the dead and... a bell.

There are some crazy views from here. Even the mountains of Mongolia are visible. Everything is in full view. And there is some dissonance from the fact that from below this place does not appear the way it looks when you stand at the very top.

flag of the project “On the Edge” on the top of Belukha (4509)

After taking a few shots, we turned around and went back. Did I experience any euphoria on the occasion of climbing Belukha? No. I still don't get any super sensations from it. No unbridled happiness, universal love or sacred enlightenment. Belukha - that wasn’t what it was about at all. Rather, she showed what real mountains are.

Well, I’ll say that on the way back (and we remember that you not only need to go up, but also go down, right?), I managed to fall off and slide down a long slope. I had to urgently remember everything that was taught at SLZ - and really cut myself off and yell “Disruption!” Fortunately, the slope did not end in an abyss. It would be hellish to fly into the abyss on the way back. And so, everything worked out, and our five also laughed at this incident.

Comparison of Belukha and Elbrus

Compared to Belukha, last year’s Elbrus seems like a child’s walk and some kind of demo version of the mountains. 1B Elbrus against 3A Belukha turned out to be a serious test. On Elbrus you take the cable car and walk up from the “barrels”. Or ride a snowcat to make it even easier. You don't even need any equipment. On Belukha, you have to approach the mountain fully loaded for about 3-5 days (although there are options to make it easier, but that wasn’t the case for us), carrying all the equipment.

On Elbrus there is only one oblique shelf. On Belukha, while you are walking, you will pass about 8-10 such sections and you will see ones that you have never seen on El. In the end, on Belukha you will have to climb up the walls, but on El there are simply no such areas. If you want, Elbrus is pop, and Belukha is rock)))

descent from Belukha

It was not for nothing that the director of “Vysotnik” admonished us with the words “Good work for you!” I understood the meaning of this phrase only when I was returning back, dirty, sweaty, unwashed after several days. It was just work, and not relaxation, as one of my friends thought when accompanying me to my second serious mountain.

In El’s “defense” I can say that Elbrus is a good test of altitude. You can see on Elbrus how your body will react to a height of more than 5000 meters. As our guide, Vasily Emelyantsev, who climbed Lenin Peak, said, height is what cancels out absolutely everything in the mountains: technique, preparation, physical condition, etc. You can walk, but the height will stop you at some point and won’t let you go further. And Belukha is more about technical ascents.

Equipment and preparation

Above, I already wrote about some of the equipment that we used in our ascent. In last year’s article about equipment ““, I gave a complete list of equipment. There have been some minor changes to this list this year:

1. We added a helmet (because ice and pebbles very often flew from above)
2. The assault backpack was removed. We went to the assault with a backpack of 80 liters. By the way, it warms your back))
3. The lighter appeared to ignite gas in burners or start a fire.

Basically, that's all the differences. There are no significant differences in equipment. If you went to Elbrus in one outfit, then it is quite suitable for mountain climbing Belukha.

photo that managed to become a cult)

If we talk about the training program, all my classes lasted three and a half months. If you need a program, tweet it in the comments.

Realizing that severe physical tests awaited us, I walked with a backpack with additional weight and built up my endurance by running. I know that among the participants there were people who did almost no training. I can’t say for sure that the training program helped me rise, but I can’t say the opposite. To evaluate the effectiveness, you need to at least repeat the same hike a year later without it and compare the result and well-being.

But I can definitely say that this time it was not easy. Sometimes I walked very hard, sometimes I didn’t have enough air and I couldn’t breathe, sometimes the muscles in my legs hurt, and it seemed like the end was about to come, and I wouldn’t go anywhere else at all.

But I got there and came back. That's all.

Climbing Belukha on your own - is it possible?

I think yes. To do this you need to be either a pro or a fool with nothing to lose.

I would not go to Belukha on my own. People usually do things on their own for several reasons. I think the main thing is the desire to save money. I believe that the benefit in the form of saved cut paper (read - money) is not worth your life. Climbing Belukha is life-threatening, and I was convinced of this from my own experience, looking at all the difficulties of the path. Even with experience in climbing as part of a group, I would not dare to go there alone and risk my own life knowing the route. It's not worth it.

Perhaps those reading these lines have their own opinion. Well, this is your life, and you are free to manage it as you please. Having fallen through the cracks and realizing that there is no help to come from, you are unlikely to remember my article. But just before you go there on your own, don’t be lazy, Google how many people died while climbing Belukha and why it happened to them.

In short, seeing all the pros and cons after the climb, and taking into account all the risks, I would not climb Belukha on my own. Dot.

How much does it cost to climb Belukha: price, cost, etc.

There are quite a lot of proposals on the Internet regarding climbing Belukha. Our expedition cost 56,000 (without discounts), this did not include the cost of air tickets to/from Barnaul, as well as the rental of missing personal equipment, but included all sorts of pleasant little things like baths, gifts, insurance etc.

Additional expenses for the participants included a night in Barnaul (we returned 1 day earlier than planned), pocket expenses, sheltered accommodation in Vysotniki, food in canteens there (500-600 rubles per meal).

In a word, expenses have accumulated to the tune of hundreds.

When expenses run up, but you don’t get discouraged

By the way, another 500 rubles cost certificates and badges about climbing Belukha, which are made at the same Vysotnik-1. The certificates were issued with errors; not all guides were listed. It’s sad, especially considering that after pointing out the errors, they didn’t want to correct them. There was no desire to argue about this - on the way back to Tyungur I caught a cold while walking through the rainy forest. There was no time for controversy.

certificate and license plate badge

The trek back from the Vysotnik-2 base near Lake Akkem to the Vysotnik-1 base (Tungur) took an honorable third place in my list of the most difficult days of this expedition.

(The attentive reader, I think, understood which two other days are in this top).

In one day we covered a distance of 22 kilometers, which took us two days to get there. It rained almost constantly, and despite the raincoats, we got pretty wet. The path in the forest became soggy, we had to knead the mud, moving over stones, roots and clay. As a result, having arrived at the “Three Birches” parking lot and driving in the back of a constantly stalling “shishiga”, I caught some kind of cold and became slightly ill. But let's not talk about that, everything is already in order.

Maximum simplification (instead of conclusion)

Of course, many things, events, facts and realizations were left out of my story. Each of us had more than enough time to think about ourselves (in particular) and about life (in general).

Count Berelsky on his own estate

The helicopter that picked up 2 of our participants from Tomsk parking lots

• My knee injury.
• The idea that the city is corrupting people.
• Death from avalanches in the mountains is often an accident that occurs regardless of anyone’s will.
• It is better to plan for a short distance than to keep the details of the entire distance in mind. This blows your mind and makes the path difficult to climb.
• Our trip with Igor to Ust-Koksa to the hospital.
• Rafting in Tungur and the Ail organization banned in Altai.
• There is a strange similarity between the indigenous Altai people and the inhabitants of Mongolia, which is nearby.
• The unbearable size of the Altai Territory and the understanding that we have seen 0.5% of the beauties for which people come here all their lives, and every time they discover something new for themselves.
• There is a friendly atmosphere in our team, and an understanding that with some you want to travel further, and with others not so much.
• Endless questions upon arrival: “What mountain will be next?”, and the understanding that the vast majority of those around you do not understand at all what you did there and why you went there.
• And many many others…

Mountains are both a complex and simple world, upon returning from which you are overcome with some incomprehensible sadness, interspersed with sadness. The realization that everything was simple and clear there, there was a goal and you just had to get to that pass, and nothing else that could interfere on this path. Everything depended only on you, a few people walking next to you, and everything was crystal clear and extremely clear.

And now, after returning to the city, you sit and think that people unknown to you came up with a bunch of complex games, included you in these games (without even asking), you didn’t set the rules - and said “go ahead, play.” Why the hell didn’t all this sink in to you, because you’ve already seen the simplest and most understandable game. And you know that this maximum simplification, after some time, will again call you to itself, to know yourself.

If you have read this far and found this article interesting/useful/fiery or simply close to your heart, share it on your favorite social network. Throw a link to people and let them read it. This will be the most important gratitude for me as an author.

If you're going somewhere with Climbing Brothers, drop me a line and I'll tell you how to get a discount. I have some insider information here on how to save some money.

That's all I have. Questions/suggestions - in the comments, or . If you want to go to the mountains with us, subscribe to

The greatness and beauty of Mount Belakh has long attracted tourists, climbers eager to climb, hunters for impressive photos of the mountain, artists, geographers, researchers from different countries.

The first scientist to study the roots of the name of Mount Belukha was Sapozhnikov. He claimed that the name "Belukha" came from the large amount of snow on the mountain.

Mount Belukha also has other ancient Turkic names: Kadyn-Bazhi is interpreted as a mountain located at the source of the Katun River, Ak-Suru is translated as majestic, Musdutuu is a mountain of ice, Uch-Ayry is a mountain branched in three directions. All these names characterize this peak in different ways.

Location and terrain

Mount Belukha rises above all the mountains of Altai and Siberia, its height is 4506 m. The geographical coordinates of Belukha are 49.8 degrees north latitude and 86.59 degrees east longitude. Mount Belukha is visible on the map as the highest of the Katunsky ridges, which stretches in the middle of Altai.

Photo: “GoraBeluha” by Elgin Yuri

The peak of Kadyn-Bazhi is located at the intersection of three branches of the elevated section of the main ridge separating the water basins. The peak is located at approximately the same distance from the shores of three oceans; it is the central mountain of a huge continent. Mount Belukha is a huge, powerful mountain range.

The mountain is 200 meters higher than the neighboring mountain ranges. In terms of area, the Belukha massif is larger than Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola, located between Russia and Mongolia. Mount Belukha unites the branches of the Katunsky ridge, while destroying their parallel arrangement around the Katun. The ridges of the watershed in the form of scenes line up in height from Argut and Katun to the peak of Kadyn-Bazhi.

Hydrology

The river network covering and surrounding the Katunsky ridge includes the valley of the great Katun River, stretching across the entire Altai, with Argut and Kok-su flowing into it from the right. Most river flows flow into the Katun, which originates from the Gebler glacier. This is where they begin: Kucherla, Akkem, Idygem. The waters of Belaya Berel collect on the southeast slope of Belukha and feed the Bukhtarma River.

Rivers flowing from the Belukha glaciers are included in the river type characteristic of Altai. These rivers are fed by glaciers and only to some extent by rain. The river reaches its maximum flow in the summer; at other times of the year it is lower. Mountain rivers have strong currents and sometimes create a drop in water.

There is a beautiful waterfall called Rossypnaya on the river, which is also named and flows into the Katun on the right. The lakes of the Belukha region, as a rule, are tarns or are located in trough valleys. They occurred as a result of ancient glacial activity. The largest among them are Bolshoye Kucherlinskoye and Nizhneye Akkemskoye.

Geology, tectonics and origin of the mountain

Mount Belukha is composed of Middle and Upper Cambrian rocks. Many spurs are represented by shale and sandstone outcrops. Conglomerates are present to a lesser extent.

The territory of the massif experiences constant movements in the earth’s crust, as evidenced by the presence of faults, numerous ruptures and shifts in the rocks. The Belukha slope facing Akkem has steep and sliding zones. The Belukha area is characterized by seismic activity up to 7-8 points.

Small earthquakes occur here almost constantly. As a result, landslides and avalanches are frequent, and the integrity of the ice cover is damaged. Since the Paleogene and Neogene times, the territory has been subject to constant and intense uplift, which continues until modern times.

The uplift significantly affected the relief - the mountains here are all high, belong to the Quaternary type of folding, there are depressions between the mountains, and the surrounding ridges have risen 2.5 km in height. The area of ​​the massif contains rock and scree surfaces and glacial deposits. The integrity of the slopes is disrupted under the influence of frequent mudflows and melting of snow masses.

Climate

The climatic conditions of the Belukha region are unfavorable for life, characterized by a long winter period with low temperatures and a cool, short summer, during which it rains.

The climate varies depending on the mountain zone, from the temperate climate of valleys located at low altitudes to the nival regions of mountain peaks. Weather observations are carried out from two points Akkem and Karatyurek at altitudes 2050 and 2600.

The July temperature in the valley where the forest zone ends is 8.3 C, and at the peaks in the form of a plateau 6.3 C. In the summer at the top it is often -20 C. The winter January temperature reaches -21.2 C. It is cold here and in March to -4 C. Temperature inversions occur. Typical precipitation rates for these stations are 512-533 mm.

Snow begins to fall at an altitude of 3 to 3.2 km above sea level. The Belukha nival belt has more than 1000 mm of precipitation per year. Winds typical of the mountains blow here, as well as foehns - warm winds from the mountains.

Belukha Glaciers

The Belukhinsky region has 169 glaciers occupying the massif. Their total area is 150 square kilometers. Half of all glaciers of the Katunsky Ridge are present here, and this is 60% of the entire area of ​​​​its ice shell.

M.V. Tronov identified the glaciers of this mountain as a specific type, the features of which are: the location of feeding places at high altitudes, a high angle of inclination of glacial flows, the position of the lower edges at low altitudes in river valleys, pressing close to the surfaces of the mountains.

In these places there are 6 huge glaciers, among which there is one named after Sapozhnikov, it is also the largest in Altai, its length is 10.5 kilometers, the surface area is 13.2 square kilometers. Among the glacial masses of Belukha there are no significant differences between the northern and southern slopes, as in other glacial regions.

The reason for this feature is that in the south there is more precipitation and melting occurs faster than on the shaded and dry northern slope. The ice moves at an average speed of 30 to 50 meters per year. The highest speed was recorded on the Gromov Brothers glacier; at the lower edge of the ice movement it reaches 120 meters per year. Avalanches often occur on Mount Belukha due to accumulating snow in fairly steep areas.

Vegetation

The Belukhinsky massif has a wide variety of vegetation, like other mountainous areas. The main section of the ridge, which belongs to the Katunsky high-mountain region, has a variety of forests.

The forest zone reaches a height of 2 kilometers, on the western and eastern slopes up to 2.2 kilometers, and is more developed on the northern slope. The eastern zone of the southern slope has a fragmentary forest belt.

On the lower implicit border there are dark coniferous forests, dominated by spruce and Siberian fir, as well as cedar. There are larch and trees shedding their leaves - birch and rowan. Among the shrubs are meadowsweet, honeysuckle, and caragana. The higher you go, the more common cedar is.

Mount Belukha in Gorny Altai: description, photo, video

On the map of Russia there are several toponyms “Belukha” - this is a mountain peak, a river, a natural monument, and an island. This article will talk specifically about the top. Belukha is a sacred place for many peoples of Altai. The mountain is even represented on the state symbols of the Republic. Local residents call it “Uch-Sumer”, which means “Three-headed Peak”. Indeed, if you look at Mount Belukha and its photo, you can see several peaks. As an orographic feature, it consists of two pointed pyramid-shaped peaks, between which there is a saddle with two slopes.

The absolute height of Belukha is 4506 meters. The first official mentions of the mountain date back to the 18th century, and the first traveler who attempted to conquer it was the British Samuel Turner. However, he did not succeed, only 10 years later, in 1914, the pioneers set foot on the non-criminal peak. The beginning of scientific research in the vicinity of Mount Belukha in Altai dates back to the 19th century, when the famous naturalist F. Gebbler explored the local flora and also discovered the Barelsky and Katunsky glaciers. He was also the first to try to measure the height of the peak. According to the indicators of his protractor, it should have been 3362 meters.

60 years after Gebbler, Professor V. Sapozhnikov tried to find out the height of Belukha. His calculations turned out to be more accurate, but still he was wrong. The final height was established in 1948, but in 2012, new research found that the mountain is 3 meters higher than previously thought. Now the maps indicate both 4506 and 4509 meters. The Altai mountain range is very unstable and small earthquakes are not uncommon here. They, in turn, provoke avalanches and landslides.

Mount Belukha in the Altai Mountains is home to the largest number of glaciers in the region. Today, 169 different glaciers are known on its territory. are the source of many rivers that flow into the Katun River. All of them are distinguished by fast flows and an abundance of cascades. There are also several picturesque lakes here. The flora and fauna of the region is diverse and unique.

Where is Mount Belukha located?

As already mentioned, this mountain is the highest point of the Altai Mountains. And more specifically, where Mount Belukha is located, it is located on the Katunsky ridge, which has a length of more than 150 kilometers. From the point of view of the administrative structure, Belukha is concentrated on the border of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, in the place from where the Katun begins its flow. In Russia, the peak is concentrated in the Altai Republic, in the Ust-Koksinsky region.

Mount Belukha on the map:

Distance of Mount Belukha from populated areas:

• Tungur village – 50 kilometers;
• city ​​of Barnaul – 596 kilometers.

Coordinates of Mount Belukha on the map:

• Latitude – 49°48’26.7
• Longitude – 86°34’53.5

How to get to Mount Belukha

The starting point for most travelers is Barnaul, and the final point is the village of Tungur. The rest of the route must be covered on foot or on horseback. If you are planning an independent trip, you can ask local residents for directions; there are also signs along the walking trail.

How to get to Mount Belukha by public transport:

You can get to Barnaul by rail. From the administrative center of the Altai Territory you should take a bus to the city of Gorno-Altaisk; it departs from the bus station located on Cosmic Avenue. Gorno-Altaisk is the closest city to the mountain peak; from here you can get to the village of Tungur by bus or taxi.

By car, you can get to Mount Belukha by going in the same direction. To avoid getting lost, you can enter the coordinates of Mount Belukha into your navigator.

When is the best time to visit Mount Belukha in Altai

When traveling to Mount Belukha, the weather is important to consider first. The climate here is very harsh. Winters are long and cold – temperatures can easily drop to -30 degrees Celsius. Accordingly, summers are short, cool and with high rainfall. On the mountain itself, even in June and July, the air temperature can be below -15 degrees.

Actually, to make the trip as comfortable as possible, it is worth coming in the summer, which here lasts until the end of August. For those who are looking for extreme sports and are not afraid of cold and snow, Mount Belukha"open" throughout the year. Before your trip, you need to prepare thoroughly. There may be problems with mobile communications. Be sure to stock up on warm clothing, food and equipment.

Features of the attraction

Relaxation on Mount Belukha is pleasant and varied. In the surrounding area there are a large number of tourist centers and complexes, estates and guest houses. There is also a health complex with antler baths and maral baths. For those who do not want to huddle in an village, house or hotel room, they have the opportunity to stay in a tent. Almost everywhere you can make a fire, fry meat or vegetables, and the majestic landscapes only contribute to your appetite.

If you are interested in mountain climbing, then we have a couple of very interesting materials for you. Read about the pearl of the Caucasus, whose height is 5,642 meters above sea level. Or about a long-extinct volcano - which rises to 5,033 m.

At some bases you can order additional services such as rafting on mountain rivers, speleological tours, climbing Belukha and much more. There are several tourist routes to the surroundings of the mountain and to its top. The most popular and easiest one goes from the village of Tungur to the foot of the mountain range. It is worth noting that Belukha is located in the border area, so you must have a passport with you.

Travelers from other countries must obtain permission in advance from the Gorno-Altai representative office of the FSB. It will also be needed for other citizens if the trip is planned within a 5-kilometer zone to the Russian-Kazakh border. To the very top of Belukha, the easiest route runs from the south, and the most difficult, requiring climbing equipment and appropriate experience, from the north along the Akkem glacier.

What to see in the area

Belukha Mountain can be visited on an excursion not only by climbers and extreme sports enthusiasts, but also by travelers who want to experience the cultural heritage, nature and history of the Altai region. One of the most mystical corners of the Altai Mountains is the Yarlu Valley. The vibrant colors of the local forests, rare flowers and huge rock walls can surprise anyone. You can often meet people meditating near the shaman's stone.

Another popular place among mystics is Lake Akkem. By the way, the name of the reservoir sounds like “Mecca”, for which it is often called prophetic. The lake is located on the north side of the mountain. What attracts tourists most of all is the opportunity to look at and photograph the reflection of a mountain peak.

On the way to Akkem you can admire the highest waterfall in the region. It is called Tekelu, and its height is 60 meters. Denisova Cave is also an interesting attraction. More than 20 cultural layers were found on its territory. The road to the village of Tungur runs through the Gromotukhinsky and Kyrlyksky passes. They offer unsurpassed views of the valley and green taiga forests. True, the roads here are narrow, so it is better to have an experienced driver behind the wheel.