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Year 1999, 2000
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at the highest peak of Siberia
Whenever I mention the Altai I usually get a few blank looks from people. So look at the atlas and on the southern Russian border where Russia meets Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China you will find M't Belukha ( 14,784 feet).
The Altai is reached by a flight to S't Petersburg and then catch the overnight flight to Barnaul, you are then faced with a two day bus journey to the small village of Tyngur on the river Katun. This river is ideal for white water rafting which involves a two day trek usually on horseback through the taiga and then a five day rafting trip down the Katun back to Tyngur. This is the warmest part of Siberia, grapes are grown in Tyngur and the local brew carries a kick like a mule as I can testify after attending a birthday party of one of the villagers, but I digress.
The Altai is unusual in that it combines the Taiga and alpine style peaks most around the 14,000 feet mark, from Tyngur it is a two day leisurely walk up the Akkem valley with the gear being carried on horseback, about halfway through the second day of the walk in you catch an unforgettable glimpse of the snow covered peak of Belukha through a gap in the dense trees, a few hours later the trees suddenly thin out and you walk into the broad Akkem valley and enter a walkers and mountaineers paradise. There is something here for everyone, the massive North face of Belukha rising nearly 4000 feet above the glacier will keep the ice climber happy as will the splendid walking and scrambling satisfy the soul of the person who just loves mountains and wild places for what they are.
The people who live around the mountains are a race of people descended from the followers of Genghis Khan and regard the Altai as the Shamba la, the place where the new civilisation is going to spring from after the world has destroyed itself. Without a doubt the place carries an air of mystery about it and has attracted many philosophers such as Raerich (one of the peaks is named after him). When you stand under the cliff in the Kurchala valley containg the cave paintings some centuries old and some quite recent you feel that the Altai is something very special and it is in places like this that one can renew the spirit and soul before facing this modern world again. A true wilderness.
If you liked to know more about the Altai or wish to share your personal experience
then your comments would be very much welcome. Feel free to write me at
RRi9521029@aol.com or at my place
on the Kerrera Isle.
Ned Rimmer
Some more resources on the Net about the Altai mountains are worth to visit: