Walking tour - 5th category of complexity.
Leader Juravel V.

Photos of walking tour have been taken from archive - author Mohylevets N.


This walking tour belongs to the highest category of complexity. Only people, who can walk through glaciers, use ropes, grapnel, ice-axe, safety hook and other mountaineering equipment, admited to such difficult walking tour. So, this walking tour is only for brave people who don't afraid to die.

Before the beginning of walking tour, for some days, we trained in real surrounding. On the moraine of Western Aksaut we trained walking through glacier, habituated with climbing with safety hooks, reinsured, learned how to use special mountaineering equipment. But hard itinerary through glaciers, chinks was only forehand. And any boner or indexterity, can cost somebody's life.
To acclimatize ourself to the surroundings, we began the walking tour from such passovers, as: Western Aksaut and Southern Karakai. When we passed it, we felt assuredness in our energy and abilities. And again we had to go down to the valley of river Aksaut. On this the training course on the hardest part of the walking tour ended.

During one day of rest we reinsured and checked all mountaineering equipment again. Also we examined glacier Javolchat and elaborated strategy of passing it.


On the first day of walking tour we got up at 4 o'clock (if later - the glacier begin to melt) in the morning and began to climb on the glacier. We were surrounded by mountain chinks, so all the time we used anchor ropes. There was beautiful blue ice down to the chinks, but we didn't want to climb down only because of the ice. During the night we slept on the glacier.
The next day we got up early again and began to continue our walking tour. We climbed on the Foggy Pass (3550m) and traversed through the downhills of Javolchat glacier to the Jubilee Pass (3600m). On that day our group covered the distance of 800m (of the glacier) in 5 hours. That is where physical training is needed. We came to the Jubilee Pass only in the evening, and pitched tents bang on the glacier, not very far from Arcog apex.


After such long living in hard climate in surrounding of ice, glaciers, you begin to remmember green grass, warm ground. Прожив столько дней среди льда, сурового климата гор, вспоминаешь о зеленой траве, как о райской жизни. That is where you begin to understand all needs of commonly creature comforts, you feel enjoyment, admiration of the grateful sense of quiet and seclusion with nature.
In the morning, after admiring of panorama of the main Kaukaz Range, we began to descend from Albek Glacier. At last we reached the rocks and a little time later we saw the green grass. What a pleasure was to sit on the warm green grass! The were many berries, mineral founts, mushrooms.

After being in the mountains you get impressions ad vitam. Many years have passed but even now that feelings warm our's hearts. Language isn't adequate to describe it. You have only to feel it.

Photos what we had taken during walking tour: