The rules of mountaineering and tourism activities do not allow solo movement in the mountains. However, by chance, a person may find himself alone with nature. Whether a tourist gets lost or lags behind the group, in the absence of means of communication and unfamiliarity with the area, one can wander among deserted mountains or plains for quite a long time. How to survive in the mountains, especially if you are lost? But even in extreme conditions and in such a situation, you can provide a cozy overnight stay, fast and safe movement and food, and quickly find your way home, because a lot depends on the knowledge and available training.
ORIENTATION is the first condition to survive in the mountains
To survive in the mountains, the first step is to determine the cardinal directions and direction. Know where to go without a compass or if the battery of your smartphone or navigator is dead. What to do if you get lost in the mountains? Once out into the open (exposed peak, rock, tall tree), look at the slopes. In the conditions of Turkmenistan, on the northern slopes there are usually more trees, primarily Turkmen maple - kerkava and shrubs, than on the southern slopes, they are less dried out by the sun. In winter, there is no more melted snow on the northern slopes. On a sunny day, having a watch, you can even more accurately determine the sides of the horizon. In Ashgabat on March 21 at 7 o'clock in the morning the sun rises directly from the east and at 13 o'clock the sun will be exactly at its zenith - in the south.
When moving, the safest and shortest way to the plain is along the axis of the ridge, its crest. To survive in the mountains, it is not recommended to go down gorges because of possible cliffs, sudden changes in altitude, and the path along winding gorges is usually not the shortest. In the dense bush you can take advantage of wildlife trails.
In the Karakum Desert you can navigate to the cardinal directions by the location of the dunes. In summer, the dunes move to the southeast, in late autumn, when the winds blow in the opposite direction, their tops move to the northwest until the next change in wind direction.
Determining time by the constellation Ursa Major
The earth rotates and the heavenly bodies move across the sky. However, the North Star in the constellation Ursa Major is stationary; all constellations revolve around it. This star “hangs” exactly above the north pole of our planet, which means it is always located strictly in the north.
Determining time by the constellation Ursa Major
If on a clear night you mentally imagine a dial with the North Star in the center and draw an “hour hand” from it to the two outer stars of the “bucket” of the Big Dipper, then you can set the time using the celestial clock. Let's say that the hand shows 6.5 conventional hours. Let's determine the month number from the beginning of the year to this day (every 3 days we count as 1/10 of the month). For example, for September 12 you need to take the number 9.4. We add the resulting number with the sidereal clock reading and multiply by two: (6.5 + 9.4) x 2 =31.8. This number must be subtracted from the constant number 55.3. 55.3 – 31.8 = 23.5. 23 h 30 min. or 11.30 p.m. If after subtraction the number turns out to be greater than 24, then subtract the number 24 from it.
Determining the sides of the horizon by the Sun
To do this, place the clock in a horizontal plane, pointing the hour hand towards the Sun. The angle between the hour hand and the direction towards number 1 is divided in half. Then the bisector of this angle will indicate approximately the north-south direction. This method in our (southern) latitudes, where the Sun is high in summer, gives approximate results.
Determining the direction by the Sun and the clock: a – before noon, b – after noon.
Rhythm and speed of walking uphill
All climbers have different rhythms. Those who are well prepared can climb very quickly, those who are poorly prepared usually do it slowly. For me (I think it’s about the same for other regular mountain hikers or athletes), the speed of overcoming a difference of 1000 meters (for example, from a height of 2000 to go to 3000) with a 10 kg backpack (and with poles) is about 4-5 hours per day. medium pace.
But without a backpack (but with lunch/food and a bottle of water, as well as with helping poles), climbing the same 1000 meters will take me (as well as a more or less trained and prepared person) about 2-2.5 hours ( maximum 3 hours). That is, 400-500 meters in 1 hour. Women usually have lower speeds (unless the woman is an athlete).
In the center of the frame is Mount Ushba (4800 meters) in Svaneti (the most beautiful and high-mountainous region of Georgia).
The above photo was taken from an altitude of 3200-3300 meters. The bottom of the valley (visible at the very bottom of the frame) is at an altitude of 1800 meters. A little lower and to the right of that place is the village of Mazeri (near which is the famous Mazeri waterfall, or rather, there are three of them in one pile, and they are partially visible on the left in this photo - by the way, it’s a 2.5-3 hour walk from the village ). The ascent from the village of Mazeri (it is at an altitude of 1700) to this altitude of 3200 was made in about 7 hours (and with a backpack of 7-8 kg).
Fatigue after overcoming 2000 meters will be 2.5-3 times greater than after climbing 1000 meters (since subsequent meters are overcome with already accumulated fatigue)... For example, everyone knows the fact that short-distance runners run at a much faster speed, than middle and long distance runners.
Of course, you can rise faster, but you need to save your strength for tomorrow and the next, and this often happens. In addition, on the way up you can make short stops and at the same time admire the beauty, eat something and/or do other useful/necessary actions, while relaxing along the way. And I regularly do all these things as I climb. I also eat during short stops on the way up.
In general, on mountain hikes I almost never have a break for a meal as such, because I take food in small doses during 5-10-minute stops. True, at the very top of the ridge (when the panorama often becomes close to 360-degree) I can eat for a long time/a lot, because the surrounding landscapes call for this.
Descent from the same height usually occurs 1.5-2 times faster compared to ascent. The greater the weight of the backpack, the more significant the difference between the speeds of ascent and descent (because it is much more difficult to climb uphill with a load). Maybe up to 2.5 times if the backpack is huge (30-40 kg).
It took 12 hours to completely walk around clockwise around the edge of the crater of this former Nemrut volcano , in eastern Turkey... The picture was taken from an altitude of 2850 meters, the lake in the crater is at an altitude of 2250... The diameter of the crankcase is 7 km.
How to test your endurance and physical fitness in the city
If you have never previously overcome an altitude difference of about 1000 meters (much less 2000) in one day, and accordingly, it is difficult for you to imagine how physically difficult or easy it is, then let us give the following figures for comparison:
The difference between the first and ninth floors in a standard 9-story building is 24 meters (9-1=8 floors, 3 meters per floor, 3*8=24). 42 by 24 = 1008... So, going up and down 42 times from the first to the ninth floor will be equal to 1008 meters. However, I think that almost every experienced climber can overcome a 2000-meter difference and descend in the same day (but without a heavy backpack, having only food, water and clothes with him).
To evaluate your physical capabilities in lifting your body to a decent height, you can try simply running up and down a 9-story building , using it as a training tool.
And in general, if you have a sedentary lifestyle, then before going on a hike it is better to work out - running, squats, and also climb a nine-story building very well - in this activity the same muscle groups work as when climbing a mountain.
It is difficult to climb uphill with excess body weight
According to my observations, people who are very overweight almost never climb high mountains. Although, with small excess weight, sometimes they climb... For a person who is quite overweight, this can be quite normal when he climbs a high mountain 3 times slower than a person without large excess fat.
Well-fed people usually have much more shortness of breath than tendinous people. And the higher you rise, the more geometrically the difference increases. And most often, well-fed people will lag behind the group or even at some stage refuse to climb further.
Sometimes, having climbed some ridge, you can see such a rare phenomenon as “stone straw”... Such georock, apparently, easily cracks and breaks into thin and sometimes long pieces. Sometimes you can easily break it even with your fingers. At the top of the mountains I usually found this straw larger than at the bottom.
SELECTION OF ACCOMMODATION
If night finds you in the mountains, it is better to choose a place to spend the night that is protected from the wind, warmed up during the day on the southern slopes, this will make it easier to survive in the mountains. Cold air accumulates in low areas at night due to temperature inversions. How can we wait until morning safely? You should avoid places along hollows where rockfalls or avalanches can occur; they can be identified visually - damaged tree trunks, chaotically lying stones on a pebble bed, traces of impacts on boulders with stone chips. Where avalanches occur, twisted trees grow there. Fresh avalanches - the snow is chaotically piled up, the avalanche strip is higher, shrub vegetation is noticeably shaved off. Remember this if you intend to survive in the mountains and not suffocate under the snow and stone mass!
If possible, place the tents on micro-elevations so that in case of rain the litter does not flood. Do not spend the night in gorges along river banks, and especially on islands, due to the dangers of mudflows. If you still have to camp in such places, it is worth determining the maximum level of water rise during previous floods and placing tents above it - it’s safer.
Mountain survival kit
To survive in the mountains, you need to have a set of items that help in the event of an emergency. The entire set is packed into a backpack. It should be made of waterproof fabric, be as comfortable as possible so as not to hamper movement, with wide straps, one of which is attached around the waist, and with a rigid back. Things are packed as tightly as possible, with the most necessary ones (first aid kit, raincoat, matches) placed on top or in side pockets.
A trekking pole is attached to the backpack or to the side of it - this is a pole adjustable in length with a comfortable handle to relieve the tourist’s joints when walking in mountainous areas, providing additional stability and allowing you to save energy during long treks.
The survival kit is complemented by an isothermal blanket - it will not only save you from cold and wind, but will also become the main part of the tent.
A tourist mat-seat will allow you to sit on damp ground during rest stops, and takes up little space in your backpack.
The basis of your diet during mountain climbing should be protein. It is necessary during heavy physical activity. Carbohydrates are also necessary, so the kit should include ascorbic acid, cranberry extract and citric acid, which will help fight the development of altitude sickness. Vegetable oil and butter should be used as a source of fat.
During a mountain hike you need to drink at least 5 liters of water. For convenient carrying, you can equip a drinking system from a bag with a tube with a tip inserted into it, thanks to which you can drink water while moving. In addition, it easily fits in the side pockets of a backpack. In winter, the Aquasol tablet will help supplement melt water with the necessary minerals.
Water in the mountains
In addition to these things specific to a mountain hike, the survival kit must be supplemented with items necessary for use during any trip in the wild: waterproof matches, a first aid kit, a knife, a handsaw, a rope, an ax, and an additional set of clothing.
BE READY FOR ANY WEATHER
Rain and thunderstorm
Cirrus clouds high in the sky are harbingers of bad weather. They are located at an altitude of 9000 m and higher, visible at a distance of 100-200 km. These clouds are 400-500 km ahead of precipitation and pass 12-16 hours before rain or snow. If a cold front approaches, cumulus clouds precede it. They are located at an altitude of 5000 m and above. Mostly rain clouds are stratus clouds, they are found below cumulus clouds.
Swallows and swifts darting up and down, spiders tearing part of the threads of their web warn of windy weather. Also harbingers of the wind are smoke from a fire tending to the ground in the evening, a crimson halo around the moon that does not disappear for a long time. A dog curling up into a ball or a cat covering its nose with its paws warn of cold weather.
When a lot of cumulus-stratus rain clouds have accumulated in the sky, there is stuffiness and calmness - all these are signs of a possible thunderstorm; at such a time you should not spend the night on the crests of ridges and under tall trees. Lightning is a strong electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground, or even between two clouds. In a few microseconds, an electric current flows from 5 to 110 kiloamperes. The length of the lightning channel is on average about 5 km, sometimes up to 14 km.
High lightning danger zones
When a thunderstorm approaches, it is worth descending from the hills and ridges rising above the surrounding area. The height of the ledge under which the climber is located should exceed 5-10 times human height, and you should not move away from the ledge to a distance greater than the height of this rock. A lightning strike can ruin your chances of surviving in the mountains. But if, for example, the cliff is 15 meters high, then at a distance of up to 15 meters from its base there is no fear of a lightning strike.
As the thundercloud approaches the protruding rocks and the potential difference increases, a characteristic faint crackling and rustling can be heard in the air, and a bluish glow can be seen in the darkness. All this is a serious warning of danger.
Temperature
The human body is capable of functioning within a very narrow range of body temperature - from 30 to 42 degrees Celsius, and the comfortable range is even narrower, being about 36 ° C. Cold and heat can prevent you from surviving in the mountains. Therefore, our body spends so much energy on maintaining a constant body temperature, but sometimes it is no longer able to cope with unfavorable environmental factors and begins to lose ground.
During the hot season, you should adhere to the following recommendations: light clothing, it is advisable not to leave exposed areas of the body in the sun. The head and neck should be covered with a white scarf - burnous, a headdress proven by generations of Arab nomads. In summer, it is advisable to travel early in the morning and in the evening; it is better to rest when the sun is at its zenith, until about 16:00. Food increases thirst, so the less water you have, the less you try to eat. It is better to take food with you with a predominant carbohydrate content. It is better to drink water more often, but in very small portions. For one-time use 1 liter. 16-58% of water is excreted through the kidneys and with sweat. But the same liter, consumed in 85 ml portions, reduces sweating losses to 5-17%.
When the air temperature exceeds 33°C, the body actively secretes sweat to avoid overheating. Every gram of sweat evaporates carries away 581 calories of heat. At an air temperature of 38°C, water loss through sweating is 700 g per hour or 16 liters per day. During heavy physical work in extreme heat, a person secretes up to 30 g of sweat per minute or 18 liters. in 10 hours.
Dehydration of the body is accompanied by disturbances in physiological functions. With water loss of 4-6% of body weight, severe thirst, discomfort in the body, faster pulse, drowsiness and lethargy appear. Hoarseness of voice is a sign of dehydration 6 - 8%, headache appears, dizziness, shaky gait. It is difficult to speak, the swollen tongue seems to stick to the roof of the mouth. Further loss of water is accompanied by difficulty swallowing, hallucinations, and tinnitus. A person falls into an unconscious state and dies from irreversible disorders of the central nervous system and blood circulation. At air temperatures above 30°C, a loss of water by the body of 15% of the initial body weight can be fatal. If the air is cool, then a water loss of 25% is considered fatal.
If you start to freeze, remember that lost heat is not restored in a timely manner and the temperature of body parts decreases unevenly. The limbs are cooled first. The back of the head and neck of a person are especially sensitive to a decrease in body temperature. Well, if you have to overcome water obstacles, remember the thermal conductivity of water is 25 times higher than that of air, which means that once in it, the body begins to lose heat much faster. It has been established that at a water temperature of 26°C, due to heat loss, a person loses consciousness after 12 hours. At a water temperature of 10°C, loss of consciousness occurs after 30-60 minutes, and death occurs after 1-2 hours. In water at zero temperature, a person without protective clothing loses consciousness after 15 minutes, and he faces death within half an hour.
Hard work, hardship and delight: why do people go to the mountains
On August 8, Russia and all over the world celebrate International Mountaineering Day. This holiday unites everyone who begins to prepare for new ascents, having barely descended from the sparkling mountain peaks. What attracts people there, at an unattainable height, was told by the Vice-President of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, Chairman of the Commission of Classical Mountaineering Alexander Pyatnitsin
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— Alexander Alekseevich, mountaineering is traditionally very popular in our country. Including among non-professionals - people who climb in their free time from their main work. Why do you think mountains attract people so much? After all, these are financial expenses and frantic physical exertion. People spend all their vacations on this, tearing themselves away from their families, from comfort for the sake of very hard work in the mountains.
Alexander Pyatnitsin:
First of all, this is self-affirmation. It is very important for a person to feel strong and strengthened in spirit. After all, any extreme activity, including mountaineering, gives strength and understanding of oneself. When a person reaches the top, he begins to respect himself much more than before. And this gives him an algorithm for survival in ordinary life. When things get hard and difficult for me below, I always remember how difficult it was for me in the mountains. And this helps me solve any problems and overcome myself.
Everything in our life below is very blurry. It is sometimes difficult for a person to understand how he should behave in a given situation. In a large or small business where people literally survive, they need an outlet in which they can feel real and strengthen mentally. This is the most important thing.
Nowadays, many very high-level managers go to the mountains in order to feel confident in themselves and their own abilities. Moreover, they lead people from their team into the mountains in order to see how much they can be relied on both in life and in business.
Many of them are in excellent physical shape, well prepared, ski, play sports and demand this from their subordinates. I know the head of a holding company who made several serious ascents with his entire team. He specially took all the directors of his factories to the mountains and led them on an ascent. And, based on the results, he even adopted strict organizational conclusions against the two.
There is such a song line: “Our souls in the mountains reveal themselves, they exist outside of us, in plain sight of others.” And this is true: in an extreme situation there is no time for masks, you can’t hide anything. The character of a person is there in full view. Life in the mountains is very simple and clear for all participants. Having reached the parking lot, people still need to gather their remaining strength and provide dinner and overnight accommodation. Someone takes on the most menial work, someone goes to fetch water, someone erects a wall of stones or snow cubes - from the wind. And someone sits down and sits. Who grabbed the spoon first, and who took on the heaviest backpack - people see all this and then draw conclusions about who they can rely on and who they can’t.
— You saw how mountaineering developed during Soviet times. Please tell us how you yourself came to big sports?
A.P.:
My older sister was the first in our family to take up mountaineering. She came from the alpine camp with shining eyes, inspired and talked so much about the mountains that I, a 16-year-old loafer, began to beg her to take me with her next time. She set a condition: from the fall until the selection for the section in February of next year, I had to prove myself. This means studying well, doing housework, obeying, and so on. I really really wanted to go to the mountains, so I tried my best. But just before the qualifying tests, I lost my temper: I was hanging out somewhere, came home late, quarreled with my sister. And she didn’t wake me up, she didn’t take me with her to the qualifying competitions. When I woke up at noon, I rushed to the place where they were passing. I see the judges are each standing at their own apparatus, but the tests are already over. Nevertheless, I persuaded them to let me in and passed all the apparatuses without rest, one after another. So he was accepted into the section and began training.
The selection system at that time was very strict. At first there were 400 candidates, 100 were selected for the section. In the spring, only those who attended all classes, were never late or sick, attended all field trips and did not violate safety regulations anywhere were allowed to take the exam. There were 54 such people left for the May exam, and of them, only 24 athletes were chosen as the best.
After that, I went to real mountains for the first time, to the western Caucasus. It was an unforgettable, most powerful experience! The hike involved crossing two passes and fording a mountain river, and this is quite a serious matter, besides, May is a harsh time, there is quite a lot of snow in the mountains.
That same year I went to an alpine camp, then went on 4 hikes, competed in rock climbing competitions, went to the mountains in the winter for a skiing competition among beginners, and even took first place there. I fell in love with the mountains and over the next ten years I was in the mountains for 10 months a year: I was involved in rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain tourism, and alpine skiing - all at the same time. The mountains were a single whole for me, and everything else was just an opportunity to go there and touch this splendor.
I am a candidate master of sports in rock climbing, master of sports in mountain tourism, master of sports in mountaineering. And at the same time, I somehow managed to study: I graduated from the Novocherkassk Polytechnic Institute. After graduating from the institute, I was assigned to Rostov-on-Don, at Rostselmash, where I was assigned as a mountaineering instructor-methodologist. There I mainly worked with children and participated in a team of mountaineering masters in the championships of the USSR and the RSFSR, within the framework of which I made many very interesting and difficult ascents
— Do you think it is now more difficult or easier for beginners to get into big mountaineering?
A.P.:
Certainly? much easier! Nowadays absolutely everyone can practice mountaineering. No selection, just desire! Moreover, mountaineering training is provided by community members free of charge! At least in the regional mountaineering federations and the clubs united by them.
But under the Soviet Union there was significant government support for mountaineering. Every year, hundreds of thousands of mountaineers from student and working youth improved their sports level in mountaineering camps using preferential trade union vouchers. Serious mountaineering was well funded: both USSR championships and expeditions. There was even a saying “What is communism? This is mountaineering, but without climbing.”
The mountaineering camps were so well supplied that we even received black caviar in dry rations for the routes! According to the standard, we were given food for a certain amount per day. And when we went on serious climbs, in addition to all the food, we also managed to take a large jar of black caviar. But the caviar itself was not our goal, we did not take it to the mountains, but invited acquaintances and friends so that they could eat it as quickly as possible. The real value for us was the caviar jar. We even played it among ourselves, since it was very convenient for placing a first aid kit. Many climbers from those times still keep these jars, because a technical first aid kit is one of the most basic components that are necessary for successful ascents.
Of course, all this does not mean that we did not spend our own money on mountaineering. At the initial stage, it was necessary to pay for travel, and for a voucher, albeit at a reduced rate, and for equipment. My mother, who did not want me to go mountaineering, did not give me money for it. And so, after school, I went at night to unload wagons - with sand or cement - and this is how I earned money for mountaineering. Almost all my friends did the same.
A lot of the equipment was made with our own hands back then. My sister and I even slowly dismantled our parents’ feather bed and sewed ourselves “down” jackets and sleeping bags, naturally filled not with down, but with feathers, and weighing about four kilograms. But we were very proud of them.
Now everything is different: the market is very diverse, there are many companies, including Russian ones, that produce excellent climbing equipment. Naturally, this makes climbing much easier.
— Mountaineering is considered to be a very dangerous sport. Indeed, every year climbers die in the mountains. Do you think this risk is justified?
A.P.:
My point of view is this: in the mountains it is no more dangerous than in the city. Moreover, in the city, sometimes dangers do not depend on a person, and he is not able to foresee them. You may be standing at a bus stop and some drunk driver will crash into you. Or a flower pot thrown at someone completely different may fly onto your head while you are peacefully walking along the house. There were such cases. A lot of people die both on the roads and in everyday life. As a percentage, much fewer people die in the mountains than in the city.
In my understanding, safety when climbing in the mountains, despite the apparent super-extreme, largely depends on human behavior. You can always foresee many risks in advance and avoid troubles. Especially on the most difficult climbs, because it is impossible to move there without insurance. From the first meter to the very top you are constantly belaying yourself.
Although people still die - about 5-6 accidents a year. Once again, this mostly happens not as a result of chance, but as a result of incorrect human actions in the mountains.
Most often this happens because people go to the mountains unprepared. The fact is that high-altitude experience is achieved only as a result of many years of climbing, this cannot be learned in absentia: you can’t read or hear it, you only need personal climbing experience.
At altitude, a lot depends on the little things and how much you understand your body. Wet socks can cause frostbite. Improper breathing and poor self-care can lead to a sore throat, which develops in high altitude conditions literally within two hours, blocks the larynx and the person suffocates.
An incorrect assessment of your strengths is very dangerous. Some try to go to the last and do not take into account that they still need to have some strength left for the descent. They go further, they reach their limit, but they cannot come down. This happens, it comes from overestimating one’s own strengths.
— What is your attitude towards commercial mountaineering? It is no secret that most ascents can now be made relying on the experience of guides who provide support both individually and in small groups.
A.P.:
I don’t deny commercial mountaineering, but I don’t do it. Within the framework of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, which is recognized by the Russian Ministry of Sports, I engage in sports mountaineering. We have mandatory training, starting from the very first stage, according to special programs, where we practice everything that a person will encounter in the mountains. Then the ascents begin: from the first category of difficulty and further. Only for the third sports category you need to make 5 ascents of the second category of difficulty. For the second sports category you need to make 7 ascents of the third category of difficulty, and all this under the supervision of instructors.
And only after receiving the second sports category do people have the right to go to the mountains on their own. To do this, they unite in teams of people with whom they are comfortable climbing.
Mountaineering is a sport that I call intimate. For us, the choice of partner is very important. A person must be able to rely entirely on his partner. And for this you need to know it very well in everyday life and in life. Mountaineering is when a person puts himself in an extreme situation and then tries to survive in it. And the moral and psychological aspect is very important here. Too much is tied to interpersonal relationships. It is very important that you feel almost a family connection with the partner you are insuring. You must save him at any cost. It’s almost like going on reconnaissance missions: I’ll go with one, but not with others.
And commercial groups, as a rule, gather from random people who did not know each other before. They immediately go to a serious mountain, and various situations may arise there that lead to accidents.
The difference between commercial and sport mountaineering is that in commercial mountaineering, groups are led into the mountains by guides. Sometimes I meet guides who do not have any sports rank at all, or have it, but it is very low. For example, such a person once climbed Elbrus as part of a commercial group and then began advertising and taking other people there. But he misleads them when he says that he can fully ensure their safety.
Our sport mountaineering system employs instructors who were trained at the Central School of Instructors of the Russian Mountaineering Federation. This is a very serious school, there are excellent teachers and very difficult exams. Many do not pass certification, but if a person receives the title of instructor, then we know that he will really teach a person to walk in the mountains.
The goal of a mountaineering instructor is to teach the future climber how to climb independently. The goal of a guide is to earn money and at the same time provide a minimum of skills so that in the future a person will not be able to do without him. And it’s better for a person to become attached to his guide, and go only with him all the time and pay him money.
— Where can you start mountaineering from scratch? And can adults be beginners?
A.P.:
Mountaineering is such an amazing sport that you can start doing it not only in your youth, but also at 30, 40, and 50 years old. It is possible that a person who started training at the age of 50 will not be able to reach the level of a master of sports. But if he is healthy, then he can achieve a lot in high-altitude mountaineering. Even reach the top of Everest with your own feet. With the right approach, anything can be achieved.
The Russian Mountaineering Federation unites about 60 local regional federations. Almost every major city has a branch within which there are clubs. Maybe not everyone knows about them, since they do not advertise, but if a person wants to engage in mountaineering while living in Voronezh, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk - or anywhere, then he can always Find a section on the Internet and start training. For example, in the evening, after work or school. This is a club system, and, as a rule, these sections are free. All the coaches who train the guys are social activists who train future climbers in their free time from their main work.
— Please tell us about the new disciplines that have recently emerged from mountaineering: rock climbing, ice climbing, skyrunning and others.
A.P.:
Rock climbing has now become a separate sport with its own separate Federation. At the same time, the majority of climbers went to the gyms. In classical mountaineering, there is practically nothing that climbers do. After all, in rock climbing, almost all routes are at a negative angle. And if this happens in the mountains, then these places are overcome by special technical methods during ascents. Nevertheless, rock climbing is an exciting modern sport; in big cities there are rock climbing sections, there are a lot of them. There are also schools for children and youth that are funded by regional ministries of sports: for holding competitions, for renting climbing walls, for equipment, and there you can also play sports for free or almost free.
The Russian Mountaineering Federation cultivates four areas: classical mountaineering, which we talked about, ice climbing, skyrunning and ski mountaineering.
Ice climbing is a modern discipline, and its Olympic prospects are enormous. If mountaineering never becomes an Olympic sport, ice climbing is about to become one. The fact is that the Olympic Charter requires uniform conditions for participants. But in mountaineering this is impossible to achieve. But in ice climbing this is possible, and now European and world championships are already taking place, in which many countries participate. It is possible that ice climbing will be included in the program of the next Winter Olympics.
Skyrunning is nothing more than running uphill. He also retired from mountaineering. At one time, to train climbers and select teams for serious competitions, we also ran to very high mountains. Now it has developed into a separate sport that is successfully developing throughout the world. Those who engage in classic mountaineering, of course, do not run like skyrunners. This is something amazing: crazy endurance and amazing physiological characteristics in people! I always admire them and enjoy judging skyrunning competitions at all levels.
And we also have ski mountaineering. This is the passage of prepared trails in the mountains on skis. There are very serious routes for ski mountaineering, including for international competitions a route was laid around Elbrus, along the Elbrus ring. Now this area is actively developing, including as an applied one, in the armed forces of many countries around the world.
— Is it true that there are only a few teams in the world that are capable of being pioneers in mountaineering, and most of them are Russian? And if so, why?
A.P.:
There are many top-notch climbers in the world, but they tend to be solo climbers or very small groups. More precisely, outstanding personalities under whom sponsorship works. All over the world, mountaineering is not a sport, but a hobby, and within the framework of this hobby, people achieve great success.
In our tradition and throughout the post-Soviet space, mountaineering is a collective sport. People train, learn and develop in it, relying on a powerful program developed back in the USSR. In Soviet times, we had a huge number of teams that climbed the mountains at a very high level.
When the first Soviet expedition set off to Everest in 1982, there was a selection of 500 athletes. And at least 300 of them are people who would definitely climb Everest. In terms of strength and training, they met all the requirements. But it was impossible to send everyone, so only the best were selected.
Now the number of high-level climbers, of course, has decreased. Because training in Soviet times was carried out purposefully: there were about forty camps throughout the Soviet Union, and tens and hundreds of thousands of young people underwent mountain training in them. Now there are almost no alpine camps. In the 90s there was a terrible decline, everyone survived, young people generally stopped being interested in the mountains, and even 10 years ago the sections were still half empty. But now there is a rise in interest among young people. The boom began about 5 years ago, but so far mainly commercial mountaineering is developing on this wave.
Literally the year before last, individual alpine camps began to be restored. And although the system of mountaineering camps does not exist now, there are already enthusiasts who want to revive this system in our country.
We hope that when the new generation of climbers understands a little and understands that the guides are tying them to themselves and pumping them out of money, they will have a desire to learn how to climb the mountains themselves. And then they may begin to undergo serious training and learn to climb on their own.
— Do you recommend parents to choose this difficult sport for their children?
A.P.:
I'm a huge proponent of this. A lot of the negative things that happen to teenagers and young adults today are their ways of understanding who they are. Especially among boys, because boys by nature are warriors, and they need to prove themselves somewhere. By misunderstanding, by thoughtlessness, many of them end up in dubious companies; they are driven by herd mentality and false priorities. They also have their own leaders who want to subjugate the boys, and all this is quite dangerous.
But if they get into any sports environment, that's great. And mountaineering is also a collective sport; it cultivates many human qualities that are not always possible to cultivate at home, at school or in the yard. These are mutual assistance, sociability, dedication, kindness, honesty, and the ability to make strong-willed decisions. We prepare the guys, put them in an extreme situation, and they begin to live in it. It educates them, helps them become better.
When I started coaching, I went to the police and took the addresses of all the troubled teenagers who were registered. I went to their homes, talked to their parents, and attracted many to rock climbing and mountaineering. Some of them even became masters of sports.
Working with children is the most rewarding thing! When before your eyes they turn from clumsy boys or girls into athletic, dexterous, successful ones, it’s very cool. This is a great incentive and great motivation.
Photo: from the archive of Alexander Pyatnitsin
