Lake Baikal 2010: Khamar-Daban mountains (Weather Station - Chersky

In the last post I was telling about how we got to the altitude of the Weather Station. Now I'll tell what happened next. How it was:




Previous days:
Moscow - Irkutsk - Khamar-Daban mountains (Weather Station)

All the photos are here.

Morning.. What can it be?

It happens that you wake up because of the sunshine from the window. Such a morning is usually good, as the Sun itself wakes you up, instead of a heartless alarm clock, like a factory bell rousing workers to relieve. Such a morning can be only at the weekend. The joy of waking complemented by easy stretches and a cup of coffe.

It happens gloomy morning when you have to get up for work. You forced to do anything in spite of the body wants to sleep. The most of my life I have such mornings.

It happens hangover mornings. Nothing is joys in such mornings. I think that everybody knows such mornings and enough of this.

But sometimes the morning is such this.. It's cold.. oh God how it's cold.. and it's wet.. Dawns? Dawns! How much time passed? How long I was asleep? Was I asleep?? It seems that eternity had passed. I'm lying for a long time not daring to move. I have to warm! I'm burning the dry fuel inside of tent and it helps a little but not for a long time. Falling into a dream.. Waking up.. No less cold. I hear the strange sound like somebody strew the sand onto the tent. The sound was before, but I wasn't paying attention. It's not like the sound of rain. Comes to mind scary suggestion that it might be snow. But how? It's a middle of summer!! I hear for someone's moving in the next tent. We speaking a bit about the weather assumptions and deciding to look out the tent.. Yes, it is snow..

We continue to lie under the tents and speaking about what shall we do. All clothing are wet we can't go farther. Dmitry who are the real townee proposed to go at the Weather Station and ask for asylum. My opinion was wait for the noon and then look for the weather and make a decision.

We decided to wait a little but Dmitry wasn't agree and went to the Weather Station. He returned in a half hour and said that close to the Weather Station we can rent a house with a plank-bed. Dream about wet and cold can become dry and warm was too tempting. Some time I was ashamed about my weakness but eventually I decided that it was right decision because the bad weather was whole the day.

So we are here:



The services were the real plank-bed and the handmade oven "Bourgeoisie" (as we call it here in Russia):





Whole the day was rain. This time we were warmed, dryed clothes, ate and rested:





After all the hardships this view is touching:



This buckwheat porridge with stewed meat and a shot of alcohol is one of the best dinners I ever had. But if somebody doesn't like that and he prefers sitting in the hotel or stepping by step the tour guide.. I feel pity to those people.

Meantime outside was:



The Heavens is close
Looking on this beauty I understand that the Heavens is very close:







In the evening we gathered in the bower near the house and got acquainted with Alexey who is a tour guide. He carried a young pair of Swedes on Chersky peak (it was their honeymoon). They were pretty funny, but it seemed that we scared them. On the other hand is not surprising - first we offered them alcohol, then of smoked omul, then galloped around like crazy. But in spite on this, they are good fellows that ventured to travel so far in Russia. We met them every evening of our stay at the Weather Station. We also met them later on our last day of our trip to Baikal.

Next day weather recovered. We decided to leave heavy equipment in the house and took only one backpack with warm clothing and some food.

First the serpentine road rose up the mountain through the forest. It was going a long time, but at some instant we saw our Weather Station through the break in the trees:



Soon the forest was ended and further we went on a Tundra Zone with small bushes and rhododendrons. Then again was a snow under the feet.







Mountains:





All the time we walked along the ridge:









We passed a lake "Heart" but didn't get down to it:



Happy people:



When we were very close to the peak, it seemed that we could touch the clouds. The sky was big and heavy like never:



Chersky peak (2090 m):





Far away you can see Baikal. Here was an overcast but on the shore was a sunshine:







It is cold and windy at the peak. But our efforts were not in vain. The camera can not convey the beauty of the seen landscape.. Went downhill.







On the halfway to the Weather Station we turned to the waterfalls:















has left us at once and ran forward so we didn't saw him till returning to the Weather Station. Long time we were going along the river but eventually has lost our way. First time it was a path, but then we rested on these stones:



If we continued to go along the river, then came to the foot of the mountain on which was the Weather Station. I was sure that this way is exist - the mountain isn't plumb and it is quite logical that the trail should went out to the Weather Station. But there was no way. I left people on the stones and tried to find the trail. I didn't found the trail, but if I was alone, then reached the goal, clambering over the rocks. I was worried for my friends and decided to return back by the long way (the way we came).

We tired a lot. There were a moments when we just had no enough strength to go and we stoped and chewed sugar for quick energy regeneration. We reached the station after the sunset. was sitting with Alex and had a lunch.

The days we spend in Khamar-Daban mountains remembered first of all by the great beauty of the nature and the trials that we overcame. If you'll ask me, will I go there again when I know about all the troubles, I'll answer "Yes! I will!!"

Next day we went down to the Baikal. But this is later.