In the Aksauta valley there is a small settlement of cattle breeders Krasny Karachay and a half-abandoned village. Aksaut, founded by geologists ( local residents it is better known as Rudnichny), and in the summer there are dairy farms. There are many tourists in the gorge. Along the rivers Kichi-Teberda and Ullu-Marka, the right tributaries of Aksaut, you can go to the passes to Teberda and Dombay. There are paths to the hanging valleys on the left slope, where the shepherds stand. From there there are easy, although high, passes to the Marukha Valley.

Aksaut originates from the large glaciers of the GKH in the area where average height exceeds 3500 m. Glaciers, including one of the longest in the West. Caucasus l. Jalau-Chat is quite accessible and can be visited by novice tourists with the presence of an experienced leader. Climbing snow-ice passes and peaks of the GKH is attractive for sports groups.

The river breaks out of the mountains near the station. Kardonikskaya, through which the highway from Cherkessk to Zelenchukskaya passes. The turn to the road up Aksaut is located near the Kardonikskaya bus station. A bus runs along this road several times a day from the station. Zelenchukskaya in the village. Hasout-Greek (less than 20 km). Then you need to hitch a ride about 25 km to the shepherd village of Krasny Karachay, which serves as the starting point for routes along Aksaut. Opposite the village. Khasaut-Grechesky the portal of the tunnel is visible, the construction of which began in the Soviet years. It was intended to transfer water from Zelenchuk to Kuban. The spurs of the Forward Range approach the village.

Aksaut flows out onto spacious pebbles from a wooded gorge. Road to the village Red Karachay is laid along the bottom of a deep gorge and pressed against the river by steep slopes covered with dense deciduous forest. Occasionally, the valley widens slightly, giving way to clearings where foresters have installed benches for rest. A few kilometers from the village. Khasaut-Grechesky, at the “Wet Glade”, the road to the Yesen pastures branches off across the bridge to the left side. Gradually the forest thins out, becoming mixed (there are also artificial pine plantations), and above you can see meadows, monotonous stripes of scree, and rock ridges. At 9 km in the Kyshkyt tract there is a rest camp.

The valleys that cross the Front Range are evidence that its uplift began no earlier than the uplift of the Main Range. The rate at which the flow, originating on the main watershed, bites into the underlying rocks increases with the overall rise of the system (as the slope increases) and turns out to be faster than the average erosion of the Front Range massifs. As a result, deep (and in morphologically young bottom parts - steep-walled) gorges and canyons in hard rocks are developed. The longitudinal profile of the valley also changes over time: steep, intensely incised drops slowly move upward. The strength of the river was always enough to ensure that sawing through the gap proceeded faster than raising the ridge, so that dams did not form.

Even in dry weather, the water in Aksaut is muddy. During rains, the river erodes banks, islands, carries trees, and layers of turf. The sound of moving stones can be heard. The material for this conveyor, which distributes sediments, is supplied by alluvial fans of numerous tributaries. Several times the road, with short ups and downs, moves away from the river for a short time. The last kilometers before Krasny Karachay it goes through an open valley, in the middle of which farms, sheds, and sheds are scattered. The village is located at an altitude of 1500 m at the confluence of the Aksaut river. Ullu-Marka. There is a cheese factory, and farms are scattered in the surrounding area, which are visited by a milk truck every day. There is no post office, the nearest one is in the village. Hasaut-Greek.

M4. The village of Krasny Karachay - village. Aksaut - l. Aksaut (29 km, road, trail).

From the village Red Karachay, up the left bank of Aksaut there is a road to the former village of geologists. Behind the village there is a camp for schoolchildren. The wide floodplain of the river is occupied by meadows and groves; the sides of the gorge are covered with forests. A chain of dairy farms stretches along the road. The valley is cool, blown by winds from the glaciers.

Eight kilometers from the village. Red Karachay with a spacious, crimson clearing from blooming thistles with groups of pines and birches, the jagged rocky ridge of the Kara-Kaya mountain (3893 m) is visible for the first time. From the farm behind the clearing the ascent begins (through the burnt area) to the lane. Kyzyl-Aush to the Marukha valley. We soon pass a stone gate between low walls with embrasures. On the cast plate is the inscription: Memorial Complex Defense path

This is the first of the monuments erected in the mid-80s. on the way through the Marukh Pass, where heavy fighting took place in 1942.

The last farm is 0.5 km from the monument. On the slope above it, in a strip of bushes, a trace is visible powerful avalanche. At a time when the road to Rudnichny operated year-round, avalanches that threatened it were shot down with cannons.

We cross the river. Viper, flowing from a wooded gorge, along which there is a path to the pass of the same name to Marukh. From the clearing near the bridge, the Aksaut rocky massif (3910 m) with glaciers closed the Aksaut valley, and to the left of it was the dark pyramid of Mal. Aksauta.

12 km from the village the road crosses a bridge to the right bank of Aksaut and rises to an uneven clearing bordered by birches, aspens, and spreading beeches. There are rare pine trees near the river. From here you can see the peaks of Aksaut and Kara-Kaya. Next we go to a mixed forest, where there are a lot of strawberries and mushrooms.

After 8-9 km from the bridge, the road leads to a village located among pine trees at an altitude of approximately 1900 m and 0.5 km from the confluence of the Aksaut river. Kichi-Teberda. In the massif of the city of Kichi-Teberda, overlooking the entrance to this valley, tungsten ore was mined for about 30 years. Nowadays, several houses in Rudnichny are occupied by border guards and rescuers.

Along the river Kichi-Teberda lies the way to the lane. Khuty to Teberda and to the passes 73 and Kichi-Teberda to Dombay. Just above the village a path descends to Aksaut from the lane. S. Kara-Kaya from the Marukha gorge.

Behind the village the road forks. One turns into the Kichi-Teberda valley, from where it climbs to adits on the slope of the mountain of the same name. The other, less fortified initially and now quickly collapsing, crosses the river. Kichi-Teberda, above which, in the forest, a waterfall thunders, and continues on the rocky floodplain in the direction of the right slope visible ahead of the wooded cape.

Along the riverbed there are noticeable stone ridges piled up by bulldozers to prevent the river from reaching buildings and the road. Pine trees have strengthened on the protected part of the floodplain. However, the forest on the left bank is dying, as floods carrying stones have begun to inundate it more often. On a hot July day, the air above the hot pebbles is infused with cloves. But the snows of the Main Range are close. Ahead, in the green alignment, a pile of icy rocks of Aksaut has grown, to the left rises the dark tip of Mal. Aksauta and the pockmarked snow-covered wall of Jalau-Chat (3884 m). The Aksaut glacier is already visible.

There is a mighty fir forest on the cape. In the shade of old trees covered with lichens it is always humid, and there are dark puddles on the stones. A road was made in the forest to a gallery, the dump of which was visible 100 m above the floodplain. The trunks and roots of fir trees near the road were damaged. Meanwhile, any wounds, even due to breaking off branches, cause rot in Caucasian fir as a non-resin-producing species. A forest with a large proportion of injured trees is doomed.

Behind the cape of the river Aksaut receives the turbulent flow of Jalau-Chat. Just below the confluence there is a thick log thrown across the river. On the pine-covered hillock on the left bank are traces of old overnight camps. A few hundred meters up the river. Jalau-Chat, where it breaks out of the canyon, there is a bridge with railings. Before this bridge, the path to the lane goes up into the fir forest. Alibek.

There are about 4 km left to the Aksaut glacier (2-3 hours walk). There are trails on both banks of Aksaut; at the end of summer, the right bank is safer, because there may not be a snow bridge across the stream flowing into Aksaut on the left just before the Aksaut glacier.

Beyond the crossing of Jalau-Chat the forest becomes smaller - this is due to the proximity to the glacier. A little higher Aksaut is compressed by a gorge, and the shore becomes impassable due to thickets of birch trees. It is better to overcome them further from the river. At the exit from the bush, foresters installed a pillar - this is the southern border of the forest in the Aksauta gorge. There are still about 2 km to the glacier along the rocks along the river.

In the south its icefall is clearly visible, hiding the crest of the lane behind it. Aksaut. The tongue of the glacier is strewn with stones, but the very end (about 2200 m) is clear - a smooth ice slope. From time to time, stones slide off the slope - this is how the final moraine is deposited. On the flat right moraine overgrown with willows you can bivouac.

In front of the tongue of the Aksaut glacier, a stream flowing from the lake flows into Aksaut from the west from a narrow gorge between the Kara-Kaya (on the right for the observer) and Brattsy massifs. Zap. Aksaut, which is about 2 km away. Previously, this glacier was connected to the Aksaut glacier, as evidenced by the high ridge of the lateral moraine left on the left bank of the stream. To West We make our way along the right bank of the Aksaut glacier. After 1.5 hours of significant ascent we reach a steep tongue (2400 m). Having climbed the glacier, we walk along it for about an hour before turning south, behind which a wide snowy pen opens. Zap. Aksaut (it leads to the Karach River - the left tributary of the South Marukh).

All around are the lifeless rocks of the peaks of Kara-Kaya, Brattsy, Marukh-Bashi. The noise of the river does not reach here, the silence is broken only by the roar of ice avalanches from Marukh-Kaya. To see the mountains awaken from their icy torpor, it’s worth spending a night here. There are sites on the left moraine under the l. Yu. Karakaisky, falling from the saddle between Kara-Kaya and Marukh-Bashi.

M5. River valley Aksaut - l. Jalau-Chat(trail, 1 day).

The Jalau-Chat River originates from one of the largest glaciers in the West. Caucasus, which can be reached by using the path around the canyon leading to the lane. Alibek.

You can get to the trail by turning into the forest from the last bend of the road from the cape to the adit (M4), near the gas holder. The overgrown trail rises above the canyon into a fir forest, then into a mixed forest. Only after gaining a few hundred meters of height and entering the crooked forest zone does she briefly approach the edge of the gorge. The beginning of the canyon, the walls of which are smoothed into “ram’s foreheads,” and the snow fields of the glacier are visible. The trail continues to climb through beech trees, birch, rowan and rhododendron bushes. It is very steep in places - a muddy chute straight up. This is a feature of hiking trails; shepherd trails are lighter, with zigzags.

Finally we get out onto the meadow shoulder above the cliff, where we can rest. A path branches off to the left, traversing the slope of Kichi-Teberda near the border of the bushes and leading to the mine adits. It would be possible from the village. Aksaut go up to the adits along the road and go out to the canyon along this path (this is what they do more often now). Now the tongue of the glacier is clearly visible (it seems that we are almost on the same level with it) and the upper cirque, torn by cracks, above which the snow-capped peak of Jalau-Chat has grown. There is little left to the place from where you can turn towards the glacier.

The trail climbs onto a gentle meadow with a stream and a paddock (sheep are grazed) in a hollow between the long grassy slope of Kichi-Teberda and the short rock-talus spur of Sulahat (3409 m), which is now visible in the east. To the north of this peak, ahead along the ravine, the snowy saddle of the lane is visible. Sulahat, leading to the valley of the river. Alibek, in Dombay. Even further north there is another pass to Dombay - Alibeksky, now hidden by the slope of the city of Kichi-Teberda. Its saddle with a characteristic “horn” rock can be seen by rising to the mentioned spur of the town of Sulahat. Alibek Pass is very popular, and in the ravine where we climbed (2400 m), people often stop for rest or overnight. This place is called the "Green Hotel".

Up to l. Jalau Chat (now we are at its level) remains 1.5-2 km. To get there, you need to go around the spur of Sulahat. A simple, slightly descending path along old “ram’s foreheads” overgrown with grass and small bushes leads to a flat sandy field in front of the glacier tongue (2310 m). If you go higher, crossing unstable screes (several hundred meters), you come straight to the glacier. In the lower reaches its surface is flat, and it is easy to advance to the middle of the glacial cirque.

With each step, the panorama of the surrounding peaks unfolds wider. Above the belt of “ram’s foreheads” and the hanging glaciers of the left slope (for the observer on the right) rise the steep walls of the Aksauta massif. In the south, behind the icefall, the snow-rock hump of Jalau-Chat rises. A depression in the snow ridge next to it, noted by rare “teeth” gendarmes - lane. Fog.

The broken ridge of the buttress holding the icefall on the starboard side leads to the top of Sunakhet. To the north of this peak, above the strip of “ram’s foreheads,” lies a gentle glacier of the same name (there are bivouac areas in front of it). It’s easy to climb up the glacier to the lane. Jalau-Chat (in Dombay). On the contrary, in the northern ridge of Aksaut, the saddle of the lane is visible. Lower Aksaut (3000 m, 1A), leading to the l. Aksaut, and the snow-talus couloir below it. On one of the median moraines or on the mentioned areas on top of the “foreheads” (in front of Sunakhet Lake) you can camp for the night. Return along the ascent path.

One of the informational reasons for our visit to the North Caucasus was the ascent to the Marukh Pass and the putting in order of the mass graves of Soviet soldiers who died during the war. But our plans were not destined to come true, the reason for this was Aksaut - a stormy, high-water, mountain river flowing along the northern slope of the Main Range of the Greater Caucasus. After the third attempt to overcome it, we retreated. What happened this weekend in the Aksaut Gorge, see below the cut.

1. Our adventures began even earlier, during an inspection of the daily regulation pool of the Zelenchukskaya HPP-PSP. Vitalik Ragulin slipped and twisted his ankle and we had to leave a couple of hours later than planned. The x-ray showed that there was nothing wrong and everything would be fine in a couple of days. After lunch we hit the road.

2. The road to the Aksaut Gorge takes almost 5 hours off-road. Only UAZs and Nivas can withstand this test. We were driving a UAZ. Behind the wheel is a master of driving mountain roads Murad. He managed to slow down before every bump. Thank him for the careful delivery of our bodies!

3. When making short stops along the way, according to Caucasian tradition, you need to pour. It doesn’t matter what - lemonade or vodka, but be sure to pour it. By the way, the lemonade from the Circassian plant that we drank is very reminiscent of the Soviet one, the taste of which is familiar from my childhood.

4. It’s getting dark, a light fog rises over the river, more than half the way remains to the place.

5. This is what this multi-kilometer path looks like.

6. Extended areas of the Marukha and Aksauta valleys are occupied by livestock farms and small settlements. In one of them, we tried to drag a Hyundai minibus up the hill, which could not do it on its own, but, alas, we also failed. Our UAZ also skidded on the wet grass.

7. We covered the last section of the path in complete darkness. At the base camp, new acquaintances with the RusHydro teams from the Karachay-Cherkess Branch and the Cascade of the Kuban Hydroelectric Power Stations, a laid table and Caucasian toasts awaited us. We didn’t sit for a long time, since the next day we were scheduled to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning.

8. The first rays of the sun found us at the Aksaut River, where we were waiting for a timber truck to cross the mountain river.

9. This region is the most high-mountainous region of the Western Caucasus, stretching to Elbrus, beginning with a section of the Main Range, to which the gorges of Marukha, Aksauta and Chkhalty adjoin.

10. The small mountain river in the gorge turned out to be insurmountable for us. We stood on boards specially laid on the frame of the arriving KAMAZ, and, holding on to the cables, slowly began to cross the river.

11. That was not the case. KAMAZ rests its wheel on a stone and stands in the middle of the river. The driver turns off the engine so as not to suck in water. Water is at our feet too. The cabin where the ladies were put is also full of water and they have to squat on the seats. Now we need to be saved. There was no danger to our lives, but it’s still not very pleasant to stand in the middle of the river with instantly wet shoes.

12. Those who stood on the lowest places of the frame moved to the roof. But one of us had to undress, climb into the icy water and run for help.

13. The tractor that arrived an hour later began " rescue operation"Attempts to push the KAMAZ forward were unsuccessful and then the tracked monster of the Kharkov plant T-75, easily crossing the river, caught us from behind.

14. There were several attempts to move the KAMAZ in different directions and now, after some time, we were “saved.”

15. After some time, KAMAZ was finally saved. I thought that it would never go anywhere again, but to my surprise they dried it out, changed the oil, air filter and after lunch it started up and drove off. Hurray for KAMAZ, its driver and tractor driver T-75!!! Thank you! You can see our extreme crossing in detail.

So that no one says that “If you don’t know the ford, don’t poke your nose into the water,” I’ll say that timber trucks constantly cross the river in this place. The stone that was on the way was most likely brought here at night by the waves of a stormy river. By the way, I would never have thought that the force of water could move a KAMAZ, but while we were standing in the river, the car was moved by the waves almost a meter until it finally got stuck in the rocky bottom.

16. The second attempt to cross the Aksaut River was made on an inflatable boat, but it also failed. The boat broke away from the tensioned cable, capsized and floated downstream. A few meters later she was washed out onto a stone island and was “saved” by the same T-75 :).

17. UAZ, in which we arrived at the gorge. Behind the forest in the middle of the picture, the ascent to the Khalega pass (3027 m) begins along the Aksaut tributary of the same name. But the river clearly won’t let us go there.

18. The third attempt to cross the river was along a boardwalk located 2 km from the camp, but it also ended up under water. After three failures, we decided not to risk it and went to the camp to dry off and have breakfast.

19. After sleeping for a couple of hours, we Ivan Let's go see the local sights.

20. The purest mountain stream flowing into Aksaut.

21. Suddenly the sun came out. It turned out that I shot this landscape in rain, cloudy weather and under bright sun.

22. Beauty!

23. Butterfly spotting :).

24. Entrance to the Marukh Gorge, inaccessible to us because of the river.

25. Another beauty. Majestically!

26. The last village on Aksaut - Rudnichy - is now practically abandoned. A border outpost is located here, because the border with Abkhazia is less than a kilometer away.

27. It looks like a bathhouse.

28. Destroyed underground storage facility.

29. A little more beauty :) and off to camp.

30. Our saviors were also invited to dinner. They are in black in the center of the photo.

31. Doctor bandages sick :).

32. And so it happens:). Just kidding, we're having fun while walking.

33. Rain and sun. You can't see it in the picture, but it's raining heavily.

34. Khasaut glacier from which the Aksaut river originates.

35. One of the peaks of the Main Caucasus Range. That day we went to bed early, as we were tired, but in our sleep we listened to songs :) performed by Caucasian performers, heard from Niva by one of those present. I was most fascinated by “Black Eyes” :).

36. And in the morning there was sun.

37. But it’s time for us to pack up and go to the airport. The journey took almost the whole day.

38. The parking lot should remain the same as it was before us.

39. Our UAZ is ready.

40. We made several stops along the way,

41. Why is it always beautiful weather when you have to leave?

42. Monument to those deported in 1943 on the site of the village "Krasny-Karachay". Of the 1696 people deported, 1005 died. The losses were too great:(.

43. I have never seen horses grazing freely before.

So our trip is over. In a few hours we will board the plane and late in the evening we will be in Moscow. In the following reports I will show you very interesting and unusual hydroelectric power stations located on mountain rivers. Until recently, I didn’t even imagine that water for a hydroelectric power station turbine could travel for several kilometers through huge pipes and siphons, but more on that next time.

In conclusion, I would like to say THANK YOU to all the organizers of this trip,

May 2013

Once, when winter was almost over, and spring had not yet begun, my husband and I looked outside and realized that things would not go on like this. The third year without white water is unbearable. Moreover, the girl is already quite grown up, a year and a half already. Last summer we went kayaking a lot, so camping is nothing new to her, and the periodic absence of her parents is fully compensated by her grandparents. The last, most important question remains - whether there are still such white water lovers who will take their children with them to the Caucasus.

They interviewed relatives and friends, wrote advertisements on tourist forums, called and knocked wherever they could think of. For quite a long time, our idea teetered on the edge of impossibility. Either someone has problems with vacation, or the children are sick, or they want it, but so far it’s not possible. But in the end, everything worked out. The following went on the hike: the Maslov family (Zhenya (35), Ira (32), Sonya (11) and Ksyusha (7)), Natalie (34), the Yushchenko family (Anya (28), Shurik (31) and Alisa (1, 5)), as well as grandmother Olya and grandfather Borey.


Why the Caucasus? Everything is simple here: firstly, this is Russia, secondly, the region is quite densely populated, so that there are no problems with cars, roads, emergency rooms and communications, and thirdly, at the beginning of May it is already real summer here. Primroses and daffodils are blooming, during the day it’s +23, the sun is shining, but on the contrary, there are almost no mosquitoes. And with all this, there are short but interesting turbulent rivers, allowing you to set up a base camp and make daily trips to the water.

The first base camp was planned on the Teberda River, between the villages of Novaya Teberda and Verkhnyaya Teberda. The first to arrive at the scene, around noon on May 2, was Zhenya and his family. We found a beautiful clearing, set up a tent on it, lit a fire, and began to wait. On the third hour of waiting, the guys were glad that all the food and cans were in their car. When the group from the plane (Anya (that is, me), Shurik, Alisa and Natalie) arrived at the camp closer to seven in the evening, we were already happy about the availability of food, since a ready-made dinner and pleasant company were waiting for us.

For a complete set, all that remains is to wait for grandparents and a dog in the kung. Without them it would have been hard for us, because with them we had a catamaran, rafting equipment and Natasha’s tent. The fifteen hundred kilometers from Moscow to Teberda were not easy for them. On the way, they were slowed down by traffic jams, bridges under construction, unplanned detours and other man-made obstacles, so they reached the place after midnight, when everyone was already sleeping in tents. The gravel rustled under the wheels, the headlights cut through the night like a spotlight, the engine stalled, and the door slammed a couple of times as it closed. “Everything is in place,” I thought. - “You can go to sleep.” And fell asleep.


Everything was ready by lunchtime. The men secured the catamarans on the roof of a previously hired Gazelle and left their spas and helmets inside. Together with a support group we went up the river. Little Alice and her grandparents were left waiting for us at the camp. They promised to prepare lunch for the brave raftsmen and keep an eye on things. Two crews went out to the river: Shurik and I on Gosha-2, and Zhenya and Ira on Belraft-2tt, affectionately called “Umochka”. Initially, they wanted to inspect the large source of the Teberda - the Gonachkhir River for rafting on it, but during reconnaissance they found several trees blocking the channel, so we started almost from the arrow. We only had two hundred meters along Gonachkhir, but they were very pleasant. Good slope, lots of rocks in the riverbed, great slalom. For kayakers, it’s absolutely beautiful. The only negative is that the Gonachkhir flows through the territory of the Teberdinsky Nature Reserve, and rafting requires permission from the authorities. They also tried to stop our group, but we sailed away just like that, vowing that if we start from there again, we will bring permission.


Rafting below the Gonachkhir spit with Amanauz is not of interest, since the river breaks into many small channels. However, with a skillful choice of route, you can avoid dragging the skates over the stones. The robberies continue until the village. Teberda, in front of which the river gathers into one channel. Further on, the current becomes faster, and small barrels and jet disruptions occur. If you wish, you can bypass them all, but then what is the point of going to white water?

By seven o'clock in the evening the catamarans reached the village. Upper Teberda, where it was decided to finish the rafting. Dusk was beginning, and there was still at least half an hour left before the camp. We called a car by phone and made it home just in time for dinner. Happy children greeted us. They spent half a day throwing pebbles into the river and examining small aquatic life. Zhenya looked at the water, appreciated the efforts of the younger generation and complained that the river would soon become shallow.


The river evoked a lot of positive emotions, it was easy to walk, there were no crime spots, so the next day we decided to take our eldest girl for a walk. We drove the section from the bridge where we finished yesterday to the camp, first on our own, and then with Sonya. They found a spisik and a helmet for the girl, and attached supports. They even gave me a paddle. And we headed back to the bridge. Change of crews: today on Gosha - me and Natalie, on Umochka - Zhenya, Ira and Sonya. Forty minutes of rafting - and we are back in camp. The girl has a lot of impressions. We had lunch in anticipation of the Gai rapids, which defines the obstacles on this river. After the traditional siesta, playing with the dog and other outrages - back to the point. Sonya was left on the shore, but asked to meet us in Karachaevsk, at the Gai threshold with a car.

After Nizhnyaya Teberda, robberies began again, which continued right up to the village of Jingirik. The river gathers into one channel again just 700 meters before the Gai threshold, here you have to be careful. They conceived at the threshold and climbed out to have a look. Our photographers, Shurik and Sonya, as well as our permanent driver Roma, had been there for a long time. They managed to see enough of parallel groups, and herds of sheep and cows, which completely independently crossed the river along suspension bridge in both directions.


The threshold was good: not difficult and quite spectacular. Foam, barrels, some unexpected teeth and a clean exit at the very end, making it easy to arrange a belay. Zhenya and Ira walked cleanly, along a pre-planned trajectory, and Natalie and I walked twice, but both times with telemark in the penultimate barrel.


The time was approaching evening, it was time to return to base and understand our plans for the next day. We drove around Teberda, there was nothing else interesting on it, and the thirst for adventure pushed us further - Aksaut with its canyons was also on the plan. In the interval, you could visit local waterfalls, look at ancient Christian churches from the times of the Alan Empire, or go to the Special Astrophysical Observatory in Nizhny Arkhyz. We turned this way and that, but still decided to stop by Dombay, one of the oldest ski and mountaineering base camps in Russia.

Dombay greeted us with sunshine and warmth. Is it really just one and a half thousand meters up - and there’s snow? Downstairs I couldn't believe it at all. We parked the cars on some slope, bought tickets for the lifts, picked up the children in our arms and boldly went into the “egg” - the first-line cabin. A slight acceleration - and the rocky slopes of Mount Musa floated below.


At the first station they sell woolen knitted items, but we are experienced people and insulated ourselves in advance. And now we put on our hats and mittens right on the lift. In total we climbed to a height of 3200m.


From the top there is a colorful panoramic view of the Greater Caucasus Range. It can be seen from under snow caps Streams begin, snow melts at the lower levels of the slopes, and among the dark slopes, unmelted traces of skiers are constantly encountered. At the top station, instructors with a characteristic “spectacled” tan offer to teach a child how to turn on skis in just a couple of hours, and snowmobile drivers dash along the glacier with their passengers.

Good here! There’s just nothing to eat, we have to go down.

Below us awaited a traditional souvenir market and a row of cafes along main street. We settled in one of them. Okroshka, khychin, french fries, beef stroganoff and hot water from the tap - here it is, the breath of civilization. Only after leaving the cafe and approaching the cars did we realize that all this time our wheeled friends had been parked on the training slope. Over there, near the forest, you can see the supports of the children's ski lift, and opposite is a cafe with the characteristic name "At the splash pool." We smiled and moved on.

Initially, we wanted to stop by on the way to Aksaut to pick up some geocaching treasure, but due to lack of time, we decided to postpone this event until the way back.


Along Aksaut there is a dirt road of very relative quality. And although you can still drive along it quite quickly at the bottom, after Khasaut-Grechesky the speed had to be reduced to 10 km/h, the road is quite difficult. Only at half past seven in the evening we pulled into the parking lot between the Osypnaya and Krasny canyons. Dusk was quickly falling into the valley, so dinner was being prepared after dark.


On the morning of July 6th, Shurik, Natalie, Zhenya and Ira took their katas and went upstream. I wanted to walk the section from Krasny Karachay to the camp. There was plenty of time for this, as well as opportunities, so nothing stood in the way of the first run along the river.

The children stayed in the camp to collect mint, draw and read books. Alice didn’t feel well in the morning, her tummy hurt, so she huddled close to her mother and dozed with half an eye in her arms. Everything was under control. By lunchtime, firstly, the rafters were supposed to return, and secondly, the grandparents, who had gone on an excursion to the Northern Administrative District, would arrive in a kung.

I kept the radio ready and listened to the broadcast. There is no cell phone service on Aksaut; the camp is set up behind the edge, so without a walkie-talkie, the kung could easily pass by without noticing.

At about two o'clock the first call signs began to be heard, and soon the long-awaited car arrived. Just then the catamarans returned.

Before sunset we had time to ride again, I replaced Ira on Belraft, and we covered the lower rafting section in two boats, from Krasny to Pore. Surprise. The section seemed quite simple to us, below K. Two Bridges you can even take children for rides.

A driver in a Gazelle was waiting for us just below Surprise. On such a road, the speed of the catamaran and the speed of the car are almost equal, so for part of the road he drove parallel to us, looking for a place to throw out. On the way back we stopped at the Kishket camp site and booked a bathhouse there for the next evening; I wanted to wash myself and wash the children.

As a result, Aksaut was practically studied in one day. All that remained was to go to the upper reaches and check if there was water in the upper canyons. At all, highest point Where you can get there is the village of Rudnichny: several houses and a border post. There the road ends completely, and the river turns into a stream, oversized even for kayaks. But there was almost no hope that there would be water there. We decided to figure it out as we went along. On the morning of May 7, the rafting group got into the car and moved up. Above Krasny Karachai the road became even worse; occasionally one came across farms, hay meadows and freely grazing horses.


The gazelle slowly climbed the mountains.

We also met camps of other groups. Where there are kayakers, and where there are catamaran ones. The trees squeezed the road ever closer in their arms, the meadows gradually disappeared, but mossy boulders the size of a man began to appear and those small delicate flowers that grow only where you rarely see people.


We were approaching a section of the upper canyons.

At K. Gorbaty's everyone came out to explore, and at the same time stretch their legs. The river did not please us: there was not much water, the cat would often catch the bottom even with proper management, and in the middle of the riverbed lay a large log. It’s a pity, of course, but what can you do, it doesn’t happen year after year.

The gazelle turned around, and we began our descent back, below the robbery area, towards Krasny Karachay.

Before reaching two kilometers to the village, they launched the boats into the water. There was the yet unexplored Slalom Canyon and the rapids of the same name.


Right-left, left-right, “Where are you rowing?” We hit a rock twice, once only the correct roll and calmness saved us from the keel. Yes, Aksaut is more serious than Teberda, and much more. But it’s both more beautiful and more interesting. The Cornet threshold added a dent to our frame, and Shurik and I found a beautiful pebble in the Mustang. I wouldn't trade white water for anything. Here you can feel the coherence of the crew’s work, feel the shoulder of a teammate. And know for sure that under any circumstances they will provide assistance.


When closer to five we moored at a familiar clearing, they already began to worry about us. But what can you do - as the river carries us, so we go. Everyone was tired, but happy, and a hot lunch and the anticipation of a quick bath finally painted the world rosy.

At the Kishket camp site, it seems they forgot about us. We had to wait until the steam room was free to sit, steam, drink tea and, after a quick rinse in a cold shower, return to camp.

In the morning it became clear that Alisa’s condition had not improved, and Ksyukha also fell ill with the same symptoms. We need to decide whether to close the camp and take the children to the hospital, or leave it alone for a couple more days and watch the dynamics. Still, the girl didn’t get any worse.

In any case, the rafting is over. Shurik and Zhenya began to disassemble the catamarans, and Grandfather Borey and I went towards civilization, try to call doctors we knew, and seek advice.

When three independent specialists came up with the same prescription: stay hydrated, don’t force feed, and give rehydration, our future plans began to take shape. Buy medicine, give the children water, don’t go anywhere until at least tomorrow. That's what they did.

The next morning, May 9, the girls finally felt better, and the whole team, with the exception of Alice and me, who remained to guard the camp, went on an excursion to the waterfall to bury the treasure. When we go somewhere to travel, we try to take with us all sorts of small things for the treasure-cache of the Geocaching game. Usually we find other people's hiding places, but this time we decided to bury our own.

After late breakfast, we leisurely loaded into the car and drove to the trailhead landmark - the pedestrian bridge over Aksaut.

Having crossed the bridge, we turned right and went up the path, surrounded by ferns as tall as a man (well, Ksyushin).

The path to the waterfall goes up the stream, constantly moving from one bank to the other. This was done more so that people would not get bored on the road than out of necessity. Nevertheless, the team courageously moved over the pebbles from shore to shore. Vista crossed 20 times more than them, and in general, judging by the number of runs, she found a couple more unknown waterfalls in the area.

The trail is not difficult, at least in dry weather, and instead of the promised hour, the guys reached it in about 40 minutes. As they turned the next bend, they were surprised to find a waterfall. Tall, quite powerful, backlit by the sun, in general, I don’t want to take pictures.


Some people wanted to - and started taking photographs against the backdrop of the waterfall. Someone climbed higher up the scree on the side of the waterfall to find a place for the treasure. The least bothered ones (Zhenya and Sasha) climbed the highest, found a place and laid a geocaching treasure.

When we came down, we had a snack, and at the same time discussed the folk pastime of “throwing Vista into a waterfall” - Vista was thrown there twice, supposedly for cooling. It’s surprising that Vista didn’t run away from the owner who abandoned her, but joyfully galloped alongside her.

Sasha and Zhenya, apparently, weren’t completely fed up, so they decided to build a dam to raise the water level in the “bath” under the waterfall. After fifteen minutes of carrying stones, the dam was still not ready, but the line of stones increased greatly, and the guys finally got fed up!

After which everyone gathered and went back along the path. It’s easier to go down, so we went down quickly and without incident. In short, the waterfall (and the path to it) are worth a visit!


And in the evening, in the setting sun, the Maslovs in full force, Shurik, Natalie and I rushed to scout where the stone staircase goes, which starts right from the road a couple of hundred meters from the camp. If the child were still floppy and she was captured, the lift is easy and can be done by almost anyone. The whole question is the number of stops along the way.

At the top of the mountain, a Christian cross, shamanic ropes swaying in the wind, flowers and candles were waiting for us. In general, such a mixture of different religions is typical for these places. People here seem to be both Christians and Muslims, and they believe in spirits at the same time. Under the cross there is an icon, it is clear that the place is famous, prayed for, that it is often visited and kept in order. You can observe the panorama of the valley, dangling your feet into the abyss. Half a step - that's all. The edge is acutely felt here. Moreover, the icon and cross are dedicated to those who left before their time.

We descend already at dusk, from the foot of the stairs to the camp about ten minutes on foot.


In the morning we slowly got ready, threw our backpacks in the cars, wished each other a safe journey and went in different directions. Kung went to Moscow, taking with him his grandparents, as well as our tents, sleeping bags, catamaran and wetsuits, Qashqai and the Maslov family moved to Voronezh, and the rest headed to Minvody on Gazelle with a stop at the Shoanin temple.

Imagine, a stone temple has been standing on the mountain for a thousand years. And, judging by the state of the masonry, it will last just as long. The walls and roof of the building were not renovated; they are the same as they were created by unknown builders in the 10th century, either Alans or Khazars. Services are still held in the temple. It's almost as if wild lions were herded into the Colosseum and gladiator fights were held. And all this antiquity does not frighten or suppress you, but calms you down. “Everything will pass,” she seems to say.

At the temple, we quickly examined the interior, Natalie and Shurik climbed the steep slope to the top of the mountain for a geocaching treasure, noted it in a notebook, and quickly moved to the car. There was little time to get to the plane on time.

The car didn’t let us down, and the roads didn’t let us down either; we still made it by the end of registration. Goodbye, Caucasus, thank you for giving us a piece of summer.

Anna Satovskaya