Climbing to the Summit of Siberia: Mount Belukha Expedition
Height: 4506m
Prominence: 3343m
Climbing Season: June to September
Duration: >= 8 days
Nearest airports: Gorno-Altaysk, Barnaul, Novosibirsk
Special Considerations: Special Border permission required for foreigners (in addition to visa). Ticks are a risk particularly early in the summer season. Bear in mind that out of sight may mean out of mind but bears have habitat here.
Key kit: see below
Siberia. What question does it answer? The best way to find out is to experience the place first-hand. When we think of this vast swathe of land it is often exactly that that we think of: the breadth and length of the place. What, however, about the depth and the height. For the depth, have a look at Lake Baikal (see here and here for more details). For the height, continue reading here.
So, what and where is the summit of Siberia? The highest point in Siberia is the summit of Mount Belukha: the eastern peak of the mountain. This mountain is found in the Altai region of Russia and is sacred for the local people and others. It borders Kazakhstan and is in close proximity to China.
The Altai region is famed both within Russia and in the wider world. Many tourists flock to the mountain region of Altai to touch nature and to taste it – Altai honey in particular is delicious.
Expedition
To make it to the summit of Siberia I first made the long journey by road from Novosibirsk to Ust-Koksa (730 km) , deep in Altai, and then on to Tyungur which is the village from where expeditions to Belukha are launched.
If you are lucky you will have already caught a glimpse of Belukha from Tyungur. From there, it appears to be there but not there, like a mountain painting hanging in a gallery – something that can be admired but that somehow seems intangible and out of reach, except to the imagination.
It is possible to start your trek from Tyungur (Altitude 850m) on the banks of the beautiful Katun river but this will add a steep slog to an already challenging approach. Instead, it is possible to undertake the journey to Akkem Lake on horseback. A halfway-house option is to use horses to carry equipment but to trek yourself.
For those seeking a more direct option it is possible to transfer to the Three Birches campsite (1600m) by vehicle. This will not be by your hire car 😊. Instead, due to the terrain, it will be via a military-manufactured 4×4 vehicle: a GAZ-66.
For those seeking the most direct option, it is possible to fly by helicopter to the second highest camp (Tomskye Stoyanki).
After crossing a wobbly, decrepit suspension bridge (a new one is under construction), we hopped aboard the back of a GAZ-66 and waited for a quorum of hikers. Once the quorum was reached we began the adventure ride to the Three Birches Campsite.
The journey took about an hour and was a fun way to take in fine mountain scenery whilst being jolted around in an involuntary 4×4 mountain track dance. From there the trek proper began. Alpine meadows formed the first impression of the fairytale foray. Thereafter, the cocoon of the taiga soothed the strain of the expedition pack-laden ascent.
The route went against the white water grain of the Akkem river seeking its source surely, yet ever so slowly. Sometimes, tracks on the path offered an impromptu puzzle to speculate who was their impressor. Other times dung was the object of the puzzle.
The going was tough with a big exped pack and me still trying to recover from an unseasonable cold. It was mostly an uphill affair shadowing the Akkem but there were some flat sections and rare downward relief.
[There is an alternative route which starts by ascending the Kucherla Valley. That part is also accessible on horseback.]
The weather was sunny and totally dry and thankfully there was a lot of tree cover to take the sting out of the sun. We saw quite a lot of hikers en route. Towards the end of the day we caught a glimpse of Belukha from the edge of the forest. An incentive to continue plodding was not needed but any view of Belukha is well worth savouring and savour we did.
After a full day’s walking it was time to pitch the tent. There are plenty of suitable areas for setting-up camp on the way up to Akkem lake. Many areas have been used before and campfire cranes left for the legacy of others to utilise. We had left Tyungur around 0930 and made it to our campsite at 1830. We had ‘grechka’ (Russian for buckwheat) for dinner and turned in quite early.
Next morning, breakfast consisted of ‘kasha’ (Russian for porridge) and coffee. I fortified my kasha with some oval-shaped blueberries called ‘zhimalost’ growing nearby – quite a bitter taste but fresh fruit nevertheless. Another Russian campsite favourite of bread and condensed milk was on the menu too. We set off around 0900 in fine weather. We reached a tour base around 1130 and stayed there for a couple of hours, including having lunch in a yurt-fashioned structure. We walked up to our campsite (2000m) at Akkem Lake which took about forty minutes with various photo stops. The views became more and more spectacular.
PRO TIP when travelling anywhere out of a town or city in Russia and spending more than a day there take your own ground coffee if you like such stuff. It will be difficult or sometimes not possible to obtain decent coffee or, in some cases, any coffee at all in less populated or remote parts of Russia.
Lake Akkem is an aquatic mystical moon of Belukha. It draws people from far and wide for a variety of purposes, some seeking spiritual energy, some simply recharging their batteries through recreation, others pit-stopping on the way to the planet proper of this milky moon. The water is spiritualised as being the milk of mother Belukha. For the brave, it is possible to take a leaf out of Cleopatra’s book and bathe in the milk. This milk is, of course, particularly cold!
We had a relaxing day lakeside taking in the magnificent views and talking with hikers who wanted to see Belukha and experience her enigmatic energy but were not going to climb to the summit. A battered old guitar was procured from somewhere nearby in the evening. We played and sang round the campfire for hours – a mixture of Russian and English songs.
After a breakfast of kasha and fruit paste, complemented with an obligatory caffeine kick, we set off on a challenging leg of the expedition up to the next camp (Tomskye Stoyanki ~3000m). The weather was overcast so Belukha was hidden from view all day. There is a little chapel not far from Akkem lake on this leg. We stopped here briefly so that I could satisfy my curiosity. Inside, there is a rug with a huge bear printed on it. This somehow seemed very fitting for Russia. It took about seven hours to slog up the moraine, snaking our way through the spew of boulders.
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A hard day of trekking was rewarded with glorious campsite vistas. Belukha seemed almost within touching distance now.
A new month (August 2019) was heralded in by glorious weather. We used the day to acclimatise and rest after playing around on the glacier readying ourselves for the fixed rope sections of the coming days. Helicopters, escorting flush tourists, hovered above adding more ambience to an already spectacular alpine amphitheatre. The set symphonies in this amphitheatre were mammoth rockfalls and avalanches from the nearby, but far enough away, slopes.
Lunch that day was the ubiquitous grechka bolstered by cheese. An early night was the order of the day as the plan was to get up early and assail the glacier leg during colder hours.
The next day we set off at 0345 for the sluggish slog up the glacier. Just before approaching the fixed rope section I heard a shout and looked up to see a white helmet bouncing down the slope towards me. It was like a snowball on a desperate mission to break free from the shackles of the snowpack. I tried to catch it but it had a very erratic trajectory and my efforts were in vain. Eventually, the lid was recovered by someone else further down the slope.
We reached the top of the fixed rope section at 0715. After some refreshments we descended to an expansive glacial section of the mountain that contained plenty a crevasse. The last part of the day’s journey was an energy-sapping uphill stint to breach 4000m. We rolled into the high camp at around 1115.
The views from the high camp of Russia and Kazakhstan are superb. It was a gratifying setting to catch some final rest before the summit attempt.
Midnight was alarm time and we duly rose after a few hours rest. It was important to get nutrients into our system before the final leg so we consumed what our metabolisms permitted. At 0100 it was showtime. After donning our alpine tackle, we proceeded to perform our firefly routine. We crawled up the upper sections of the mountain, headtorches making us visible to each other and anyone else able to see us from afar.
The lower section of the route was a snow plod with several switchbacks to aid mental, as well as physical, momentum. After a lot of plodding, next came a fixed rope section. Once this was negotiated there was more snow plodding before a final fixed rope section just below the summit.
The summit was eventually reached at about 0615. The mountain was misty but there was no mistaking the summit. What an honour to stand on the summit of Siberia. It is a mystical place.
To stand and survey Siberia from its summit is a very special experience. There is no need for omphaloskepsis here as Belukha stands sentinel to Siberia and its treasures and one can contemplate profoundly. Siberia is full of special places and the Altai area is one such gem. Reaching the high point of Siberia proffers a unique spatial feeling as one stands equidistant from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. We can feel but a small part of this big planet that we share. For some, here lie the gates to Shambhala and for others it is where the Kingdom of Opona exists. Either way, this is a powerful place – people feel special energy in this area – not just geophysicists. Perhaps this is a portal to other points in the universe. Leaving aside any spiritual thoughts, the sheer beauty of this UNESCO-acknowledged golden mountain area is captivating.
There were no sunny, summit photos this time but therein lies one of the beauties of a mountain adventure: each adventure evolves differently due to a number of variables, the weather being one, and different experiences are woven each time to fashion the rich tapestries that hang in our memories.
On the way back down we took only three days to get back to Tyungur camping at Tomskye Stoyanki and Lake Akkem only. What a fantastic voyage it was to the summit of Siberia and back! Thank you Russia for another fabulous experience. Many thanks to everyone who supported me on this mission.
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Red Tape
If you are not Russian then you will have to obtain special permission to climb Belukha. Please note that this is not a binary cover-all border areas permission: you will have to state exactly where in the region you will be. Also, note that this is in addition to the visa that you will need to enter Russia – this is a separate application process. Once you have this special permission the procedures are not complete – you need to be registered once you are in the area and on the mountain. If you arrange to climb Belukha with a tour company they can handle the administration for this. The permit should be applied for a couple of months before your trip to Altai or further in advance. It is important to have the permit in your hand before you enter the border area of Altai (not just Belukha itself). Hence, you should be in regular contact with whoever is handling the border permit application process for you.
Please note that this is just an overview of the official registration processes and not official advice. It is also worth noting that whilst in Russia, in general even without a border permit and not in a border area, you need to (re-)register with the authorities after you have entered an area or a new area such as another city (there are some exemptions, e.g., so-called Trans-Siberian Railway tourists, and sometimes short visits don’t trigger the need for re-registration). Please seek official, reliable advice on these matters well in advance of your planned trip.
Technical
It is wise to have experience of using crampons and an ice-axe before undertaking this summit. Some sections of the usual route may be around 45 degrees. Typically, the high mountain guides on Belukha will use an acclimatisation day at the second highest camp to give training at the snout of the glacier there. They offer training to would-be summiteers on the use of ice-axe and crampons, and ascending, descending, and traversing fixed ropes.
To reach the summit you will need to negotiate glacial domains, hence decisions on how to do this safely will need to be made.
Fixed ropes are used at a steep section in between the second highest camp and the highest camp. They are also used at a couple of sections in between the high camp and the summit, including immediately before the summit. Hence, the regular routine of jumarring up and abseiling down should be slick to ensure traffic doesn’t build up.
Physical
The trek to the start of the mountain proper is arduous. As such, you should be in very good physical shape before undertaking this expedition. You will have to carry in all your supplies which will mean walking with an expedition pack uphill and at altitude (what goes up must come down too). This expedition will test your fitness and strength but the rewards are of the richest to reap.
Water
There are enough streams bisecting the main route to obtain fresh water at regular intervals. At the high camp it is necessary to melt snow.
Swimming
The rivers in this region are painted by the hand of a very artistic Mother Nature but, be warned, they are very powerful. I would advise against swimming in the rivers in general. Some people do swim in the rivers but tend to find little side channels where the torrents are tamed. Lake Akkem, being a glacial lake, is expectedly cold. However, it offers an irresistible bathing opportunity on the way back down if you haven’t already been tempted on the way up.
Ticks
You may want to get a tick – that is, a tick in the box that you have climbed to the highest point in Siberia. Be aware, however, that the nasty type of ticks are a big issue in this region at certain times of year. Therefore, it is wise to arrange vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis before entering the region. Please note that a full programme of vaccination takes months so be sure to check with a health professional well in advance of your trip.
Insurance
If you book to climb Belukha with a tour company they may provide rescue insurance for the mountain. As ever, please investigate any provisions carefully.
Certificate
If you wish to obtain a certificate of summiting Belukha then it is possible to purchase one at the Vysotnik base camp in Tyungur.
Key Kit
Mountain tent.
4 season sleeping bag plus mat.
Trekking Poles.
Boots with decent ankle support for the lower sections. Alpine/winter/plastic boots for the alpine sections.
12 point Crampons.
Ice axe (straight shaft suitable).
Very good sun protection (eyes and skin).
Solar power for phone/camera etc.
Personal coffee kit!
All other usual mountain kit.
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All text and images copyright Graeme Whitty 2019.