Pseashkho sugar routes description. B

Estosadok - r. Achipse - ridge. Psekoho - Bzerpinsky cornice - r. Pslukh - Sugar Peak Pseashkho

I didn’t plan a hike to Sugar Pseashkho Peak. My friend invited me to go to the area of ​​Mount Pseashkha and said that it would be possible to visit a fairly high peak. I was intrigued.
In the morning we (there were four of us) left Sochi. At 9 o'clock we arrived in Adler to buy passes to the reserve. At 10.30 we passed Krasnaya Polyana and stopped at the bridge over the Achipse River, next to Estosadok. From the reserve's cardon we took a short ride on a passing tourist bus to the menagerie. Then we crossed to the left bank of the Achipse River, along some kind of metal structure. Then we walked along an unpaved road upstream of the Laura. Then there was a long, grueling serpentine climb to the Psehoko ridge. Trucks drive along the ridge (Gazprom is building a cable car). By evening we had already reached the alpine zone, not far from the Bzerpen cornice. And in the evening, before sunset, we approached the booth on the Bzerpensky cornice. There were 3 people in the booth (2 men and a woman). These people are lovers of beautiful mountain photographs. In general, the seven of us had to spend the night. It was cramped. In the morning there was frost on the grass. We (two of our four) decided to climb the Sugar Pseashkho peak, our other two decided to go to the Kholodny camp. And three photographers went to Semiozerye. We (my friend and I) got up early, quickly ate and hit the road, because... we had a lot to go through that day. My friend, as always, walked very quickly and I lagged behind him. That day we had no breaks or snacks. I walked for about 10 hours. In general, we went around two spurs, crossed two streams and began to climb the Sugar Pseashkho peak. To the west there are almost sheer cliffs, to the east they are flatter, but also not very similar. We climbed straight along the rocky ridge. Then we crossed a small glacier and climbed along the southwestern spur. So we climbed to the top of the peak. The weather deteriorated slightly, clouds obscured many peaks from view. But nevertheless, the view from the top of the peak is very impressive. For some reason, getting down was more dangerous than getting on (maybe I was just tired). I was already approaching the booth alone (my partner ran ahead), swaying slightly from fatigue.
The second night, 5 people spent the night in the booth (2 of us and three photographers). It was comfortable to sleep (not cramped). The next morning we quickly ate and by 11 o’clock we were already down to the car at Estosadok. After lunch I was already home.
I really enjoyed the hike. I especially want to note that this was the Main Caucasian Range itself and therefore the appearance of the mountains was already “more serious” and quite severe. I have never seen this before.
You can get a lot of interesting information about the Pseashkha mountain range

This will be a report in two parts. There are two parts because everything happened on different days with an interval of a week, and there is one report because the purpose of both events is the same, common. Something like that:).

The idea to run to Pseashkho Sugar in one day was born last year. At the same time, we wanted to organize something like a test competition, but it didn’t work out - Gazprom didn’t want to let us through the construction site, and then the weather turned bad. In November, we explored the option of climbing around the Psekhako ridge, through the Bzerpi peak. And now we wanted to go the entire route, from Narzan through Kogot to Sugar Pseashkho and back. So, the first part: on July 24 at 8-00 we started from Narzan. We expected it to be 6 a.m., but by now we got to Polyana, by the time we received the reserve pass (and thank you for giving it to us so early), by the time we got along the broken (but also under construction) road to Pslukh, by the time the border guards signed us up... Three of us went - me, Sanya from Lazarevskoye and Maxim from Rostov (a famous multi-athlete, organizer of the Caucasus Race in Lagonaki - he was just vacationing in our area). I described the route to Bzerpi Peak earlier, so I will give only a couple of noteworthy photos.

Just a mushroom...

and just a tractor :).

All photos, by the way, are clickable and have geotags - i.e. linked to the card.
The forest was very damp, and when we walked through the grass, our shoes simply began to squelch. Because of the tall grass, walking was more difficult than in the fall. But there was an abundance of various flowers.

We did not go to the Bzerpi peak itself, since we were short on time, and, in addition, we discovered a bypass path leading to the Bzerpi cornice.

The trail passes through a depression between Tabunna and Bzerpi peak, a kind of pass on which there are places for overnight stays and several marshy puddles.

View of the Bzerpa cornice.

We passed the house at about 13-00, at 13-20 we crossed Pslukh and headed towards Saharny.

It began to rain, which intensified as we approached the second influx. After discussing the situation, we turned back at 14:30. We returned to Narzan around 20:00. That's all for the first part. Conclusion: this option of the route is too difficult for a one-day passage, plus difficulties with border guards. But then we decided to check another option..

So, part two. On July 31 at 9:30, Sanya and I will start from the upper station of the Gazprom cable car. This time we were luckier with the weather, and the road along the Psekhako ridge was partially cleared.

In 40 minutes we reach the beginning of the trail, then another 40 to the forest border, where we meet descending groups.

We walk for another 40 minutes along the path that traverses to the Bzerpa cornice.

We pass the house at 11-30.

We are approaching the place where we need to turn into the Pslukha gorge - this time the final goal is already visible from here - the peak of Sugar Pseashkho.

We walk along the left side of the gorge, gradually ascending. The path is overgrown with grass, in some places as tall as a person, which makes it quite difficult to walk in the heat - there is no breeze. By 13-10 we approach the second influx. Sugar is shrouded in fog, but the peak is visible from time to time. There are two tents at the overnight sites.

We start getting up from spending the night at 13-20. We go to the left of the ridge, sticking to the dry ravine.

There is no paved trail, but there are tourists.

The ascent option is much safer than the one we used. In half an hour we reach the ridge and continue along it. Suddenly a figure emerges from the fog towards you with a huge tripod in his hands, followed by two more. They are surprised that we are going so late, and promise us another 5 hours of ascent. They are even more surprised when we say that a month earlier we climbed to the top in two and a half hours. We wish each other good luck and part ways. In fact, I understand that now we will be walking longer - in June we walked in the morning, rested and more or less acclimatized. And now the height and fatigue begin to be felt - shortness of breath appears, the muscles in the legs feel clogged. But we continue to climb. At the point where we need to traverse to another ridge, we stop and wait until the fog clears to choose the optimal path.

Approximately in the middle of the traverse, behind the stream, we meet a herd of aurochs.

We climb a little along the grassy scree slope, avoiding small rocky outcrops, and then go out to the right onto the ridge.

There are no difficulties encountered, and at 17-10 we reach the top - as usual, in complete fog :). We sit for about 40 minutes, hoping to see the surrounding panorama. The peak itself is periodically illuminated by the sun.

The sun projects our shadows onto the fog.

Without seeing anything around, we begin our descent.

The usual fog gives way to a fine mist of water that covers my glasses—I have to constantly wipe them. We descend strictly along the path of ascent - this is the most optimal path. We leave for the night at 19-40, there are no tents anymore. It starts to rain, and water immediately begins to squelch in your shoes from the wet grass. On the approach to the first tributary, Sanya, who is slightly behind, loses the trail (although it is quite well paved). I wait for him near the stream, then I return along the path, I call - silence. Fog, nothing is visible beyond 10 meters. Then Sanya was finally found - he crossed the stream above the path and went down. We lost at least half an hour looking for each other.. Then we go, switching places - Sanya is ahead. Because of the rain we are walking quite slowly and slippery. We pass the house on the Bzerpa cornice at ten o'clock. It got dark, but we prudently took flashlights. At 12 we pass the upper station of the cable car and go further along the road. Here we were lucky - we picked up a passing Kamaz. At one o'clock in the morning we are already near the car waiting for us in Esto-Sadok.
So, conclusions: 1. You need to train :). 2. It is advisable to get to the starting point early - i.e. to be thrown by car early in the morning, when the cable car is not yet operating. 3. Rain slows down movement very much (it becomes slippery), but it usually falls in the late afternoon. In general, it is quite possible for a trained person to complete the route in daylight. And the monsters that run to Elbrus in two hours may well have time to run away during the operating time of the cable car :). The route is in some ways more difficult than on Elbrus, mainly due to overgrown paths. But at the same time it is quite safe - even in bad weather you can safely go down without the risk of freezing (although there is a risk of getting lost). The length of the route from the upper station of the cable car to the top of Saharny Pseashkho is 16 km, the elevation difference is almost 2 km. So I invite everyone who wants to test themselves to the Sugar Marathon on September 10th ;).
Details a little later.

You will find a detailed description of the route, a map showing trails and possible radials (with GPS coordinates), as well as a description of the weather and the most up-to-date information on obtaining passes for this route. Here is some brief information about this particular hike.

Route map in Google Earth

Legend:

A B- the beginning of the trail, the entrance to the territory of the Caucasus Nature Reserve, C D- place to spend the night, E F G- Camp Kholodny. H

Hiking timing

• 12:00 - took the cable car to the upper Gazprom station
• 13:40 - having lost a lot of time, we barely passed the Olympic construction site and reached the dirt road leading to the Bzerpinsky cornice
• 15:00 - 17:00 - lunch break
• 18:30 - went up to the house on the Bzerpinsky cornice
• 20:30 - set up camp at the bottom of the canyon of a tributary of the Pslukh River

• 06:00 - left the camp
• 08:30 - reached the western ridge of Sugar Pseashkho
• 9:45 - 10:30 - transition to the southwestern ridge of Pseashkho by traverse of the western slope
• 12:00 - 13:00 - rest on the top of Sugar Pseashkho
• 18:30 - return to camp

• 10:00 - left the camp
• 10:30 - Pseashkho pass
• 12:30 - 15:30 - rest in the Kholodny camp, lunch, swimming in the river
• 17:00 - Jitaku pass
• 19:30 - return to camp

• 10:00 - left the camp
• 10:40 - Bzerpinsky cornice
• 13:00 - upper station of the Gazprom "Laura" cable car

Important note regarding hike timing: In order to get the necessary time to complete this or that section of the route, we can safely divide the time we spent by two. We walked very slowly, took a lot of photographs, were in absolutely no hurry, and besides, I also got sick on the second day of the hike (it was still freezing under the air conditioning in Sochi). So tourist groups moving “in sports mode” will go through all this faster!

Legend:

1 - upper station of the "Laura" Gazprom cable car, 2 - Bear Gate pass (n/a, 2100 m), 3 - traverse of the western slope of Mount Sugar Pseashkho, 4 - peak of Mount Sugar Pseashkho (n/k, 3188 m), 5 - Pseashkho pass (n/k, 2014 m), 6 - Camp Kholodny, 7 - Semiozerka pass (n/k, 1920 m).

Coordinates of key points of the hike

• GPS01(upper station of the "Laura" Gazprom cable car) - 43°41"37.61"N, 40°18"49.28"E,
• GPS02(beginning of the trail) - 43°41"39.44"N, 40°21"1.43"E
• GPS03(house on the Bear Gate pass) - 43°42"34.25"N, 40°22"36.13"E,
• GPS04(turn of the trail to Sugar Pseashkho) - 43°43"18.23"N, 40°23"3.99"E,
• GPS05(beginning of traverse of the western slope, transition to the southwestern ridge) - 43°42"32.05"N, 40°25"50.74"E
• GPS06(point of exit to the southwestern ridge of Pseashkho) - 43°42"20.09"N, 40°26"10.44"E,
• GPS07(top of Sugar Pseashkho) - 43°42"31.15"N, 40°26"39.42"E,
• GPS08(beginning of the upper trail to the Semiozerka valley) - 43°44"3.00"N, 40°23"28.08"E
• GPS09(place of the Urushten ford for access to the Semiozerka valley from the side of the Kholodny camp) - 43°45"16.88"N, 40°24"23.32"E,
• GPS10(new suspension bridge over the Kholodnaya river) - 43°45"34.30"N, 40°25"1.01"E,
• GPS11(house of the Kholodny camp) - 43°45"47.16"N, 40°25"3.42"E,
• GPS12(viewpoint on the Semiozerka pass) - 43°45"15.73"N, 40°22"34.19"E.
• Actually completed track for Garmin navigators - .gdb, .gpx
• Track for viewing in Google Earth - download

update! photos of houses in June 2014

Trek budget

(calculated per 1 person)

• Pass to the reserve, for 5 days - 750 rub.
• Products for 5 days of hiking - 800 rub.
• Gas - 150 rub.
• Minibus Sochi - Krasnaya Polyana (Gazprom cable car) - 100 rubles.
• One ascent + one descent on the Laura cable car - 600 rubles.
• Minibus Krasnaya Polyana (Gazprom cable car) - Sochi - 100 rubles.
• Total: 2500 rub.

Border pass and pass to the Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve

There are two points you need to know. First, you will need a nature reserve pass. Secondly, if you are not going along this route, but, for example, to the area of ​​Lake Kardyvach, then you will additionally need to obtain a border pass! It turns out it’s not easy - you need to provide a photocopy of your passport and a completed application in which you indicate the desired area(s) to visit. It seems that documents can be sent by fax, but you will still have to receive them locally, that is, in Sochi. The passes are made free of charge, the production time is from one to two months and are valid until the end of the current year at the time of submission of documents.

General information about routes, weather and other nuances of hiking through the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is in my homemade guide to Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana for outdoor enthusiasts and hikers. Read it, I think it will be useful.

Office addresses of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve
to get a pass for the route:

• Adler, Karl Marx St., 8. Opening hours: from 9-00 to 17-00, except weekends and holidays.
• Krasnaya Polyana, Aviary complex (2 km along the road from the Gazprom cable car). Working hours: from 9-00 to 17-00, without weekends and holidays.

Useful information and contacts

• Transfer by jeep from Krasnaya Polyana to the barrier of the Biosphere Reserve cordon - Pavel (+7 918 204 4303). A professional driver, like his father. Pavel is an ethnic Greek, as befits a real Krasnopolyan. The cost of transportation is about 1000 rubles per person, but not less than 3-4 people.
• Georgy Vitalievich (+7 928 661 5210) – senior ranger of the reserve. You can negotiate with him about horses for transportation to Kardyvach. The cost is around 3,000 rubles per horse per day. You can also inquire about transferring by car to Engelman Glades or obtaining a pass for a particular route.

conclusions

• Very beautiful! Especially the section from the Bear Gate pass to the Pseashkho pass
• I was very surprised by the cleanliness of the route. No beer cans or candy wrappers. Respect to the reserve staff (and tourists?)
• Excellent trails and equipped parking areas on the Bzerpinsky cornice and in the Kholodny camp
• Thanks to all the above factors, the area is ideal for exploring the mountains and making your first hikes!
• I will definitely leave this area as one of the best for short training hikes in fast&light style
• And yet radials rule! We wouldn’t have had time to walk so far “in line”!
• I remembered an important truth - you need to take a very responsible approach to choosing a place for camp. Sleeping and eating in a beautiful place means a lot both for recuperation, and it’s just always nice to admire the beautiful view right from the camp!
• You should definitely go ski touring here in winter. UPDATE! Made! Look

We got our hands on some photos from a hike in the mountains of the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve on July 1-3. I look through the photos and realize that I want to go there again! Untouched by man, pristine nature, good people nearby, an interesting route - left an indelible impression. Thank you very much to Yura Vartanov yvar who organized this event and invited me to participate in it!

At its core, the hike was educational - as preparation for an autumn sports hike of the 2nd category of difficulty. While passing the route, we passed 2 category passes - the Stroiteley pass (1B, 2800 m) and the Mramorny pass (1B*, 2800 m), and both passes were climbed in one day - and for educational purposes I think it was very cool: )

The hiking area is the Pseashkho mountain range, located 20 km from the village of Krasnaya Polyana, in the upper reaches of the rivers Urushten, Malaya Laba, Pslukh, on the territory of the Caucasus Natural Biosphere Reserve. Belongs to the Main Caucasus Range. You can read about the Pseashkho massif.

In this hike I was interested in many things - getting to this part of the Caucasus Nature Reserve, visiting the mountains, assessing whether I need an autumn double, finding out what category passes are and seeing glaciers. All goals were successfully achieved. The reserve is amazing! I'll go to double! Categorical passes turn the hike into a great adventure! And glaciers - although small, accessible and not dangerous, for a person who has not seen anything like this - evoke some kind of unreal feeling of eternity. When I walked along the Pseashkho glacier, surrounded by harsh, steep rocks, this feeling did not leave me - this is all eternal, it has always been here, is and will always be. And I, as tiny as an ant, am not at all the king of nature. I am the same biological species as all the animals that inhabit these mountains - I am the same as them, just part of nature. This is a truly unusual, incomparable feeling. And I really want to feel it again and again.

And this is our track:

View of the mountains at the beginning of our journey, almost on the border with the reserve:

After climbing the path up to the so-called “Wicket”:

And this is already a nature reserve:

View from the reserve to the village of Krasnaya Polyana and the construction of Olympic sports facilities:

Blooming rhododendron (by the way, this is where we met the female Caucasian grouse):

Inspector's house:

The first snowfields on the way up to the Stroiteley Pass:

And this is our group already at the pass, we are waiting for those lagging behind:

A small panorama from the Stroiteley pass to the Pseashkho glacier:

Sparse vegetation among rocky screes:

Descent down the glacier. A flat glacier of the valley type, covered with snow, we didn’t even wear crampons on it:

View of the glacier cirque after passing the glacier:

After descending along the rocks to the very bottom, to the raging river flowing from the glacier, we took a break and went up again - to the Marble Pass. A very interesting pass. Feels like it. Because the steepness of the slope was about 45 degrees, it began to rain and hail and we couldn’t even walk, but had to climb up along a narrow ridge. It turned out that my phobia of heights did not disappear completely, as I previously thought. Out of 8 people, I was 7th in terms of experience, but I went, or rather flew into the pass, I was 3rd :)

View from the Maramorny pass to the highest point of the Krasnodar Territory, Tsakhvoa (3345m):

Descent down the Mramorny glacier:

Bottom view of the pass:

And this is after spending the night on the banks of the Mramornaya river of the same name:

Pseashkho massif with a view of the Kholodny glacier:

CLIMBING PSEASHKHO SAKHARNAYY 3189 m

In summer, the route is rated difficulty category 1A.

The Pseashkho massif is located in the axial zone of the Main Caucasus Range. 9 peaks of the massif exceed the three-kilometer mark. These are North Pseashkho Mountain - 3256.9 m, South Pseashkho Mountain - 3251.5 m, Sugar Pseashkho Peak - 3189 m, Kozhevnikov Peak - 3072 m and others. The sources of the rivers Urushten and Malaya Laba originate from the massif.

On the southeastern slope at the headwaters of the Chistaya River lies the Pseashkho glacier, the largest glacier in the Krasnodar region. Its length is 3.1 km, area 1.8 km. And the total glaciated area of ​​the massif is 5.2 km. To the north and west of the Pseashkho glacier there are 4 more glaciers. The largest of them, the Marble glacier, has an area of ​​1 km and a length of 1.1 km. At the foot of the grandiose northern wall of Pseashkho lies the Kholodny karova-valley glacier, which gives life to the stream of the same name. The view of the Kholodny glacier was captured in photographs, calendars, and albums. After all, for a long time the planned tourist route from Psebay to Krasnaya Polyana passed by through the simple Pseashkho pass.

The peak of Pseashkho Sugar is clearly visible from Krasnaya Polyana, it is also called the Sugar Loaf, because it really resembles a sugar cone (in the old days, refined sugar was produced in the form of “sugar loaves” of a conical shape, hence the name of the peak).

Route description:

From the Fir Glade on the Psekokho ridge (on modern maps the ridge is mistakenly named “Psekhako”) we climb the path to the Bear Gate and then go out onto the Bzerpinsky cornice to a small house built here in 2004. We follow the path further towards the Pseashkho pass and, after walking 1.5 km, turn off the path down to the right.
After crossing the upper reaches of the Pslukh by ford or over rocks, we go to the beginning of the trail. Walking with a smooth climb, we cross the stream, then we approach the first tributary of the Pslukh. The tributary flows in a trough hanging valley, which ends abruptly at its mouth to the valley of the Pslukh River.

A steep descent down, crossing a tributary and climbing up its left bank slope. There is a good camp site under a low flat rock here. Go ahead. There is a steep climb up the slope, and again the trail passes through a traverse with a smooth climb. Descent into the 2nd tributary of the Pslukh, crossing through it and climbing to the grassy areas of the left bank slope. The trail has ended. Here, at an altitude of about 2150m, we set up camp.

Our overnight stop before the climb

The path to the top of Sugarloaf Peak (3188.9 m) goes along its western ridge. The horizontal distance to the top is 2.5 km, the elevation difference is about 1000 m. The ridge is overgrown with grass, in places with rhododendron, and there are rocky outcrops.
Before reaching the steep slopes of the ridge (approximately the middle of the ridge), we turn right, cross the snowfield and emerge onto the southwestern ridge. Along this heavily destroyed simple ridge we reach the top.

From the top there is a beautiful panorama of near and far mountains: Pseashkho (Uzlovoy, Yuzhny, Northern), Igolchatye peaks, Green Wedge, Kozhevnikov peak, Tsakhvoa, Agepsta, Akh-Ag, Aibga, Achishkho, Chugush and others. Akhun, Bytkha, the city of Sochi, and the Black Sea are visible. When descending from the summit along the southwestern ridge, you can mistakenly, especially in the fog, turn onto the southern ridge adjacent to it. To prevent this from happening, when ascending, you can mark the place of descent with stone tours or other marks.