Iremel Twice

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My firm initial intention was to write no single word about the two trips to the mount of Iremel. However, thinking it over and having browsed through the photos, I came to the justified solution that it is unfair to omit these trips because, notwithstanding the fact of Rather Bad weather during them both, the experiences are worth sharing. I did not like to write about the trip only due to the reason that the weather was not quite excellent and I (we) did not see any panoramas. I like panoramas very much, specifically when on a mountain top. Given no panorama, I’m dissatisfied.

Mount Iremel is about 1650 m high and is located in the Urals. It takes only four hours from Ufa to Station Vyazovaya by train. There are plenty of trains in that direction so one can choose whatever departure time he pleases. There are also several other options of reaching Tuluk, all of which combine several modes of transport, like train and a bus, or bus and a bus etc.

The decision to visit Iremel came all of a sudden; if you have read about Kolban and Kuiguk, then you know I visited the Altai Mountains that August. At the end of August, I had an urge to see some more mountains, no matter high or low. I suggested a friend of mine, Vasja, to go and climb the mount Iremel. It is not climbing as such, it is a foot walk, but it’s rather long, if you do not take the offered transport to the mountain bottom, and thus shorten the distance quite significantly.

We did not wish at all to cut the long way short.

The train arrived at Vyazovaya Station some 4.30 or 5.00 in the morning. We had to wait about an hour for the bus to go to the next intermediate point, by the name of Tryokhgorny (it’s a ‘secret’ city, one cannot enter it without having a permit or some other documents). It is surrounded by a high fence and is surveilled by video cameras. It is about 20-30 minutes by public bus from Vyazovaya to Tryokhgorny. Alternatively, and much better, one can call a taxi and drive directly to the destination.

The road from Tryokhgorny to Tuluk (the village near the mountain) we both spent sleeping in the bus, and that took another hour. The road is gravel and oh, I’m having such pleasant emotions recalling that!

On the day of departure, I, as often happens with me, did not want to go. But as soon as we arrived at Tuluk, I dissolved in happiness. It was a small village, ahead and at the back there were dark masses of hills, that is, the Ural Mountains. Behold now, the total distance from Tuluk to the top and back is about 30 km on foot. One does feel a bit tired afterwards.

We started going and asked a man for directions. We saw a church not far away from the bus stop, and a small river (or stream) with a bridge over it. It was the end of August, so the sun did not appear, but clouds gathered merrily and quite soon obstructed all views of the high hills. It was some 8 o’clock in the morning. We did not have much food with us, and had a tent, which I insisted on taking. Later the tent almost ‘saved our lives’.

Before the trip, I downloaded some instructions from the web on how to reach the mountain. So we followed those instructions. It was raining and we put on our raincoats made of polyethylene. The rain was not heavy but boring and persistent. I held the sheet with the instructions and read it aloud. We took the wrong way and struggled through the bushes seeing almost no path. There was no path to the mountain top. I told my friend we would soon reach the path, but we did not; once he suggested going back to the crossroads, where we took the wrong way, and I agreed only having fully realized the uselessness of pursuing the wrong path. It was raining all the time and my boots got wet completely.

The right road to the mountain was good, wide and fit for cars and trucks. We did not lose our patience and still wished the rain would stop. We stopped at a lawn and had a bite of something, don’t remember exactly, perhaps it was a chocolate. It felt nice to be on the right way.

Then the road ended and we took the path winding through the woods. There was a piece of land covered with boulders – it looked like a boulder stream. We drank water from the rivulets and took pictures. It is not easy to get lost in that area, because there are some signs on the trees. The higher we got, the mistier it became and we were sure no views would yield to us. We got remarkably tired, and that’s my fault, because I chose the wrong path instead of following the wide road.

The trees in the grey mist looked fantastic and mysterious, their branches like some claws or tentacles reaching out. My all clothes were soaking wet and, naturally, the mist did not let us see where the top was and no one was nearby to ask. We got tired and put up a tent and decided to leave the top for better times. Later it turned out our tent stood right at the top, we simply had to move a bit left. In the tent, it was so nice, warm and we ate oranges, chocolates, and cold canned meat. We decided already during the ascent that there was no time for making fires, because we had to descend timely in order to catch the bus. If you have plenty of time, stay several nights there and explore the roundabouts, it’s worth it.

I had a painful cramp in my leg and it really hurt, while in the tent. Vasja laughed at my cramp, but not evilly. We talked and rested. The worst thing was that I had no clothes for change and had to put on all the wet things back. It’s unpleasant until the bodily heat compensates the cold.

It was easy to put up the tent, but difficult to assemble it. Somehow we managed to assemble it after many a try. It was time for descent and weather was still fine, mist and drizzle. We happened to take another descent path and it seemed a hell of time to me before we reached the wide road. We had to hurry but I guessed we would not be in time for the bus. Vasja had blisters and did not walk fast, neither did I, though blisters I had not. We naturally missed the bus and Vasja suggested our going to find some warm place (he meant the café we saw before) and have a bite. We had hot borsch, mashed potatoes and tea. It is real happiness. Right after the descent, I did not want to stay there any longer.

We decided to hitch-hike but just after we left the café the heavy rain began soaking us completely, over and over again. A car came rather soon and the man said he had to visit a place and then he would take us to Tryokhgorny. I did not utter any word during the drive, it was still raining, but the car was warm. Vasja talked to the driver.

In Tryokhgorny, we took the bus to Vyazovaya. It was much time before our train, so I suggested our returning the tickets and buying new ones for an earlier train. That done, we had only half an hour to wait.

In the train, the most horrible thing was that, after having a good short sleep under the warm blanket, I had to put on the wet clothes… Vasja had some clothes for his own change, the lucky one. We arrived to Ufa early in the morning and waited for the bus for about an hour. The bus was to take us from the railway station to the intercity bus station, and I slept during the drive. Vasja woke me up and we descended. The sun was rising and I realized the success of the trip and was glad to be heading for home.

The second trip to Iremel was made after a month, at the end of September. I invited two girls to join me on that trip. The details are almost the same, except that we knew the right road. It was autumn, so there was yellow and multi-coloured leaves and the road was covered with them. Also, we were unlucky with the bus from Tryokhgorny to Tuluk, so I called a taxi.

In Tuluk, the three of us had a nice breakfast at a local inn. Going to the top was easy and the girls enjoyed themselves, taking photos; so did I. Having approached the top, we put up the tent and the girls decided to leave the top for better times, while self was firmly determined to reach it. We saw a man there who showed us the direction. So, the girls stayed and rested, while I spend some 30 minutes in ascending the top and descending back. It is a hill covered with boulders so one has to be careful both ways in order to not harm oneself. Nothing was to be viewed from the top, only mist and boulders, all grey after two or three meters. It was still mist, but less rain during that trip. One of the girls had a birthday in a few days, so the other two of us decided to congratulate her and we asked her to stay inside the tent while we involved in secret affairs outside – inflated balloons and laughed. When the girl came out, she was rather surprised by us staying there holding many funny balloons and presenting a home-made cake to her and happy birthdaying her. She was well pleased and we had a small celebration meal and then descended. The trip was not tiresome this time.

On the way back, there were some transport problems, because we called a taxi, which never came, and we wasted almost 2 hours, but then hitch-hiked and in due time were at the train station, where we rested for 2 hours or more waiting for the train. I’m planning someday to get back there with my friends in good weather to enjoy the complete beauty of it.

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Photos

This Way, Please
the sign shows the way to the mountain Bolshoi Iremel

Self
it was raining all day