Combined snowmobile and ski tour “Wolverine track”
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Duration: 8 days
Group: 6-8 people.
Price for one person: 19 500 Rub (may be more).
The price includes:staying at tourist lodge Sana-Vouzh, National Park permit, all meals, guiding by 2 guides, using snowmobiles.
We made up and tried out this tour as the one that
includes most interesting and bright features of winter Sub-Polar Urals.
Unless you climbed the highest top of the Urals, Naroda Peak (1895 m), you missed the whole experience. It stayes a little bit apart from other peaks and is a symbol of this section of the mountain range. It is very gentle sloping northwards – like the whole Polar Ural range that comes down gradually towards Arctic Ocean and finally submerges as Novaia Zemlia archipelago. Southern slopes of Naroda are very steep and challenging for climbing like peaks of Nepristupnyi that are perfectly visible from Naroda in the south.
Naroda Peak is one of the best viewpoints – to the west you can see Uas-Nyrd, Malda-Nyrd and Saledy ranges, to the east West-Siberian lowland stretches down to Ob river.
Naroda Peak, apart from being the highest in the Urals, is also important in other way – it lies on the border between Asia and Europe. Here you will not find any sign of human presence – no footprints or snowmobile tracks, only reindeers come here and sometimes a wolverine, whose long chains of footprints tells stories of this solitary nomad of snow deserts.
Climbing Naroda Peak (following the way our guides have chosen for tourists) does not require any special training. But if it is your first time in the mountains or you want to know what it feels like our guides organize training in safe and comfortable environment of Sana-Vouzh lodge. You start from the lodge in the morning and come back in the evening, the climbing is not long, but character and steepness of the slope is similar to Naroda. You also can learn how to use crampons and ski poles.
Both nights – before and after climbing Naroda – we sleep in tents, each is heated with portable stove. We use double polyurethane mats that don't absorb water and provide enough thermal insulation. Our guides keep the stoves heating the whole night, so tourists have enough time to sleep and dry the clothes, as the temperature is maintained in comfortable range between 10 and 15 C. There is no forest around Naroda so we bring the wood by snowmobiles, and build a snow wall around the tents. Those who would like to try how does it feel like to live in snow as a wolwerine, we can build an igloo.
We don't stay long at Sana-Vouzh lodge, because we have so much to do. The lodge itself is located on Balbanju river where a gold diggers cooperative “Pechora” headed by Vadim Tumanov worked not long ago. Lot of gold have been found there and still more is hidden on the riverbed.
After a tour of the lodge we go to the confluence of Kozhim and Balbanju rivers to look at the most ancient inhabitants of the place – rock figures, so called “Bolvany” (dumbheads), that gave the name to the river Balbanju. The biggest, “Kamennaja Baba”, looka like a female figure, and the guide will tell the story about it.
Clothing for snowmobile tour is different from what you need for skiing and climbing. When you go by snowmobile you have to wear snow suits or trousers and very warm footwear - the best option is felt boots - warm jacket (preferably down-padded coat) with a hood that protects the face, and skiing glasses.
For skiing and climbing you have to use lighter clothing. It is advisable to carry warm coat and spare pair of mittens in your day pack, and to wear windproof jacket and simple trekking boots with warm socks. The boots should be 1 or 2 sizes larger than your usual size to ensure normal blood circulation and avoid frostbite.
Under the windproof jacket you should wear warm underwear, fleece trousers and sweater, and depending on weather you can add second fleece layer. Also you should haveb2 pairs of warm gloves and mittens, and wool caps.
Tour schedule
1 day
Arrival in Inta, transfer by snowmobiles to Sana-Vouzh lodges (100 km, 6-8 hours). On the way everybody have a chance to drive a snowmobile. We make several short stops on the way and one longer stop on the border of the National Park, at Kozhim river crossing, where we have lunch, and in the evening we arrive at Sana-Vouzh lodge and stay in a log house with a stove.
2 day
Breakfast, tour of the gold digging base Sana-Vouzh (translated as Wolwerine river), lunch, short tour on snowmobiles to Kozhim river to look at sacred rock figures “Kamennaja baba”.
3 day
Training climbing on Rosomakha (Wolwerine) range or Kolokol range. Coming to the slope on skies (or by snowmobiles) and then climbing in crampons and with ski poles. On the way we make stops to relax and have tea and lunch. Banya (Russian sauna) in the evening.
4 day
Transfer on snowmobiles to the foot of Naroda peak (60 km).
5 day
We go by ski (3km) towards Naroda and then climb the mountain (1895 m, 6 – 8 hours) using crampons and ski poles.
6 days
Coming back to Sana-Vouzh by snowmobiles.
7 day
This day we stay at the lodge and relax, in the evening go to banya and have final dinner. Weather permitting we can go on skies or walk around, climb on of the nearest peaks or riding snowmobiles.
8 day
Coming back to Inta, boardng on train.
Note:Depending on weather and the level of fitness of the group members the tour program can be changed to become more challenging or more relaxed.