Route changes

Have you already read the descriptions of our routes? I tried to make them interesting, attractive and... vague. The fact is that it is impossible to create a universal route for all occasions. Each time during the hike you have to make multiple changes to the route. Essentially, the route is being rethought.

Why is this happening?

Firstly, the weather has a huge impact. In the mountains, she is the mistress of destinies and determines who is destined to see the local beauty and who is not. How? It’s very simple - clouds can easily block the most beautiful views from you if they don’t like you. I'm not kidding - nature really senses the mood in a group of tourists and shows itself only to those who are kind and open to the world. Think about it.

So, when bad weather strikes, this is a warning to us and we cannot ignore it - the route immediately changes. Climbing to the peaks is postponed, the path is laid through more sheltered places, alternate options for spending the night and descending into the valley are being thought out.

Secondly, the most important factor is the general condition of the group. Throughout the entire trip, the instructor observes the tourists, their physical and moral state and thinks, thinks, thinks. He is looking for ways to show his charges as many interesting places as possible, while ensuring safety and preserving their strength. His work is complicated by the fact that it is almost impossible to assemble a group with the same level of training. The fact is that until you personally see a person in action (in the mountains), you will not understand what he is like. Oral descriptions and CVs cannot be trusted.  However, when answering the questions in our questionnaire, be as patient as possible and describe in as much detail as possible your experience of outdoor activities and your expectations from this trip. Including the speed at which you would prefer to travel.

Although it is not so much the nominal speed of the group that is important (in the mountains it rarely exceeds 3 km/h). The community of the group has a much stronger influence. A group that follows a route as a single whole can do much more than a disunited group of “class athletes.”

Morning preparations usually take a huge amount of time. This usually takes about 4 hours. Imagine how much you could see and do during this time.

I am writing all this so that you understand that a lot depends on you personally. Knowing this, you will be able to decide for yourself what is more important to you - additional minutes of rest or additional impressions.

Don't forget to share your thoughts with your guide. This will help him adapt the route. Remember - he is on your side.

By the way, an important factor in choosing a path is the guide’s intuition. At every crossroads, in search of advice and recommendations, he carefully peers not at a map or compass, but into his own soul. He trusts this advice much more than the forecasts of the Hydrometeorological Center, and he does the right thing. Mountains, like the East, are a delicate matter.

Let's return to the route descriptions published on the website. They represent the arithmetic average of all the hikes we have conducted in this direction. Simply put, this is how most groups complete the route.