EXPEDITIONS

A Summer Trip To the Chuvalskiy Stone.

Related by Konstantin Zykov.

In July 2005, having prepared my UAZ for off-road trips, my family and I decided to go in for an expedition to conservation area in the North of Perm Region. The route was mapped out according to the following points:
" It must be a place which we even did not dream to reach.
" On the route to the place there must be neither vehicle no people besides us.
" The place must be magnificent.

Taking into account the above-mentioned points we chose the following route Perm - Berezniki, Krasnovishersk, Vaya, Vels, then onto the Chuvalskiy Stone and the Mountain Zyryanovka, along the river Big Moyva to the Bikhtiyarov Chum (a kind of hut), then along the river Vels source and along the ridge Molebnyi Stone to Sverdlovsk Region and at the end we planned to go back to Perm along the common road.

We also worked out a spare route to be on the safe side - behind the mountain Chuvalskiy Stone and Zyryanovka, along the river Vels there is a turn to the abandoned Siberia Priisk (field) and a way out to Sverdlovsk region onto the common roads.

Running a few steps forward I must confess that our trip turned out to be neither first nor second but third… but all in good time.

So on 21 June early in the morning my whole family - my wife Olya, our son Oleg, our daughter Lena, me and our dog Tuzik left Perm for the expedition. Having passed Berezniki we drove toward Krasnovishersk and then to the village Vaya. We went on the asphalt road enjoying the passing forest. In Krasnovishersk we filled the tanks and gasoline cans with fuel because further on there were no petrol stations. That night we reached the village Vaya and got across the river Vishera to the other bank by the cable ferry.

In the village we found something looking like a petrol station though with no man in charge. The local people told us that he would come the next morning . So we decided to camp in the nearby forest. It was already pitch-dark and raining hard into the bargain when we erected a tent. We had a quick dinner and went to bed.
In the morning on 22 July we slept long as we had got quite exhausted the day before. After a slow and pleasant breakfast we dismantled the tent and went to the village filling station. Alas! There was again no man in charge. And again the local people told us that he had gone to mow grass. What should we do? We needed petrol badly. Happily we found a local village old man who had a lot of fuel in store, he sold us 20 liters. Now we had our tanks full and could continue our trip in the direction of the village Vels.

In Vels we had to wade the Vishera. It was our first serious off-road adventure.
At first we searched the bank for the shallow areas driving here and there because they could be not found visually. As a result of such searching I explored approximately a kilometer of the Vishera bed. Having chosen the most shallow and the least rocky bottom so that the car should not drown I made up my mind to cross the river lower than the village down-stream. Although the water was 1m 30cm a very strong river current made the process of crossing a lot more complicated.
The fear of the thing that the car could rise in the stream and drift away made me think of unwinding the rope of the winch and fastening it to a tree on the opposite bank. It turned out to be more difficult than I had supposed. The matter was that I could cross the river without the rope but when I held it in my hands the mission was absolutely impossible because when the rope got into water it immediately began to drift away with the current and I consequently drifted too. I tried 10 times but failed! I got exhausted and made up my mind to think the problem over. Finally I came to the following conclusion. All I had to do was to pull the rope up-stream to the maximum and then run, swim, rush to the opposite bank. The plan was a success. I got on the other bank just in front of my car and fastened the rope on the tree.

Now the crossing was a question of technique. The village people in Vels were shocked when they saw us driving along their streets because the only vehicle they had ever had there was huge trucks (Urals). On these trucks they go into the fields for mowing grass just along the bed of the river Vels (I saw it myself).
When we left the village we stopped to have a snack, to take pictures of beautiful rocks, to map out the route.

As we did not find the road along the Vishera which was marked in our atlas we chose an alternative track - at first we went along the Vels bed then through the forest in the direction of the Vishera not far from ruins of the village Priiskovaya. The track was rather hard, we often rode through bushes and young trees clearing the way with a petrol saw.

Fallen needles of young fir-trees growing right on the way, last year's leaves and grass got into the radiator and stopped it up.
As the car overheated we had to stop to pour the water on the radiator and shake the rubbish off. I did it with a branch but I twice did it with a hand hack-saw. As a result there appeared holes in the radiator. So it taught me a good lesson - never touch the radiator with metal things! I had nothing to do but use the so-called cold welding. Thank goodness it helped and the radiator stopped leaking!

On the way we had to cope with a lot of difficulties such as bogs, deep pits with running streams at their bottoms and wading the Vishera tributaries. We used the winch all the time - while getting out of the fords on the bogs and in pits of course. Actually after several trips on rugged territories I arrived at a conclusion that a winch is the main valuable off-road accessory. You can put in your landrover nothing but a winch is a must that should be taken with you. In need it will come to your help undoubtedly.
Well, it was getting dark and we began to seek a place to spend the night. As there were no clearings in the forest at all we had nothing to do but camp on a stony reach of the river near the littoral grass.
From that place we could see the Chuvalskiy Stone - the mountain 912 meters high above sea level. We put up a tent, made the bed for our children in the car, made a fire and went to bed. It was the second day of our trip.

It was just getting light when the awakening nature let us know about itself. Unluckily two 'paradise' birds somewhere near began singing in a very bad voice to put it mildly and that disturbed our sleeping a great deal. Having had breakfast we started the way. For some time we moved along the river and then the track turned right in the direction of the Chuvalskiy Stone. We sawed the trees which had fallen down on the ground and blocked our way.

Going farther into the forest we arrived at a big clearing. We were much surprised to see the track cleared so that a KAMAZ could easily go there. The way was the same up to a mountain stream which we crossed and reached a forester house. As usual there was a kind of bed for sleeping, tea, sugar, salt, firewood and the stove. Outside it there were traces of a fire - some people had been there.
Later the track went up the hill. The slope was not less than 30 degrees, the car moved hard on low gear. In a few minutes the trees disappeared and we saw bushes, a little later the bushes disappeared as well and we saw moss and flattened bushes half a meter high. Such great changes in the mountain greenery always amaze! The same could be said about the temperature which was +31-33 degrees at the foot and +23-25 degrees on top of the Chuvalskiy Stone.

What really pleased us was the absence of gadflies, horse-flies and mosquitoes and a nice fresh wind. We also appreciated stony embankment apparently surviving since prehistoric times. On top of the rocky embankment we took notice of a metal tablet. It is a pity that the text was not readable that was why we just took a picture of it and left.

About 20 minutes later we achieved the climax of our expedition - top of the mountain the Chuvalskiy Stone or the Chuval as they might call it. In front of our eyes appeared a grand picture - the plain plateau stretching far away for not less than 10 hectares at a height of more than 900 meters above sea level.

In the middle of the plain, like a podium for the winner who conquered the hill there is a flat rock 7x5 meters, rising very little above the whole surface. One can see there a tremendous sublime panorama - the sights of the neighbouring mountain tops which are several tens of kilometers away from us. At the foot of the Chuval in the forests there is the Vishera river bed. At a very far distance somewhere above Cherdyn it is pouring and the sunset paints all this splendour into purple and crimson colours.

We were just standing on the mount and watching this world from above - it is impossible to put into words the childish delight which we were filled with at that majestic moment. So we glanced around for an hour and a half till it became dark. We found a glade of moss where we pitched the tent. Having warmed food on the gas-jet and having had a light supper we went to bed.

As the day was full of strong emotions and impressions I could not sleep. So I spent the night admiring the Moon above the hills. The Moon being full was hanging above the ridge Martay like a red disc. Even the Earth sputnik was different in the mountains. Maybe at that very moment I became absolutely sure of the fact that the Urals would never let us go and we would have to come to them in the future. Finally I got calm and relaxed and fell asleep.

When morning came we had breakfast and went to have a look at the rocks which were a bit lower than the top.
Climbing rocks and stones is exciting though fairly tiring.
I think our dog Tuzik was especially pleased with fresh air, picturesque surroundings and a lot of area to mark. What else does a dog need to be completely happy?!

Having examined the territory with binoculars we found a tourist lodge which was located not far from the turn to the Chuval (it is about 7 km up the Vishera stream). We could see tents and a Kamaz which had obviously brought a group of tourists.
After packing our belongings we were ready to leave.
BUT! ATTENTION! I turned on the GPS navigator to find the way to the Bikhtiyarov Chum (hut) and uninhabited settlement Sibirevskiy Priisk. But There Was No Road! As I understood later the track was close but not on the slope (where I sought trusting the map in the GPS) but on top of the mountain.
The shift in orienteering was only 300-350 meters but it turned to be enough for me to fail to find it. I explored the virgin forest coming upon big rocks and beds of wild animals. I could not understand why I could not find the track. Now I realize that I should have taken the atlas, should have found the road in it and should have carefully examined it.
Of course I did it but it happened later, in a few days, at home. But that day in the mountains I was quite at a loss. To make the things worse it started pouring and having resolved that I had no right to risk my family we turned back. As far as Olya and children were concerned they were even glad because they are less romantic travelers than me.

After we descended from the mountain on the same road we resolved to call in on the way on the tourist lodge which we had seen from the top. Since there was no path leading there we continued our way right in the Vishera. I all the time examined the water walking in it only then we drove in the car. Accordingly we crossed the river 5 or 6 times choosing the most shallow places. Once the current was especially strong, the vehicle refused to go across it and began skidding. I had nothing to do but resort to the help of the winch. In such a way we passed the most difficult area.
Breaking through inch by inch we covered about 4 km of water and stopped on an island for a rest. We made a fire and my wife Olya cooked a marvelous soup for us all - a real feast. Each of us ate a huge plate (not less than 600g).

At that time beside the island a group of raftsmen was rafting. A great surprise was written on their faces when they saw on the island people (that is us) and the car! The instructors rafting behind the group landed and came up to us with a question how we had arrived there. When we told them that we had come from the top of the Chuvalskiy Stone and showed the photos in the notebook their amazement and delight knew no bounds. After a short talk and a glass of "gorilka" (very strong vodka) they left.
As for us we also drove out. And now we chose a new tactics: Oleg had to sit on the hood and look into the water for pits and this was our mistake. Oleg saw the pit but it was too late - we had already got into it. The water inside the car rose very quickly. The engine did not fail but the car refused to move back: all four wheels skidded. I had again to unwind the winch rope and fasten it on the opposite bank. At last we managed to get out of that trap. Checking the level of the technical liquids I found out a problem: we had got so deep that water penetrated into the engine and now instead of oil there was a mixture of oil and water. Since we did not have so much spare oil we determined to go on this emulsion on small revolutions. Happily the things took a turn for the better. In 8 hours of driving water evaporated and the oil became pure again. Here is RUSSIAN UAZ! Can go on a mixture of oil and water.

In a few minutes we arrived at the tourist lodge confusing fishermen and tourists. The rest of the day we drove till I became sleepy. We did not pitch a tent, slept sitting next to the village Mutikha; the following day was the same, we drove throughout the day and in the evening came back home.

This was the end of our trip to the Urals, which was only the beginning of exploration of paths and secret places of the Urals. Leaving we did not say 'Good-bye', we said 'See you……….'

The track* of the trip in format OziExplorer>>

*Comment of Konstantin Zykov.
The track was paved from an uncertain place on a common road. The route was handmade, from memory, in accordance with the map in OziExplorer and does not display the exact trajectory of our trip.

Written by Mikhail Shardin.