Snow leopards. Buryatia met with students

In the Republican Multilevel College of Ulan-Ude, a meeting was held with the "snow leopards" of Buryatia - Bair Batuev and Evgeny Tokarev. The event was attended by students studying in the specialty "Tourism", as well as local climbers.

The title “snow leopard” is an honorary title given to climbers who have climbed the five highest peaks located in the former Soviet Union: Ismail Somoni Peak or Communism Peak, 7495 m), Victory Peak (7439 m), Lenin Peak (7134 m), Korzhenevskaya Peak (7105 m) and Khan Tengri Peak (6995 m).

In Buryatia, five owners of this title: Bair Batuev, Evgeny Tokarev, Alexander Semenov, Oleg Nikolaev and Sergey Mironov.

Bair and Evgeny spoke about their season last year and shared their impressions of the mountains. In conversation, they used professional climbing slang. For example, in a story about Iranian climbers who climbed to the top on their own, without a guide, the phrase was heard: “They flew to China.” When the listeners clarified what this means, the athletes explained that we are talking about a tragic fall into a cliff – climbers died.

Particular attention at the meeting was paid to the peak of Victory - among climbers it is considered one of the most difficult routes. Unlike, for example, climbing Elbrus, there is no equipped camp and rescue service. The climbers told how the climb goes: the movement to the top is carried out in stages, with stops in the camps approximately every kilometer - this is necessary to adapt to the mountain air. Mountain sickness is similar in symptoms to influenza, and before complete acclimatization, the body does not digest food well. For example, the standard route to Lenin Peak takes 21 days.

The team of Buryat snow leopards, captained by Alexander Semenov, is well known in the mountaineering environment - other athletes often focus on it during joint ascents.

Now Buryat climbers have their own company, organizing climbs to the mountain peaks. There are many European clients.

Another important aspect of work in the field of mountaineering is attracting students of tourist faculties to participate in expeditions: they are part of working groups and get the opportunity not only to gain practical experience, but also to work well.

According to tradition, before each ascent, Buryat climbers perform a ceremony - splash an offering to the spirits of the mountains.