In the vast expanses of the north-eastern territory of Russia, between Yakutia and the Khabarovsk Territory, the Suntar-Khayata mountain range stretches. Covered from the northwest by the Verkhoyansky Range, and from the northeast by the Chersky Range, for centuries it remained unconquered and unexplored. The name Suntar-Khayata in translation means "Mountains of Suntara". Local legends tell about the powerful shaman Suntara, who possessed great knowledge, but was not known for her meek disposition. No one wanted to even inadvertently incur her wrath. People did not want to disturb the mistress in her possessions.
Ancient superstitions are gone. However, to this day, distant and inaccessible mountains keep many secrets and mysteries. They attract geologists, climbers, travelers, photographers and biologists. And none of them came back disappointed.
Treasure of Siberia
If you drive along the Khandygskaya highway, which connects Yakutsk with Magadan, then with the naked eye you can see the majestic, snow-covered peaks of Suntar-Khayat. The highest point of this ridge reaches almost 3000 meters. And the length of this mountain system is 450 kilometers. By the way, the main peaks and glaciers are located at a distance of 100 kilometers fromthis same road. And there is simply no other way.
However, it was the remoteness from the usual and often overloaded communications connecting industrial areas that made it possible to preserve the primordial landscape and a sense of real unity with nature. Here, clean rivers still flow, from which it is not scary to get drunk, mountain forests grow, not disfigured by bald patches of clearings, and there are rare local residents involved in reindeer herding.
Yakutia and the Khabarovsk Territory, and this is exactly where Suntar-Khayata is located, are rich in minerals. First of all, these are deposits of ore containing silver, copper, tungsten, tin, indium and bismuth. In addition, the region is rich in deposits of gold and precious stones. The search and development of such deposits served as the driving force for the development of the region and the exploration of the mountains. But first things first.
History of the discovery of the ridge
It was 1639. Cossack Ivan Moskvitin with a detachment of 39 people, having crossed a mountain range, reaches the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk and sets up a winter hut there. It became the first Russian settlement on the Pacific coast. The purpose of the expedition was to collect furs, search for new lands and, most importantly, determine the position of Mount Chirkol, where, according to rumors, there were rich deposits of silver ore. The Cossack did not find the mountain, but it was very important that now there was a starting point for further research.
But the mountains were reluctant to let outsiders in. Years and decades flew by, more and more expeditions were organized, however, the places where the Suntar-Khayat ridge is located,continued to be a blank spot on the maps. For the first time this area was documented in 1944 by airbrushing. At the same time, another research geological expedition was sent under the leadership of V. M. Zavadovsky.
The main goal of this expedition was not the minerals of Suntar-Khayat. Scientists had to make an accurate map of the area and describe the relief in detail. Nevertheless, the return was marked by sensational news: the tops of the ridge are covered with glaciers.
Glacier exploration
Even in 1881, the honored geographer-climatologist A. I. Voeikov scientifically substantiated the impossibility of the presence of glaciers in Eastern Siberia. He based his conclusions on the fact that in this area the air temperature is very low in winter, but the total amount of annual precipitation is minimal. In 1938, L. S. Berg supported this statement in his work "Fundamentals of Climatology".
And now, just six years later, Zavodovsky's expedition brings evidence that glaciers exist. Three years later, information was already collected on 208 glaciers covering the Suntar-Khayata ridge. The description is based on data collected by aerial photography. The total area of glaciers, according to geologists, was 201.6 square kilometers. And their total volume reached 12 cubic kilometers.
So reliable information about the mountains of Suntar-Khayat appeared on the maps. The photographs, which were classified and catalogued, helped to determine that the main ice masses, as one would expect,concentrated at the highest points: on the peaks of Mus-Khai, Beryl, Vaskovsky, Obruchev and Rakovsky. All of them have a height of more than 2700 meters above sea level. One of the glaciers is named after the Soviet doctor of geographical sciences, who made a great contribution to Russian geomorphology and regional physical geography. This is the Solovyov Glacier. Suntar-Khayata is a ridge in Yakutia that keeps the memory of a Russian scientist. But there are many legends there as well.
Legend of the Keeper of the Mountains
The most formidable and highest peaks are not always covered with legends. Among the Yakuts and Evenks there are many legends about Mount Alton. This is a relatively small peak, rising 1542 meters above sea level (for comparison, Mount Mus-Shaya reaches 2959 meters, which is almost twice as high). Legend has it that there is a magical lake in the heart of the mountain. In the center of this amazing underground reservoir is a throne carved from a single piece of amazingly beautiful jasper. And on the throne sits the elder Alton, the stern guardian of the mountains. The magical water of the lake grants him immortality. This water can heal a person from any ailment. But no mortal dares to approach the lake of Altona. And climbing a mountain is not for everyone. Only great shamans who communicate with the spirit world come there to listen to the will of their ancestors.
In ancient times, when the world was still young, there was a lot of game in the forests, and the rivers were full of fish, there lived a brave Evenk youth. He was young, strong, handsome and respected in his father's house. The young man showed himself to be a brave and successful hunter. He never returned to the familybonfire without prey.
One day while hunting, a young man heard singing in the distance. It was as if a brook murmured merrily, as if the wind whispered softly, as if the Sun itself gave its warmth to this amazing voice. The young hunter, forgetting everything, followed the wondrous sounds. The voice belonged to a beautiful girl, whom the hunter fell in love with as soon as he saw it. His feelings were mutual and soon the young people were already preparing for the wedding.
But misfortune happens here. The hunter's lover falls ill and begins to weaken before our eyes. Neither herbs, nor conspiracies, nor rituals of shamans are able to save her. In desperation, the hunter turns to the oldest member of the tribe. And the old man tells him about how to get to the magical lake of the keeper of the mountains. He warns him of the danger. Keeper Alton does not tolerate intruders. Only twice a year, during the autumn and spring equinoxes, he leaves his throne and rises to the top of Mount Suntar-Khayata at night.
A young hunter, fast as a mountain chamois and determined as a snow leopard, sets out on his journey. How long, how short, does he walk, but, in the end, he reaches the mountain, finds the entrance to the cave, waits for the night and penetrates to the lake for precious moisture for his beloved.
But the young man did not manage to hide from Alton's gaze. Angered, the elder brought down a rockfall, which blocked the entrance to the cave leading to the lake, so that it would be disrespectful for mortals to join its waters. And the adamant guardian of the mountains made the young hunter his squire forever.
Mount Alton
Andtoday Mount Alton is notorious among the local population. Hunters claim that even wild animals bypass the inhospitable mountain. Not far from the mountain, flying over the Suntar-Khayat ridge, the geographical position of which had already been well studied by that time, a helicopter crashed. The crash claimed the lives of three people. Some tourists also paid with their lives by stepping onto the treacherous slopes of Alton. All this only fueled the old beliefs. However, similar statistics are not uncommon in other areas. And simple coincidences are most often used to confirm what they deeply believe without them.
The attitude to the mountain and its surroundings is also reflected in the names. On the spur itself there is a rock called the Devil's Finger. Not far from the foot there is a place known as the Devil's Cemetery. There are bones of deer lying around, weathered and whitened from time to time. Apparently, animals go here when they sense death is near.
Under the Devil's finger on a vertical section of the slope you can see the entrance to the cave. According to legend, a long tunnel begins there, at the end of which there is a lake with healing water. But you can get into the cave only with special climbing equipment. And although the miraculous lake was never found, they found the Volchiy stream and several springs spouting from the ground not far from the mountain. The water in them, of course, is not magical, but definitely healing. With regular bathing, the minerals washed out from the depths of Suntar Khayat help to cure many skin diseases and even relieve aching bones.
The role of rivers in the relief of Suntar-Khayat
The Suntar-Khayat Ridge is the watershed of Okhota, Indigirka and Aldan. There are many beautiful and full-flowing rivers in this territory. The most developed river tributary system is near the Indigirka. The rivers Kongor, Agayakan, Suntar, Azeikan and Kuidusun flow into it. The waters of Tyra, Eastern Khandyga and Yudoma gather in Aldan. And Okhota, Delkyu-Okhotsk, Ulbeya, Urak, Kukhtui and Ketanda flow into the Sea of Okhotsk.
The presence of such a multitude of rivers could not but affect the formation of the relief. Rivers cut deep young gorges along the entire range. When viewed from space, this area looks like a huge giant for some reason crumpled the mountains like a sheet of paper. And the earthly observer can enjoy the picturesque view of the waters running through broken canyons and noisy and iridescent waterfalls falling from a height.
However, only a select few can contemplate such beauty. Because it is not easy to cross these rivers. Crossing them is associated with many dangers. Fast current, frequent shivers (shallow areas with boulders randomly scattered along the bottom) and rifts (shallow, shaft-shaped areas with a loose bottom) seriously complicate the task. In addition, water levels in rivers often fluctuate dramatically. This is due to the fact that they feed not only due to precipitation, but also due to the melting of the ice cover and taryns (layered ice that freezes in the valley during the winter).
Labyngkir Lake
There are many lakes in the region where Suntar-Khayata is located. Most often, they owe their origin to glaciers. The vast majoritythese are small reservoirs enclosed in a frame of scree. A pleasant exception in this regard is Labyngkir Lake. Climbing to a height of more than a thousand meters above sea level, it stretches for 14 kilometers in length and approximately four kilometers in width. Its depth is also considerable - in some places it reaches 53 meters. The water is amazingly clear. In the northern part, the transparency of the water is about ten meters.
There are a lot of fish in the lake - grayling, pike, lenok, marsh, char, whitefish, Dolly Varden and others. The largest fish is burbot. But fishing here is not particularly developed. It is believed that over the past two decades, only sixty kilograms of fish have been caught from the lake. And this is not surprising. The terrain here is difficult to access, and in winter it’s better not to meddle here at all. After all, the area in which Lake Labyngkir is located is the coldest in the Northern Hemisphere.
The water in Labyngkir is always cold. Even in the hottest summer season, its temperature does not rise above nine degrees. Surprisingly, this lake freezes much later than the others. While trucks are already calmly driving along the neighboring lakes, Labyngkir is barely covered with a coastal crust of ice. Even in severe sixty-degree frosts, it is dangerous to drive along this reservoir. The car can suddenly fail and go under water at any moment.
Flora Suntar-Hayat
Diverse vegetation at the end of summer paints the whole district, spilling amazing colors along the Suntar-Khayata ridge. Gold, purple, turquoise, green and orange scales - all this is against the backgroundmajestic dark peaks with snow-white caps propping up the blue of the sky creates a fantastic picture.
The flora itself has a clearly defined vertical zoning. From 2000 meters and above, the alpine desert begins. Nothing grows there. Mountain tundra is located in the range from 1400 to 2000 meters above sea level. At the uppermost boundaries, only mosses and lichens are kept, which extract nutrients from ancient moraines (silt accumulated by glaciers). Further, down the slopes, alpine poppies, golden rhododendrons and rare undersized dwarf willows begin to timidly appear in rare islands.
Even lower, already in a continuous strip, stands the cedar elfin. He boldly rises above the ground a meter and a half. Middendorf birches and Daurian larch are already found among the elfin. Well, the lower terraces of the slopes, starting from about 1500 meters above sea level, are covered with real deciduous forest.
Fauna
Taiga fauna is rich and varied. Moose and herds of wild reindeer are found here. The Suntar-Khayat ridge is the focus of the range of the rare bighorn sheep. This is a rare species with an isolated habitat. Currently, the bighorn sheep is under the protection of the law on the conservation of rare animals.
In the forests and even on stony placers high in the tundra, large gray hares and white hare live. Red and black squirrels, as well as nimble flying squirrels, find shelter in mountain and flat deciduous forests. Chipmunks are found everywherescurrying through the bushes. A rather rare species of the Kamchatka marmot lives next to them. There is a large population of evrazhka (American long-tailed ground squirrel) in this territory.
Suntar Khayata as a tourist site
Suntar-Khayata Ridge attracts hikers. Here you can lay hiking, skiing and water routes of different categories of difficulty. The ridge is located at a great distance from the central inhabited areas and any laid communication lines. This factor negatively affects the development of tourism industries. However, it is he who allows you to save the main attraction of this region - its untouched originality.
Paving routes, travelers understand that the trip will take place in full autonomy. It adds romanticism and thrill. Very often, the routes are designed in such a way as to climb the planned peaks, and to overcome the return path by rafting along the rivers. Often such trips take several months. They require serious preparation and careful planning. There is an opportunity to go on a tour in a group, under the guidance of experienced guides. Often, horses are used in such trips, which carry personal luggage and general equipment for the camp bivouac.
