WINTER TALE IN THE MOUNTAINS
December 19, 2017 | 12:24 |274
What is the New Year associated with? As a rule, it is associated with a snow, a beautifully decorated fir-tree and, of course, gifts. True, our climate even in winter does not imply permanent snow cover in Ashgabat. This is the weather on this geographical parallel and the elevation above sea level. Perhaps it is better, because not everyone likes frost and cold. However, we would like to be impressed by the holiday feeling, the feeling without compromise. Therefore, we collect rucksacks and go to the mountains. It is more likely to find snowdrifts there, than on the plain, and there is a coniferous tree - juniper, or Turkmen juniper, original for our lands. It is said that Ayaz Baba himself resides in these snowy estates. We decided to go to the Dark Gorge or the Northern Circus, one of the highest mountains in the country, to find a snow wizard and a frost, which is freezing the land, but warming the soul with the beauty of the crystal figures of the iced sides of a mountain. The gorge is at an altitude of more than 1000 meters above sea level, and its sources are in the failures under the top. This mountain range Dushakerikdag of the Kopetdag Mountains is the third highest peak in the country.Oleg Vinokurov
Photo by Dmitry Vinokurov
The beginning of the journey foreshadowed us the guarantee of success of our trip. The thickets of Artemisia (or, more simply, wormwood) were silver because of frost, so the slopes of the nearby bair-hills shone under the rays of the sun that was setting to sunset. We thought tomorrow we would move much higher and find a winter fairy tale of snow and drifts.
The night was lunar and frosty. The Milky Way shone with icy light in the cloudless sky over the tent. The foam mat and the down sleeping bag could hardly protect against cold from the frozen ground.
But, unexpectedly, the earth began to thaw rapidly in the morning, small spots of snow in the shade of the slopes disappeared literally before our eyes, and the sun warmed the tent so much that it was hot. Getting out, we saw that a steam does not form with breathing. It was warm, you can even sunbathe, although a few hours ago there was a hard frost.
We thought Ayaz Baba probably left the mountains and went to the cities and villages to decorate many New Year’s trees.
Temperate, but objective language of science claims that when climbing mountains, the air temperature drops by 6 degrees Celsius every thousand meters.
We were in anguish at how many it was necessary climbing up to be in a winter fairy tale at such heat.
And then there was a run for the victory with the weather and height. Although, our movement with backpacks to the rocks could be described with a stretch by the word “running”.
At last, it was At-su spring nearby, frozen to the bottom and not having melted. Overcoming the mark of 1000 meters above sea level, we entered the Dark Gorge. We began to climb the slope to the cliffs, where we strayed over the bluffs in total darkness.
The temperature was above zero, but the snow stains, which disappeared between the grasses, did not look like a winter fairy tale at all. It seemed that we did not have enough hours to find it everywhere we reached. Perhaps it was a bad idea for us to go to the mountains for snow and snowdrifts?
The shelter for the night was the Dev Cave, whose entrance gleamed invitingly on the almost steep slope of Dushakerikdag Mountain. It was to it that we walked already in the darkness along the rock ledges with rocks falling into the abyss.
The cave was quiet, dark and cozy. Only the night sky shone the entrance of the cave, and a piercing whistle of wind came from there in the coniferous crowns of a juniper. At the end of an absolutely dark gallery, water dripped from the ceiling, this source of life-giving moisture does not dry out here either in winter or in summer. Despite the awesome name, we did not find any div in the cave. We met only bats there. They darkly clothed the ceiling in the depths of the dungeon.
In winter, the cave is warm, in summer it is cool. It seemed to us that in the summer months Ayaz Baba, expecting a new year, resides in one of such cool dungeons, richly decorated with minerals and dripstones, almost as white as the snow itself.
The next morning the wind did not think to calm down, on the contrary, it diligently tried to blow us away from such a narrow stony path that mountain travelers called it Fox trail. Then, we climbed up loosened rock, which stretched along the slope for hundreds of meters. Each pebble here is vibrated underfoot. Even heavy boulders could not give a secure foothold and, moving down, carried away other stones. And we move forward very slow: two meters up, one down.
In the meantime, under the whistle of the wind, the edge of a mountain was getting closer and closer. We very much hoped for it: after all, the height is two and a half thousand meters and there is a shady side at the mountain. And our hopes finally came true: the snow-white crust crunched under the feet, the snow laid under the trees and on tree branches. Here it is! Winter fairy tale in the mountains, to which we got, no matter what! And here, because of the excitement, we made a photo with a brand new-year ball and ORIENT logo.
And yet, we found a real crystal forest in these mountains. It seemed to ring so transparent by ice on the branches, generously giving us a New Year's mood. And when we heard somebody walking next to us in silence, it seemed to us it was Ayaz Baba going around his possessions.
A fairy tale in the mountains was found ... Capturing it on a digital camera matrix, we quickly descended down - in Geokdere, a picturesque gorge built up by white marble children's health centers.
In another couple of hours from the window of the bus we saw Ashgabat, shining with New Year's furniture. There were many New Year's trees with rich decoration and multicolored lights. Ayaz Baba, with a white beard and a huge white fur hat walked slowly around them, giving New Year gifts to children!
And after all we understand that we should not leave the shining colored lights of the Turkmen capital to catch the New Year's mood!
Although, we got a lot of unforgettable impressions from the trip, as you know. It was a real winter fairy tale, and it was in the mountains!
