Our mountains. Talgar is the highest peak visible from Almaty. Who lives in the mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau

January 7th, 2012 , 11:14 pm

8th day of travel

First of all, we visited the gorge where the skating rink is located Medeo and ski resort Chimbulak.

Entrance Medeo through ecopost paid. From a car - 63 rubles.

The road is perfect asphalt and the car coped with the climb up the serpentines without any problems.

1.5 km beyond Chimbulak the asphalt turned into gravel with large cobblestones that stopped our further ascent.

In the gorge, active construction of infrastructure (roads, hotels, recreation centers, shops) is underway, bringing recreation in it closer to the European level.

After Medeo we went to Big Almaty Lake , which was located in the neighboring gorge. Entry into it through the eco-post is also paid - 144 rubles per car. The infrastructure here is less developed than nearby Medeo . If in the lower part there are still recreation centers and campsites, then closer to the lake there are none at all.

After 10 km, the asphalt gave way to gravel and dizzying serpentines began.

Due to construction work, the road near the lake dam is very bad with numerous detours.

From the dam there was a stunning view of a lake with turquoise water sandwiched in the mountains.

The road to the left of the lake to the Ozerny pass was blocked by a barrier, to the right, to space stations, free.

We couldn't stop halfway. Therefore, we continued to climb the serpentines.

The road has become worse due to large cobblestones exceeding the clearance of the Kaldina.

But it was not they who hindered the movement, but the barrier space stations , located on the Zhusaly-Kezen pass at an altitude of 3336 m.

While we were looking around, we scared away a fox. We found a parking lot for the night just below space stations at an altitude of 3000 meters. While taxiing through the parking lot, I managed to run over a huge boulder, which left the front wheels hanging in the air. A jack and a shovel came to the rescue. This was our first time staying overnight at such a height. The silence of the mountains, stars you can reach with your hand and distant light Almaty created a romantic atmosphere. This is what we look for in our travels.

The sleep was very sound. The brain rested in conditions of lack of oxygen.

We've covered in a day221 km.

10th day of travel

The day was dedicated to markets. First of all, we visited the famous “Flea Market”. You can spend more than one day between the rows of its markets.

We've covered in a day 222 km.

11th day of travel

Our holiday in Kazakhstan has come to an end.

Having bathed for the last time, we set off on our way back home. We planned to get to Ust-Kamenogorsk in a day. But because we didn’t want to leave the shore of the reservoir for a long time, night overtook us long before the city. We spent the night in the dark on Lake Karakol, 90 km from Georgievka.

We've covered in a day 792 km.

12th day of travel

We showed up at customs in Mikhailovka only after lunch. Having stood in a line of 6 cars, we began to wait for the execution described in many reports. It turned out to be in vain. We cleared Kazakh customs in half an hour. The inspection lasted 10 minutes and was limited to inspecting the spare tire (although because of this the trunk had to be partially unloaded). We did not see any horrors in the form of completely unloading the car (and in the back seat we had a bunch of watermelons, melons and things), dismantling the spare tire, gutting bags, or using canine dogs. Everything is correct and without extorting money. At Russian customs I had to stand in a queue of 15 cars for 1.5 hours. The search was limited to the open doors and trunk. Thanks to our customs officers for this.

And here it is - Russia!!!

​

With redoubled zeal we rushed home along the already well-trodden road through Barnaul and Novosibirsk . The fairy tale is over and in the morning I have to go out on duty for a day. They planned to get to Tomsk at 3-4 am. But this was not destined to happen.

We've covered in a day 840 km.

13th day of travel

Near the village of Bezmenovo on the border Altai Territory and Novosibirsk region at midnight we stopped to rest before the final push home. We pulled off the side of the road and turned off the car. But they couldn’t start it anymore. The breakdown cast doubt on my morning shift and was complicated by the fact that we only had 2,000 rubles of money left. Hitting rides on the highway at night, especially when the car was parked in a field, was a stupid idea. They hoped for a miracle, and it happened. Novosibirsk residents stopped at Lada Priora. They hardly pulled the car up the hill onto the highway and reached a cafe near the village. After talking with the locals, we learned that the nearest service station is in Cherepanovo (16 km towards Novosibirsk). There is little chance of repairs, but the closest other options are Iskitim (60 km) and Berdsk (80 km). We persuaded the guy from the cafe to take us to Cherepanovo for a penny. In Cherepanovo the service station is open from 8:00. Therefore, we had no choice but to fall asleep half-sitting in the car. Before that, I contacted work and substituted. In the morning at the service station, after 2 hours of “diagnosis” and moving things back and forth, a verdict was made - “there is something wrong with the fuel pump or electrics” and they won’t be able to help us. They asked us to be pulled by a cable onto the highway away from the accumulation of cars (there was a traffic police inspection point near the service station) and began to vote. Surprisingly, we only stood for 20 minutes. A man with his sons in a Mitsubishi Delica did not refuse to drag us to Berdsk. Riding on a leash at a speed of 60-90 km/h does not save nerve cells, but we got to the car service center without incident. It turned out that the fuel pump had died. It was bought at a store nearby (inexpensive from 12-size). After replacing the fuel pump, the car came to life and five hours later we were already home.

We've covered in a day 419 km.

Results

During the journey, 6572 km were covered. 545 liters of fuel burned. 17,000 rubles were spent directly on the trip. Of these, gasoline is 10,567 rubles, auto insurance in Kazakhstan is 850 rubles, car repairs are 1,580 rubles, a bribe at the migration service is 2,950 rubles, travel through eco-posts is 676 rubles, an overnight stay at a camp site is 304 rubles. I didn’t take into account the cost of food, because... We ate little and mostly cooked it ourselves. If we had stayed at home these days, we would have eaten even more. The depreciation of the machine was also not taken into account.

The car failed due to a broken fuel pump. I had to spend my nerves, money and most importantly time because of this, skipping work. On the one hand, it’s bad, but on the other, it would be much worse if this happened in the Kazakh wilderness. The side skirt was also torn and the plastic protection of the front wheel arch was torn. But considering the places and roads we traveled on, we got off easy.

The trip (namely a trip, not a trip) to Kazakhstan was a success. It met our expectations, and we got everything we wanted in it, bringing home a whole lot of impressions. Of course, in 12 days it is impossible to get acquainted with even a hundredth part of this wonderful country and fully relax. But don’t sit in depression because of this at home, as most people do. And if someone thinks that this is not a vacation - they are always on the road, and spend the night under open air. I can answer - to each his own.

We will definitely return to Kazakhstan. And we recommend everyone to do this.

End.

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Photos from the recording "Kazakhstan 2010. Part 4. Trans-Ili Alatau" with reference to satellite map on map services

Mountain range Trans-Ili Alatau. Kazakhstan.

Trans-Ili Alatau (Kazakh: Ile Alatauy, Kyrgyz: Ile Ala-Toosu) is a mountain range in the north-west of the Tien Shan (on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). In the northern foothills is the million-plus city of Alma-Ata, the former capital of Kazakhstan. The famous Medeu sports complex, the Assy-Turgen observatory and the Chimbulak alpine ski resort are also located here.

The Trans-Ili Alatau ridge is one of the extreme northern arcs of the Tien Shan mountain system. It is located at 43° N, within 75-78° E, partly in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. The ridge begins in the west within the river. Chu and extends 280 km east to the river. Chilik. To the north of the axial ridge of the ridge, the slopes gently descend to the river basin. Or the plains of Kazakhstan, in the south the ridge is separated from Kungei Alatau by longitudinal intermountain valleys of two rivers - Chilik and Chonkemin. In the area of ​​their sources, the ridges are connected through the Chiliko-Keminsky mountain junction. The prevailing heights are 4000–4600 m, the highest point is Talgar Peak (4973–4979 m). The Gorodetsky Glacier is located on the northern slope. The highest part of the Trans-Ili Alatau in the vicinity of the Talgar peak between the sources of the Talgar River, the upper reaches of the Chilik River and the Chiliko-Keminsky mountain junction is called the Talgar massif

Chu River

Chilik River Canyon

The ridge was formed during the Caledonian folding and was heavily reworked in the Quaternary. It is composed mainly of granites, conglomerates, limestones and shales.

There are a large number of lakes, mostly periglacial, and tension in mudflow situations is associated with them. The largest and most famous lakes in the Trans-Ili Alatau are the Big Almaty Lake and Lake Issyk. The study of the elements of the water balance of mountain catchment areas of the Trans-Ili Alatau is associated with the name of A.F. Litovchenko.

The climate is sharply continental. In the foothills there is little precipitation, up to an altitude of 2500 m its amount increases to 1200 mm/year, then, towards the glacial-nival zone, precipitation stabilizes at the level of 900-1000 mm. Precipitation falls in summer, in winter only 30-35%. At altitudes above 2500 m, solid precipitation can fall in summer; above 3900 m there are negative temperatures all year round.

Glaciation

In total, as of 2008, there are 441 glaciers with a total area of ​​171 km² and a volume of 6.9 km³. Almost all morphological types of glaciers are found. The largest is the complex-valley Korzhenevsky glacier, its area is 38 km². The glaciers are quite heavily frozen.

Peak Komsomol

In the Trans-Ili Alatau there is one of the reference glaciers of the World Glacier Monitoring Service - Central Tuyuksuysky (Tuyuksu). The Tuyuksu glacier (3.3 km²) has the longest former USSR mass balance series. The thermal balance of the glacier and its movement speeds are also monitored (20-50, up to 90 m/year).

Korzhenevsky Glacier

Glaciation of the ridge, following the trend of the entire northern hemisphere, has been declining since the end of the Fernau stage (mid-19th century) to the present. Since the late 1950s, rates of degradation have increased, with glaciation falling by 41% over the past 60 years.

Bogatyr Glacier

Tuyuksu Glacier

Talgar Peak

Aktau Peak

Peak Metallurg

Assy-Turgen Observatory

Animal and plant life

Dry steppes are replaced with height by shrub-steppe vegetation and forests (apple tree, aspen, and higher up - Tien Shan spruce). There are about 460 glaciers in the ridge zone with a total area of ​​more than 490 km². On the northern slope is the famous Almaty Nature Reserve, transformed in 1996 into the Ile-Alatau Nature Reserve. national park. Found: Tien Shan brown bear, snow leopard, mountain goat, snowcock, chukars.

In 1971, on the slopes of the Trans-Ili Alatau, unique Central Asia thickets of the umbrella plant Asafoetida (lat. Ferula assa-foetida), from the resin of which the spice asafoetida is made. In 1989-1990, as a result of a campaign carried out by the police to combat “wild narcotic plantings,” a significant part of the plants was destroyed - burned, trampled, cut off with turf by bulldozers, despite the fact that this plant has nothing to do with drugs.

Hawthorn

Dogwood

Barberry

Medeu

Near Almaty, on the northern spurs of the Trans-Ili Alatau, there is a unique ice skating rink. It was built at an altitude of 1691 m in the Medeu tract and bears his name. The high-mountain complex is used for winter sports and has the world's largest artificial ice field, the area of ​​which reaches 10,500 square meters. m. The purest mountain water is used to fill it. Medeu is covered with very high-quality ice, and thanks to this, more than two hundred speed skating records were set at the high-mountain skating rink.

Shymbulak

The history of the resort began in the middle of the last century from the Shymbulak sports base. Nowadays, after a large-scale reconstruction, the ski resort meets the most modern requirements, and its slopes have been certified by the International Alpine Ski Federation.

The ski area is located at altitudes of 2260-3163 m. The maximum slope on the ski slopes is 45°. The resort has chairlifts, several hotels, restaurants, cafes and ski schools. In addition, professional and amateur snowboarding and alpine skiing competitions are held in Shymbulak.

Conquering the high mountain peaks of Kazakhstan.

"My unknown comrade
With the bark of burnt lips
He’ll come to the steep slope, as if he’s coming home,
Squeezing an ice ax"

Nikolai Tikhonov.

Climbing the peaks in the Trans-Ili Alatau.

The most mountainous part Trans-Ili Alatau is between Kumbel passes in the west and Amanzhol in the east. In the Trans-Ili Alatau, the most popular among climbers are: regions gorges of Malaya Almaty And Bogdanovich glacier.
The glacier is in the basin Left Talgar River, but the most convenient route for climbing its peak is Small Almaty Gorge. The gorges are also popular among climbers Bolshoye Almaty, Aksai, Kargaly, Kaskelen, Chemolgan, in which there are peaks that have not been trodden by humans.
The western part of the Small Almaty Gorge - Kumbel pass, begins with snowy Pogrebetsky glaciers 4231 meters above sea level, Peak Lokomotiv 4182 meters above sea level, from which the pass goes north, to pike Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya 4108 meters above sea level, then northwest to peak Molodezhny 4147 meters above sea level.
Beyond the peak, the Molodezhny Kumbel Pass begins to descend and turns into mountain ranges. In the Sovetov ridge in the Big Almaty river basin, from Lokomotiv peak the ridge extends to Big Almaty Lake.
On the northern slope of the ridge are Gorelnik Peak 4000 meters above sea level and Sovetov Peak 4317 meters above sea level with the glacier of the same name. North of Tuyuksu pass 4100 meters above sea level there is a heavily destroyed Tuyuksu Peak 4218 meters above sea level with 7 peaks called Tuyuksu needles 4213 meters above sea level.
In the east of the two-headed peak Partizan, 4390 meters above sea level, there is Ordzhonikidze Peak 4410 meters above sea level. A low mountain range in the Ordzhonikidze pass 3980 meters above sea level stretches from the Needle Tuyuksu glacier to the eastern Ordzhonikidze glacier.
The peaks located in the northern part of the pass are rocky. This Mayakovsky Peak 4208 meters above sea level with 400 meter vertical walls. The outer part is made of marbled limestones, and the lower part is made of red granites.
Destroyed here Great Peak Patriotic War 4050 meters above and behind sea level Antikainen Peak 4000 meters above sea level. The snowy saddle of the Antikainen pass and the beautiful peak of the rock, which was later named after Manshuk Mametova 4194 meters above sea level.
North of Manshuk Mametova pass 3750 meters above sea level are Peaks of Heroes of Panfilov 4120 meters above sea level, Teacher 4045 meters above sea level, Pioneer 4031 meters above sea level and Amangeldy 4000 meters above sea level, Abaya 4010 meters above sea level, Shkolnik 3590 meters above sea level.
Then the ridge begins to drop sharply. The eastern branch of the Malo Almaty spur stretches for 7 kilometers. At the very beginning the snowy peak rises Karlytau peak 4100 meters above sea level.
Popular peak Nursultan 4376 meters above sea level, separated from Karlytau Komsomol pass 4000 meters above sea level, clearly visible from Almaty. North of Nursultan peak there is a heavily destroyed mountain ridge Fizkulturnik 4068 meters above sea level and Chkalov Peak 3892 meters above sea level.
Maly Almaty Pass would be incomplete without its side mountain ranges, the peaks of which are of wide interest to climbers. Thus, there are two unclimbed peaks on the northeastern Ordzhonikidze mountain range.
On the short eastern mountain range of Karlytau are the beautiful sharp towers of Aristov Peak 4102 meters above sea level, in the northeast of peak Komsomol the peaks are located - plateau Snow 3800 meters above sea level, bird home 3880 meters above sea level, Uzbinka 3910 meters above sea level, Trident 4089 meters above sea level.

Sources:
The material for this page is taken from the printed publication "Guide to Kazakhstan" © Baur Publishing House 2002, also the books “Nature of the Trans-Ili Alatau”, M.Zh. Zhandaev, ed. Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, 1978 “Across the Northern Tien Shan”, V.N. Vukolov, Moscow, Profizdat, 19910.

Photos
Alexandra Petrova.

August 12th, 2018 , 10:00 am

Every year I definitely go to the mountains to be alone with myself and nature, to feel freedom from the everyday routine, and finally, to test myself once again. In August, I had 10 days of vacation left, and it was decided to spend them in Kazakhstan. There are famous mountains near Almaty - the Trans-Ili Alatau, which I have never been to, and the flight is only 14 thousand rubles. in both directions from Omsk by Air Astan.

My planned route is a slightly modified popular "Big Almaty Around the World" route. The changes affected only the beginning of the route - instead of climbing to the Talgarsky pass by cable car, I had to traverse the peaks of Furmanov, Panorama, Bashuta and Chimbulachka with a descent to the same Talgarsky pass. The entire trip took 5 days. The trail is clearly visible everywhere and is marked by tourists in incomprehensible places.

Here is an approximate route diagram:

It was a short but exciting hike, rich in events. In five days, I managed to get into the epicenter of a severe thunderstorm that found me on the top of a rocky ridge, survive a mild earthquake and the death of my beloved boots, which had served me for 14 years.

BEGINNING OF THE HIKE

The hike began near the world famous Medeu skating rink. The easiest and fastest way to get there is by taxi, although you can also take a bus (see 2Gis). Before Medeu there is a branch of the asphalt road to the left, into the Kim-Asar gorge, which is where I needed to go. But it was impossible to get there by taxi. The guard behind the barrier resisted and didn’t want to let me through. I had to start my route actually from Medeu.

The Kim-Asar gorge is very beautiful. There are 2 trails along it. Furmanova - one along the ridge, the other along the bottom of the valley. There are tall spruce trees all around, a lot of flowers - just a riot of colors! I have never seen so many flowers in the mountains.

Considering that I left for the mountains late, and making allowances for the first day, I did not go to the top of Furmanov, I stopped at its foot.

The next day we had to make the traverse of four peaks indicated in the route, then go down to the Chimbulak ski base (Talgar Pass) and further to the bottom of the left Talgar river valley, where we would spend the night.

The day started off great. Stunning views from the top of Furmanov, the highest peak of the Trans-Ili Alatau - Talgar (almost 5000 m) is visible. Then a pleasant climb to the top. Panorama and Bashuta.

But before reaching Chimbulachka (3450 m), and this is the very top of the ridge, it began...

There was such a thunderstorm as I had never seen in my life. All the thunderstorms I experienced while hiking seemed like baby talk compared to this one. The situation was aggravated by the fact that at that moment I was at the very top of a rocky ridge, in the very heart of a thundercloud. And it was not possible to go down quickly. At first it started to rain, then there was a shower of snow and hail. Lightning struck every five seconds very close, there was no delay between the flash and the explosive crack of thunder. Most of the lightning struck through the air, but the worst ones struck the ground, literally a couple of tens of meters from the place where I, soaking wet, was curled up in a fetal position.

But then the thunderstorm passed, I safely descended to the Talgar Pass. A pot of green tea with some pastries in a warm yurt improved the mood. The sun appeared.

There is a decent, rather flat trail leading down from the Talgarsky Pass, but the final descent is very steep, and after the rain it is also slippery and unpleasant.

The Left Talgar Valley is a typical mountain valley, with a raging river, many streams, ascents and descents.

Rain and thunderstorm again at lunchtime. Then the sun. And again in the evening it rains.

A perfect morning foreshadowed a beautiful day. View of Constitution Peak.

The main and highest obstacle on the route is the Tourists Pass. And it is about 4000 m high. The route to it is a long, gentle climb, running very close to the snowfields.

In the evening, a miracle happened in the parking lot - I stood behind a stone, shielding myself from the icy wind, admiring the sky-high views. And then first one mountain goat, then a second, and then a small herd of them approached me about twenty meters, nibbling on the grass. Beautiful animals.

The entire ascent to the pass is accompanied by views like these. Closer to the pass, the trail rises above the glaciers flowing from the mountains opposite.

The final take-off to the pass is an ice crust with snow. But quite flat. I walked it without crampons, avoiding icy ledges and using a trekking pole for safety. But at other times of the year, cats may also be needed.

Snow leopard tracks (or was someone making a joke?):

The descent to Big Almaty Lake, from where you can hitchhike to Almaty, is smooth and protracted.

A little about Almaty

Almaty was a pleasant surprise. This is a clean, very green city with wide, ideal roads, intelligent and beautiful residents, which is being actively improved. The buildings here are mostly low (due to the seismic activity of the region), but in Lately They are starting to build high-rise buildings (for example, Nurly Tau with 32 floors).

Almaty is a unique city. Here, a taxi is cheap and in less than half an hour you can get to the very heart of the mountains.

There is also the Arasan bath complex, famous since Soviet times (next to the park). This establishment is worthy of all praise! A must visit! After the mountain hike, it simply resurrected me. The men's section of the complex, divided into three floors, has: an oriental bathhouse with heated marble loungers, Russian, Finnish and Turkish baths, a large round pool with very cold water and a massage department. The price is low - for 4 hours of baths and 45 minutes of massage I paid a little more than 12,000 tenge (~2,200 rubles).

Some practical information

Navigation. 2Gis to help.

Taxi. I used the services of Yandex Taxi and Leader (rutaxi) through applications on my smartphone. The second one has prices that are 10-15 percent lower, but the app is not as convenient; the location of the taxi is sometimes shown late (the taxi has already arrived, but in the app it is still far away). I didn’t turn on roaming, so I made calls via Wi-Fi in hotels and shopping centers.

Hotels. In Almaty I spent nights in three different hotels:
- Mildom Hotel. Budget hotel (RUB 2,000/night) without any frills. Nice area. Normal breakfasts. Small rooms. Best price/quality ratio in the center.
- Hotel Almaty. Expensive hotel popular with foreigners. On the day I came down from the mountains, there was a promotion on the booking (3000 rubles/night). I lived on the fifth floor - the view from the balcony of the mountains and the theater is unsurpassed. Excellent breakfasts. Excellent location - opposite the theater, just around the corner - the pedestrian Panfilov Street begins.
- Renion Park Hotel. Excellent hotel (3000 rubles/night) with spacious rooms, excellent location - a stone's throw from the park, the Arasan bath complex, the Green Bazaar, and a pedestrian street. The price includes a sauna and a swimming pool on the ground floor. I liked it very much and would stay there again.

WiFi. In hotels - by password. In public places (airports, shopping centers) - with authorization via SMS. At Almaty airport I was unable to connect; I did not receive an SMS. In other places - no problem.

Metro. New, clean, beautiful. I drove through a couple of stations to get acquainted. Liked.

Great things, as is known for certain, can only be appreciated from a distance. To understand the true size of the Talgar Peak, it is best to go somewhere to Kapchagay. Or even better - for Kapchagai. You can even climb the low ridges of Malaysary-Arkharly, through which the next mountain wrinkle of the tense crown of the Earth descends into the desert. From here, on a clear day, and especially at sunset, the Trans-Ili Alatau will appear in all its splendor and along its entire length.

From this distance the mountains look leveled, smoothed, consisting of two stripes. Below - dark blue, above - dazzling white. In spring and autumn, the stripes are equivalent; in winter, the blue stripe disappears completely, but in the hot summer, the white stripe becomes much thinner. And only in one place above this iridescent ribbon, breaking the order, rises a noticeable and unchanging massif of the Talgar Peak. Like a petrified castle of extinct genies.

It was no coincidence that I took a sophisticated observer so far, more than a hundred kilometers from the object of our interest. First of all, the spectacle is worth it. And secondly, it was from here, from the slopes of the western spurs of the Dzhungar Alatau, that the godfather of our mountains P.P. first saw the object of his dreams. Semyonov in 1856.

“On the morning of August 29, I quickly crossed a distance of twenty-seven versts from the Kuyankuzsky to the Karachekinsky picket. The road for the first nineteen versts went to the southwest, crossing a porphyry ridge, from the top of which I first saw with delight in the foggy distance the gigantic ridge - Trans-Ili Alatau."

However, the first delights of the future luminary of geography and prominent statesman Russia of Semenov-Tyan-Shansky the next day turned into a real rapture. For, as he approached the mountains, a wonderful action, a real extravaganza, unfolded before his eyes.

“During the entire time of our journey from the Ili to the Almaty picket, we saw in front of us the colossal Trans-Ili Alatau. This ridge stretches from east to west for more than 200 miles, rising in its middle to a gigantic height. In the very middle of it rises a three-headed mountain, with more 4½ thousand meters of absolute height. At the very top of this mountain, the snow does not stick to the dark, steep cliffs..."

Mount Talgar / Photo by Andrey Mikhailov

What is the exact height of the peak crowning the Trans-Ili Alatau? But no one knows for sure about this.

"...The highest absolute heights are confined to the middle part of the ridge - in the Talgar (Chiliko-Kebinsky) node. Here rises the highest point of the entire Ala-Tau mountain system - the Talgar peak (5017 m), exceeding the highest point in all of Europe - Mont Blanc." This is an excerpt from the highly respected 1952 academic publication Essays on physical geography Kazakhstan".

"Trans-Ili Alatau, the northern range of the Tien Shan mountain system, stretches in the latitudinal direction for 350 km, width 30 - 40 km, absolute height 4973 m (Talgar peak)." And this is from the no less authoritative reference book “Kazakh SSR. Concise encyclopedia" for 1988. And I can give many such “points of view” on a figure that should (by definition) be extremely specific (up to several tens of centimeters). And many of them belong to no less authoritative sources. And time has not decided point in this confusion. The cards, however, are more categorical - “4973.” But even here there are discrepancies.

40 meters when determining absolute altitude - that's cool! It’s curious that Mont Blanc doesn’t give a damn about all this; he still doesn’t live up to any of these Talgars.

Mount Talgar / Photo by Andrey Mikhailov

A unique tectonic surge, which raised the Trans-Ili Alatau four kilometers above the Ili Valley, gave us the opportunity to admire the main peak of the ridge from a fairly close distance. And thanks to the complicated configuration of the Talgar peak (which is more likely a druse than a separate crystal), its appearance also constantly changes as the observer moves along the foot of the mountains.

Despite the fact that it is clearly visible from most areas of Almaty, many city residents are unaware of it. True, from here the favorite does not make an impression against the background of closer peaks in the upper reaches of Bolshaya and Malaya Almatinka and Left Talgar. So many inexperienced Almaty residents (and, paradoxical as it may sound, there are more and more of them among those living next to some of the most interesting and accessible mountains on the planet) seriously consider the most important peak of the Trans-Ili Alatau to be the regular pyramid of the Big Almaty Peak (with a height of only 3684 meters and, by and large, not the top, but the leading part of the side spur).

Mount Talgar / Photo by Andrey Mikhailov

To fully admire our main peak from all angles, it is best to first go to Burunday, and then take a car ride along the Kuldzha highway. Or along the BAK. If you move along the stalls along the Talgar tract, the mountains will block themselves. However, perhaps the most impressive view of Talgar Peak will open from Talgar city. Foamy Talgarka below, a dark strip of rough coniferous forests literally outside the outskirts, and above - a peak wall in an eternally icy lining and surrounded by white satellites - Aktau, Metallurg and others.

It is clear that from ancient times the main height of the ridge located above the plain should have attracted the attention of everyone who looked from below. That is why its name suggests the presence of one of the most archaic toponyms of Semirechye. And so it is.

From the famous interpreter of local names, Professor Aldar Petrovich Gorbunov (in the book “Mountains of Central Asia”) we read:

"The main interpretation: from the Mongolian word Delger (wide, extensive). Another option is not excluded: “tal” - flat (Old Kyrgyz) and “gar” - mountain (Sogdian) ... In Mongolian language There is also the word "tavgar" - a peak with a flat top."

Mount Talgar / Photo by Andrey Mikhailov

Wide and flat - as if we are not talking about the main height of the Trans-Ili Alatau! Meanwhile, it is the flattening and cut-off nature of the Talgar peak that is the most characteristic feature of this five-kilometer titanium. And, apparently, we may be dealing with an even more ancient name, perhaps dating back to the eras of Indo-European unity, the Bronze Age, and the Early Iron Age. This idea is prompted by the fact that the name, based on its geographical features, can even be read in Russian. Known similarities Slavic languages with Sanskrit (for example, “mountain” in Russian - “gara” in Sanskrit) and other Indo-European languages ​​that arose in the dark era of unity and spread from one center throughout the world. Talgar - Dol Gor, Long, that is, Long Mountain.

Mount Talgar / Photo by Andrey Mikhailov

And, of course, Talgar, with its height and abundance of climbing options, attracts the coveted gaze of climbers. You can “walk” on it, or you can “climb” it. The first people set foot on the summit in 1938. These were the Siberian climbers L. Katukhtin, G. Makatrov and I. Kropotov.