Aktru Glacier Valley

The Aktru valley cuts into the North Chuya ridge above the Kurai steppe, holding several glaciers - the Bolshoy and Maly Aktru, the Vodopadny - and ringed by peaks including Aktru-Bash at 4,044 metres and Karatash. A glaciological research station has operated here since 1957, monitoring the ice, which has retreated substantially over that period and is documented in detail as a result. The valley became the standard training ground for Soviet mountaineering: a base camp at around two thousand one hundred metres, routes of every grade within a day of it, and generations of climbers who learned here. It still works that way, with a camp, huts and guided ascents of Karatash and the easier peaks. Getting in means an off-road transfer across the Kurai steppe and river beds from Kurai village, then a walk. The Blue Lake sits below the Bolshoy Aktru glacier at around two thousand eight hundred metres.

What you actually see

• The glaciers - Bolshoy and Maly Aktru, monitored from a station here since 1957.
• The retreat - decades of documented ice loss on the same glaciers.
• The climbing base - the training valley of Soviet mountaineering, still in use.
• The Blue Lake - a meltwater lake below the glacier at around two thousand eight hundred metres.

When to go

July to September for climbing and walking; March for ski touring. Three days to a week. Transfers from Kurai must be arranged.

Honest expectations

Access is by off-road vehicle over river beds - ordinary cars cannot do it and transfers are charged. The camp is basic. Altitude affects arrivals from the steppe. Glacier travel needs equipment and a guide; the easy peaks are still mountains and people are hurt on them.

Nearby

The Kurai steppe is below; the Chuysky Trakt runs east and west.