Mount Iremel

Iremel is the second-highest mountain in the Southern Urals at 1,582 metres, a broad quartzite massif with two summits and a flat stony plateau on top - Bolshoy Iremel and Maly Iremel - rising above spruce forest that gives way to dwarf birch, then to bare rock and kurum, the fields of angular blocks that cover Ural summits. It is sacred in Bashkir tradition and was, according to that tradition, not climbed casually; people still tie ribbons at the treeline. The standard route starts at Tyulyuk on the Chelyabinsk side and runs about fourteen kilometres each way, with a boardwalk laid over the worst of the bog and root damage after visitor numbers grew sharply. Permits are required from the natural park. The summit plateau holds snow into July and weather turns fast; below it the taiga is thick, and bears are present.

What you actually see

• The plateau summit - flat stony ground at 1,582 metres above the treeline.
• The kurum - fields of angular blocks covering the upper slopes.
• The Bashkir tradition - a sacred mountain with ribbons tied at the treeline.
• The boardwalk - laid to protect ground damaged by rising visitor numbers.

When to go

June to September for the walk; March for ski touring. A full day - fourteen kilometres each way. Permits from the park are compulsory.

Honest expectations

Twenty-eight kilometres round trip with a summit at 1,582 metres is a long day, and people underestimate it. Snow lies on the plateau into July. Weather changes fast with no shelter. Bears are present and the trail is remote. Permits are checked.

Nearby

Tyulyuk is the trailhead village; Zyuratkul national park is north-east.