Heliskiing in Dombay mountains.

How can you to elevate your soul, refine senses, increase physical strength and observation and enrich the mind with knowledge?
«Modernization of sanatorium-and-spa complex of Caucasus region will be a part of hole strategy of developing of North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD),» said immediately after his appointment deputy of plenipotentiary of russian president Maksim Bystrov. Today this document is being prepared by staff of authorized representative of president of Russian Federation in NCFD, and it will be done, most probably, in June of this year.

Obviously, the most comfortable for investment involvement will be not only KMV, but Kabardino-Balkaria with its Elbrus and Karachay-Cherkessia with its Dombay. The head of Karachay-Cherkessia Boris Ebzeev has just said about necessity of uniting of health resort’s facilities of North Caucasus regions. Making of touristic ring in the South of Russia, provision with two-hour availability between the health resort centres of region may further the development of the hole sector most effective. Though for justice' sake it sould be noted that for Karachay-Cherkessia this is not so ungent - in Dombay with its waterfalls, glaciers, alpine meadows, mountain lakes there is no end of tourists. Dombay is year-round resort. In summer here touristic and excursion groups assemble, in winter downhill skier generally.

Downhill skiing season in Dombay lasts from November to May. Here is great number of virgin lands that is especially attractive for lovers of freeride - it is snowboarding or alpine skiing outside the prepared tracks and beyond the area of maintenance of alpine skiing industry. It is considered that just riding in the virgin snow the most full disclose all opportunities of this kind of sport. True, specialists  warn that freeriding promises quite a lot dangers connected with unknown locality, possibility of  avalanching, that’s why beginners at snowboarding and skiing shouldn’t hasten to leave the tracks.

The new feature of Dombay is one of the freeride trends - heliskiing. Skiers as like as freeriders downhill far away from prepared tracks, but come up... in helicopters. Using the helicopters make it possible to find different varients of downhill from the mountain in conditions of virgin nature, where is not so easy to come by the different way. Subject to model of helicopter, its hoisting capacity groups of skiers could differ in size. The group usually is accomponied by guide, who knows specificity of different tracks very well. For heliskiing skiers should master the art of downhill in tracks of different steepness.

From the March 10 to March 28 in Karachay-Cherkessia is working the programme called «Heliskiing in Dombay-2010». Groups of 4-5 people with the guide come up in the helicopter Eurocopter ES 130 V4. This is a seven-seater machine that is operated by one pilot. At the expense of good manoeuvrability and quick rising the time in the air is spent more rational than using more large helicopters, for example, MI8. Also Eurocopter makes it possible to work with 2-4 groups of riders at the same time. Organizers say that the guides who accompany the tracks, have long-term experience of working in heliskii projects in Caucasus, Kamchatka, mountains of Kirghizia and Uzbekistan, they also are considered specialists in avalanche safety, protection in mountains and optimal organization of flight time. During the 90 minutes of flight you could downhill 4-5 times with the common height drop from 3500 to 6000 metres. The number of downhills depends on remoteness of the area of your skiing from settlement Dombay.

All this delight costs 29000 roubles for one person. This cost includes antivalanche rucksack ABS, lavanche spade, probe, sensor and quoting of Caucacian mountain climber and teacher Potockiy, who in the beginning of the century wrote: «Who goes in mountains, attracted by their original beauty, he elevates his soul, refines his senses, increases physical strength and observation and enrichs the mind with knowledge. The mountains train to independence, form your character, and nowhere a man doesn’t feel so cheerful and independent, but in the mountain peaks. Far away from everyday hubbub and anxiety, close to beautiful nature, contemplating marvellous panoramas, surrounded this area. Exhausted and nervous man gets renewed, resting in his body and soul, and feels again, maybe, lost long ago poetic mood.»

Pavel Martynov specially for VK