It’s difficult to reply why some people leave their families and cozy homes and rush to the places where they have never been before. Why they risk when nobody understand them and share their aspirations. Is it the instinct or their thirst for adventure. Probably they want to test themselves? Or that’s all together?
I hunted in Russia lots of times and had collected the BIG FIVE in Africa. But in 2017 I slightly opened the door to the new world- The World of the Mountains Hunts.
My friends-hunters have told me that mountain hunts stand apart from the others and demand on the hunter to be in a good l physical condition and to have the moral power. I decided to try.
The geography of the mountains hunts is the whole world. And I decided to start this way from Russia. My country is the most suitable variant for me. The goal is to take all species which are permitted on this 1/6 part of the Land. In one year I’d been in the Gorny Altai where had managed to take the trophy of the Ibex. I visited Caucasus three times and add to my trophy list three kinds of Turs and two sub-species of chamois. The turn came to the Snow Sheep. I discussed all details with Alexey Podtyazhkin ( Ibex Club) and we solved to start with the Kamchatka Snow Sheep.
The best time for hunting on Kamchatka is the begging of August when the weather is more predictable and we’ve booked that dates. Looking ahead, I’d say that the weather didn’t know that it had to be so.
So, hit the road!
The flight from Moscow to Petropavlovsk was on schedule and arrived on time. The first night I spent in the hotel just in a couple km from the airport (Elizovo)because the next day we flew to Tigil by the domestic airlines. There was the direct flight to Palana (it’s the place which we needed) but we couldn’t buy tickets beforehand though tried to do it in two month before the expedition.
The risk not to fly anywhere from Elizovo is very high because everything on Kamchatka depends on weather. I was lucky and we flew in time.
I has to note that the cost for the domestic flights, if you are not the local citizen, is very high. It’s about the half cost of the ticket between Moscow and Petropavlovsk, about 50K rur.
The pilots on the domestic flighta were very experienced but the planes were very old. The planes resembled those that used for the touristic flights on Maldivas but only by its size. That technique is used for decades and I treated it like to the historical rarity and artifact. The first plane on which we had to fly, broke before we left and they gave us another one. We unloaded our luggage and put it on the next one. That procedure was done by passages. Then we prayed and flew.
It was the exciting flight on a nine-seat plane. There wasn’t any sound insulation but I liked it. At last we successfully landed at the Tigil airport. That village is located on the north-west of the peninsula . Its’ population is about 1.5K people. The poor infrastructure causes a sense of deep sadness. However, this applies not only to the village of Tigil but to the whole Kamchatka.
The distance between Palana and Tigil is about 200 km by the new built and good (if its’ possible) dirt road.
Konstantin Kalin met me in Palana. This outfitter and the pro guy is a very good fellow. His wife accommodated me in the comfortable apartment where I spent the night waiting for the American hunter who would join us next day. We both would try our hunting luck on the fertile land of Kamchatka.
The hunter would happen to be the 63 year old guy from Washington. We loaded all things and equipment to the ATV and started. Our team consisted of nine people: the guide, cook Elena, Konstantin, me and Daniel).
I discovered that this transport is the miracle of technology. It could overcome any water obstacles, cope with swamps and mud and hold steady on any surface. Looking how this iron giant stormed the barriers I admired that its constructor was the Russian woman.
It’s true that… In Russ hamlets women are dwelling…..
It took us four hours to get to the base which was not good, but was gorgeous! There were comfortable cabins with bed and linen, big dining room with the fireplace and nice bathhouse. The comfort level was even higher that we expected.
We accommodated, tested the guns (fortunately everything was good), then had heavy dinner and went to sleep. We had to have the rest before the transfer to the base camp.
Next morning we drove to the camp. Our way laid through the plain with some hills and it took us 9 hours. The Kamchatka expanses make the indelible impressions especially when you seat on the roof of the old, roaring ATV. It was warm and we enjoyed the trip, saw lots of bears which walked alone or with cubs. Sometimes the distance to them wasn’t more than 30 meters.
We made stops for a lunch and fishing and arrived to the base camp which was ready and waited for us. It was located at the foot of the mountains. Our armored car sighed and stood on the siding. It was 3.30 pm.
The camp’s organization is worthy of the highest praise. It was very comfortable tent camp set in the very picturesque place in the mountains. It consisted of the mobile kitchen with the stove which gave us its warmth during the cold days, the mobile bath and the Toilet! I and Daniel anticipated how we would come back to this nice camp after the long day of hunting.
But there were some nuances….
The three guides waited for us in the camp. They made the survey while the weather allowed. The sheep were detected in three different places ten days ago but then the weather changed and nobody knew whether they’d be there or not. One more thing alarmed us that all these places were a day away from the camp.
We had to make the decision quickly because according the weather forecast the storm would come in a couple of days. And we decided to go immediately and not to waste time. The plan was to set the camp as close as it was possible to the hunting area.
Our group left the base at 4 pm. It consisted of me, three guides and two horses, loaded by all equipment.
In an hour and a half my enthusiasm's gone downhill. The temperature was 25 degrees above Zero, no wind and lots of mosquitoes. We needed to go through the vegetation which didn’t make our movement easier. We overcame about 10 km, which was like the endless ups and downs , and went to the place at 10 pm. So we could set the camp, change the cloth and went to sleep looking forward for the hunt next morning.
What does it mean “to be unlucky"
We started at the sunrise. Now I accept with all responsibility that I've underestimated the Kamchatka mountains. I thought that I was very experienced after hunting in Caucasus with its steep slopes and rocky gorges, on the elevation of 3000 masl and more and mountains on Kamchatka (1300-1500 masl) which looked like hills, wouldn't be a serious problem. How I was wrong! The fact was that the half of the way to the top you had to move through the cedar woods and reindeer moss. Mountains of Kamchatka are steep enough and rocks are friable. It makes all your movements dangerous and tough.
The first hunting day we spent looking for the sheep which were seen there in a week before. I didn’t know how much km we hiked but it took us eight hours. It was sunny and the average temperature was about 20C. It was windy on the top but not critical.
I thought a lot about the preparation for this hunt and regretted that hadn’t gone to the gym and kept diet. I needed to prepare for a hard work not the light walking. Take it into account if you are going there.
We didn’t see any sheep at that day but the weather forecast was good for the next one and we didn’t despair. But as I told you above the weather knew nothing about the forecast and didn’t know that it had to stick to it. The rain started in the early morning and wind which was like a breeze yesterday turned into storm. The tops of the mountains were covered with dense fog. It had no sense to hunt and nobody wanted to leave the tent.
It lasted five days. Bad weather broke out in earnest. Rain changed the winds and vice versa. The fog covered the all mountains or uncovered some parts from time to time. The temperature fluctuated from the frost at nights to the warmth +7C during the day.
After spending five days in the tent we knew everything about each other. We told all stories and looked through all photos in the phones of each other. We felt as if we knew each other for the whole life. Most of the time we slept thanks to the rain and wind which sang their lullabies.
I had to pay tribute to the Rangers. They used any minute or any opportunity when the weather was fine to view the mountains and find the animals but hadn’t seen anything. The silent tension reigned in the camp at last, we all thought about smth else. I estimated when I could visit Kamchatka next time because I had busy schedule and only logistic there could take eight days.
There was one more problem. We took food for the limited number of days because thought that would hunt fast. But decided to stay there for the final, to trust for God and to hope for a good weather.
Kamchatka’s surprises
On the third day we were forced to cook hot meal once in a day and checked some places where could pick berries and mushrooms. Once we got out of the tent and saw the bear which stood on the hind legs and looked at our horses with the gastronomic interest. Without thinking twice, we brought down towards the uninvited guest a sophisticated vocabulary (profanity) of Russian language which we knew. It looked at us disapprovingly and withdrew.
So we spent days waiting for the miracle, what meant for us - the weather improvement.
Day #6. At the lunch time the rains was finished and our guides: Andrey and Evkumye went to the nearest valley. Sergey and I stayed in the camp, built a fire and started to cook.
In an hour I noticed Andrey who was running to us and gesticulated. We switched on the radio and called Evkumye. He told us that found sheep and the weather would get worse soon. We didn’t wait any minute and trotted to him. We did run 1.5 km to the mountain!
There was snow in the mountains at night and the sheep went down to the half of the slope and stopped to rest. It took us 40 minutes to climb the last 300 meters. Andrey and Sergey staid on the place while I and Evkumye crawled to the males. We were ready to see them every minute.
So they were. Two young males (4-5 years old) stood in front of us on the opposite slope. The distance between us was about 250meters. They both saw to our side ready to ran. I and Evkumye looked for the third one which lead them. One, two minutes past but it didn’t appear. Nothing! We thought that it ran away by the other way.
But suddenly the experienced PH spotted the male which laid down than the young ones in 160 m from us. I saw just its neck and head but we couldn’t approach. I got on my knees, aimed and fired. I missed it and the ram rushed up the slope after the two young animals. I set the bipod and fell to the ground. Then I caught the target on the cross hair when it stopped for a minute and turned to look at us.
210 meters. The shot! I wounded it and it sat down. One more shot. It fell. Thanks to my old Blazer R93!
There was a second of the absolute silence and then it exploded with the cries of joy. We threw out all emotions that had accumulated over those days.
The other guys joined us and we hugged all together and congratulated each other.
The rain started when we were on the way back to the tent and didn’t stop till the end. We went back to base about 7 hours but it wasn’t a hard way. We all were in a high spirit and felt full of strength. The tasty dinner and warm bath waited for us in the camp. We spent that evening talking and telling stories. Then I went to bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Next day the team with Daniel came back. They managed to get one sheep of two but took the nice trophy of Kamchatka Brown Bear.
Our way to home was without surprises. We flew back to Petropavlovsk and then to Moscow.
Thank you very much to Alexey Podtyazhkin ( Ibex Club), Konstantin Kalin and our guides Evkumye, Andrey and Sergey. And thank your very much to our cook Elena. You all organized everything well and I’ll never forget that time. See you again.
