White Elephant Cup 2017
The culmination of the ski season was the team ski touring competition on the Chornohora Ridge - the White Elephant Cup 2017. The main goal for our team with the ironic name "Ushlopky" was, as always, to get our share of joy and complete the competition distance at a good pace. We also planned to ski across the Chornohora Ridge from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast to our home in Zakarpattia the next day. Over these two days, we truly felt the spirit of the competition and the harshness of the winter climate in the Carpathians...
The gathering and registration of participants took place at the tourist complex "Camp White Elephant," located in the village of Dzembronya, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. The competition distance was about 20 km and involved climbing the Chornohora Ridge to the summit of Mount Pip Ivan, where the former observatory "White Elephant" is located, and then descending towards the village of Shybene. The competition route...
Photos along the route, thanks to volunteer photographers...
Our team - "Ushlopky"...
The formidable appearance of the "White Elephant" observatory inspired us to move forward on the icy snow...
The ridge was dominated by wind that day, adding discomfort as we traversed the summits. Halfway through the section, my calves began to freeze, or rather, they became so numb that I couldn't feel them. It turned out that my running tights had ridden up slightly, exposing the lower part of my legs. But I knew that the cold section wouldn't last long, and on the descent, my legs would return to normal...
For the last 1.5 km of the distance, after a rather long descent, the snow ended. We strapped our skis to our backpacks and ran to the finish in our boots. This moment was my favorite. We finished second, right behind the competition winners - "Chuhayster and Tarapunka"...
The next day, the organizers held an award ceremony. But we decided to use this day for another ski crossing. So, early in the morning, we put on our skis and headed to Zakarpattia across the ridge.
Map of the second day's route...
The ascent to the Chornohora Ridge was even harsher than during the competition. This time, a strong wind dominated from the very beginning of the climb and gradually intensified....
On the ridge, I lost my right glove, which was immediately blown away by a gust of wind. The strong wind pierced and made the ascent on the icy slope difficult. At times, we removed our skis and slowly climbed, driving our boots into the icy slope and creating a sort of icy staircase. Finding a place to rest, where we could at least somewhat shelter from the strong wind, I finally warmed my hand and for the first time felt the dull pain of thawing. After this, I took Dima's spare gloves...
The strong wind on the ridge discouraged taking out the camera and removing gloves to take pictures. However, the beautiful scenery and good visibility prompted me to take a few shots even in such conditions...
Climbing to the summit of Mount Menchul, we headed towards Lake Brebeneskul, where we found untouched "powder" and finally said goodbye to the strong gusts of wind...
We skied all the way to the beginning of the village of Hoverla. After that, attaching our ski touring gear to our backpacks, we walked to the bus stop in the village of Luhy. Since it was Sunday, the last bus, which was supposed to depart for Rakhiv at 16:40, was not there. We started looking for a place to stay overnight. As a result, Dima managed to arrange for us to stay right across from the bus stop, in the forestry building. Since our vocabulary lacks the common human concept of comfort, the spot on the wooden floor in the lobby of the building suited us perfectly...
The next day was dedicated to getting to Uzhhorod. Although the journey to the competition and back took almost a full two days, it was worth it. We added another small adventure to our list, once again experiencing the unique and desired taste of the mountains...
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