Icy roads for "Tiguana»

Continuing the story of the expeditions in the cities of the Volga Federal District, we offer you a story about traveling to Kungur ice cave. At this time, means of transportation was chosen crossover Volkswagen Tiguan. The way we were not a short - almost 1700 miles each way, so we planned for two days on the road to Kungur, two days in Kungur and two days for the return journey. Place the first stop for the night was selected motel Tatneft, located on highway M-7 "Volga", 16 km from Kazan. In our case it was the best solution, since the motel is located just in the middle route. The behavior of the tested vehicle on the highway is fully confirmed line given to him by name. Tiguan - a tiger and an iguana, these are the names of animals and lizards make up the name of the new crossover from the Bundes-stable. The car is quick and Tiger, despite a modest engine capacity (1.4 liters), thanks turbirovanie not disappoint even the discerning lover of fast driving. Tenacity lizard appears confident at the exits from the steep turns due to wheel-drive powertrain 4motion. Modest incidental test on the road too, did not reveal any serious problems. Despite its complete set of optical path, the car calmly coped with the proposed potholes filled with mud. Accurate, does not cause the design, complete with chrome trim and chrome side window as grille, bright roof rails and stylish front bumper, delivered the aesthetic pleasure. Pleased with the functional feasibility of electromechanical parking brake and the help system for ascent / descent from the mountain. Karst (on him. Karst, under the name of the limestone plateau of the Alpine Karst in Slovakia) - a set of processes and phenomena associated with the activity of water and are expressed in the dissolution of rocks and formation of these voids, as well as the distinctive landforms that occur on the ground, folded relatively easily soluble in water, rocks (gypsum, limestone, marble, dolomite and rock salt). The road to Izhevsk was already well established in the September expedition, but with the features of the route Izhevsk, Perm-Kungur we still had to meet. Rounding Izhevsk by-pass road, we drove 100 km to the city with a cheerful title game. The road, in turn, did not bring a special joy - covering virtually all over the broken and patched patches, and a large number of dangerous corners of the congestion on the highway made the move with a low rate. After the game, the situation has improved, the road through the Ocher and Krasnokamsk in Perm was not broken and did not bring surprises. The mood darkened only the weather: a fine drizzling rain and dreary methodically "sleep" windshield, and windshield wipers operating in a "rain sensor", were unable to operate in a timely manner, which made periodically by hand. Added dirt and nerves running ahead of the car. In the process the necessary cleaning windshield and rear window were surprised capacity tank to the washer. Statements on Technical Specifications Capacity 3 liters in practice turned out to be twice that in the present traffic situation is very handy. Winding coils of more than 700 km from the place overnight, we drove to Perm, a third in size city of Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg (799.68 km2). His birth Perm obliged copper ores found near the village of Mullah at rivers and Mulyanke Egoshihe. Egoshinsky copper smelting plant, whose construction began in 1723, marked the beginning of the city. Today the famous Perm Perm Motors (PMC), which include Aviadvigatel and Perm Motor Plant, which produces jet engines for civil and military aviation, air and let out the most powerful in the world of rocket engine RD-253, a unique gear to the Mil helicopters, gas turbine and gas compressor units for gas-mains. Our readers will be interested to know that in February 1920 in Perm, Perm factory was opened Goznak and published the first batch of Soviet paper banknotes. As we passed the Perm for long bridges, interchanges, and quite simply, the signs, found their way to Kungur, which proved to be quite tolerant and short (88 km). By Kungur move strictly for "home" and immediately found a series of pointers to the direction towards the Ice Caves and Hotel Stalagmite ", which was supposed to put us up for the next day. The next day we had an appointment with the mysterious main attraction of the Perm region, Kungurskaya ice cave, a unique natural monument, covered with many legends. On one of them, in the years 1578-1579 in its vicinity wintered detachment of Ermak. There are many legends about the fact that at different times of caves caves served as a refuge for conservatives who have fled from persecution to the Urals, and for the first Kungur residents fleeing the devastating attacks of Bashkir and Tatar groups. The first plan was drafted Ice Cave in 1703, an outstanding scientist, an architect and a cartographer of Siberia by Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov. Drawing on materials remezovskih one of the first schemes caves extant, was also composed a member of the Siberian expedition Messershmita - Stralenberg. In 1833, Ice cave visited members of the Second Kamchatka expedition led by Vitus Bering, whose path lay through Kungur. In the twentieth century a significant contribution to the research taking place in a cave karst phenomena made professor of Perm State University GA Maximovich. Today, the study carried out in a cave next to her hospital Karst Research Station of the Ural Branch of the Academy of Sciences. Our personal guide and a guide was an expert on karst caves Nadezhda Kozlova. Given the exclusive rights of our group, we, in contrast to ordinary tourists, were allowed to take photographs, the ability to stay in the cave of the required time and go through individually. The air temperature in Kungur at the time was an operating system, and in a cave -2 ° C, and since we planned to spend much time inside the cave, we need the appropriate clothing. Equipped, we moved into the cave, which is located two hundred meters from the hotel complex "Stalagmite. The guard opened the iron door to us, and passing through a long tunnel, we got into one of the most beautiful caves, called "Diamond." Ice, which hang on the arches of the cave - more than three hundred years. We saw the sacking, frozen into the ice strata, which, under assumptions of scientists, explorers slid through the narrow slit of the passage, which cut through the ice into old age in order to be able to get into the cave. In this cave - the largest number of snow crystals, which do not melt even in the hottest weather. As physicists say, is the reverse process of sublimation, the transition of wet steam in the crystals, bypassing the liquid phase. The cave itself was somewhat different than we imagined. We thought that it was all ice from the inside, but it was not. Ice, of course, there is, but it is not so much. The largest amount of ice freezes to March, but still the main part of the karst caves - it's just rock. Originality Kungurskaya ice cave is its temperature contrasts. We moved from grotto to grotto, occasionally caught in the "minus", the "plus", and immediately felt when we crossed the "zero isotherm. The total length of all explored caves is 5.7 km, including landscaped 2,2 km. The trail, which forms the tour, 1,3 km. Having been in the grotto "Diamond" by clicking on a wide, covered with frost corridor, we came to the grotto where piled on the floor of the giant boulders at different times, crumbling from the top. Stone chaos and icy silence of the grotto recall the fantastic pictures of Hell described in the "Divine Comedy" by the famous Italian poet Dante. Passing through the grotto, "Dante," a stone boulder you can see the black silhouette, which resembles a monster with open mouth and glowing eyes. In the grotto, "The Cross" is clearly visible band of ice pillars, stalagmites height of 2-3 m. In the vast dark cave "Ruins" more than just hit the scale of destruction and landslides. Peculiar and interesting cave "meteor". Back in the early first century guide caves Alexander T. Khlebnikov (he drove tourists from 1914 to 1951), raised at the talus and lit the torch, so that visitors can submit a flying across the sky a meteor or comet. Now this role fulfills a red spotlight, but the feeling of falling meteors or stars remains. An unforgettable experience left the biggest grotto "Friendship of Peoples", received its name after visiting the ice caves Kungurskaya members 18 of the International Geological Congress in 1937. In this grotto is a large lake, whose water surface is 750 m2, and in some places reaches a depth of 3 m. The water is so transparent that while Nadezhda we can not say that it is the water surface, which simply reflects the arches of the cave, we have taken is a reflection a deep chasm. Photography can not convey the feelings that we experienced, but if you look closely, you realize how amazing. Oddly look grottoes "Sculpture", "Sea bottom", "coral", which vaults would be covered as a special stucco tracery. We liked the grotto "Romantic", where we saw the stone in the shape of sails and underwater siphon - a well depth of 3 m. It is unusual to breathe inside the cave, a feeling that a specially fed clean, filtered air. Incidentally, the difference in air quality is felt as soon as you come out of the cave. I would like to describe another state, experienced in the depths of the cave. During our tour in the cave were other researchers, and they studied the other caves, and power supply system is designed so that when you turn in one direction the other is automatically disabled, and the grotto is immersed in darkness. The darkness is so absolute, that is not visible even hand-to-face presentation to. Impenetrable darkness, oppressive and ringing silence plunged into a state close to the primitive, there is some sort of union with the wilderness, which feels so shrill that the heart stops. Involuntarily thoughts come and go astray caver, cave-ins and other situations related to life underground. However, it is only emotion. Visit Kungurskaya ice cave safely. Over the past 80 years, tourists visiting the cave was not observed any accident, although there were millions of people. Properly organized work of Mountain Rescue Service is the key to security. Its year-round employees observe the state of the cave. For five hours in the cave, we thoroughly frozen, so we were very happy to get outside, where they could get acquainted with the stone-cutting creativity. Right at the exit of the cave settled Souvenir shop offering a wide choice - from the author's works on the soft ornamental stone to caskets and production craftsmen. All this has left a memorable meeting with Kungurskaya ice cave, which can rightly be called the pearl of the Perm region. Incidentally, the cave nominated as a candidate in the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO. Material provided by the magazine FotoTravel