pure mountains

Masha, her son Vasya, who has been involved in orienteering in a sports section in Moscow for a long time, and I planned, organized and held a sports and intellectual quest for employees of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

For the corporate event on June 3-4, 2022, we chose one of our favorite places near Lake Komsomolskoye on the territory of the Elbrus National Park. About 100 years ago, an aul of the indigenous local population was located here, and due to the soft pasture activities in these places, a unique cultural landscape was formed with forest glades, stone fences, small terraces, and in some places, long-abandoned walls of old houses.

During the event, we taught the employees of the Ministry the basics of orientation in a landscaped forest park, teamwork skills when moving along simple mountain terrain. The guests were also told about the ecosystems of Elbrus and the history of the development of this area, paying special attention to information about the environmental threats inherent in the mountainous territory of the North Caucasus, emanating from humans in recent decades.

The participants also learned how to erect tents on their own and prepared a tourist lunch on burners, after which everyone had lunch together, appreciated the taste of the food cooked together, tried local delicacies and mountain herbal tea from a samovar.

The day at the foot of Elbrus was beneficial to everyone: they breathed in the fresh air, gained new knowledge about nature and their first mountain experience and, most importantly, a lot of new positive emotions. Everyone promised to come back again and next time go on a real mountain hike and with a guide, which we are very happy about!