Weather station. Dawn above the clouds

And four hundred meters of ascent behind - and I'm already going to a lonely house on the mountain. This is a weather station.

Inside, he meets a hospitable but strict watchman, Nikolai. Equal man, he has everything in order and comfort. Vegetarians came ahead of me, and the next day is to be spent in this company.

At a weather station, stove steam heating. Two 8-bed rooms with bunk beds for accommodating tourists and a caretaker's room, in which he also sometimes launches wanderers for the night.

The house is warm and good, the wind and a light snowstorm are walking outside the window. The electricity from the batteries is enough for lighting and the operation of the walkie-talkie, radio and even sometimes the TV. All mobile operators accept the signal, the Internet was even enough to see the forecast for tomorrow - everything should work with the shooting. Two cats live at the weather station, if you don’t put the food in your backpack, they will surely gnaw the bags and eat the sausage.

I took the warning lightly and lost half of my supply, after which the food was put into the “cold room”.

At dinner, Nikolai told several stories from his work here at the weather station, what different and strange people come and that everyone has their own goal: someone thumps all the time, someone takes pictures, someone just wants to stay in silence and look out the window. Once, in the summer, a tourist climbed a mountain, but he never reached the house - there was such a fog that nothing was visible in the meter.

It got dark, he slept in a Christmas tree and only the next morning could see that he had not reached the house just a few tens of meters. That is why in the taiga it is always necessary to soberly assess your strengths and have a "plan B".

After dinner, everyone went to their cabins. This time I was again upstairs, next to the window.

It was early to sleep and did not want to. The neighbors below were the guys Grisha and Pasha - also vegetarians from Chelyabinsk. They have already been here many times, and each time the weather station is perceived differently. The time passed quickly for communication, but still did not want to sleep: I lay and looked out the window, into the dark abyss, and then decided to take a walk around the house. There was a strong icy wind outside, which played only on hand - it dispersed the clouds, and as a result, the moon began to shine through the sky.

The morning began with an alarm clock, which several times tried to lift me from the room. I even had a bad idea to turn it off altogether and continue to sleep, but when I looked out the window, there was no doubt whatsoever - it was a great luck to find such beauty.

There were a few minutes before sunrise, I instantly gathered as warm as possible and jumped out into the street.

The clouds beneath us spread out in a burgundy carpet, and the sun's rays barely began to slip through it, staining everything around in warm colors. I can say for sure: it was the most beautiful sunrise in my life.

All other inhabitants of the shelter also went out to meet the dawn after me.

Since yesterday it was not possible to explore the surroundings, I had to run around the plateau well in search of interesting angles, afraid to miss the precious moments of dawn.

After collecting cream from dawn, you can calmly drink tea, sitting in the kitchen warm, and look out the window at the calming landscape: from the time when meteorologists were still working here, there were devices that, surprisingly, fit well into the big picture.

Then, in the company of Grisha and Pasha, I decided to continue shooting, which turned into a two-hour walk to the Crocodile Mountain and the rocky hill west of the ridge.

The house at the top left is a weather station.

The depth of snow under the infusion is two meters, no less. In places, snowdrifts completely covered the Christmas trees, so that only the tops remained on the surface.

In one of these Christmas trees, I even fell on my shoulders, making my way to the rock. Once again, mentally thanked the camera for her indestructibility, she also had to dive into the snowdrifts several times.

After lunch, I packed up and headed back. I did not want to leave this place, but the emotions I received were enough to harmoniously complete the whole journey. I decided that I would definitely return here and, most likely, in the very near future.