Day 1
Arrival in Kamchatka, check-in
Meeting with the guide
Having had some rest after the flight you will meet with a guide who will accompany you during the tour. The guide will tell all the details of the program and answer your questions.
Few days active tourClimbing Klyuchevskaya Sopka from the southwest
Book this tourMeals: cooking in the camp
Difficulty: high, required a good physical training and endurance
Period: July – September
Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest volcano not only in Kamchatka, but also in the entire Eurasia. Due to frequent eruptions, its height varies from 4750 m to 4850 m or more. The age of the volcano is about 7000 years.
The program is designed for 13 days with two additional reserve days, which are added in case of bad weather conditions. All nights on the route are in tents with the exception of nights in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the village of Kozyrevsk. Hotel accommodation in Kozyrevsk is included into the price. Transfer to the first campground and back is carried out on off-road vehicles — a shift bus or a specially prepared car, depending on the group size.
Before climbing Klyuchevskaya Sopka you will have an acclimatization ascent to Ushkovsky, Kamen or Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcanoes to the altitude of up to 3800 m. A guide will choose the variant of acclimatization program based on the condition of the group members and the weather.
Climbing Klyuchevskaya Sopka is a categorical climb, the participants are required to have climbing experience, good physical training and endurance. There is no doubt that this tour will remain in your memory for a long time, because you will spend two weeks among the magnificent volcanoes, walk dozens of kilometers across Kamchatka and conquer the highest active volcano of Eurasia.
Tour program
Day 2
Transfer to Kozyrevsk Village
Transfer to the campground Kopyto
We meet early in the morning, load our belongings into a car and drive to the village of Kozyrevsk, which is 490 km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The road will take 9–10 hours, on the way we will stop in Milkovo Village for lunch.
From Kozyrevsk on a off-road vehicle we get to the Kopyto cordon, which is located at the altitude of 1000 m. We spend the night in tents there.
Day 3
Trekking to Bogdanovich Glacier
On the first trekking day we are going to overcome 17 km and climb to the height of 1800 m.
The Bogdanovich Glacier is the second largest (46.1 km2) in Kamchatka after the Erman Glacier (48.3 km2). At the same time, it is the longest glacier in Kamchatka — its length is 17.6 km.
Day 4
Trekking to Antarktida Plateau to Crater Perevalniy
Crater Perevalny is located between the volcanoes Ushkovsky and Klyuchevskaya Sopka at the altitude of 2700 meters.
On this day we will overcome 15 km with a climb of 900 m.
Day 5
Acclimatization program
Days 5 and 6 are for acclimatization. The guide will choose one of two acclimatization programs based on the weather, the condition of the group members, etc.
Variant 1: a climb to volcano Ushkovsky, 3943 m. The duration of ascent and descent is 7–9 hours.
Ushkovsky is an active stratovolcano, a part of the Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes. On the summit there is an oval caldera filled with a thick layer of ice. The last eruption was in 1980.
Day 6
Acclimatization program
Days 5 and 6 are for acclimatization. The guide will choose one of two acclimatization programs based on the weather, the condition of the group members, etc.
Variant 2: ascent to the Vulkanologi Pass and an acclimatization climb to volcano Kamen or Klyuchevskaya Sopka up to 3700–3800 m.
Kamen is an extinct stratovolcano of 4585 m high, the second highest volcano after Klyuchevskaya Sopka. After the last eruption, which date is unknown, the slopes were heavily destroyed by collapsing rocks.
Day 7
Climb to the summit of Klyuchevskaya Sopka
After an early breakfast we start ascent to the summit of Klyuchevskaya Sopka. Because of constant eruptions its height varies from 4750 m to 4850 m and more above sea level. Nowadays its height is considered 4850 m.
The duration of ascent and descent is 10–14 hours. Height difference is about 1600 m. The climb itself is complicated by the stones that thaw out from glaciers and snowfields and actively fall during the climb.
Day 8
Reserve day
Kamchatka weather is unpredictable, especially in the mountains, so there are two reserve days in the program in case of the bad weather.
If the weather is fine and there is no need in reserve days, then the group will return back to the city 2 days earlier, and total duration of the tour will be 13 days.
Day 9
Reserve day
Kamchatka weather is unpredictable, especially in the mountains, so there are two reserve days in the program in case of the bad weather.
If the weather is fine and there is no need in reserve days, then the group will return back to the city 2 days earlier, and total duration of the tour will be 13 days.
Day 10
Descent along Schmidt Glacier
From the base camp we descend eastward along the Schmidt Glacier to Ambon Mountain situated at the altitude of 1000 m.
Ambon Mountain and the area around it is included into the list of natural monuments. This giant rock came off Kamen Volcano during an immense landslide happened 1200–1300 years ago. The rock has the size of 50×20×30 meters with the weight of 40–45 thousand tons.
Duration of the trek is 14 km.
Day 11
Trekking across the Bezymianny Pass
We continue our way towards Plotina seismological station and reach Kamenniye Polennitsy (Stone Logs) rock across the Bezymianny Pass.
The rock represents a pressed out extrusion dome that was formed many thousand years ago during eruption. Lava, when cooling down, was split by the system of cracks into separate small pentahedral blocks looking just like logs. Kamenniye Polennitsy is a natural monument.
Duration of the trek is 17 km.
Day 12
Climbing volcano Ovalnaya Zimina
Climbing route to Ovalnaya Zimina volcano has 2A difficulty category. Volcano’s height is 3081 m.
Extinct volcano Ovalnaya Zimina is a part of the volcanic range of three joint stratovolcanoes Ovalnaya Zimina (Oval Zimina), Ostraya Zimina (Sharp Zimina) and Gorniy Zub (Mountain Tooth). The crater of the volcano is filled with an extrusion, and there are two extrusive domes on the southern slope.
Day 13
Trekking to the Edelweiss Meadow campground
From Kamenniye Polennitsy along the Studenaya (Icy Cold) River we get to the campground at the Baraniy (Sheep’s) Stream and camp there.
Edelweiss Meadow is a sample of untouched nature with unique flora including Kamchatka edelweiss (Leontopodium kamtschaticum).
Duration of the trek is 16 km.
Day 14
Trekking to Kopyto campground
Return to Kozyrevsk Village
In the last trekking day we are going to overpass 8 km to the Kopyto campground, where our journey began. From there we’ll drive to Kozyrevsk.
In the village of Kozyrevsk we check into a hotel, go to the bathhouse and rest after hard and full days.
Day 15
Return to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
After breakfast we set off for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It is going to be a long road with a stop for lunch.
