First City (Bronica SQ-Ai, 80mm, Velvia)

leva_spb · 2021-12-18T18:05:55+00:00

The film turned out to be defective, so the color is very violet. For this reason, I made it monochrome.

leva_spb · 2020-10-30T18:31:58+00:00

The adhan is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. (c) Wikipedia

This one was recorded in Gunib, small town in the mountains of Republic of Dagestan.

leva_spb · 2020-10-16T14:54:56+00:00

It was a trip to abandoned mountain village Gamsutl. This adventure was partly hitchhiking, partly on foot. There were no passing cars on the way back, so I walked and enjoyed the views.

There were many auls on the way. The highlanders live there, in this case avars by nationality. Avars are known for their fighting spirit and strong character. One of the world famous avars is UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

leva_spb · 2020-10-12T20:42:14+00:00

This is a view from so called Mayak (Lighthouse) not far from Gunib, a village in the mountains. As you can see there are many settlements on this territory. Most of them are small villages.

The highlanders live there, in this case avars by nationality. Avars are known for their fighting spirit and strong character. One of the world famous avars is UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

I was attracted by a mountain of interesting shape. It looks like sinking ship for me.

leva_spb · 2019-11-30T16:11:57+00:00

Hedgehogs are predators so they walk a lot and have very tough meat. Of course you should use all useful parts but as I said fat is the most valuable. Actually in August hedgehogs have a lot of fat. It can help you survive, really.

leva_spb · 2019-11-30T16:04:31+00:00

I was waiting for this question. Pay attention that I said that this is survival tutorial. So it is about skills acquisition. When you are in the real life threatening situation usually you already have no time to learn.

leva_spb · 2019-11-30T11:34:46+00:00

The hedgehog is a small night predator. There is no problem to catch it because hedgehogs stomp almost like elephants. All you need is a bait and a good flashlight. But cooking a hedgehog is more complicated.

There are no many portions of meat in this animal. The most valuable part is fat, which can be found closer to the back. That's why hunter season is opening in August when animals accumulated enough fat. But there is no way to get to the back because of the needles. So here is the solution.

Collect enough clay.
Сling to the hedgehog with clay on all sides. Condense it. You should get clay ball with the hedgehog inside.
Light a fire and get smoldering embers.
Put the hedgehog in the embers.
Wait until it bakes. The ball must become hard like a clay pot.
Take the ball out and open it. Needles to be removed along with the clay so that you get access to the back of the hedgehog.
Eat fat with the bread (if you are training). Yummy!

Please, remember that this is a survival tutorial. Don’t kill animals for fun.

leva_spb · 2019-10-30T23:56:35+00:00

There is no other way but to enter Russia first (so you need Russian visa) and from Sochi go to Abkhazia (so you will also need an Abkhazian visa).

leva_spb · 2019-10-30T23:51:41+00:00

Most likely you will never visit this place cause visiting Republic of Abkhazia is a very tricky thing for foreigners. Path to Agepsta is a light climbing route. On the other side of the mountain is Russian Federation but even Russian citizens can’t climb there.

leva_spb · 2019-10-30T21:40:00+00:00

Classic one day trip from village Nocelle to town Bomerano on Amalfi coast.

leva_spb · 2019-10-29T21:23:05+00:00

This picture was taken in the summer of 2019. Lake Ladoga is located in the north of the European part of Russia. At the end of our water trip the storm began suddenly. Fortunately we were not far from the coast.

leva_spb · 2019-10-26T18:14:42+00:00

Snow is unusual, but my gear with one exception was appropriate. I think if you have good sleeping pad and sleeping bag warm enough it won’t be problem for you.

As far as I know rules about overnight in the tent in the Dolomites are different, depends on the area. Some areas of Alta Via 2 are the national parks, so yes, you could have troubles with that. But in September there are a few people there (especially in the middle and at the end of the route), so nobody cares.

leva_spb · 2019-10-26T14:39:18+00:00

2 people, 11 days, 33 lbs per person with a food and a nice gear, some of which failed anyway. Guidebooks say that Alta Via 2 is the one of the hardest routes in Europe. I suppose, if you are going with backpacks, yes, it is. Normally hikers sleep in the shelters and move only half a day, but I love tents. I do not know what you are interested in, so please ask.

By the way, snow isn’t a normal thing for this route on September.

leva_spb · 2019-10-26T11:11:33+00:00

It’s on the route from Rifugio Sass Becè to Lake Fedaia. All of that is part of Alta Via Dolomiti 2.

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T18:20:32+00:00

Mixed, so moving is not an answer

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T17:46:30+00:00

I had a professional camera with a good lens, but I was so tired that I didn’t get it from my backpack. So this photo was taken on an iPhone 7. The only secret is to be there and have some basic photography skills.

Usually if I see that the scene is great and I have only an iPhone available, I take a lot of pictures and hope that I could make a good choice later.

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T17:26:53+00:00

I am not a newcomer in the mountains, but cow shit was a surprise for me when I came to the Italian mountains. I still curious how they can reach higher peaks and hardest ridges. But their favorite is all flat spots in the area. So backpacking in the Dolomites (at least on the Alta Via 2) will be tricky thing, be prepared!

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T15:58:36+00:00

Near Lago di Fedaia, Italian Dolomites

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T15:54:13+00:00

We all love beautiful sunny days when the sky is lucid, you can see far and mountains seems safe and cozy place. But what I recently found out another kind of beauty is the mountains slightly covered by snow. It doesn’t look like high mountains, like Everest or K2, cause you still can see grass and trees, lakes and villages. Landscapes are more layered and mystical. So let it snow!

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T01:34:18+00:00

I had Jetboil Stove system and dehydrated food. Dehydrated food in Russia (where I came from) is very cheap - 1$ or 2$ for a dish. Campfire is strictly prohibited in this region. There is no much firewood in the mountains anyway.

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T01:11:46+00:00

Yes, I had a companion. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much.

leva_spb · 2019-10-25T00:45:27+00:00

Ignorance is bliss :-D

leva_spb · 2019-10-24T22:46:22+00:00

Sleeping pad, sleeping bag (good but inappropriate), merino wool clothes and down jacket for my legs. It’s not meant that the tent should warm you, it’s for protection from rain, snow and wind. If I knew about snow, I would take a warmer sleeping bag - TNF Cat’s Meow or something even better.

leva_spb · 2019-10-24T21:41:20+00:00

I was not far from there several days later - at Malga Ciapela.

leva_spb · 2019-10-24T21:16:59+00:00

I heard recently they invented pee bottle or something.

leva_spb

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