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The letter that concludes the first part of our story about the expedition for the Tibetan (Ladakh) argali belongs, as the reader remembers, to Hussein Galobchi. He is an experienced hunter, an expert on mountain sheep, but he is not a scientist. That is why he deserves deep respect for the truly scientific enthusiasm and interest when he analyzes and summarizes the facts of observation of this amazing sheep in the Pamirs and tries to identify its differences from the argali Marco Polo. He describes in detail the signs, the differences between the forms, forces us to bow to his truly scientific pedantry and a passionate desire to lift the veil of secrecy over this difficult issue.   The Tibetan (Ladakh) Argali is very close to the Pamir with the edge of its range, especially in the area of the Wakhan corridor, that is, near the Tajik-Afghan border. They can feel good there in the Small and Large Pamirs as well as on the territory of their giant range – the largest of all the argali phenotypes. We are impressed by the list of the largest mountain systems of the planet inhabited by them: the highest Himalayas, the second highest mountains in the world after them, Karakoram, Ladakh, the giant plateau of Tibet with its eastern provinces, reaching almost 105° east longitude in the east. In the north, the Tibetan Plateau is bordered by no less grandiose ridges-Kunlun, Altyntag and other mountain ranges and systems. And if the Pamirs are also added to this list! The list of the countries where the Tibetan argali lives is no less impressive: Pakistan (Gilgit, Baltistan), China (Xinjiang Uygur District, Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan), Nepal (Mustang), Bhutan, India (the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim), etc.The southern border of the distribution is outlined by the great Indian Brahmaputra River. It passes through the Himalayas in the west. These are the Karakoram Mountains and the western face of the Himalayas. It is bounded by the Tarim Basin and the Gobi Desert in the north. The ideas about the eastern border in the above-mentioned provinces of China are changeable, some of the supposed habitats of the Tibetan argali there need to be clarified. Sometimes Damm and Franco in the" Atlas Caprinae of the World CIC " divide the Tibetan argali into the Tibetan and North Tibetan argali, based on some morphological indicators. However, the final point in this dispute can only be put by genetic research only. It concerns not only the Tibetan and North Tibetan argali, but also to any other, even if it is a small focus within the existence of the species. The North Tibetan argali is often identified with a subspecies described by the Russian traveler and scientist N. M. Przewalski Ovis ammon dalai-lamae Przewalski, 1888. Chinese scientists are inclined to this. The morphological parameters of the Tibetan argali (from those that are known) are as follows: body length up to 193 cm, height at the withers up to 117 cm, trunk girth behind the shoulder blades 127 cm, weight up to 110 kg. It has to be noted that these measurements have been made from individuals extracted by the British during their colonial expansion in the Himalayas, Ladakh (India), that is, from the southern parts of the range. The size and weight of argali from the central and northern parts of this vast territory are unknown. It is likely that the argali that dwell there reach a much more impressive size and weight. Although 193 cm (body length) indicate that this is a very large argali! It should be noted that the morphological material, the extracted individuals of the Tibetan argali (including the North Tibetan), is inversely proportional to their huge range – extremely small. There is very little to say according to the above-mentioned measurements of the body of Tibetan sheep, apart from the fact that they are scarce. The differences fit within the limits of the variability of most other geographical forms of argali. However, one characteristic parameter stands out – a very short tail. It doesn’t reach 8 cm (7.6) judging by the testimony of eyewitnesses. It confirms our idea about the severity of the habitats of the Tibetan argali. They inhabit the highest, vast and arid highlands of the Asian continent. The short tail confirms Allen's ecogeographic rule. The related forms of warm-blooded animals that lead a similar lifestyle, those live in colder climates have relatively smaller protruding body parts: ears, legs, tails, etc. In our case – kilometers up to the highest peaks of the world, where the general climatic situation, together with high-altitude desolation, rockiness, etc., adds its index to make it shorter. The features of the color of the short-tailed Tibetan argali are a dark muzzle, especially in the south and east of its range, as well as a rather pronounced dark stripe running from the back of the head to the shoulder blades. Sometimes the dark mane is pronounced that gives those animals a very peculiar, exotic look. There is a darkening above the near-tail "mirror". Sheep have a magnificent white suspension-made of elongated winter wool on the chest, on the sides of the neck and throat. The crest on the back of the head, described by Lydekker (1900), is, apparently, nothing more than the regrown hair of the mane, and this also indicates the severity of the climate in the habitats of these animals. The most of males have a well expressed the white suspension of the throat and chest, there are also white spots on the muzzle, in the area of the nasal profile and on the shoulder blades, but not all animals have white spots. Argali from the northern parts of the Tibetan area are lighter than their southern relatives, what is reflected in different (according to topography) parts of the body. Many Tibetan argali, especially males, are colored more contrastingly due to dark areas of the muzzle, body and limbs, adjacent to the white suspension of the throat, chest and a white spot in the scapular area. This color is characteristic of male argali habitat in the mountains of the Chinese province of Gansu. The white suspension of the breast can be light gray and even brownish. The mane on the back and neck in the form of a" crest " is more common for females and young males. The old males look lighter due to the white hair of the back, which creates the effect of gray hair, and the lightening of the muzzle. The mane of the North Tibetan argali can be lighter. The horns of the Tibetan argali are massive, in a steep spiral, that doesn't exceed one turn, sometimes it’s even shorter and has brownish-yellow color, like most other argali. The record registered length is in Ladakh – 144.5 cm, with a girth at the base of 47.6 cm and a distance between the ends (camber) of 73.7 cm. The maximum weight of the horns is 12.3 kg. We should especially note when talk about the Tibetan (Ladakh argali) that we talk about a generalized form, but there can be not only individual phenotypes, but also genotypes of argali, and the further research can give genetically different foci of different status – from population to subspecies. Divisions are possible into the northern and southern, as well as the extreme eastern groups. The differences between the "classic" Tibetan sheep from the plateau and the Karakoram argali that are close to the Pamirs are not excluded. Let's try to draw a portrait of a Tibetan argali. This is a viable mountain sheep that has mastered the spaces of the highest mountains in the world and the giant plateau-like high-altitude parts of Tibet, including the northern one with independent mountain systems bordering and separating it. The life in conditions close to extreme severity has formed its compact body with a very short tail and the same short ears, with massive, but not very long horns in a steep spiral with a single curl. The coloration is generally similar to other geographical forms of argali. It is darker in the south – in Ladakh, the Himalayas and in the East Chinese provinces. It applies to the limbs, a muzzle and darkening above the tail, on the sides, nape and neck. The thick suspension of long hair on the chest and neck (from white to light brown) is probably better expressed than in some other geographical forms. The North Tibetan argali can be lighter than the southern and eastern Tibetan ones. The relatively light weight is due to the small number of the samples and possible omissions associated with weighing the extracted animals in parts (i.e., rapid dehydration of the animal's meat during transportation). Some young argali in the south, in the Himalayas, Ladakh and the eastern provinces of China, have a pronounced dark stripe on the nape and neck to the back of the head with a mane of standing long dark hair. Such mane may be characteristic of the northern representatives of the Tibetan argali. This indicates the severity of the occupied biotopes – longhair is characteristic of animals occupied the most severe habitats. The northern Tibetan populations are lighter and longer-haired than the southern ones, although in the mountains, the concept of north-south is relative, they can be compensated by the absolute heights of the argali habitat. Undoubtedly that in the past it was a huge, very stable and numerous community that united many geographical groupings of argali. A fragmentation and progressive breaks (mosaic) of the area are characteristic of almost all species of wild sheep in our time. The habitats of Tibetan argali are very diverse: these are the high-mountain slopes and intermountain valleys of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Ladakh, arid high-elevation areas of Tibet with a sharply continental climate. It is quite natural that argali, hardened in such conditions, are able to move in the north-west direction and reach not only the Karakoram, but also the Pamir mountains, where the pronounced phenotype of argali is widespread – the Pamir, or Marco Polo. The Tibetan argali is listed in the Red Books of the countries where it lives. It's included in Appendix 1 of CITES. It was important for us to find out if the above-mentioned reports about the presence of Tibetan argali in the Pamirs were justified. It is easy to guess that this issue cannot be resolved quickly and unambiguously. But we should have to start the research that could find the answer.   To the "Hot Spring" camp It took the whole daylight day to get to the "Hot Spring" camp from Atobek Mulloerov , which was mentioned in a letter by Huseyn Galobchi and which was located at an altitude of over 4200 m above sea level. It was the dead night when we arrived at Zafar and Atotbek Bekmurodi. At dinner, the hospitable hosts talked about meetings with argali and hunting them with Hussein. They though that argali, so reminiscent of Tibetan ones, are "bighorns". Their horns are twisted compactly, short, homonymous with ends that do not diverge to the sides, like the Pamir argali. These animals habituated relatively close to the camp. Atobek and his brother Zafar turned out to be very good experts not only of the argali of the Pamirs, but also of the entire local fauna of mammals and birds in general. None of our questions about Tibetan snow cocks or snow leopards remained without a detailed answer. At the same time, the brothers radiated cheerfulness and were surprisingly friendly. It is better to keep silent about the eastern hospitality of the mountaineers, since words are powerless to explain what it is! In the morning, we stood near the car in full equipment and waited for the departure in search of the cherished argali. The sun shone on the tops of the mountains, and they lit up with an indistinct light. A hot spring bubbled near the camp, or rather, right in the camp, and a shower room and a swimming pool were built on its basis. There was a mountain of argali skulls, with horns of the most bizarre shapes and sizes on the bank of a half-frozen river just in the camp. They were so many of them that we could load KAMAZ. Alpine slopes stretched away from the camp in all directions, crowned with amazingly beautiful red rocks in the blue twilight of the morning. The remains of a donkey recently killed by wolves recently laid near the shepherd's dwelling, located a little further away. Sometimes Argali came out on the mountain slopes above the camp.   It wasn’t easy. Atobek and Zafar Bekmurodi and their team members Shodi Afzunov and Ali Sabzaliyev were not just professionals in their field, but also experts in mountain hunting of Pamir animals At dawn on the first day, we found several herds of argali on the slopes of a large mountain valley. There were males - similar to argali, the search for which was the main goal of the expedition. Argali climbed a mountain spur and looked down on us. They were in the rut, and we watched with interest the fierce fights of the males and the courtship for the females. Despite the fact that the herds were climbing up, their rapid intra-group activity associated with the rut season didn’t seem to stop for a minute. The males fought all the time, and all the animals showed animation and mobility. The males approached the females and flirted, pulled their muzzle to the rump of the chosen one. The females reacted differently, most of them retreated and ran away, but some were not at all averse to accept the courtship of males "crowned" with magnificent horns. For the most part, the male argali were typical Marco Polo rams. But one large male that interested us had a different appearance than the classic Pamir argali. Its horns were wrapped in a steep "snail", and their ends did not diverge to the sides. As it turned out later, they (the horns) were thicker and heavier than the usual Marco Polo ram. Then we saw two more males in the same group, similar to the steep-horned one. We ascended the next gorge opposite to the one where the sheep were and climbed the steep slope. And we felt the height there immediately: you took a few steps up, and there was nothing to breathe with! But then we got used to it and came out on the ridge. The panorama that opened up was truly fantastic! There were spacious valleys in all directions of the world, as far as the eye could see. They were separated by powerful ridges with rocks smoothed by once mighty glaciers. Large dark bearded vultures circled over the valleys (these birds are lighter in Mongolia and Siberia). Then the path ran along the Argali trail, traversing a steep mountain slope diagonally. Our cameramen Oleg and Ali did not stop shooting despite the height and none of the group did not lag behind. Small groups of young sheep suddenly appeared down the slope. A large, contrasting-colored argali Marco Polo, which grazed slowly among the stones was among them. Our "bighorn" went further, it had passed the crest of a steep ridge. We analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion that a herd of argali, pursued by us, descended into a neighboring gorge, and crossed the edge of a small mountain range. We made the same journey, and finally saw the very animals we were looking for. The animals were grazing quietly at the bottom of a mountain gorge. They were about 750 m between us. It took several minutes to prepare for the shot. The extremely far distance, the height difference and the powerful wind in the gorge required a responsible approach to shooting. The bullet threw up the ground a few tens of centimeters from the chosen "big-horned” after Eduard's shot. Argali rushed to the next slope as if stung. The wind was the reason for the miss. It turned out to be stronger at the bottom than expected – more than 15 m / sec! However, the miss didn’t become a reason for frustration – it was immediately clear that the distance was marginal, and the probability of hitting was quite small. The hunt was over for that day. It was getting late, and we went down into the gorge. The snow there was trampled by sheep and strewn with their droppings. The morning of the next day – December 6 – turned out to be clear and frosty. We met the first group of argali at 8 o'clock in the morning, at the entrance to the Mashala gorge. We climbed by the slope of the gorge and detected the male we were interested in and had chosen before. The process of approaching and preparing for the shot did not take much time, but the hunter was shooting at the argali were moving. the distance was 450 m, an accurate shot stopped the fleeing male. It bucked in a special way after the shot, lifted its croup and tucked its hind legs. Its powerful organism allowed it to run a few more tens of meters up, than it collapsed as if knocked down, turned over several times on the slope and remained to lay on the snow. Everybody congratulated the hunter for a beautiful shot, the joy of a successful hunt was universal. Then we rose to the argali and found that it was exactly the kind of bighorn we were looking for – thick, rounded horns were compactly twisted, their thickness and shape differed from the usual Pamir argali, and the white pendant on the chest resembled that of the Tibetan argali. So, we got a chic specimen of the argali that interested us in the Mashaly gorge at 8: 30 in the morning, a few kilometers from the mountain hunting camp of Zafar and Atobek and with their direct participation at an altitude of 4400 m. We transported the trophy and started weighing, measuring and describing it, which will be described in more detail in the next article.   To be continued... Photo of Oleg Laptev

From the editor: Kodar snow sheep (Ovis nivicola kodarensis Medvedev, 1994) was described as a new subspecies by the biologist Dimity Medvedev in 1994.(based on the results of the 1990-1994 expeditions in Northern Transbaikalia)..  The Kodar population of the snow sheep is a unique isolate, whose range is completely closed in the Kodar ridge – the highest in the Vitimo-Olekminsky highlands. The isolation of the Kodar ram is also proved by the method of genome-wide analysis, and indicates that it is a "fragment" of the ancestral form of the snow sheep, once common in the Baikal region and Transbaikalia. Those animal co-existed there with representatives of the mammoth fauna, that disappeared now in the vast majority of the territory. The genome-wide analysis was made by the director of the Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry named after Academy Member L.K. Enrnst academician N. A. Zinovieva and an employee of the Institute, Candidate of Biological Sciences A.V. Dotsev. The analysis was carried out on the material obtained by Dmitry Medvedev in 2016 from the remains of Kodar snow sheep that died in avalanches. According to geneticists, the Kodar snow sheep can be separated genetically from the Yakut snow sheep – the closest to it in geographical distribution – as an exceptionally rare representative of an isolated population of the species that lives only on the Kodar ridge. Sometimes in the hunting and popular science literature, the Kodar ram is incorrectly called "Yablonov sheep” what focused on the old name of the Stanovoy ridge – "Yablonovy" (what means dominant) and transferring it to the Kodar ridge for some reason. it is unacceptable even from the position of elementary geography. The Yablonovy or Stanovoy Ridge stretches for 700 km from the middle course of the Olekma River to the east – to the Uchur River. The habitat of the "Yablonov sheep" (probably the Okhotsk subspecies of the snow sheep) is the far eastern parts of the Stanovoy Ridge, the sources of the Zeya River and the vicinity of the lake Toko. The Kodar ridge is located to the west of not only the Olekma River, but also the Chara River. It belongs to another mountain system – the Stanovoy Upland, which also extends west of Olekma in Northern Transbaikalia. The modern Yablonovy ridge, located in the south-west of the Trans-Baikal Territory, between the cities of Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky and Chita, has nothing to do with the modern distribution of the snow sheep and the Stanovoy ridge. it is relatively low and covered with forest. The Kodar population has a relict character. The sheep male has the most elongated massive body on short and thick legs, the head is wide, short with a wide flat "bull" forehead, the horns are relatively thin (33.5-34 cm in circumference at the bases). Therefore, it should be considered a "thin-horn". The body length of adult rams is 162-183 cm, the height at the withers is 94-104 cm, at the rump-104-110 cm. The circumference of the body behind the shoulder blades is 112-140 cm, the length of the ear is 8-8. 5 cm, the length of the tail is 8.8-10 cm. The body length of adult ewes is 139-144 cm, the height at the withers is 82-84 cm, at the rump is 92 cm, the body circumference behind the shoulder blades is 92-110 cm, the ear length is 7.7-8 cm, the tail length is 8-8. 5 cm. The largest confirmed length of the skull of a male Kodar snow sheep is 287.8 mm, the largest width is 188.8 mm. The maximum length of the ewe's skull is 254.1 mm, the maximum width is 162 mm. The Kodar population of the snow sheep is also distinguished by a series of craniological features. The main differences in the structure of the skull of the Kodar snow sheep: 1) the absence of a noticeable separation of the wedge-shaped (os sphenoidedale) and preclypoid (os praesphenoidedale) bones, which is present in other subspecies of the snow sheep and in many other mammals; 2) very narrow lacrimal bone (os lacrimale); narrow auditory chambers (bulla ossea) and narrow auditory passages, indicating a partial weakening of hearing function, which is associated with the good protective properties of the steep rocky habitats of Kodar; 3) long and strong teeth, where the lunate depressions on the 2 premolars of the upper jaw are deployed perpendicular to the length of the dentition; 4) the lacrimal bones of the Kodar sheep doesn’tt reach the nasal bones and don't separate the frontal and maxillary bones, as it happens with the Yakut, Okhotsk, Kamchatka snow sheep; 5) the cross-section of the horn rods of Kodar snow sheep is closer to oval, though Yakut, Okhotsk and Kamchatka snow sheep have rounded-triangular ones; 6) the inter-horn space between the bases of the bony horn rods in the occipital part of all the skulls of old males of the Kodar snow sheep is wide and rectangular, that passes almost unchanged through the area of the highest inter-horn point of the skull to the upper part of the forehead. The inter-horn space of the studied same-age (adult and old) skulls of Yakut, Okhotsk and Kamchatka male snow sheep is more than 2 times narrow. It has a narrow wedge-shape that extends from the occipital region with a decrease in the distance between the bases of the horn rods towards the area of the highest inter-horn point of the skull; 7) the width of the skull in the area of the supraorbital openings of Kodar snow sheep males exceeds significantly a similar indicator for the measured skulls of Yakut, Okhotsk and Kamchatka males; 8) the largest and main length of the skull of males and females of the Kodar snow sheep is proportional to the largest width of the skull less than in other subspecies. However, they are not all the craniological differences. The color of the Kodar sheep lacks the intense dark brown tones common for sheep of Yakutia and the Okhotsk coast. There are no spots and contrasting highlights on the sides of the Kodar snow sheep unlike the Okhotsk and Yakut subspecies. The lower parts of the limbs of individuals from Kodar are lighter than the upper ones. The habitat of the snow sheep population on the Kodar ridge has been preserved due to the existing altitude range between the upper border of forest vegetation formed by larch and mixed forests (cedar elderberry, alder, stone birch) and the nival belt of the mountains.  The main ecological conditions of the existence of the Kodar snow sheep: 1. The Kodar Ridge is much higher than all the nearby ridges. 2. Its central, southern and south-eastern slopes, which descend into the Upper Char basin, are not snowy in winter, what creates optimal conditions for pasture turnover of various groups of the Kodar snow sheep and determines its survival. 3. The presence of a glacial "shield", where sheep normalize their thermoregulation on particularly hot days, and feed on rich and useful substances vegetation that grows on glacial water. 4. The presence of a range between the upper border of the forest and the peaks of the mountains, where the main pasture turnover of the snow sheep occurs. The steepness of the slopes in the central part of the Kodar ridge, high-elevation peaks with sharply defined Alpine relief, as well as steep Alpine slopes, rugged couloirs, denudation troughs, alternate with platform flat-topped peaks that represent a kind of "tables" with a width of several tens of meters to several kilometers. There are rocky cliffs on their sides that hang over the river valleys. These favorite habitats of the Kodar snow sheep abound in coal spots, where they eat salt. The diet is dominated by local cereals (35%), legumes (24%), sedge (17.5%). The proportion of mosses is high (3.8%). They eat coal all year round. The rut takes place in the second half of November – the first half of December. Lambs appear from the middle of May. The range of the Kodar snow sheep begins to the east of 1 17° V. D., in the basin of the Sulban river. It reaches at the extreme eastern point of the high-altitude area of Kodar, bounded by the river Chara. 1 19° east longitude The extreme southern point of distribution of this rare animal is located south of 56° 40° (between 56° 40° and 56° 30°) in the mountains surrounding the river Sulban. The northernmost point of detection of sheep was near the mouth of the Senj River that corresponds to 58° s. w. Most likely, that was just a random visit of snow sheep. The real northern border of the range is located to the south and runs from the lake district. Nitschatka in the direction of Chara between 57° 50° s. w. and 57° 30° s. w. or slightly to the south. The Kodar snow sheep is distributed on the territory of the Irkutsk Region and in the Trans-Baikal Territory (the former Chita Region), in the central part of the Kodar ridge, that is the highest in the Northern Transbaikalia and the Stanovoe Highlands (the Vitimo - Olekminsky Highlands is its component part) and has the most developed ice sheet. The presence of a more developed high-altitude zone than on the surrounding ridges, the lack of snow in a number of areas of the Kodar ridge, is decisive for the existence of the Kodar snow sheep population. It is reliably known from the mountains surrounding the sources of the Levaya Sygykta River, including its tributary the Glacial River, And on the territory of the Vitim Reserve. In the summer and autumn of 1990 D. G. Medvedev was carrying out ground and air survey research in the frames of the scientific work a and discovered snow sheep in that part of Kodar. Snow sheep and their tracks were also found significantly below the confluence of the Lednikovay River-downstream of the Left Sygykta, opposite the sources of the Sredny Sakukan River and in the area of the confluence of the right tributary of the Mastakh River. Those animals continued to be found in the above-mentioned territory in the following years of research. Thus, the fact of the sheep' habitation in the part of Kodar protected by the Vitim Reserve should be considered proven since 1990. The subspecies is also met outside of the Irkutsk Region, in the eastern part of the ridge, that is part of the territory of the Kalarsky district of the Trans-Baikal Territory (the former Chita region). It inhabits the mountains in the upper reaches of the Middle and Upper Sakukany, Apsat, Byiki, Burgai, Syulban, Kuda Malaya and their tributaries. The main part of the Kodar snow sheep population is concentrated in the basins of the first three rivers mentioned above. We have the information about the visits of sheep to the sources of the Right Sygykta, Hallas, Amalyk, Senh rivers, as well as to the Udokan, Kalarsky, Yuzhno-Muisky and Severo-Muisky ridges, but there is no documentary evidence of this. According to different seasons and years of accounting the total population of the snow sheep of the Kodar ridge is from 270 to 400-500 individuals. It should be recognized as relatively stable over the years Despite the known cases of poaching. There are several dozen individuals of the Kodar snow sheep on the territory of the Irkutsk region. The number and density of the population of the Kodar snow sheep are reduced by avalanches and rockfalls, which are very common in the steep rocky gorges of Kodar. Other reasons for the decline in numbers are the predation of the wolverine and bear, which are common there, especially during the lambing season, poaching by local reindeer herders and residents of the Charskaya basin, the development of the Apsat coal deposit, that destroys the main habitats of this rare animal. The Kodar snow sheep is listed in the Red Books of the Chita Region and the Aginsky Autonomous Okrug (2002), in the Red Book of the Irkutsk Region (2010), in the Red Book of the Trans-Baikal Territory (2013), is a candidate for inclusion in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, and it must be listed in the IUCN Red Book. The animal is protected on the territory of the Vitim State Natural Reserve, where the extreme western parts of the range are located. Currently, the Kodar State National Park is being organized on the Kodar Ridge, designed to preserve the main part of the sheep population in the Trans-Baikal Territory. The urgent organization of a specialized nursery for semi-free and open-air breeding and subsequent distribution of the Kodar snow sheep in the mountain ranges of the Stanovoy Highlands is very relevant and undoubtedly necessary, in order to restore the historical range in Transbaikalia and the Baikal region. The territories of the Irkutsk Region, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Republic of Buryatia are equally suitable for this. The borders of all these three subjects of the Russian Federation converge within the area, or are in close proximity to it. The Kodar snow sheep is one of the rarest and narrowly territorial forms of large mammals in Russia. It inferiors in vulnerability to such figures of the Red Book of the Russian Federation as the tiger, snow leopard, Altai argali and many others. If we successfully bred, restore its number and settle in the Kodar ridge and other ridges of the Baikal Region and Transbaikalia, it’ll be able to become in the most valuable hunting animal in Eastern Siberia the future, as well as the subject of pilgrimage for tourists, including fans of photo and video hunting.

“The Magic of the Real Safari” starts to publish adventure and research articles written by members of the Mountain Hunters Club. The scientific part of this material is one of the components of the CMH program aimed to create a gene bank of mountain ungulates. But our task was broader. The uniqueness of that expedition was in the fact that an extremely interesting hunt and a truly fascinating research work turned out to be connected at the molecular level. Dushanbe met us, Moscow guests, with a fine drizzling rain and an almost spring smell of moist earth. When all formal procedures related to baggage collection were over, we hit the road. The car’s headlights glided on the wet night asphalt of the hospitable capital of Tajikistan. Under the word “We” I mean the scientific-research and the hunting expedition at the same time led by Eduard Bendersky. That expedition included photographer and cameraman Oleg Laptev and the head of the Snow Leopard Foundation Dmitry Medvedev. The purpose of our expedition was to hunt and study mountain ungulates in the eastern Pamirs, including argali, which was called differently by different authors. Today it’s called the Tibetan or Ladakh argali. The Englishman Edwin Ward, together with Sir Victor Brooke, examined a specimen obtained by Brooke in the vicinity in the vicinity of the Leh river (state of Jammu and Kashmir, India). They studied the structure of the skull and horns, and found some distinctive features that were considered sufficient to describe a new species – Brook's argali – Ovis brookei (Ward, 1874). But a few decades earlier Mr. Blyth (Blyth 1840) described the same sheep as a Himalayan one. But many zoologists are sure that the Brook argali habitats in the Himalayas and Tibet (we sometimes call it "brukey"). The Genetic analysis only, which has not yet been done, can confidently draw a line under these taxonomic collisions. Thus, on December 3rd, 2016, after less than a hundred and fifty years after Ward's publication, our expedition flew from Moscow to Tajikistan to get this rare argali in the high-altitude part of the Pamirs, near the junction of the borders of Tajikistan-Afghanistan-China, and to take samples for genetic analysis. We moved to the hunting lands of the famous hunting company “Mugrab”, headed by the brothers Zafar and Atobek Bekmurodi. They shared our idea about the existence of Tibetan (Ladakh) argali in that area. The car left the city and rushed confidently into the night gloom. We talked all the way and didn’t notice how time passed. Finally, the highway was left behind, and a steep mountain road led us to the hospitable house of Ayub Mulloerov. The main house was the center of a small estate, comfortably located in the gorges of the mountains. We were met by Ayub and his father, a very friendly and hospitable man. The table was set sumptuously in the Oriental style despite the lateness of the hour. In the center of the table was a huge turkey, cooked for our arrival. We talked about screw-horned goats, Himalayan ulars, kekliks, ibexes and snow leopards that inhabit the mountains just outside the borders of this wonderful settlement. The hosts were happy to show pictures from camera traps and a variety of photos with trophies. The lands of the Mulloerovs are not just a hunting farm, but a real reserve, where they restored the number of many species, in particular the snow leopard, wild forest cat and markhor – the screw-horned goat. The number of the last one increased so much that the goats began to move across the Panj to neighboring Afghanistan, thereby increasing the biodiversity of the neighboring state. We slept like babies in the cozy room allocated to us for the night – the night passed like an instant. In the morning, after breakfast, the smiling hosts took us on the road. We left that nice house but had kept the kindest impressions about them in our hearts. There was a feeling that those people lived in the mountains only to greet travelers like us. Afghanistan laid just beyond the turbulent Panj River, closed in gorges. We could see the builders who made the road in the mountains and kids who play their games on the Afghanistan’s side of the river. We looked with curiosity at the one-story small villages that flashed past the car window. Sometimes, there was a loud cry of a keklik - a stone partridge from the rocks above the Afghan villages. The road on the Tajik side passed over deep cliffs, that gone almost vertically into the foamy, rapid Panj. Occasionally, the car was stopped by Tajik border guards, who recently replaced the Russian ones at those posts. Their uniforms differed from the Russian ones only in emblems and stripes. They let us pass without unnecessary "ceremonies” after a cursory examination of the documents. Their tanned, oriental faces did not express any emotions. The snow-covered Khorog met with some special Pamir flavor. From there the path to the roof of the world started– to the mysterious Pamirs, where Tibetan and Himalayan ulars, ibex, snow leopards and huge herds of Marco Polo Mountain sheep dwelled at high altitudes, on rocky ridges separated by vast valleys. And there we hoped to find a not so numerous Tibetan (Ladakh) argali that lived probably somewhere there, near the border with Afghanistan. What did we know about that mysterious argali? Did it habitat on Pamirs? It was a question that we had to start solving. The idea or our expedition. In order to explain for the reader, the meaning and goals of our expedition, we will have to share the information, and it is advisable to start with a brief overview of the taxonomy of sheep. It’ll give you the opportunity to see how argali differ from others. 1.             Mouflons – (54 chromosomes) wild sheep are genetically close to the domestic sheep. The smallest in size are up to 144 cm (body length from the edge of the upper lip to the base of the tail, along the bend); up to 65 kg of weight, less often more (95 kg) - as an exception; with heteronymous, less often perverted horns. The body color is from black to red, with a large light spot on the side, the suspension of winter wool on the chest is dark or black. Mouflons are divided into a) European native to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, widely acclimatized in Europe, etc. and b) Asian, habitat in the southern Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Iran, Oman. 2.             Urials – (54 chromosomes) are slightly larger than mouflons, body length up to 160 cm, weight up to 96 kg; horns are perverted, less often homonymous. Their body colors are from brown-red to sandy. The suspension of winter wool on the chest is from black-brown to light. They are spread in the countries of Central Asia (the Ustyurt Plateau, the Kopetdag range, the mountains of southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Punjab, Baluchistan), described from Astor (Kashmir, India). 3.             Argali, or argali - (56 chromosomes) wild mountain sheep with a body length of up to 210 cm, weighing up to 216 kg. The color is from brown-brown to light gray. The suspension of elongated winter hair on the chest is light. They habitat in the mountains of Central and Central Asia: from the Karatau and Pamir mountains to the Himalayas in the south, in the north-to the mountains of Altai, Tuva, Sayan and northern Mongolia the Hubsugul lake). It’s described from the river Bukhtarma on Altai ((the territory of Kazakhstan now). 4.             Snow sheep are divided into two large groups: Asian (52 chromosomes) and American (54 chromosomes). Their names indicate where they live. Let's focus only on the Asian snow sheep. The body length of the Asian snow sheep is up to 188 cm, the body weight is up to 150 kg, the horns are homonymous in the same way as those of argali. Their colors are from brown with separate dark brown areas to ash-gray and light. They don’t have any suspension on the chest. They are widespread in Eastern Siberia: in the north to the east of the Yenisei, to the north and east of northern Transbaikalia, from the Kodar ridge, including to the mountains of Chukotka and Kamchatka. They inhabit many ridges of Eastern Siberia with access to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans in the northeast of the continent at the same time. So, the snow sheep are widespread to north and to east from Baikal, while argali dwell to south and southwest from the lake. The ranges of argali and snow sheep coincided, "overlapped" (sympatry), including in Baikal Siberia in the early Holocene. Argali reached the north of Transbaikalia, and the snow sheep reached the Kuznetsk Alatau to the west. Their fossil remains have been found on a significant area of the specified territory, in particular, on the largest Baikal Island of Olkhon. It indicates that Olkhon may have been a peninsula in the historical past. The scientists looked for differences between species and subspecies of animals in appearance before taxonomy or taxonomy began to use the method of gene analysis. As a result, a subjectively selected set of features could become a sufficient basis for describing a new species/subspecies. These features of the exterior make modern researchers evaluate whether the transition of the number of traits to a new quality was fairly noted in the past using the genetic level. The body measurements is the best way to characterize wild sheep by the height at the withers. Let's compare the rams considered above as this indicator increases: mouflon – 60-89 cm, urial-77-98 cm, Asian snow sheep-76-112 cm, argali-91-135 cm. As you can see, argali are much superior to other types of sheep. This is due to the high legs of the animal, that is a biological feature of this species, adapted to fast running on relatively gentle mountain slopes and valleys. They have to run away and escape not from the snow leopards and wolves only. Argali are also great runners, capable to reach speeds of up to 60 km per hour or even more. And it’s done by an animal almost the size of a small Mongolian horse! Argali can also differ in size and appearance features within the continental range. There are quite a lot of forms which have been described by many scientists/ They have tried to describe not only subspecies, but also new species of argali, which is quite common for the XIX – early XX centuries. Many forms of argali have geographical names that usually reflect the main places of distribution. The geographical names haven't only sheep, but many other types of animals. But it’s very popular among sheep - they are named according to the place of the first description of the form, or according to the localization of the main distribution of the animal. The Pamir argali is widely known, when its synonym is the Marco Polo argali. The animal inhabits the mountains of the greater and lesser Pamirs in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and is also found in some other territories. The Altai argali inhabit the Mongolian, Russian and Kazakh Altai. The Tibetan (Himalayan) argali inhabits the Tibeto-Himalayas, the Ladakh argali, etc. Sometimes some forms of argali names are combined. Argali named after Sir Victor Brooke. Let's take a closer look at the Ladakh argali and start with the history of its description. As already mentioned above, the Englishman Edwin Ward described this animal in the century before last. Here is what he writes in his article "A supposed new species of wild sheep from Ladakh" dated January 20, 1874.: "The skull and horns of the sheep, which is supposed to be called Ovis brookei, differs, in the opinion of Mr. Blyth, Sir Victor Brooke and myself, from other sheep with which it has been compared. Since the skull belonged to an animal that has not yet been described, the following measurements of the skull with horns can show this: The length of the Ovis brookei skull between the horns is approximately 11 inches, which is 1 and ¼ inches longer than the two sheep named Ovis vignei have. Ovis brookei, as well as Ovis vignei, which is presented here for comparison, was measured at the surgical college. The width of the first skull between the eye sockets was 4 and 5/8 inches, unlike Ovis vignei, in which this indicator is 4 and ¾ inches. The horns of Ovis brookei belong to a young animal, which is confirmed by the condition of the teeth and four progressively increasing segments of the horns. The horn’s length was 33 and ½ inches. The girth at the base is 13 and 3/8 inches. The 8 years old Ovis vignei has horns with the length 31 and ½ inches and the girth at the base 10 and ½ inches. Ovis brookei has large sizes, although the animal is younger. All measurements were done in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. Ovis vignei specimen No. 3778 is described as a Lodak argali and provided to the museum by Captain Strechi. The sample No. 3778a was provided by Dr. Sclater in April 1868. These two individuals differ from Ovis brookei even more than the large Ovis vignei individual with which I made a comparison. In all the samples that Sir Victor Brooke and I examined, it was found that the orbital fascia is not as deeply sunk down as in Ovis vignei and Ovis cycloceros. In this regard, Ovis brookei is larger and more like Ovis ammon and Ovis arkar. ... the interocular width is greater in relation to the length of the skull in this new individual (Ovis brookei-approx. authors), than in the two individuals discussed above. The difference in the length of the muzzle is more noticeable if you look at it from the front. Therefore, this new species is closer to Ovis ammon from the Himalayas or Ovis nodgsonii than to any other forms. The horns of Ovis brookei are not only more graceful, but are larger and more strongly curved, the length of the row of molars also exceeds the length of the same row in Ovis vignei. Sir Victor Brooke promised to provide more information on this species. I should note that I suggested to name the new species Ovis brookei as a sign of respect for this gentleman. I hope to get additional data on this type of sheep for its full description." It is considered that the Ladakh argali (Ovis ammon brookei Ward, 1874) belongs to the variety of Tibetan (Himalayan) argali (Ovis ammon hodgsonii Blyth, 1840), which has a truly huge distribution – on a significant part of the highlands of Tibet, the Himalayas, Ladakh, Karokorum, Kunlun and some other systems. A point on the map We were interested in the north-western Karakoram part of this giant area, which approached the Vakhan corridor, located on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Our expedition headed to the mountains adjacent to these places. The reason was a number of reports from local outfitters and hunters that there is another argali that differs in a number of features from the world-famous Pamir argali. Eyewitnesses spoke about the possible existence of the Ladakh argali in the Pamirs, and we tried to analyze the possibility of the existence of the Tibetan argali in the Pamirs because it was generally believed that it belonged to the variety of Tibetan argali. There were all the prerequisites for this. The range of the Tibetan argali is quite close to the Pamirs. It reaches the Karakoram – which is called "just around the corner"! We knew the peculiarities of the migration activity of argali, we can conclude that they would overcome such a distance. It was also possible to move that north-eastern edge of the range of the Tibetan sheep to the Pamirs. We cannot exclude that those places were the northern edge of the hybridization zone of the Pamir and Tibetan argali, where both of those phenotypes could manifest themselves. We decided to turn to the testimony of eyewitnesses, one of whom was the world – famous American hunter of Arab origin, Hussein Galobchi. He published a letter that confirmed the possibility of another form of argali living in the Pamirs, on the pages of the popular Ovis magazine. Hussein Galobchi sent an open letter to Ovis magazine with a request to print it, keeping the style and without changes. The magazine fulfilled his request. Here's what he writes: Hussein Galobci's letter to Ovis magazine  "As you know, I have been to the Pamirs several times. In recent years, I have observed an argali that look similar to Marco Polo, but I believe that they aren’t Marco Polo. I have prepared a closed report and hope that someone will accumulate more information on this sheep than I’ve managed to do. I am not a biologist, not a sheep expert or a scientist, but I have hunted sheep in all parts of the World for the last 50 years, so I can express my opinion. I ask for help from anyone who can shed light on this type of argali, which I have been observing in the Pamirs for the past 2 years. I have hunted in the Pamirs a large number of times, with a person who really knows this sheep and he knows every inch of the Pamir mountains. He is a former hunter and the guide who accompanied Mr. "Spike" - Loyd Zeman on his hunt in 1989, who opened the hunt for Marco Polo, as we know it now. That hunt has changed the life of Yuri Mathison, a successful owner of an outfitting company in the Pamirs. He is a true connoisseur of mountains and sheep. His company became the first outfitter in Tajikistan and very successfully collected exceptional trophies for the Record Book. We have warm fraternal relations. He owns the largest territory in the Pamirs for Ovis ammon polii. In 2006, he leased a third large piece of area from the government – this area is located in the southern part of the Pamirs and borders the famous Vakhan corridor. In the autumn of 2006, Yuri called me and said that he saw several groups of sheep resembling Marco Polo from afar while inspecting his new territory. After the closer inspection,they noticed that they have a clear difference from Polo. The local hunters said that those were sick Marco Polo, and therefore their horns didn't grow long. I asked Yuri to send me a photo. In the fall 2007 Yuri had a client who got so called “sick” Marco Polo (Fig.A) and send me the picture. That sheep had the appearance of Polii, many characteristic features that I hadn’t observed before during my travels to the Pamirs. The most prominent feature was the horns (Fig. A). Yuri said that that ram was one of nine in the group where all sheep looked the same. I called him to says that I was agree that that ram wasn’t sick but could be the subspecies of argali. After that, he sent me a map to determine the subspecies, what kind of argali could it be? What kind? We set the date, in the spring of 2008, to explore the territory We had studied several books and articles and have come to the conclusion that it could be part of the Tibetan argali Orvis Ammop hodgsonii. That is divided into the following Ovis ammon ammonoides-Himalayan, Ovis ammon bambhera Nepali Argali, Ovis ammon blythi-Tibetan, Ovis ammon brookei-Ladakh, Ovis ammon henrii-Tibetan, Ovis ammon hodgsoni-Tibet-Nepali (we leave all these names how Hussein Golabchi called them. (note by E. B. and D. M.)). Spring of 2008, I was in a familiar place, in Yuri's camp in the Pamirs. We used the camp of another outfitter, whose camp bordered on Yuri's new territory, and had so-called "remote" sheep. That camp belonged to Atobek and was known as the Hot Spring Camp. Yuri and Atobek have been friends for 30 years. They both lived in Murgab. . Yuri was the head of the hotel, when Atobek was with an employee of the Ministry of Forestry. I knew Atobek well because hunted with him in 91 and 92 years when he worked as a guide for Mattison. I knew him as an excellent hunter and organizer. In 1995 he started his own business and was successful in it. We didn’t hunt with him since 1992, but we were always friends. I spent two nights at his house in Murghab, when we were far from Yuri's camp. His family was very hospital for me both times. So, we called Atobek and informed him of our intentions before leaving the camp. He was happy to see us when we arrived. Then he asked about that sheep and said that there was no need to go to the territory of Yuri, because there were several individuals on his territory. The next day we left in two cars. Atobek knew exactly where these sheep were and we reached the needed place in 15 minutes. By lunchtime, we saw several groups of those individuals. It was strange to see how those sheep and Marco Polo sheep pastured in the same valley. They didn't mix and stay far apart from each other. It was the first time when I saw that sheep up close. There was no doubt that that sheep were not Marco Polo, they were a mixture of several races – but which ones? Then we arrived back to the camp and I fetched the measurement we did on that territory. The average sheep was about 40 pounds and heavier than the polii, with a heavier body. Those legs were 1 and 1/4 shorter and a white stripe (suspension-approx. authors) went to the neck and the scruff. Differences in horns – the ram was 9.5 years old. The massive horns were18 inches near the base what was impossible for Marco Polo but their length was only 42 inches. The horns rose slightly up and twisted down and did not diverge at the ends to the sides (as in Marco Polo – approx. authors) Quotes: The heteronymous horns were small — up to 70 cm, thin at the base, the edges are smoothed in general outlines, somewhat rounded. The horns were directed upwards from the frontal bone, then back and to the sides. Their ends bended inwards (towards the neck) towards each other more often in a horizontal plane, sometimes slightly upwards and inwards. The ends of the heteronymous horns were always located above the animal's neck. Such horns are characteristic of the smallest subspecies of the sheep— the Transcaucasian. The perverted horns (curved in the same plane) occupy an intermediate position between the first and subsequent types according to the shape of the bend. They rose up from the frontal bone then back and to the sides, the ends of the horns bended down and inwards the neck. The entire bend of the horns from the bases to the ends lied in one plane. Sometimes the very tips of them slightly deviated from the general plane in the direction of the neck or from it, but didn’t begin the second curl of the spiral. The perverted horns are characteristic of medium-sized sheep: Ladakh, Bukhara, and mouflons. Homonymous horns differ from other types in that they first go up, back and to the sides, and then down, forward and to the sides so that their ends fall below the neck and are directed not towards each other, but in opposite directions. Homonymous horns have a distinct spiral twist. Such horns are possessed by large sheep — Kyzylkum, Karatau, Turkmen, Tianshan, Kazakhstan, Pamir and Altai argali, as well as snow sheep.

The Marco Polo sheep became my first trophy after a long break in hunting. That trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2003 finally awakened a trophy hunter in me. I think that I should tell you why and how it has happened. I restarted my hunting career in 2001 when my friends from the Moscow Safari Club persuaded me to join them for duck hunting in Vologda. It was natural, that the most conversations at such trips were about hunting, including trophy hunting. Thus, I was gradually "accepting" the idea of hunting animals during those two year while we hunted together. My friends told me about what trophy hunting was, how interesting and exciting it was, what role it played in the conservation and protection of wildlife. I was doubtful until in 2003 I decided to try it myself. My debut as a trophy hunter took place not somewhere, but in the mountains of the Tien Shan where I hunted Marco Polo. The hunt took place in March, in the mountains in many places there was deep snow and a strong cold (-20 – 25 degrees). We could managed to drive to the hunting base but all other movements were by horses only. The guides and all the staff of the camp spoke Russian and there was no feeling that it was another country. Thanks to the freedom of communication with the locals I fully realized that without trophy hunting, the sheep could disappear there, and not "sometime in the distant future", but quite quickly. I saw the slopes, strewn with the bones of sheep slaughtered by wolves in some places. The guides said that in snowy winters, the wolves destroyed entire herds of females with young lambs at once. The sheep were shot "for meat" by everyone who was not lazy – both shepherds, and just locals, plus people from authority and border guards… The last ones, according to the stories, harvested Marco Polo by trucks – not at all shy about using automatic weapons for this purpose. There wasn't any control over the situation. The number of Marco Polo was rapidly declining until European and American hunters came there, with their big money, . Everything changed when people suddenly realized that sheep could be not only a large piece of free meat, but a constant source of a very considerable income. They began to protect sheep that became, if not the main, but a very significant economic base of the region. First of all, poaching was dealt with – the most skilled and smart poachers from the locals became guides in the new hunting farms, the administrative resource that was interested in new possibilities helped to deal with the rest and to resolve that problem. Then they started the program aimed to protect sheep from wolves, took biotechnical measures. From that time thank to those programs they began to remove from nature not hundreds of heads of young animals and females, but a much smaller number of males who have already passed the peak of reproductive activity. The result was a rapid, just in a few years, the restoration of the number of Marco Polo sheep to such limits that wasn’t possible to dream of before the organization of trophy hunting here. However, we were not destined to see the numerous herds of Marco Polo. The snowy winter forced the sheep to take shelter in the places, where we couldn’t access to even on horseback due to the high snow cover. We saw only small groups of ewes with lambs during the first few days of hunting, the rams were disappearing from the view when we tried to approach – it was very difficult to get closer to them than a kilometer. The huntsmen explained that after a difficult winter and at the end of the hunting season, the animals were very careful. Any point moving against the background of snow-covered slopes was either a wolf or a man with a weapon for them. Our hunting didn’t promise to be an easy matter. We rode horses about 12-14 hours each day, left the camp early morning when it was dark and came back when it was already dark. Thank God, I was very lucky with a horse on that very first trophy hunt of mine. The horses were very hardy there-otherwise it would be difficult to imagine how that trip could have ended. We traveled around significant areas of mountain valleys, slopes and couloirs every day. It was complicated to move on foot because of snow, so we walked a little. Usually, we stopped in places with the best view and for a long time, we could spend hours there, searched the landscape with binoculars and high-magnification telescopes. It was not an easy task to detect the trophy size sheep before they found us, from a one km distance or even more. The color of Marco Polo is very light, almost white, only the withers and shoulder blades are darker, it was not easy to see it against the background of snow even to a trained eye. On the six day we were lucky to detect the group of five trophy size males. They were in 1,5 km from us. The guides, with whom I was also very lucky on that trip – he was really a professional said: “That’s all! We’ll approach them!” We didn't go directly to the sheep, but began to go around secretly though were far. The guide outlined a plan of action – we had to go around them in a large arc, hiding from the sheep behind the terrain, eventually climb a little higher than them and to approach the shot distance. We made our way along the valleys and gorges for a long time, even the horses were stuck in the snow up to their bellies in some places. We had to make stops from time to time so that the guide could climb a little higher and monitored the terrain. We had followed the tracks of the sheep for 500 meters. The herd had to be close to us according to our calculations. We thought that they were behind the nearest slope, and left the horses and went on foot. We could hardly to go the snow was ... almost waist-deep! It was necessary to crawl a hundred meters to the nearest ridge, where we should have to see sheep as my companion believed. We looked over the ridge taking all caution, – but there were no rams! The only way out was to crawl to the next ridge – another 200 meters. But there were not sheep too! It was already difficult to return for the horses, and it was risky: the plateau was quite flat, and the rider on the horse could be seen from afar. At last we figured out that the sheep were pasturing not far from the place where we were, crossed 600 m more and found the group behind the next ridge! I quickly measured the distance with a rangefinder – 320 meters, but the herd didn’t stand on the place, they were constantly moving, and it was unclear whether they were already worried about something, or just going somewhere. I didn't have much time – I quickly took off my backpack and put it in front of me, put the carbine on it… while the guide was determining which sheep suited me more in the trophy plan. I aimed and shot... And I couldn’t understand what happened! There was nothing except dust, earth before my eyes, nothing was immediately visible: it turned out that I was in a hurry after climbing to the top of a hill, and did not notice how I directed the barrel of the carbine below the surface of the earth! The bullet struck the stones just before the muzzle, rose a column of dust and went nowhere. The males froze for a couple of seconds and ran, but I could to shot once again from the knee and got my very first trophy! I shot at such distances quite confidently from my new carbine .300 Win.Mag. There were no limits to joy and happiness – the hunt turned out to be really difficult, and not at all the kind that newly-made trophy hunters usually started in Namibia or South Africa. There was everything – the majestic snow-capped Central Asian mountains, and the risk to fall off or to initiate an avalanche, and a difficult approach to an over-cautious animal, and the first shot into the ground that almost ruined everything, and the final chord in the form of the trophy! As I realized later, that first mountain hunt could well not be successful for another reason: I didn't have time at all to prepare for it physically. Fortunately, it turned out on the place that I could tolerate height quite easily, and most importantly-considerable loads at altitude. I heard lots of stories when we sat at the table in the camp that "last year an American had to be urgently evacuated, "or that" just recently, some almost athlete-climber died right in the camp.” My friend was able to go hunting only on the first day, in the evening he became unwell, so that he stayed in the camp the next morning and the next day-again, and on the fourth day he was so bad that he had to be urgently evacuated and sent by plane to Moscow. I didn't have much time to think that the mountains are not a joke!

I could hardly describe what a hunter, and his team, could feel after such a long journey and an annoying mistake. Kostya muttered something to himself, or to us and rushed along the ridges after the departing sheep. I didn't understand what he meant. Did he want we followed him? But he should look around for one time to check if we followed him or not. Or he wanted us to stay on the ridge and waited for him? So, he disappeared behind the rocks.   To be honest, Zhaysan, Ilyas and I didn't know what to do. That's why we decided to sit down under the cover of a small rocky ledge and wait. What to wait for? None of us knew the answer. Three hours passed. We were already freezing due to the fact that we did not move practically , and the wind in the mountains was piercingly cold. Suddenly Kostya appeared from behind the rock, as it turned out, he had been sitting and waiting for us all that time on the top of the ridge on the other side. We all went together to the place where he sat before and from where he watched the sheep. We admired the beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains, the whole team turned around and started on our way back. Rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks… We were already approaching their native "Khivus" like robots. None of us wanted to look for the place to cross the creek and we walked straight, sometimes knee-deep in water. We were exhausted by such a long and difficult way and imply collapsed on solid ground near the "Khivus". After a short rest, we quickly changed into dry clothes, had a snack and set off on our way back. I calculated the route we had traveled to sheep when we were going back. It was 13.3 km according to GPS readings, then it could mean that the path only one way could be about 15-16 km, and there and back, plus even climbing a rocky ridge could turn out to be at least 32-33 km. It was hardly to believe. It was a great job to go such a distance in one day on such extremely rough terrain, and with a heavy backpack behind our shoulders! The shoulder blades itched from the wings that moved! It was a joke. We all wanted to come to the camp as soon as possible and to go to the bed. So, we did on arrival. After arrival we had a short rest, then we had dinner and went to reduce the chronic lack of sleep and relieve fatigue. It was just 7 pm when we got in bed, we all were tired.   We soon rose again and resumed our march. The next day, we did not rush to go hunting. The calm mode of entering the good form was required. Andrey planned a march to one more area well known to him, where he repeatedly saw good sheep. The way by boat was not far ahead. By a common decision, The team agreed to go with another overnight stay in the mountains. We packed everything we would need and left the camp in an hour. Gennady, one more guide, joined us. That time we used two boats. We went down the Tyra River and turned sharply into one of its tributaries. We watched with interest the banks, in the thickness of which the permafrost thawed, and the soil slid into the river. There were icicles of various sizes in some places, they hung in rows directly from the ground, and resembled a system of organ pipes. The harsh beauty of the north fascinates and doesn’t leave indifferent even the most inexperienced travelers. I must pay tribute to hunters; this category of people is always able to understand and appreciate the beauty of nature in any of its manifestations. But then we should have to go down to the ground, or rather, to dock to it from the contemplation of natural beauty. We came to the designated place where a stream flowed into the tributary of the Tyra River. Probably, in the spring and after the rains, that stream was a stormy water that flew and jumped over rocks and rifts and dragged along decent-sized trees. But now there was not enough water. But the huge boulders were still there. However, we were used to jump on them. But we were unlucky with a fine, nasty, cold rain that descended from the clouds which hung over the stream – it seemed to envelop us with a wet veil. All together we had pulled the boats ashore and arranged a place for future camp, then we immediately set off. Andrey told us that the Czech hunter tried to hunt before us there. Unfortunately, his attempt was unsuccessful because he couldn't move by such terrain, it differed so much from the European forests. Just give us difficulties! We went to measure the next kilometers on the familiar stones, and the tedious, nasty rain was our faithful companion. It was assumed that we would reach the place where the sheep were after 7-8 kilometers. At least, that's what Andrey claimed. It remained only to trust him and to measure the next kilometers with steps. It took us two hours to reach the place. We made a stop there and Andrey went further to look around the surroundings. We agreed to contact by radio if it was necessary for a hunter to rise to make a shot. Andrey disappeared into the wooded thicket that covered the steep slopes. Time passed slowly. Gena and we were able to enjoy a strong tea from the campfire and had a snack reserved for such an occasion. Andrey came back in two hours later; he was tired and a little upset. His expectations to see sheep there were not confirmed. We had to return once again tight and dry. The way back had to be shorter and faster, as we expected. But not in our case. The accumulated fatigue t had an effect. Our legs ached, and our mood was not upbeat. But we should go. We tried to discuss while going back, the need to stay in this area for another day. After a short debate, we came to the conclusion that there was no sense to stay there, and we should have to hurry to get to the boats on the shore, where a tent was already set for the night. It began to get dark when we approached the boats, but we decided unanimously to move to the base, where it was still more comfortable to sleep. So, we packed the camp, loaded everything to the boats and set off. The thick Yakut twilight abruptly turned into pitch darkness. Only a huge lantern of the moon slightly illuminated the way. Andrey warned us that there would be two very treacherous places on the tributary along the way. But we had no choice. Zhaysan and Ilyas were slightly depressed, but they did not lost heart. The boats began to went down with the current slowly. The jets worked for better maneuvering. I tried to illuminate the way for the boats with the lantern, which I had. We all went ashore in the most dangerous place, put on our boots and began to wade through the rocky ground, and crossed small channels. There was a very serious threshold ahead, which could capsize the boat along with us and the cargo. I have already been in such a situation in the Altai, when the boat, ran into a huge boulder, which sticked out of the waters of the Katun river, stood on one side, and we all plus luggage in the boat, were about to capsize into its transparent, but cold waters. Then some miracle saved him. That time, none of us, moreover, at night, did not want to push our luck in any way. We made our way slowly, almost in complete darkness, downstream and tried to find the safest passage through the roaring roll, which we passed without much difficulty during the day. But that was during the day. Every step and every meter could be fatal. We stopped several times, conferred and walked again. We kept the boats on long cables, with which they were tied on the shore. Finally, we reached the first dangerous area. Andrey specified the route that we should follow we took the boat, he gave us the command to load, and we set off. He was steering the engine slightly. We heard several times how the bottom went over the stones, with a screech breaking the silence of the night. Zhaysan, Ilyas, and I were sitting in tension, ready to jump out of the boat in case of danger. Suddenly the engine roared, the bow of the boat lifted slightly and slipped between the rocks sticking out of the water. We did it! My heart was relieved. One more threshold left, but it was no longer so dangerous and, thanks to the skill of the helmsman, it was possible to pass this threshold very well and gently. Soon the water surface of the Tyra River opened up before us, then a little more, and we were in a camp that had become almost a home to us. Tea, a light snack and a long-awaited rest. It was necessary to relieve not so much physical as moral tension and fatigue from the experiences during the return to the base and passing the thresholds. We went to bed quickly despite the abundance of thrills.   Then we soon got up and resumed our march. There were only a couple of days left from our hunting schedule. We couldn't help but wonder why such a long and difficult journey was made. What for we did those titanic efforts, crossed the rocks, rivers and mountains of the harsh, but very beautiful Yakut region, would it be wasted in vain? There was a chance to get a trophy but the hunter is a human being who consisted of flesh and blood. He couldn't act like a robot, to aim and to hit the target when he saw a trophy. Zhaisan understood perfectly the price of a single shot. He had already traveled more than a dozen kilometers through the mountains in various mountain systems. He deserved a good trophy on that trip as well. But everything was somehow not quite successful. But on the other hand, hope dies last. Not all the opportunities were used, there was still time-two whole days! The main thing was that we believed that the hunter, with his perseverance, hard work would get his coveted trophy. It was necessary to pay tribute to Andrey as well. He worried about the hunter and made a lot of efforts to make the hunt a success. There were enough sheep habitats in that area. The problem was to overcome the impassable thickets of trees and shrubs, stone placers and deep-water streams. We were familiar with the mountains. The mountain landscape seemed better option for walking despite all the steepness of the slopes. It didn't take much time to pack everything. The boat and the river once again. That time we went upstream, to the "remote "cordon, where the animal usually "goes". Again stones, again deep and viscous moss, bushes of willows. We overcame it all once again. We came to a place where rocks grew sharply after the taiga. All mountain hunters were well aware, that rocks were exactly the places where sheep like to hide. Andrey detected a snow sheep. We were lucky that it was not blocked by vegetation. The ram laid quietly on a small shelf of the separate ridge, next to a tall rocky ledge. It seemed that nothing disturbed it, and it was to the advantage of the hunter. Zhaysan had time to prepare for shooting calmly. There was no great doubt that the trophy would be obtained. The shooting distance was only 200 m. It was a gift on the mountain hunts. Andrey was still advising something to Zhaysan when his speech was interrupted by the lashing shot of a 300-caliber Blaser. The male immediately fell down and did not move anymore. Oh, my god! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief – it happened! The captured male didn’t have outstanding trophy qualities, but it was a real, hard-working prey. The path to that trophy laid through the thorns of heavy hunting trials in the mountains of Yakutia. Zhaysan had already got the king of the mountain trophies – the Marco Polo sheep - at an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level. The Yakut hunting can be put on a par with the high-mountain Pamir hunting according to the complexity of hunting. Zhaysan said that hunting in Yakutia gave him a lot of vivid impressions that would be remembered for a lifetime. I made a movie that would help to refresh memories and impressions. I did it during our trip as well as a lot of interesting photos with beautiful views of the polar beauty of Yakutia. The journey home is always pleasant, even if it takes several days. Thoughts and mood begin to change from sharp hunting impressions to thoughts about home comfort and meeting with relatives, Zhaysan has a lot of them. I remembered our way to home for two moments. We were taken to Yakutsk by a driver named Sergey, who contrasted sharply with Vasily, who transported us from the airport to Khandyga. Sergey knew how to hit the accelerator and did it with pleasure. Our hair were standing on end when he was rushing at high speed along the road, and drove periodically into clouds of thick dust that was left by oncoming trucks. The result of such a desperate driving style soon after leaving Khandyga, was a broken wheel, which he had to change in the dust from passing cars. He took us successfully to Yakutsk. The second moment was a meeting with a famous Yakut hunter and author of TV shows about hunting in Yakutia, Alexander Borisov. Zhaysan could not but take the opportunity to meet with such a person and discuss various types of hunting and fishing on the territory of the Sakha Republic. The meeting was short, but very interesting and useful for both sides. In memory of this, Photos, taken in the lobby of the Alrosa hotel with a giant mammoth in the background, were in memory of that meeting. The trip was completed by a tasty dinner. Zhaysan, Ilyas and I discussed the way we had passed, its bright and unforgettable moments.   Instead of an epilogue. Fatigue disappears over time, the experiences and nervous tension, experienced during the trip, are forgotten. The most pleasant memories of the people we met, the beauty of nature, and the accurate shot will always remain in our memory. Time passes, and the hunter will be drawn again to the mountains or taiga to go through a difficult, but full of impressions path to his trophy. So it happened with Zhaysan. He went to measure kilometers along the mountain ranges to the next trophy once again.

The GSCO Convention, exhibition and official awards were held from January 25 to 28, 2017 in the United States. In January, Las Vegas – the capital of entertainment, as well as major exhibition events in the United States of America becomes the meeting place for hunters from all over the world. On January 27, 2017 I received the CAPRA WORLD SLAM award for the extraction of 12 different species of mountain goats of the world in 2016. It was done as part of the celebrations of the Grand Slam Club Ovis (GSCO) Convention. I had to go through a rather difficult path before it became real. I had to study all the formalities of registering trophies, the possibility of my personal participation, and how to receive a prize directly at the convention, and so on. Unfortunately, there is no clear instruction in open sources where you can read about all steps how to make it. I would like to share a brief instruction on receiving awards in GSCO to correct this situation. It will be useful for the hunters who have not yet received awards from this honorary American club, but would like to receive them in the future. If you need more detailed instructions, I’m ready to share my experience through my personal account on the CMH website. First of all, it is necessary to register membership directly in the GSCO Club in order to become a party to the Convention. All registration forms are available on the official website of the Club.  http://www.superslam.org/community/join). You can choose annual membership, two-year, lifetime or other options there. You also need to fill out a summary trophy list and attach your photos with trophies to this summary sheet to register your trophies in the club. All this information should be sent to the GSCO email address. It's on the website. They’ll respond to your request and inform that it will be considered by a specialist of the club within a few days. A confirmation of the registration of trophies will be sent to your e-mail within the specified period,, if it subjects to the registration principles. If you want to receive an award directly at the convention, you need to notify the Club's specialists about your desire (by e-mail) and they’ll offer to receive an award Plaque made of wood with the official symbols of the club during the convention. You can purchase in the GSCO on line store, on the website. But it is necessary to register directly for the Convention. Then you can start to plan your visit, solve visa formalities and get a unique reward during the event! The procedure looks something like this. I hope that my brief instructions will help other hunters to declare their achievements to the whole world.

 After getting all three subspecies of turs and the Caucasian chamois I had reported about the results of the extraction of the Caucasian rock bear in the June 2016 issue of the "Magic of a Real SAFARI” but I still had a burning desire to collect my own Caucasian Six and I needed to get the Caucasian deer. But the God of hunt didn’t give me that opportunity – then the deer didn’t bellow, then there were no licenses, then what other reasons…   At the end of September, I returned from a very busy, but, unfortunately, trophy-free trip for an Manchurian deer on the Baikal lake and I knew that Kazbek from North Ossetia was looking for me. Once we managed to get a beautiful trophy of the East Caucasus tur the year before last. "Where have you been? - he asked me, when I called him. - Come, there is a deer license for you, the rut season is already ending.” The hunter's blood boiled, my mind was a little confused, things were somehow sorted out right away, and four days later after returning from Buryatia, I flew to Vladikavkaz together with my friend Konstantin, who agreed to accompany me on this trip. Dreamed big dreams! I had only two full hunting days to achieve my goal. All my time in the flight was devoted to reading. I studied the biology and history of the Caucasian red deer hunting, read about the peculiarities of its behavior in nature, about the facts of local migration from the lowland part of Russia, about the ways of its production in the Caucasus in the past and at the present time. It turns out that there are quite a few endemic subspecies in the Caucasus now, most of the animals are hybrids or even purely European (lowland). I hope that it's the right information if it's not, the specialists will correct me. The native "Caucasians" are distinguished by a lighter wool, fewer processes on the horns and a more elongated muzzle. Deer share the Alpine zone the with chamois and livestock, but they quite successfully climb to heights over 2000 m in hot weather. After arrival in Vladikavkaz, I traditionally found myself in the arms of Ossetian hospitality, which didn't let me go until the evening. The traditional answer to the question "When will we go to the mountains?" followed: "All in good time! We'll have time!" As the result we were on the place not early morning but when It was clear daylight. The sun showed above the mountains, there were no clouds in the sky, the hollows were full of colors of the autumn mountain forest. The piercing purity of the air and ... SILENCE! Was the deer bellowing over? I began to regret about yesterday's party. The first day and without result. Suddenly a very distant, but clearly powerful roar of the local "owner" reached the ear. We determined the direction, and started an accelerated movement in that direction. I understood that most likely the deer was already heading to the mountains in search of salvation from the heat and flies. We heard a loud bellow more and more clearly while were approaching a male, but its owner clearly didn’t plan to meet us and maintained a safe distance. The slopes turned out to be frankly "viscous" - the forest was on stones covered with slippery grass, there was the only one benefit from trees – you could grab them with your hands It was clear that the deer knew about our presence. At last we climbed on the open meadow with the only bush in the middle and a huge boulder inside it. We found there only traces of the presence of a raging male in the form of creases, holes knocked out by hooves and other manifestations of its excitement. And the hero of the "robbery" didn’t stop to bellow somewhere closer to the snow. It became clear that we’d not approach it. We waited for an hour and took the decision. Kostya stayed near the bush till the evening to wait for the deer while I’d go to the opposite slope in 5-6 km from that place and try to get my dream. We were familiar with the guide Petro from the previous hunts and we two passed the way back down through the mountain forest, crossed the valley to climb diagonally to the opposite slope. The plan was to climb 500 meters and to go another 2 kilometers to the left to the altitude of 1700 meters, from where it would be convenient to inspect surroundings. It was said and done, and along the way we left two guides with a walkie-talkie halfway through. It didn’t take much time to rise but we’ d wait for a long there, it was not an easy matter because both Petro and I felt not well– we squished our noses and coughed, trying to create less noise. It had no sense to look through binoculars during day hours that's why we tried to sleep but unsuccessful. I dreamed about the comfortable bed and hot shower all time while we were there. The evening came simultaneously with a sharp cold snap, that couldn’t but cheer up and inspire us to feats. In half an hour after we took a sip of hot tea, the radio called, and Petro reported that a large deer was moving towards us along the ridge and bellowed for the whole neighborhood! That news was even more invigorating. There were about three km to the male, as our guides said and we should decide what to do - to wait or to move to its side. I tried to listen the sounds from time to time and heard the deer we were chasing in the morning and which had to come to Kostya on the opposite slope. But we couldn't hear our deer because of the wind and the several transverse hills, descending from the ridge into the valley, separated us from it. We decide to move toward it hoping that those hills would hide the noise caused by our movement, and allow us to implement the planned maneuver. The only concern was caused by the wind, that blew approximately in the direction of our deer. We hiked about a half of km when the phone called. “Be in a hurry. It turned from you”, - I hear Kostya’s voice. He was watching us and the deer from the opposite slope. Later he said: “I felt as if I was a hunter myself!” The deer got out on the very crest and began to invite everyone. Who want to get me? We had no choice but ran. I was fully wet in five minutes and understood that needed to reduce the tempo. We overcame about three kilometers in a high tempo, but there was still no deer. The other guides lost it too. Each time when we climbed the hill we hoped to meet it. But it was not there! We hurried to the next hill ... And nothing once again. After the fifth or sixth hill we heard it and understood that it was trying to go down to the valley to deal with the Kostya’s Deer. It was getting dark and we were in a hurry of all the forces. Finally I detected it -the deer was standing in the upper quarter of the slope, with huge lyre-shaped horns ending in long peaks – a kind of Caucasian killer deer. It was old, its horns were already waning. My Blaser R-93 .300 WinMag did a great job and I get the trophy from 150 m distance. Petro and I were jumping for joy like children. Then we descend into the valley after the photo session while Kostya hided his deer (as it turned out later unsuccessfully). he goddess of hunting ordered so… The Caucasus presented me with another trophy, which became a "ruby" in my Caucasian trophy collection. After arrival to the lodge, I’ve decided to devote one more hunting day to chamois, because the CMH qualifies separately chamois extracted in North Ossetia. But those plans were not destined to come true for various reasons. The Ossetian hospitality on the occasion of the trophy overwhelmed us with a vengeance. As a result, there was a wonderful reason and a desire to return to North Ossetia again – now for the chamois!

The trip, that took almost a whole day, was not easy but we had to go back empty-handed. At first, we walked on the gravel and stones along the stream, jumping periodically from one bank to the other. We had to climb up the slippery stones, when the stream was squeezed from both sides by the rocks. It turned out to be quite a difficult and unsafe event, but there was no way how to bypass the rocks on our way. In an hour we were near the river. The guys who stayed in the camp, cooked tasty dinner that included even the salad from fresh vegetables. Fortunately, we didn’t carry all luggage on ourselves but delivered on everything on our hard-worker "Khivus". We took off our clothes, wet with sweat, and plunged into the very cold and clean waters of the Tyra. The rivers, that flow through permafrost, can’t be different. Then we rubbed red-hot with towels, changed into dry clothes and sat down at the table. The dinner took place slowly, we rested and enjoyed the still warm Yakut sun. We discussed the current situation once again and decided that it would be optimal to return to the base and discuss a plan of further actions with Andrey – and we did so. The next day there was a new and even more difficult expedition. Early morning, we went down the river and sailed until our everywhere-passing "Khivus" stalled. We gathered quickly, took with us only sleeping bags and supplies for a couple of days, packed everything we needed in backpacks and moved up the stream. The group was led by a young guide Konstantin, or simply Kostya, a guy of strong build, medium height, tuned to the result. Soon we began to slowly undress from the intense walking and the scorching sun. We tried to use the slightest opportunity to wash, wet our headdress and dry shoes because sweat poured down like hail. My well-tested Meindl shoes, that I used on such hunts for almost two decades, showed themselves from the best side once again. Zhaysan and Ilyas had shoes of a similar type, but still somewhat inferior in functionality to mine. Though the guides advised to go in rubber boots with a high top because of the need to force regularly small, but quite deep channels. To be honest, it would be good to use such boots only to cross rivers, but it’d a real torture to walk on stones, ice (which laid here since last winter) and wet sand with clay. I wasn’t sure that Zhaysan and Ilyas would have been able to walk in them as much as we walked in those days. The stuffiness not heat forced us to take off our clothes more and more, and as a result we were forced to strip down to our underpants. Rocks, rocks, rocks, rocks Probably, our half-naked caravan looked funny from the outside. Kostya, the guide, was the leader, Zhaysan and Ilyas followed him. I was the rear end to make pictures and video of our journey. And there was something to shoot! The further we moved up the stream, the steeper the rocks became and the larger the boulders were, on which we had to jump every now and then. There was no other way, except for the stones. In some places, the stream bed narrowed to such that we were forced to wade through a narrow strip of land, densely overgrown with tallow. As we moved forward and up, the riverbed became narrower, and the stream itself became deeper. In some places we had to take off shoes, and waded through it in terribly cold water. The muscles of the legs almost cramped from the sharp drop in temperatures. But the blood circulation in the legs and especially in the feet became much better after each crossing, and we rushed into the "battle” with new strength. Suddenly we buried in such a rocky wall that I thought with annoyance: that was the end of our journey and it would be a pity for the wasted effort. That place was simply amazing from the point of view of natural beauty. There was the waterfall about ten meters high. Unusually clear emerald-colored waters fell into a natural font, carved in stone for many millennia. We studied the rocks for a few minutes and thought how we could go the route, at least to cling to something. At last, we mapped out the route with great difficulty. But it was one thing to lay it out mentally, and it was quite another to walk along it. There were already ten kilometers behind us, if not more by that moment. Our legs were covered with scratches, abrasions and just ached from the great strain. But it was necessary to strain even more. It was not an easy matter to walk along the slippery and narrow ledge of an almost vertical cliff, and even with backpacks and weapons. Nevertheless, we decided to take a chance. Kostya went first, paving the way. After he successfully passed a steep cliff, Zhaysan, Ilyas, and I followed one by one, carefully placing our feet on narrow stone ledges and clinging to small ledges in the rock with our hands, like lizards. The hiking poled did a good job. – They helped to keep balance, though it was not easy to do with a heavy backpack on your back. Finally, everyone safely passed the dangerous crossing. After a short rest, we went up again and soon became convinced of the treachery of this beautiful place. We had to pass near a huge stone slab, that was polished by a glacier that had descended centuries ago. It was just right next to the waterfall. One edge of it leaned directly into that very natural font. Small rivulets flowed along the slab and made its smooth surface very slippery. We had to move along it on all fours, clinging to the slightest protrusions with everything we could find, we clung with hands, the edge of the sole of shoes, and walking poles. Fortunately, we could overcome that part of the route without losses and injuries. But then Ilyas's knee hurt, probably, from the overload. But he assured us that everything was well and persuaded to go on. Then we left the stream to the right along the slope. We met there, the painfully familiar deep moss, moist soil, huge boulders hiding under them and the associated "charms" of walking in such places. So we went another three kilometers, when finally a valley opened up in front of us, bordered on all sides by mountain ranges. Sheep’ habitat. It took my breath away from the visual perspectives, but I was no longer up to it. We had already passed a straight line about 13-14 kilometers after disembarking from the "Khivus”, judging by the GPS. And should go one km more to the foot of the mountains where were going to stay for a night. The overnight stay It took us a half of an hour to reach the mountains. We tried to find at least a little dry place to set up camp, but there were ground waters all around, and the soil under our feet was smacking savory. It was getting late. Suddenly, we detected sheep in one of the small gorges while we were looking for a parking place. They were at a distance of about two kilometers from us. We went around the territory and found just two dry spaces, but one of them was too narrow for four people. And stayed on the second one. The backpack fell off my shoulders, and it seemed to me that I took off! Kostya went to the mountains to make an accurate reconnaissance for tomorrow's hunt, while we were busy preparing dinner. bonfire, hot tea with sandwiches and other food became our reward for a hard fifteen-kilometer journey over water and rocks lasting a whole day. Soon Kostya came back and told that he saw the group of six animals on the rocks. He was sure that they would not move anywhere from that area, and we would be able to approach them tomorrow. A dream under the open sky begins always with the contemplation of a mysterious Universe with a huge number of shining stars. It is both amazing and breathtaking, relaxes and makes you forget all those difficult and tense moments of the past day, running through your memory before sleep takes hold of you We woke up at dawn and the next hunting day began. The night passed quickly. But we managed to relax to some extent. We got up at 5 am. A cup of tea and light breakfast. The muscles of the legs were overflowed with lactic acid and ached. It was hard to make them work. We could do it later when went to the mountains. We all felt as if there were wooden stilts were instead of legs while they were not warmed up from the load. It was much easier to walk in the cool of the morning. But yesterday's fatigue was flaring up already halfway along the way. Ilyas's knee ached again It was also hard for Zhaysan. Only Kostya rushed forward as guides often did. I had to coordinate the actions of both the vanguard and the rearguard, so that the first would not run too far ahead without hunters, and the second would not fall behind and lose sight of us. I continued to shoot interesting moments of the expedition during the ascend. Then we entered to the zone of cedar elfin. I kept to remind Kostya not to run far away. I tried to explain him that if we found sheep nearby, they might notice us and not wait for the hunters, what meant the failure of the entire expedition, wasted time and effort. Kostya agreed for a short time, but then he broke off again. Those who we needed. At one of the moments when I was waiting for Zhaysan with Ilyas, Kostya sat down and waved his hand at me. He spotted the same sheep that he saw yesterday, but much closer to us. The sheep left the rocks and lay down a little lower, in the cedars. I raised up carefully and saw a group of animals at a distance of what was called an outstretched arm. There were 70-80 m to them. It wasn’t the distance for the mountain hunting! I looked back – neither Zhaysan nor Ilyas was there. The thought flashed that the rams might not wait for their arrival. Just in case, I pulled the camera out of the case and started shooting, if anything, I could show Zhaysan proof that there were sheep. But I kept watching to see if Jaisan would appear. Finally, he came out from behind a cedar bush about a hundred meters away and gave us a tired look. We waved to him to come up faster. Kostya, like many guides, began to fuss, trying to make it clear to Zhaysan that the sheep would leave now and he had to run. How he could run after such loads and a difficult climb! I explained to Kostya that rushing now was the worst thing, if Zhaysan ran, he would lose his breath and it would be even worse. A miss in such cases, was almost guaranteed. It was very difficult to put a carbine in your shoulder after lifting and to make a well-aimed shot, even at such a short distance. Jaisan came over. I realized that there wouldn’t be an accurate shot in such a state. He breathed hard. “Where are sheep?” - he asked. They were on the same place. But one of them moved to the side. I looked back at Jaisan and realized that it'd take time for him to catch his breath. Kostya was in a hurry: “Shoot!", while I was trying to dissuade Zhaysan, and to bring him to the idea that it was necessary to catch your breath, otherwise-a miss. It was very hard to shoot standing up, after climbing, without any support at an altitude of 2,500 meters. Finally, Jaisan decided to shoot. I turned on the camera and took the rams in the visor. Jaisan took a few breaths, then a deep breath. I saw how the barrel of his gun was moving, but still hoped that after all… The miracle did not happen. The sheep started from where they stood after the shot and disappeared. None of them fell. Zhaysan was a good shooter and our souls were still warmed by the hope that he hit, but the ram just ran away in a fever and would lie down somewhere. We took a breath. Then we waited for five minutes and went to the place where the sheep’ group was a few minutes ago. No traces of a hit were found there. None of the sign of blood, wool or something else. We came to the edge of a steep rocky gorge, and Kostya noticed the sheep, they were running away from us along a slope. One more attempt to take a worthy trophy, but from a distance of 400 meters! A shot was fired from a standing position at animals that ran at a great distance. One more miss. 450 meters! The shot and the miss. The fire was over. (to be continued)

The idea to go hunting in Tajikistan for the trophy of Marco Polo argali came to me in the summer, during the hunting trip for the Dagestan tur in Azerbaijan. I realized that I just needed to visit the Pamirs. I contacted the Stalker Group company, and received an offer to go to the opening of the season in early October. It took me one week.   The day of arrival. On October 8th, 2016 I flew from Yekaterinburg to Dushanbe. The local outfitter Nikolay and his son Dalish met me in the airport where I’d arrived in three hours. Just after the arrival we drove to the restaurant where I tasted Eastern cuisine. After it we should have to drive not less than 12 hours to the place where we had to stay for a night and then to drive to the hunting area the next day. The journey of about 600 kilometers was overcome in comfortable conditions, on a Land Cruiser car. I especially appreciated the comfort of the car in the middle of the journey, when the paved road from Dushanbe ended. It happened quite abruptly, as soon as we reached the Panj River, which runs along the border of Tajikistan with Afghanistan. The way lay through the mountains, the road was difficult and had not been repaired since Soviet times, as the driver said. Asphalt was still present in some places, and some sections of the canvas were surprisingly well preserved, what indicated the high quality of the road surface created during the Soviet era. There was no trace of the road-apparently in some places. I guessed it depended on the contractor who performed road work. Let's come back to journey. Twelve hours later we arrived to Iskander's house. He was one of the sons of Nikolay and stayed for a night there. The next Sunday morning we got up at 6am because we had to drive 550 km more to the hunting land. The total way from Dushanbe to the Marco Polo habitat was 1150km! We thanked Iskander's family and took the tastiest apples growing in his yard, and continued our journey from the altitude 2300 meters above sea level. The road passed near the Chinese border, there were many towers, border posts and fences. Already at the entrance to the hunting camp we met a large group of Marco Polo sheep, about 100 animals and my soul was seized with excitement But it consisted of ewes with lambs only. The outfitter tried to drive them away from the Chinese border, but it was unsuccessful, and we went further. It was 3pm when we reached the camp located on the height 410 masl. The outfitter’s assistants went for went out to reconnoitre. There was no more than three hours of daylight left, and the most reasonable thing was to spend testing our guns. It was necessary to find out empirically what correction to make due to the rarefied air at such an altitude. We set the target in 300m. At this distance the correction was only half a minute at that distance, it meant that the bullet went only 7 cm higher than at home on the plain – in Yekaterinburg. I planned a further hunt using those verified parameters. I felt oxygen starvation for the first time at that day. It was accompanied by malaise, pressing headaches and shortness of breath.   The first day. On Monday, October 10th, the first hunting day came. At 6:30 am, Iskander and I and our three assistants drove out on the UAZ to search of our main target – the Marco Polo sheep. A fairly large lynx caught my eye in two km after we left the camp, and the guys offered to take it. But I preferred not to waste time and said no.   In half an hour later, at a distance of 3-4 kilometers, we detected a large group of argali. The guides noticed several males with worthy trophy characteristics. But there was no way to approach them – the animals were in an open area and would easily have found us. We had to look for others. Fortunately, it wasn't long before I noticed five sheep lying on a mountain slope a little over a kilometer away from us. After a shot discussion we decided to go them around. The way to the ridge was about two km, then we crossed it and met the lonely ram that ran away. Unfortunately, the five that we were approaching, rushed after him, and all our efforts were in vain… That two-kilometer path, which turned out to be useless, made me feel "all the charm" of the highlands. It became a serious test for the body despite my good physical fitness. The thin air provoked such shortness of breath, which happens only after kilometer runs in a fast cross. I had to make stops every 50 m to take a breath. At the same time, I noticed that the descent was much easier, my body accepted it with gratitude. At 2pm the guides went to check another gorge. Iskander saw my condition and offered to stay at the car with his assistant Rahim. He promised they would contact us by radio f worthy specimens were found. The radio was alive in a half of an hour. The guys said that had found sheep. We went about 700-800m and detected the group of animals on one of the elevations. They pastured on both sides of the mountain slope, and between them was a mountain peak. Those most worthy specimens of males were just behind it. Our strategy was to walk exactly in the middle between groups of ewes with lambs, without frightening them, and to climb to the mountain top to see the males. We moved with quick short runs, 50-70 meters, as far as I had the strength and health to keep up with Iskander, we were moving towards the goal. Finally, we reached the foot of the mountain at the level of 4200 meters, where another difficulty was: the slope consisted of large stones, as if scattered by a careless giant, and we had to climb another 300-400 meters. It was hard, but we could reach the height of 4571 meters. The distance to the sheep was 600m with the angle 15 degrees. I set the carbine, took aim, but my breathing didn’t allow me to concentrate – the cross in the sight grid was constantly "walking". It was necessary to completely gather myself and hold my breath. At last, I could do it. In a few seconds, I was already being congratulated on a successful shot! I couldn't describe my condition at that moment, but it was a true delight. One of the highest mountain sheep in the world- the King of Sheep - Argali Marco Polo was taken from the first shot at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, at a distance of 600 meters. Then, Iskander and Rahim got to the trophy, lowered it three hundred meters, where we did a photo session with congratulations. Then we transported the trophy to the camp and where had a gala dinner dedicated to a successful hunt.   The second day. The second day of hunting in Tajikistan became a "Day of mistakes” for me. It started at 5am when we woke up and left the Base at 6.30. Then everything went wrong. I think, that the reason was the accumulated fatigue, combined with a lack of experience in shooting at high altitudes in conditions of oxygen starvation. I analyzed that hunt and came to the conclusion that It was not the best time to take the trip to Tajikistan: after a week of hunting in Kamchatka, I returned to Yekaterinburg just a few weeks before on September 10. I had accumulated a lot of questions about work by that time and had to go on business trips three times. As a result, I returned to Yekaterinburg on Friday, October 7, and flew to Tajikistan the next morning. To be honest, I came to Tajikistan pretty tired, and there was a difficult adaptation to the highland The maximum height of my mountain hunting was 3500 meters above sea level before the Tajik Pamir. All those factors prevented me to achieve the second goal on the second day – to take the trophy of the Central Asian ibex… In an hour after we left the camp, we spotted a group of ibexes, and decided to approach them from the right. We hiked about 2 km and ascended 350m. There was an interesting male among the group. The distance to the herd was one km. I took the decision to shoot because the horizon was just 6% that made the shot easier. I had the experience in such shooting – I have experienced such trajectories in the shooting gallery, on the range, on the plain hunting for roe deer, and I thought that everything should work out here as well. I verified all the calculations and corrections before the shot, taking into account the height and degree of inclination, distance. But didn’t make the correction for the horizon. It takes about 1.5 minutes per kilometer (about 60-70 cm in centimeters). We hold our breath and follow the bullet that flew over the ibex, fell on the ground and hit it with a shockwave. After it, the male disappeared from sight. There was an assumption that the bullet could have caught him, but after I realized that didn’t make a horizontal correction, I had to accept an unambiguous miss.  The second mistake happened in the evening. That time I made both horizontal and vertical corrections, but set only 0,8 degrees instead of +8 at the weather station due to inattention. It was more than 25cm. We all saw clearly -I watched it in the scope, the guys through the binoculars, that the bullet flew over the ibex's mane. If I had taken into account the parameters, a record distance shot would have taken place – 1071 meters! Apparently, that record was postponed for the next time. That was the end of the second day of hunting and the fourth day of my stay in Tajikistan.    The third day. On Wednesday we drove to another hunting area and I was impressed by its nature. The terrain was radically different from the previous one and gave the impression of some unreal, cosmic landscape. It didn’t take much time to detect the ibex but it was small and we were not interested in it. The male was just 3-4 years, the distance to the animal was about 250-300m. It laid on the rock, and would be too easy prey. We agreed to continue hunting and it wasn’t difficult. After 40 minutes, we found a group of ibexes which began to move from us. It was one more test for my body – a run after ibexes at an altitude of 3960 meters. I observed the distance that could help me to make an accurate shot when we reached the place where it was possible to observe a group of animals rising in a straight line. Iskander defined it through the binocular. At the beginning it was 570m. The ibexes were moving from us and ascending the peak. They were going to the right by the gorge, the angle was 16 degrees. The distance was constantly changing. I set the carbine on the stone, aimed but the sun shined just straight to my eyes. Iskander selflessly made the decision to shield the sun with himself. He blocked the sun and measured the distance simultaneously. It was 780 meters. 800M... Then the ibexes divided into several groups. We had to make the decision what male to choose. I chose the goat that was darker than others. The distance was 800m when I shot. The ibex jerked and fell after it had walked a few meters. It was my new record for the range of a shot on a mountain hunt! As the guides said later, a successful shot was fired for the first time in their hunting farm at such a distance and at such an angle. Unfortunately, we weren’t impressed by the trophy qualities when we got to the trophy. Its size was only 80 cm (a young male 5-6 years old). Iskander was extremely upset, but I calmed him down and explained that I was quite satisfied and the distance of the shot was much more important in that case.   The departure day. That was the end of the hunt in Tajikistan, and the way back was ahead. We returned back to Iskander's house where we spent the night and on Thursday morning left in the direction of Dushanbe. Nikolai and his son met us again in Dushanbe and escorted me to the airport. I’m thankful to all of them. I would like to thank Nikolay and his sons separately for their Eastern hospitality! I’m going to return. Everything was competently organized-hunting, accommodation, transfers directly. Separately, I want to note the amazing, unearthly beauty of nature, splendour highlands that is ideal for the long -range shooting.

Any exciting trip related to hunting has an interesting background or a sequence of reasons why this trip has taken place. My friends traveled to Gorny Altai several times to hunt for ibexes, and I also wanted to join them, but each time something prevented me to realize that dream. The Club of Mountain Hunters (CMH) singled out the Siberian ibex, extracted in the Sayan, as a separate "subspecies" ( it seems to be smaller than the Altai one), and that animal immediately became a desired trophy for mountain hunters, including me. There was a rumor that the Ministry of Natural Resources was going to add the Sayan ibex to the Red Book of the Russian Federation. Everything was decided when my friend, widely known in narrow hunting circles, Andrey Subbotin, suggested hunting ibex in the Sayan and introduced me to Viktor Blinnikov, who acted as an outfitter. The goal I set for myself was very simple – the horns are not less than a meter, the age is not less than 10 years. Something like that… At the end of October I and my friend, namesake Mikhail who was also a hunter, flew to Abakan. I admit, that it is always much more boring to drive alone. Because It's very important and much interesting to share the impressions with somebody who understand you. But as you’ll understand later "solo swimming" is much more productive in terms of achieving the desired result… It was planned initially that we would live in a large tent with a stove, but the weather made its own adjustments. Snow began to fall in Abakan in two weeks before our arrival, and the temperature dropped to -15 at night We took all warm clothes we had, guided by the new weather conditions, but tried to choose the variant so that we could also walk actively. Looking ahead, I’ll say that Kuiu's clothes hasn't disappointed! After arriving to Abakan, we drove about two hours, then sailed along the Yenisei five hours more to the hunting land. When we reloaded our luggage on the boat and went on the water, we found ourselves in the arms of low, but majestic mountains, rising straight out of the water somewhere with bare rocks, and somewhere with wooded hills. The banks were completely covered with snow, and steam rose from the water, like from a pot of fish soup. Victor arrange our accommodation on the Base– the comfort level increased clearly. We periodically met ibexes on the rocks-mostly females and young animals, although we got a couple of good horns while we were sailing along the river. In one place, we met a boat with hunters who were already returning to Abakan with trophies. Everything I saw and heard gave me unreal optimism and inspired me to feats. I can't put it into words. The next day, as soon as it was light, we set off from the cordon and walked along the Yenisei for about fifty kilometers. Then we found a place where we could get from the boat to the rocks, and began a long climb. It should be said that the e river in these places is at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level, so it wasn’t far to the peaks, and the mountains themselves cannot be compared with the Caucasus. It took us two hours to get to 1000 masl. We were raising shuddering periodically from the noise of the wings of partridges taking off from under their feet. The boundless expanses and their most precious pearl-the greenish Yenisei far under your feet opened up to your eyes. Somewhere there must be ibexes, that's why it’d be better to hide because they could notice us against the background of the blue sky and it’d be fraught with the failure of the event. There were a huge number of fresh tracks on the snow – the animals were there, and it was inspiring! We hided in a small hollow, took out a thermos, drank tea, not forgetting to turn our head 360 degrees. The group of animals was detected at noon. The rut season had started already - the females were grazing calmly, and the goats were rushing like mad between them. But they didn't fight among themselves. We appreciated how to approach the herd and realized that there were a couple of hills that we should crawl on our stomach over in full view of the ibexes It wasn't the best option, but otherwise you couldn't get close to the shot. Incredibly, we managed it! But one of us tore the fabric on his knee during this maneuver, and everyone picked up thorns. We’d approached 300m, laid and began to discuss what to do next. I set the camera with some difficulty, but, as it turned out later, I forgot to make a transfocation. Our mistake was that we began to move actively and the half of the herd began to stare intently in our direction. Only a few trophy size males paid no attention to anything, and were still running around in circles with their lips stretched out as if for kisses. We agreed to shoot together on the count of three (I won’t advise anyone to commit such an absurdity). I chose a black male that clearly stood out in the herd, its horns were clearly over a meter . But there were two or even three males that were the same size but had light wool color. What could I say, we both missed. We shot together but I pushed the trigger in a couple of seconds later than Misha and missed. Probably his shot was the reason. Misha missed too but he shot to the male not the one we discussed before and hit it. But it was not the trophy the hunter dreamed about all his life. In any case it was a result in such situation. The herd immediately moved and disappeared behind the ridge. It's has no sense to describe how long and how emotionally we discussed what had happen. I can't put it into words.! I can't put it into words– 2 The next day Victor and I went to the same ridge while Misha left the camp and went to walk alone in another gorge. We reached the place on the sunrise. Then we hiked about three km by the ridge. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the yesterday’s herd but spotted two small groups with trophy size ibexes. We decided to focus on one of them, but they disappeared somewhere while we were approaching. I stayed to watch the hollow where I managed to see them, if they appeared again, and Vitya went to the ridge to look behind it. He hoped that they were just there. He returned with the news: the ibexes were there, but small. "Small" didn't meet our goals, and we decided... to have a little snack As they say, war is war, and no one canceled lunch! I was just going to make a sip tea when saw a small goat climbed out through the circus on the ridge about five hundred meters away from us and stared at the uninvited guests. We crawled out of his field of vision and finished eating sandwiches – lunch was still not canceled! Then we discussed our tactic while chewing sandwiches and it was so. We should go around the circus from the right (Yenisei was on the left). It was about two km and would try to find other animals there. We still hoped that they were there. We finished our lunch and went on. At some point, we were already on the opposite ridge on a snow-covered ridge a meter wide. We had to climb out to the full height, but I remembered three larches on the ridge where there were ibexes, and there were about three hundred meters to them. When they went down lower, Vitya said with regret: - They left. - No, they are behind the turn, - I began to argue. He got down backwards to the turn, slightly down, and at that moment there was a sharp whistle of the female – we were spotted. A silent scene. Vitya turned around and saw two surprised ibexes staring at a man with a backpack. Then he turned to me disappointed and said: - There was a Great ibex in twenty meters from us... But it was.. I didn’t say a word. I didn't say many different words. We got out and followed the animals on the tracks, looking around periodically with binoculars. Suddenly Victor whispered that he saw a female with two males that had descended to the gorge and would rise by the opposite slope - Let's try. The animals disappeared into a hollow, but after five minutes they appeared n the lawn that rose gently to the very top. A large goat was slowly following the female. They were not going to stop. The starting distance was 412 meters. The angle- 20 degrees. 300 WinMag triggered five centimeters below the aiming point, but this did not save the male, and it collapsed, rolling a little down the slope. My joy and satisfaction from the shot and the trophy were boundless after yesterday's miss. But it was necessary to hurry up – it’d take about half an hour to go to the trophy, then we had to butcher the trophy and go down to the camp what would take more than two hours. It was necessary to go down to the boat on the light. I got 12 years old male. The horn’s length was 103 sm. The goal was achieved, and I cannot convey what I felt at the moment! I can't put it into words. I could hardly describe what I felt. We were guided by the radio to where we had to go and where they take us from to the boat. Andrey, our captain, was dissatisfied with the fact that it was he who had to guide our ship at dusk between the logs floating on the Yenisei. I tried to persuade Victor, but he took all the meat from the goat (it was right, but when you had to drag it on ourselves for so much time...). The two – hour descent turned out to be extremely difficult and dramatic. The half way down the slope we waded through thorny acacia bushes as tall as a man and stumbled over stones. We reached the Base by boat already at full dusk. And the first thing we did, we drank to the captain! Despite our fatigue, we arranged a royal dinner with fried ibex’s liver and some hot drinks. Then we talked about hunting, nature, good people and where the world is going… The next day we had rest and devoted it to taking a bath, a preservation of trophies, and the contemplation of the surrounding nature. We had one more hunting day that we spent looking for another trophy for my fellow but didn’t find. We didn't manage to get anything. But we walked up, saw enough and gained impressions for a long time. Then we spent the night in Shushenskoye, and visited the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, which couldn't fail to impress with its power/ Later we visited the Shushensky Museum, that gave us the opportunity to rejoice for the leader of the world proletariat, who enjoyed spending time in exile as I could see. Snow began in the day before we should left Abakan but we managed to fly away. On the plane, we remembered all the bright events of that hunt, discussed our impressions of unusually beautiful places, high concentration of the animal and a competent approach to maintaining hunting conditions. I am sure that any hunter who happens to hunt there will have similar feelings.

"Dmitry, I can't understand! We are flying for several hours, but I don't see any cities under the wing of the plane! None of the lights! Is it possible?” This question was asked many years ago on a clear in the moonlit night, decorated with the light of huge stars from the black haze of cosmic distances, by one of the European hunters with whom I flew to Yakutia to hunt. Such are the expanses of our vast Homeland. That part of it where the Republic of Sakha, or Yakutia, located, is very interesting in terms of historical development and geographical features. There are many unusual things in its history. Take that fact that Sakha language for instance, belongs to the Turkic group, that also includes Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, and Turkmen. But all these peoples live for centuries in the territories located much to the south of the cold Yakut expanses. How and when did the Turkic speaking people got to such harsh Siberian conditions? An unambiguous answer to this question has not yet been received. Sakha is both the self-name of the Yakuts, and the name of their language, that stands apart in the family of Turkic languages. Maybe the permafrost and severe cold affected it so much? Everything is fine with the cold in Yakutia. Meteorologists "staked out" a cold pole near the settlement of Oymyakon in the republic. The officially registered record of sub-zero temperature in this place is 69.9 degrees Celsius. There is the evidence that in some years the thermometer dropped below-to -77 and even to -82 degrees! How people and animals survive in such places will remain a mystery for many, many years. The main geographical feature of Yakutia for a hunter is the great distance of the republic from the European part of Russia. The only connecting artery for the local people with the "mainland" ( they call so any part of Russia accessible to road transport ) was the treacherous Lena River for centuries. Yakutia lost its inaccessibility only with the development of aviation. Hello, the land of Sakha! A hunter from Kazakhstan, Zhaysan Syzdykov, his friend Ilyas and I arrived to Yakutsk at the end of August after a six-hour night flight, during which we did not sleep. A friendly driver Vasily waited for us at the airport. He was medium height, a Siberian with Russian roots and blue eyes, with a slow and very quiet accent, calm as a boa constrictor (in a good way). We received our luggage, sat in the minibus and started a long and, as it turned out, difficult way. Half an hour later, we were at the crossing of the mighty Lena. It proved with its stormy waters, more than once that Man isn't the master on this earth. Victims, destruction of homes and buildings are repeated regularly during spring floods. That time we saw the Lena in its calm, peaceful state. We had to wait about 40 minutes until the ferry was loaded, and then we were on our way again. My Kazakh friends were breathtaking from the latitude of the river and the huge mass of water rushing to the Arctic Ocean.  Roads, roads… In an hour we were already on the other side. The minibus deftly climbed onto a sand-and-gravel embankment and continued its way in an easterly direction along the federal highway, waddling from side to side under the weight of the cargo. At the beginning the road wasn’t quite smooth, but quite a hard surface with asphalt content. But then it finished and the road began from a mixture of sand dust, clay and partly gravel. We were lucky that there was no rain, as Vasily said. The wet road turns into an insidious trough with slush, ready to roll the car into a ditch at any moment. All cars-from small sedans to huge heavy trucks go to the "last way” quite regularly during the rains there. Telling the truth, the entire post-Soviet space is famous for dead roads, but it is difficult to even describe what we had seen and experienced in Yakutia. Vasily was afraid to put a little more pressure on the gas pedal, and we didn’t expect an early arrival to the place. The right-hand drive car (most of the cars there were right-hand drive) was slowly rounding the huge, gaping black depressions in the roadbed, similar to bomb craters, that blocked the path of the accelerating vehicle with enviable persistence. I wont’ longer bore the reader with a description of our travel adventures with a long wait for ferries and their slow progress through Lena and Aldan, but in the end of the evening in the same day, we arrived to a small Yakut village with the" lyrical " name of Khandyga. We felt how tired we were and that we didn’t sleep well the previous night that's why we discussed the plan for the next day and fell on not comfortable but beds. It seemed that we fell asleep earlier than we touched the pillow. The next morning, the car took us to the pier, where two "Khivus" were already waiting for us. These hovercrafts are the most optimal solution for traveling in conditions of unstable water levels in the Yakut rivers. Riverbeds often change, and if you were able to climb somewhere on a water jet, then on the way back you may have to look for another way, because the river, with its steep and unpredictable temper, decided to pave a new channel or simply dried up in this place due to the lack of rain. It is not a problem for hovercrafts at all. I has to confess that hasn’t sail on such hovercrafs before. As soon as, we had plunged into the "Hivus" under the roar of its propeller and set off, there was a cognitive dissonance. Everything was clear while we were sailing on open water, but as soon as a shoal loomed ahead, a thought flashed: "That's it, we've arrived!". I was already prepared that we would have to pull this colossus off the river pebbles, what I did more than once when switching to a water jet. NO! It continued to move, gliding calmly along the sandy and rocky spits. So, we sailed for about two hours, moving up the Aldan to the turn to the Tyra River. This name probably came from the Yakut "tyrin", what means "ice place", or "big ice” It was generally easy to go along the full-flowing Aldan, but after turning to the Tyra, the route became more complicated. Many channels began to appear. It was not an easy matter to know which of these channels should be followed. The river was constantly winding, twisting like a snake. Sometimes it pressed to the steep bank, from which the permafrost protruded. We could see how it sparkled and shimmered with crystals of centuries-old ice, then the river spread over a large area like pancake dough poured from a ladle into a frying pan. Everyone was a little tired and after a three-hour trip and decided to stop, stretch their legs and have a snack. After the rest, the road seemed much more fun/ At last after a couple of hours we were at the base called "Five Lakes". There was something familiar about the name. Here was the Russian spirit! My old partner Andrey Petrov met us there. He was a lean man, slightly above an average height, with surprisingly clear blue eyes. Andrey was the director of the hunting farm, on the territory of which we had to hunt. Life in such remote areas requires from people a lot of knowledge and skills He must be able to do everything from cooking to repairing equipment and processing wood. I'm not saying that he must know very well the habitat of the animal, whether it's a moose, a bear or a reindeer or sheep. I knew well that Andrey was an extremely soft and responsive person but could tolerate huge physical exertion and was very strong physical. Such are our Siberians, whom foreigners still dream of conquering. They can't even imagine what our people are capable of. Europeans who come to us for hunting are constantly surprised by the physical endurance and strength of spirit of our people! One of the main problems in such remote places is the provision of transport with fuel. Fuel reserves are made in advance with a large margin for unforeseen situations, which are more the norm than the exception there. Andrey had prepared strategic fuel reserves for that hunt. It was good but we never expect the expected. None of us predicted that the small Tyra River would overflow and wash away the entire small intermediate base with all the buildings and take with it the entire strategic supply of gasoline! Well, this was the way it went in such harsh places. Hunting. Nevertheless, Andrey found a way how to solve that problem with fuel, and we continued on our way to the hunting lands. The plan was to sail up the river to a small hunting cabin, to make it an intermediate camp and "fight” from there. Zhaysan and one of the guides moved to the mountains to try their luck Immediately after arrival. There was a salt lick on the opposite bank and the guides said that sheep came there from time to time. The team who remained in the camp took up the arrangement. We cooked a modest dinner on the fire, paid tribute to Bayanai and began to wait for the hunter's return.  Zhaysan's trip to the mountains turned out to be fruitless, that was expected. It’d be too easy if he got the trophy in the first day. A good and honorable mountain trophy must be suffered. No one became upset about the first failure. We all spent a good friendly evening and then went to sleep. Some of us accommodated in the cabin like Zhaysan and Ilyas, some in "Khivus". had to spend the night by the campfire. Fortunately, the cold hadn't come yet, and I had all necessary equipment such as an inflatable mat, a good sleeping bag and a blanket from the rain. The only thing that alarmed me was the stories of the locals that the bears were very aggressive there. They wouldn’t ask for permission to visit the camp, but they could come and try to take what they wanted. That's why I had to load and put the carbine next to me. I couldn't say for sure what kind of animal approached the camp at night, but I heard a noise about 30 meters from the place where I was lying. It was creepy, and my night passed not in a dream but in a half-dream. But God took the danger away from us, and everyone woke up in good health in the morning (although not all of us felt quite well because drank too much a night before). We had a quick breakfast, got ready and moved to the places where we were going to hunt. Andrey suggested to sail up on the "Khivus" along one of the small channels to a high-altitude plateau about an hour's walk from the lodge.  We sailed smoothly, carefully skirting huge boulders and rocks. The channel narrowed more and more and our doubts about the possibility of passing by ship to the hunting place increased. Finally, as they say, we sailed. The "Hivus" ran into insurmountable rocks. But it wasn't the worst part. We were afraid that there was no place to make a U-turn. It was an unpleasant situation. We had no opportunity to go further. And we still needed to be able to turn around. If it was possible we should sail down by the narrow swirling stream on a ship with impressive dimensions and not the best maneuverability at all. It looked dangerous even in the theory. What could we say about the practical side of the matter! We were able to turn around, just pushing the "Khivus" from rock to rock. I looked into the eyes of our helmsman, who was also the driver and the captain, and asked: “Could we do it?!” He paused, sighed and silently got behind the wheel. I could only hope for... although it was very difficult to understand what to hope for. We plunged ahead brazenly. You can guess that we’d been lucky because I sit and write these lines. But it was not quite clear whether we would get out of the trap. The engine roared, and we went. We rushed off, carried away by the stream through the narrow gap that fate left us. We only hit a rock once. Then we hit to the stones the second, the third and the forth time but could escape and continued to sail. I was holding the camera all that time, leaning out of the hatch of the "Hivus" to the waist. Come what might, if we got out of this trap, there would be exciting shots. Everyone was quiet and stared intently ahead in the cockpit. The "Khivus" came out on a flat section of the river after a few kicks and jumps from waterfalls between the rocks. So, we could breath a sigh of relief. We got out and were alive! We landed on the shore and, the first thing we did, we drank a good glass of vodka for the successful release from stone captivity and safe return. Our "Khivus" looked like a warship attacked by torpedoes from the starboard side. We could see skinned sides, broken handrails in places. This chronicle still excite the blood of my relatives and shocks my friends, to whom I show my films. One more attempt. The main thing was that they were alive and well. We discussed the current situation and decided to move to another place where sheep could be. It was located a few kilometers from the shoal where we landed. We had to unpack the bags, get dressed according to the weather, load necessary things into running backpacks and get on the road. It was quite difficult with the equipment at that time and in that place, if we keep in mind the absolutely unpredictable weather. It was a cold downpour, then a strong gusty wind blew. Then everything suddenly stopped, and the scorching sun looked out. It seemed as strange, as if we were in the southern latitudes. The heat began to put pressure on us as if you covered by wet-sticky excessively warm blanket. We sweat while walking and couldn’t understand where we were - in the Caucasus or thousands of kilometers to the north, at the very pole of cold?! It wasn't so hot and stuffy when we left the camp. A half an hour had passed and the heat and moisture captured us. I would like to say a few words about the ground where we were walking. The soil was saturated with water after the torrential rains that happened on the eve of our arrival. There was already permafrost below, just 30 cm away, and the water had nowhere to go. We walked along a small stream, measured the wet ground with our mountain boots, sank ankle-deep in wet clay, and sometimes we sank almost knee-deep in moss. It was the best training for athletes and for those who wanted to lose extra pounds! But we didn't need to lose excess weight. Otherwise, the skeleton will remain from us in a couple of weeks of such campaigns. So that we had to stop more often to rest and catch the breath. In two hours, we came to a beautiful lake, locked on all sides by old mountain ranges. Several ducks which rested in the calm waters of the lake, took off with a noise almost from under our feet. It was very beautiful! We rested and had a snack. That hike took a lot of effort, and there was only the unknown ahead. We sat, discussed the situation and came to the concussion that there was only way back to the river. The ridges where we wanted to get to were still far, and there was a very little chance that we would have time to get there before dark to hunt. And we didn't take any equipment to spend the night and food.  So, we turned around and ... went back to the boat. ( to be continued)

Andrey Dmitriev As the readers of our magazine are well aware, the Mountain Hunters Club has set several ambitious goals, which were announced a year ago as projects of the CMH. You can read what has been completed and what is planned for the near future in our material. One of the first projects was the publication in Russian of the two-volume book "Mountain Ungulates of the World" by Gerhard Damm and Nicholas Franco. Two multi-page folios with color illustrations, printed on coated paper, have already seen the light. The successful completion of this project raised the prestige of the club, and the number of its members began to grow even faster. It only seems that the publication of such a two-volume book is a common event. Translation, scientific and literary editing of the text, compliance with all legal formalities required serious expenses and financial and intangible resources. Another project of the club is the collection of biological material for genetic research. It’s an indefinite project. There is a serious laboratory base for such studies, but scientists are simply not able to get the material for analysis on their own. Expeditions to collect it are expensive. But it is not a burdensome task for a hunter to take a few samples from the trophy. But you have to know that it is impossible to get a serious result that will allow to talk about the taxonomy of mountain ungulates with the highest accuracy soon. It takes years that's why I repeat that this project is indefinite. But we can't say so about the new projects of the club, announced by its president at the general New Year's meeting of the CMH. One of them is the organization of monitoring of the Putoransky subspecies of the snow sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis) on the territory of the Putoransky gas processing Plant and adjacent areas. This project is designed for five years – from 2017 to 2021. The work will be financed not only from the budget, but also at the expense of the Mountain Hunting Development. Edward Bendersky has already received a proposal from the Federal State Budgetary Institution "United Directorate of Taimyr Nature Reserves" on cooperation with a phased calculation of funding, and most of the budget is planned to be covered by extra-budgetary funding. We should explain why we devoted so much time to that project. The Putoran subspecies of the snow sheep is a rare subspecies with an isolated habitat. It is listed in the Red Book of Rare species of the Russian Federation and the Red Book of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The last detailed studies devoted to that theme were conducted 30 years ago. Those materials compiled in 1989 and formed the basis of the project on the organization of the State Nature Reserve "Putoransky". In 1995-1996 and in 2002-2003, there were only fragmentary aerial surveys of individual areas of the sheep' habitat and selective ground observations that did not give a complete picture of the total number and distribution of the silver horn within the Putorana plateau. The total number of animals was estimated at 5-5. 5K individuals and 6-6. 5K animals, respectively. Such high estimates of the number of snow sheep need to be supported by the results of modern and more large-scale studies with the usage of aviation, satellite telemetry and other remote observation methods. The number of sheep on the territory of this reserve currently does not exceed 800 individuals according to the results of ground work and a fragmentary aerial survey of the territory of the Putoransky Reserve in 2013-2016. The vastness and inaccessibility of the habitat of the snow sheep, the secrecy of this animal and the complexity of its visual detection on the rocky slopes of the mountains – all this requires a significant amount of detailed research at different points of the Putorana plateau with a large expenditure of time and money. It is impossible for the staff of the institution to cover many key areas of the population of this animal due to the lack of funding. There is no objective information about the number and distribution of the species in the Putoransky Reserve and its protected zone, that does not allow to make an objective conclusion about the state of the population of the snow sheep as a whole and to give an opinion about measures for its protection. The regulatory and legal support of the state and financial support of interested parties, one of which is the CMH, will allow to collect mass and representative material about the current state of the Putoran snow sheep population on the vast territory of the Putoran Reserve and adjacent areas and will become a significant contribution to the study of rare species of Russia, which is undoubtedly the Putoran snow sheep. As part of the program of comprehensive studies of the current state of the snow sheep population, it is planned to: To perform a retrospective analysis of the population distribution in the reserve and its protected area; to built the foundations for population monitoring using remote methods; to give a differentiated characteristic of the habitat, to identify a list of limiting factors and the degree of their influence; conduct an inventory of the population's habitats; to account the number of bighorns and determine the sex and age structure by habitat centers; to study the relationships in the "snow sheep-large predators" system within the distribution area of the population; to study nutrition, feed resources and their availability; to conduct a study of the genetic polymorphism of the bighorn population; to conduct biochemical studies and study the health indicators of several individuals; to develop the conservation strategy of the Putoran subspecies. The project is ambitious, as it has to be as the project of the Club of Mountain Hunters Club. But there are much more ambitious projects in the club's plans! At the New Year's party of the Club, its president Eduard Bendersky drew the attention of the audience to the fact that there are many examples in the world when the introduction and reintroduction, helped to recreate or create completely new animal populations in territories suitable for their habitat. Such projects have been successfully implemented in Europe (Croatia, Macedonia, Austria, Switzerland), where the settlement of mountain ungulates made some of the countries into hunting meccas. We know about such samples in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Our country has a huge potential, but nobody has been engaged in such work until now, or has been engaged in it insufficiently effectively. We talk about Ural. The issue of the introduction of the Siberian ibex into the Verkhoyansky Ridge in Yakutia was studied long time ago. The most realistic project in the near future will be to create a population of chamois in the Crimea. But we’ll involve into it only after a thorough study of this issue and appropriate approvals. It's possible that some of the readers will find such plans unrealistic but we are already used to not believe in the possibility of grandiose achievements. Only time will tell who is right.

I guess that some guests of our site can think after reading the hunting reports that all safari are successful. However, it’s not the case – it happens that fortune turns away from the hunter… After a failure, each hunter has always the opportunity to repeat the trip and finally get the desired trophy. But what if the second hunt ends in nothing? Alexander Yegorov's second trip to Armenia also ended in complete failure. Armenia is the only country in the world now where it is possible to hunt the Armenian mouflon in its natural habitat.  Such monopoly was formed after the ban on hunting in Iran. In the last three years, you should definitely buy a ticket to Yerevan if you want to get a very rare species of sheep. Both of Alexander's unsuccessful trips to Armenia were similar: he did not see a single sheep– neither young, nor females, nor an adult horn male… Our hunter was surprised that the guides could not offer any other areas for searching for the sheep both times. They confessed both times that they didn’t know where to look for sheep and refused to continue hunting… That situation can’t cause any hunting optimism about visiting the Armenian mountains. Of course, our hunter is upset. For those who are going to visit Armenia, Alexander can tell the details of both unsuccessful trips in more detail. Article from the website of the hunting club "Safari»: http://mossafariclub.ru/news/all/detail.php?ID=3018

The Magic of a Real SAFARI Magazine Interview with Andrey Storchilov It is not the first year that the readers of our magazine have been going with Andrey Storchilov on exciting virtual trips to North America for cougar, then to New Zealand for deer, then they climb with him to the sky-high heights of the mountains for sheep and ibexes. The readers ' interest which increased after the article where Andrey talked about two consecutive shots at a kilometer distance, which ended with two trophies of ibexes and we asked him for an interview.   Anatoly Mozharov: Andrey, many people's passion for hunting begins in their childhood. How was it with you? Andrey Storchilov: I was born in the Crimea, in 1967. My childhood and youth were spent in the city of Saki. There I started doing bench shooting and as a young guy I became a candidate for master of sports, and then a master of sports in shooting at a trench stand. I performed at competitions, defended the honor of the Black Sea Fleet, participated in the national teams of Ukraine in sports shooting. My father made me a hunter. He gave all his passion to fox hunting. It was, and still is, one of the most popular hunting objects in the Crimea. But they do not practice hunting there from the approach, but arrange a round-up. They are walking in a chain across the fields, raising hares and foxes. It happens that the beaters shoot, it happens that they drive to the numbers. My father liked hunting with mink dogs. We had fox terriers, yags, dachshunds at home-about six at a time. We went out with them in the fields for a weekend or even for three days. The fields in the Crimea are dissected by forest plantations grown on bulk lands. These mounds reached three meters in height, and it was convenient for foxes to dig holes in them. We often found foxes not in burrows, but in irrigation pipes. The irrigation systems were dismantled or hadn't yet been installed in some places. Pipes laid for kilometers, hundreds or tens of meters. Sometimes they were stacked in slides, and foxes, especially during the mating season gathered into them for 5-6 pieces. We started the dogs, and they drove out the foxes. At one time we shot them, and then we started using loops so as not to break the skin. My father processed these skins then gave them to the state, received some money, that was enough for the purchase of gunpowder, shell casings and shot… When I started shooting at the stand, the hunting passion just overwhelmed me. However, I fell in love with hunting in Peru. At that time, Crimea was one of the richest places for birds in Ukraine. The density of quail, partridge and pheasant was especially high there. There were large steppe territories and fields between Dzhankoy and Pervomaisky. There was even a bustard there, but it was already a red book of rare species at that time, and it was not shot. There were a lot of ducks, but hunting for it was not very popular. Quite another thing was a partridge, there were a lot of them – you drove a car along the road among the fields and see 4-5 flocks running at the same time, each of which has at least fifty birds. We hunted from the approach, as a rule without dogs. Even then, I began to shoot not at the flock, but I was aiming at a specific bird. I shot from sports rifles at a distance of 50-60 meters, which did not pose any problem for me. More than once it turned out to take two birds at once with a doublet. In general, people quite often smeared. The bench shooting helped me a lot. A.M.: How did the "great turning point" happen from feather hunting to trophy hunting? A.C.: After graduating from high school, I entered a military school and for quite a long time I did not have the opportunity to engage in hunting. I had to serve where there was no hunting at all. After I retired, I started hunting again, and it was trophy hunting. it happened somewhere in the mid of 90s. A.M.: Why did it happen? A.C.: I just wanted. When I returned to civilian life, I went into business. A.M.: What did you do? A.C.: We are building sports and large logistics facilities, including in Moscow and the region. Currently, a giant military sports complex "Patriot" is being built 30-35 kilometers from Moscow, and our company build several facilities there, the largest of them are indoor football fields. This complex will be focused on the sport, and military-patriotic education for the youth. It may seem strange to some people, but one of my clients is Mr. Mikhail Galustyan. He is known to most as a comedic actor. Bu he invests very large financial resources in the development of this complex. Mikhail has his own specialized company that promotes airsoft among young people. He is a member of this team and has built two sports facilities on the territory of the complex with training centers for teaching young people to play airsoft. I believe that this game gives the general development of young people, and lays the foundations of military tactics in their heads. Such a player will come to the army already prepared for a lot. A significant segment of our activity is the reconstruction of old sports and other facilities, usually on the territories of military bases. A.M.: Let's come back to the hunting. It's clear that you wanted to hunt. What was the reason? A.C.: Everything started when I was invited to hunt in Europe – whether for a hare, or a fox, I can't remember now. I got great pleasure not from the hunt itself, but from the way it was arranged. I had never seen anything like this before! I was impressed by the peculiar clothing of the hunters, as if they had descended into reality from the paintings of the XIX century, their hunting rituals, turning an ordinary event into a beautiful theatrical action. The weapons of European was completely different, compared to what they had seen in Russia. It's not that we had "Izhs" or "Tulkas", but they had" Sauers "and "Merkels". Most of them had the lancer fittings. The lancer fittings had small caliber, the most used caliber in Europe were 243-.270. While we in Russia tried to buy a carbine no less than 9.3 mm. Why so? Because we have a desire to hit the animal, no matter where and only then somehow get on the bloody trail. There is a completely different attitude to the shot in Europe – it must be accurate, in place, for which a large caliber is completely optional. It says about the aesthetics of European hunting itself and about the hunter's respectful attitude to the animal. I was impressed by their attitude, not in words, but in practice, to the problem of reproduction and protection of the animal world. Hunting in Russia in those days remained a kind of drawing from the natural storeroom without caring about its filling. 90s were just the apotheosis of mindless consumption of natural resources!   The next trips to Europe strengthened my first impression and significantly expanded my understanding of what hunting was like in general in the world – in Africa, in America, in Asia. After getting that experience, I felt a desire to go hunting again, and to do trophy hunting with the same approach as hunting is treated in Europe. I hope that I've succeed in it, and I tell the readers about the most interesting ones on the pages of the magazine "The Magic of a real SAFARI” A.M.: How did you start mountain hunting? A.C.: Everything starts with motivation, including mountain hunting. The best motivation is the trophies that were got in the mountains by famous or unknown people, their stories about the difficulties of mountain hunting and the podium of winners at all. You start to think: why can't you get such an animal, when you look at the pictures of a hunter with his trophy. You have already got a lot of wild boars-bears-moose, but what about the more difficult and worthy trophy. It’s a great motivation. I belong to the people who always want to prove to themselves that I can! The inaccessibility of the trophy became decisive in the desire to engage in mountain hunting. Later I realized that the mountain hunting is an extraordinary beauty and a crazy adrenaline. You began to respect yourself when overcame your "I can't" and "scary", when you went through everything, experienced extreme, adversity and bad weather and got as a result, even if not the first time and not the biggest trophy, it means a lot in our life. A.M.: But Mountain hunting is not always extreme.... A.C.: Mountain hunting is a complex concept. Some of them are easy. I advise for the beginners to start to hunt from Bulgaria, Macedonia or Spain. Nevertheless, a hunter will experience some difficulties on simple mountain hunts too that immediately distinguish mountains from plains – such as climbing, shooting at an angle, and so on. Once in Spain, I got a rondo goat, and it lay down on a rock so that it could only be approached from the side of the road. The climbing was only 200 m. But it was vertical. I remember with horror how we crawled along it after him. So I would not be condescending to any mountains. Then it is advisable to take up Kamchatka, there are a lot of mosquitoes, midges, a hummock breaks a leg badly in the summer time. Altai, Kazakhstan are approximately on the same level. Then Caucasus follows that is harder. There are very difficult mountains with regular ascents and descents, with large areas of stone talus, with a large steepness. There is very difficult to climb at relatively low altitudes in the Caucasus. Then-Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, where the heights are about 4-5 thousand meters, and there is simply nothing to breathe with. Frankly extreme hunting is in Nepal. A.M.: What was your first trophy? Not mouflon. A.C.: You are right. My first hunt was in the Czech Republic, in Moravia, where I got a moufflon. I can hardly call the local high hills mountains. But how beautiful it was there! The mountains are covered with a broad-leaved forest that evokes pictures from Charles Perrault's fairy tales, and from time-to-time wide glades open, from which you see tiny, like toy houses, people, cars below, and at that moment you realize how high you are. It was difficult for me, as for the beginner, to shoot from above on 300 m. Fortunately, it was accurate. A.M.: Then you couldn’t stop? A.C.: Yes, but I realized that I had to train before the trip. And started from the arms. Today I have five carbines, and three of them are for the mountain hunting and two Americans H-S Precision. One of them– .300 WinMag, another.338 LapuaMag. A.M.: Why not Blaser? A.C.: Blaser works well on the distances 300-400m and it’s limit. The bullet does not fly further from the Blazer, no matter what kind of cartridges you use. A.M.: Another question is: why exactly these two calibers? A.C.: A few years ago, the opinion was formed among the "long-distances shooters" that the 338 LapuaMag was the best cartridge for accurate long-range shooting. The mass of the bullet is up to 19 g, and it is not so much subject to wind shifts. The practice of shooting from a rifle of this caliber has shown that the cartridge is very reactive when fired, and the resource of the barrel is simply small. For example, ORSIS rifles of this caliber have 2000 shots. American guns have up to 6-7 thousand shots. That’s why the owners of 338 LapuaMag begin to get rid of these carbines and buy another fairly powerful cartridge with the flattest trajectory-.300 WinMag. This cartridge is optimal for mountain hunting, if we talk about the available calibers. There are a lot of good bullets that suit for it. A.M.: Are you satisfied with factory cartridges? A.C.: I know that the problem of a" good patron " exists. There are very few well-balanced cartridges on sale that suit for hitting large game at long distances, and therefore we have to look for suppliers of good cartridges. Reloading is prohibited in our country, and it shows the utter incompetence of our legislators. Telling the truth, it’s impossible to fire accurately at long distances with industrial cartridges. A.M.: How often do you train in shooting? A.C.: I devote lots of time for shooting to the long-distances. Every Friday I drive to the shooting gallery where train on the distance 800 m. There is an opportunity to shoot at 1200 meters, and sometimes I shoot at this distance. But I’m interested in sighting shots with adjustment to the wind at a working mountain distance – 600-700 meters. A mountain hunter must shoot confidently at such distances. But! A very important part of training is shooting with hands in the standing position at 100 meters: 50 meters is the initial training, and 100 meters is the final one. This greatly affects the memorization of the muscles of their position when shooting, the correct interaction of the shoulder and elbow joints, the phalanges of the fingers. Such training will help when you’ll get the wounded animal, a close shot, and so on. A.M.: Are you sure that training in the shooting gallery will guarantee the accurate shot in the mountains? A.C.: Of course, not. The second point after a weapon that I had to work on was psychological preparation. A hunter who has trained in shooting at 300 meters goes first to some simple hunting, where he takes a good trophy at a distance of up to 300. Then he goes to the hunt where has to shoot on distances from 500m. The huntsman takes him to the place with the words "The trophy is beautiful and only 500 meters away, shoot". The hunter sees the excellent trophy but understands that he has never shot at such distances before. What had he does? He shots and misses. Then he fires again and again and misses each time. Later he analyzed the situation and thought that should have to make the correction on 10-12 not 8 clicks or to change something else. After returning to home the hunter went to the shooting gallery to train shooting at 400-500m and everything was well. Next year he went to the same sheep hunting, made the correction, calculated the trajectory of the bullet and ... missed. The reason was that he didn't take into account the fact that he didn’t shot at the target in the gallery but at the alive aim. The result of this excitement is - the stock, that was inserted incorrectly into the shoulder or the angle of the eye was not adjusted, the elbow rested uncomfortably on the stone. A professional is in full control of the situation and himself. He knows exactly how events will develop after the first shot and after the second. He’ll make all adjusts for the wind, for a haze and other things. It’s a very important correction for the haze! We always give an average correction for haze of 50-60 centimeters when shooting at 500m in the shooting gallery when passing the haze from right to left or from left to right, even without using a mirage tape. A shot at half a kilometer with a haze and a wind of 4-6 meters per second leads to a deviation of the bullet by an average of 40 centimeters. Then there is another such moment. After the first shot, the animal usually rushes away from the hunter (although sometimes it runs to the hunter if it is deceived by the echo). An inexperienced hunter doesn’t take into account that the distance increases instantly. I don't know why but nobody talks about it. It seems that the animal has run a little higher and to the left. But in reality, it has moved from 500 to 600 m and in several seconds it's in 800 m from the hunter. At that moment you should forget about clicks, not make any corrections and to shoot using the sighting grid. Thus, I got the ibexes that were running away and were in one km from me - I did two shots. I won't say that the hits has been exactly in the heart, but they stopped the animals, and I’ve got them. Good luck in the mountains accompanies those who know their weapons by heart to calculate the necessary changes quickly in their mind. You need to know and remember everything-from the types of brackets for installing the sight, the type of sight and sighting grids to the weight of bullets and the curves of their trajectories. I remember by heart what notches you need to focus on when shooting at targets that are different in distance. All of my carbines are aimed at 300 meters, and other distances are not only verified by clicks, but also by sighting grids. I don't look at the plates, not look for the right numbers – I remember all this better than the Multiplication Table. It is necessary to choose sights with good ballistic nets. It’s very important. A.M.: Long distances in the mountains involve the use of special gadgets… A.C.: I don't see anything terrible in this. I use the Horus ATrag embedded ballistic computer based on the Kestrel pocket weather station. The device helps the hunter to coordinate the shot in accordance with the wind and atmospheric pressure. You set the distance indicators, the angle of inclination, etc., and the device, will take into account the Coriolis force of the Earth and give out the correction that needs to be made for an accurate shot. Many mountain hunters use ballistic programs for androids and iPads, including Borisov's program iStrelok. Nightforce has also such programs. It's not difficult to calculate how to make the right shot with the usage of the correct reticle, the multiplicity of the sight, the mass of the bullet, the type of cartridge and a number of coefficients. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that calculators-computers do not replace the practice of shooting on a flat surface in a shooting range! It is important for the second or third shot at a moving animal. You must also understand such moments that you should shoot at a standing animal only. We actually see only the upper half of the torso when it lay, and the target is almost halved. A.M.: I know that you have tested the clothes of different companies in the mountains. What brand suits you more? A.C.: Today, I consider the American Kuiu to be the best brand. The "Cryptek" jackets are too soft. The Sitka company has cool clothes, but their top layer is quite hard, I call it "brittle". The fabric begins to rustle when you move your hands. Kuiu hasn’t such disadvantage. The fabric is soft, but at the same time dense and rough, well resistant to abrasion on stones. The usage of down jackets, and jackets with a thin thermal insulation layer gives lots of opportunities for their usage in a variety of weather conditions. There is such a moment. A light and spacious down jacket in very cold weather in the mountains will be better than a multi-layer heat-resistant jacket, because when you move in a multi-layer jacket, you start to get tired of this very multi-layer. These companies make clothes in which the main thing is protection from the cold by preserving heat. They focus mainly on the outer layers, while those layers of clothing that are in contact with the body play an equally role in the process of preserving heat. I take about thermal underwear, produced by other firms. I never meet effectively working thermal underwear produced by the companies that work in the field of hunting clothing. Therefore, I use thermal underwear designed for mountaineering. It actively removes moisture from the body, but the cost of a kit starts from 10K rubles. A.M.: A couple of words about boots... A.C.: Just a couple, because there is nothing to talk about for a long time. The main thing in shoes is a Vibram hard sole and ankle fixation. In summer time I often use half-boots, sneakers – they are lighter, and allows me to walk an extra 200-300 meters. Once again: the main thing is a hard sole. In the cold season, you need mountain alpine boots. I will add that good army knee pads are very convenient in the mountains. A.M.: How do you prepare for hunting in terms of physical and medical? A.C.: As for medicine, I always take blood pressure pills with me. And I use Diacarb – this is important. I start to take it even before the mountains. It’s obligatory to take it at altitudes above 3000 masl. One pill is enough for a day. I take it in the morning and feel well during a day. A gym and running are my best friends. Running shakes the heart muscle, walking on a machine with a steep angle of the track and an increased speed up to 7 kilometers shakes the legs – the quadriceps and biceps of the thigh, the ankle and the calf muscle. Plus - the breath. One hour per a day is enough. You can go up to the 9th floor each day if you don’t have the simulator. It helps to pump your heart muscle. Another option is an exercise bike under loads of 15-20 km per day. It trains both the heart muscle and the legs. A.M.: Do you get lucky more often on the hunt or vice versa? A.C.: It always happens in different ways. Sometimes you go to a distance of 100 meters and in the first hours of the first day of hunting you get a rare trophy. Sometimes I go back home without anything. Last year, we hunted with the Sadykov Swamp in Kyrgyzstan, and the whole hunt was unsuccessful – from the beginning to the end. It is necessary to show all your skills and to control your mental state in such a situation. A.M.: Mountain hunting is very exciting! Does this mean that all other hunts go to the back burner? A.C.: Not so. I continue to hunt wild boars and roe deer. I’d come back from Africa where I hunted with Egor Rogozin. It was a real adventure that I’d describe in my future report. A.M.: What is mountain hunting for you? A.C.: You see, there is such a word-destiny. Some people have a destiny to shoot ducks or wild boars all their lives. And it's also good. But if your destiny is to become the professional in mountain hunting, you'll open the new horizons and you will diversify your hunting world to the highest level of possibilities. You’ll greatly diversify the geography of hunting and the collection of trophies. It’s very important for me.

Luman Precision split quick-release rings for Weaver /Picatinny MIL-STD-1913 type bases are a product of interaction between Russian professional shooters and engineers of the highest class. The need for such a bracket has been realized for quite a long time, because it is hardly possible to find something more reliable and easy to install optics than rings on Weaver /Picatinny. The problem has always been the availability of available imported samples, which, even if they do not meet all the requirements of shooters, are inexpensive.  Most manufacturers can neglect such a basic parameter as alignment and until you put it, you will not know. And many hunters will never understand why there has not been not enough lateral corrections! Is the wind to blame? “There was some luck in this misfortune” - as one of the proverb says. The volatility of the ruble exchange rate and the imposed sanctions allowed the domestic product to enter the market. Luman Precision rings are alloy steel rings, fully milled on CNC machines from a single bar.  Such a technology and manufacturing material allow us to obtain the necessary structural rigidity and reliability of holding the STP when working with powerful calibers and heavy optics. In the lower part there is a stopper, carved from a single part (the competitors, make it usually a separate part). The stopper prevents the rings from shifting along the recoil vector, and its geometry allows you to install LP brackets on both Weaver and Picatinny bases. The rotary lock is spring-loaded and provides the ability to change the position of the flag and fix it in the desired direction, that eliminates the location that is not comfortable for the shooter. The reliability of the products was tested on the b .408CT rifles with a Nightforce NXS sight and 9.3x64 with a March sight. Testing showed 100% preservation of the STP within the accuracy of the weapon complex itself and the repeatability of hit points after removing the rings and installing them again. Nowadays models of the most popular dimensions are on sale The reliability and durability of the design are confirmed by a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer.

Ovis nivicola nivicola or Kamchatka snow sheep habitat on the Kamchatka peninsula. This is a fairly large and very cautious animal. Its strong body and legs allow it to move easily by the mountain ridges and rocks. Snow sheep mostly habitat in the Alpine and mountain zones. In early morning and in the evening, you can watch them on the small mountain meadows. They prefer to spend day hours on the rocks where they have rest. There are several or one warder in the herd that monitor the surroundings.  These peculiarities of the habitat and lifestyle of the snow sheep make hunting it quite difficult.  The ability to move perfectly on the rocks and skillfully hide in them lift the trophy of the snow sheep to the rank of one of the most honorable in the collection of a real trophy hunter.      I want to tell you about our hunting for Kamchatka snow sheep. Our team consisted of me, Gunar and Joseph. Gunnar was born in the family of hereditary Norwegian diplomats. His father was the current Norwegian Ambassador to Russia at that time. Later, I had the honor to meet their entire friendly family. Gunnar was a typical representative of his nation, tall, under 190cm tall, with blond hair, athletic build.        The second hunter was Joseph. The man of the world, as people call these guys. He studied and lived in England, then worked in Kazakhstan and Russia. Moreover, he constantly made flights around the globe. Joseph was of average height, was inclined to fatness, but especially for this mountain hunting, he did not leave the gym for three months to lose 10 kg of weight and prepare for hiking in the mountains.         A huge IL-96 carried a team consisting of three people, me and two hunters for eight and a half hours from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The cabin of this aircraft is quite spacious, which allows you to rest and sleep normally during the entire flight. But such a long stay even in such comfortable conditions as in a confined space of the cabin of the aircraft, does not contribute to normal rest. We left Moscow at 4.10 pm and arrived to Elizovo at 10am next day of the local time. The calm night was over and it was lucky if you managed to sleep at least a few hours.     Soon after landing the representative the local company met us at the airport, we loaded our luggage to the van and drove towards the hunting land. A chopper is the main transport that delivers trophy hunters to different hunting areas on Kamchatka. It’s hard to use the other kinds of transport because of the difficult landscape and the features of the plant world of Kamchatka. Such areas are the habitats of very cautious animals – Kamchatka, snow sheep.      After some time we took the guide Nikolay and our cook Olga and flew on MI-2 to the place where the second guides had to wait for us. To our disappointment we didn't find the guy on the place though everything was discussed with our guide Sasha - the local tracker before the flight.   Sasha was that guy who was responsible for the organization of the trip for Gunnar and Joseph. We had nothing to do but to land in the place, pointed by GPS.  The landing site looked like a beautiful flat emerald plateau from above, from the helicopter's cockpit. After the landing the rich Kamchatka vegetation met us “warmly”. The grass was higher than the chopper. We unloaded our luggage and the helicopter flew away and left us to feed the midges and numerous mosquitoes. There were so many of them that we could hardly talk to each other because each time when you opened the mouth, there was a chance to eat one of them. We had to get mosquito nets and repellents from my luggage. The special pleasure was stones of different sizes hidden in the grass. We should set tents and to move on the territory of our future camp that was a problem because of them. Our camp consisted of 3-4 tents. One tent was a kitchen and a canteen, all others were for hunters and guides.         Tents should be set on the flat place and safely fixed. But it was almost impossible to do on the place where we turned out that's why we managed to camp everything on the very small spot. It was especially difficult to fasten the side and front support ropes, because to pull them and fix them in the ground with a peg, it was necessary to work very hard to find this land. There was an impression that the abundant vegetation that surrounded us grew right on the rocks, and there were big problems with the ground here. Such are the mountains in Kamchatka! At last, we fixed the tents on tripwires and to safe them, thus, from wind and heavy rain. But it was still necessary to update the tension daily due to the looseness of the soil.  We "cleaned up" the camp territory, removed a significant part of the stones and put them on the bottom of the awnings of our tents for better fixation from the wind.       Soon our cook Olya has already invited for dinner.  We had dinner and went to sleep. Usually, we plan everything from the evening, but it had no sense to do it there with such a changeable climate as in Kamchatka. The plan for a day was better to make in the morning. The night was quite restless, and we slept fitfully because of the time difference and some uncertainty.      The morning started at 7 am.  We got up with great difficulty and felt broken. There was tension in the camp. We still didn’t have the second guide. Nothing was clear with weather.   Fog covered us from time to time, sometimes it was even with rain.   But we all went to have breakfast. We needed it. We decided to climb in any case while we're having breakfast and discussing the situation. Otherwise, why did our guests come?  When the fog lifted and we could see the mountains. We were ready to go. Our promptness was the product of preparing for this hunt for several months. We discussed lots of times during those months what we should take to the mountains and what clothes to put on.  That's why we packed everything very quickly and were ready. Nikolai, our only guide at that time quickly got his bearings on the terrain and chose a route that the hunters could go. I had to act as a second guide. We divided into two groups. Gunnar went with Nikolay. Gunnar wasn't an experienced hunter and didn’t hunt in the mountains before but he was in a good physical form as the most representatives of that small Scandinavian country.        I went with Joseph. It's very important for the hunter to be with the experienced local guide who knows the features of the definite hunting. He feels more confident and is able to accomplish much more than without such support.        We were going. Our group crossed the river near the camp and began to ascend. It’s better to explore and to hike in the Kamchatka mountains along the river’s or creek's beds. There is at least solid soil, consisted of stones of various calibers with solid thickets of vegetation from both sides. This is both low grass, and higher grass, and “puchka" (the local name of the umbrella plant, which we usually called for some reason "bear's pipe"), and shrubs of various heights and abundance of thorns on the trunks.  You just need to add to this a cloud of insects, sincerely delighted with our appearance in this wild land, a great humidity and the situation of our ascent will be approximately clear. All that green mass surrounding us was full of moisture and with a generosity that knows no boundaries, it willingly shared it with us. If we hadn't the special pants from the rain suit, then we became wet after 10 minutes of walking. The climbing was steep. Sometimes we had to step, almost by touch. Though all of us had good boots we fell on the rocks from time to time. It was hard to hike without poles (the special sticks used for the walking in the mountains). But we still overcame these stone-vegetative Kamchatka "jungles" and got to the height of the alpika, where there is not so much vegetation anymore. Gunnar was in the excellent form and he and Nikolay went ahead. I had to wait for Joseph to prevent him to lose the breath following us. One time when I made a stop waiting for Joseph, I noticed Nikolay and Gunnar also stopped and discussed something but soon I saw them moving. I did not pay any significance to the fact of confusion, but soon realized what caused it, and found myself in the same situation. It turned out that Gunnar inadvertently stepped on a nest of wild bees.  They immediately rushed at the "offender" and gave him several bites in the head and neck. He suffered from a congenital allergy to bee stings, suffered very badly from the effects of bee venom. After the bites, he began to have swelling in his throat. Thank God, everything ended well.         I suddenly found myself next to the same nest but didn't know what happened with my friends before. I didn't pay much attention to the bustle of insects over a certain place and sat down to rest near it. I could hardly imagine that there was their nest that they will protect at the cost of their lives. My first though when I looked to that side was: “It was strange. They are too big for the flies. Why do they hover over one place?". And ... immediately paid for that mistake. As soon as I sat down, I immediately received one bite in the head and one in the neck. Immediately the whole situation became clear, cause-and-effect thinking told me that it was better to be away from this place. I jumped back about twenty meters like a bullet, leaving my backpack.         Since we don't talk loudly in the mountains for precautionary reasons, I managed to make it clear to Joseph with gestures that it was better for him to avoid this place far away. And he did. A "pleasant" burning sensation in the bite sites and small swelling did not prevent me from continuing my journey, after I had won my backpack from wild bees.       The ability to endure is one of the qualities that a real mountain hunter should possess (or acquire it).  It was hard to breath, the backpack was heavy, sweat floods the eyes and flies and midges tried to go into my mouth! But we should have to go on climbing. The hunter doesn’t know where is the end point of this endless way, but it is necessary to go, otherwise he will not be able to reach his goal and get a trophy The weight of our equipment was about 10-15 kg. I’m always lucky than other members of the hunting group because have to carry video and photo equipment. It is often a great hindrance. I have to sacrifice a place in my backpack for all this, but for the sake of beautiful shots and interesting videos, I’m ready for it.          One more very important detail. It's always hot when you are climbing. You are sweating, but then the new test waits for you on the top. This is the ability to keep warm in cold winds. The higher you climb, the colder it becomes, and winds becomes stronger.  If you have got sweat and your clothes become wet, the next problem is that you become cold not hot. The ability to dress properly on mountain hunts is another key to success. Modern technologies for the production of hunting clothing allow you to choose the necessary "wardrobe". The obligatory things are thermal underwear, trousers and a jacket with a membrane that will not allow the wind and cold to penetrate inside and cool your body. A warm sweater and gloves are mandatory, even in the summer heat, but when you are in the camp. It's always cold on the top and a wind is blowing. It’s always better to have extra pair of wool socks. The good equipment helped us to change easily from hot and humid mode to cold and wind mode.      And here was the first halt. We sat down on a small intermediate ridge only after we were sure that sheep would not be able to see us from either side. The fog began to lift from the bottom of the gorge. It is a fascinating sight to watch the clouds rise up the valley from below, and you are standing above them. But we were more alarmed than happy about it. Visibility reduces in such weather. We took of from the backpacks our second breakfast and ate it then changed the part of the clothes and went on climbing the next ridge. In an hour we reached the highest ridge from where we were going to monitor the places of sheep inhabitant. The climbing took us 3.5 hours.  After we had conquered that peak, all the mountains around were finally covered with a thick fog and it was dangerous to move around because it was possible to stumble and fly down.  Nikolai wanted to reconnoiter the area, but he did not succeed. We decided just to wait. The moisture settled on the clothes in small drops. We chose a more or less suitable place to keep warm and relax, curled up like wild animals, and so spent about an hour. I guessed that we looked funny but it got us the opportunity to restore your strength.        Time was passing but the fog did not dissipate. We discussed the situation and agreed to go down because it had not sense to stay in the mountains. Moreover, it was even dangerous. So, the weather canceled all our plans. We wasted time and strength.      The descent is not always easier than the ascent. Sometimes it is vice versa. One of the hunters doubted the correctness of our route to the camp. It was quite possible because it is very difficult to navigate because the heavy fog. But we went the right course and came to the camp in two hours.      There was a small mountain river with crystal-clear and very cold water not far from the camp.  I never miss an opportunity to wash and relieve fatigue with the life-giving moisture given to us by nature. We made a stop near the river. I threw off my backpack and pressed my lips to the cool spring. Then I washed. The guys followed my example. I always try to dip my feet in the cold water. It gives me a lot to restore physical strength. There are many receptors on the legs, and the work of internal organs depend on them. The massage that you get while walking on small stones helps to normalize the work of the whole body. The contrast of cold water after a strenuous walk in the mountains, when your legs almost burn, relieves fatigue and improves the functioning of blood vessels and blood supply to the body as a whole. After such baths, it is necessary to wipe your feet dry and rub them with a coarse cloth or immediately put on dry wool socks. A feeling of bliss immediately spreads through the body and fatigue goes away. A delicious dinner and a warm sleeping bag under the shade of the tent awning waited for us in the camp.      The second night did not become better for us. A cyclone came with rain and strong wind. One of the tents started leaking then the wind tore out the rope of the side extension, and we had to fixed it immediately because otherwise the tent weakened in one place would cause a weakening of the overall tension and further leaks. We only dreamed of peace.      The next morning didn't bring any special changes in the weather. We ate and tried to sleep. Sasha didn't find us. As it turned out later, he was very close to us. We heard he fired several times and shot in response to attract his attention. Nikolai fired several shots, but due to the bad wind rose and heavy rain, Sasha did not hear us that time. He didn't find us until the next day.      The next morning was just as rainy and foggy and did not portend a clear day. We were completely cut off from civilization and couldn't know the weather forecast because of the broken satellite phone. To pass the time after breakfast, we started to watch videos about hunting that I had shot earlier. Gunnar went to the tent to read a book.        Joseph and I was watching the movie about bear hunting when Gunnar came into the canteen and said that the clouds lifted and he saw sheep and wanted to hunt. We were taken aback by the surprise of this turn of events. We exchanged glances and decided that Gunnar would go hunting alone with Nikolay.  Joseph and I took a drink of alcohol while watching the movie. There is nothing to do in the mountains after that. It's hard to hike there when you are in a good form but even a small dose of 50 grams can really hurt you! We stayed in the camp.         So, we helped Gunnar and Nikolay to get ready and watched them slowly dissolve into the green sea of Kamchatka vegetation. The rain almost stopped, the clouds were just above the mountains, and we could see a small herd of sheep that grazed on the slopes in the line of sight from us. There were two worthy trophies, we could see them through the binoculars. Suddenly Sasha appeared from nowhere. He was wet and tired but happy to see us, same we were. It was great to gather together. He was ready to lead the hunter to the sheep which he was following last two weeks before our arrival. Olga fed him and we began to watch the sheep and our hunters' movements.              It is always interesting to see the whole process of hunting. Especially when you are in the camp It's like in a huge movie theater, only even more interesting, because this theater is called Nature. Sheep were calmly grazing on one of the slopes. At last, we saw how the hunters began to approach the sheep. They bypassed the herd from below, and came out above the group on a small ridge because of the wind and the convenience of shooting. Those were weary minutes of waiting, merged into one long tension, in which only the final moment was missing.         A booming shot rang out, and echo went for a walk along the nearby gorges. We exchanged glances. The silent pause lasted for several moments. It was difficult to understand if Gunnar hit it or not.   But there wasn't’ more shots. We analyzed the situation and the approximate distance of the shot. It wasn't long. He had a good carbine cal. 300 Win. Mag.   With a good bullet and an excellent sight Leupold.   All this allowed us to assume that the trophy was obtained.  Then we saw how Gunnar and Nikolay went towards the ridge where the sheep were. Then they went down, and we didn't see them for a long time afterwards.         As we expected, Gunnar got a beautiful trophy! It's was evident why they delay to go back to the camp because it was necessary to remove the skin and butcher the ram. They returned at half past nine, exhausted, but their eyes shined with happiness on tired faces. None of the mountain hunts is easy. When the trophy is got, any difficult path becomes much easier.         We immediately hugged and congratulated the hunter on such an honorable, well-deserved trophy.  Hot tea, revived our guys. Despite the late hour, I was forced to cook a steak in Tatar style. The guides know well how I cook it and always ask to cook it when we have fresh meat. I didn't even try to refuse, despite the late time, and it was already about 11.30 pm and immediately got down to business.  Everything was ready in 20-25 minutes. Raw meat passed through a meat grinder with the addition of the simplest ingredients: egg yolk, onion, lemon and vegetable oil, salt and pepper. The table was set in a matter of minutes. We celebrated the beautiful trophy got by our first hunter and, as usual, drank a little "on the blood".  There was no sense to sit up late because we had one more hunter who was ready to hunt. The weather improved a little, and we needed to take advantage of the moment. We saw from the camp, and Gunnar and Nikolai confirmed that the other sheep did not go far.      That was the first night when we slept without noise accompaniment on the roof of the tents. It didn't rain at night. My heart felt a little lighter.  All this time, I was burdened with tension and worried about bad weather, lack of communication and other small things that made up our life.      The morning of a new day. There was a spiritual uplift in the camp. Everything was done quickly, without fuss thanks to the experienced staff, who clearly knew when, how, where and what needed to be done. After breakfast we pack all necessary equipment and moved to the area where the sheep were seen last time. Our group consisted of Joseph - our hunter, the local guide Alex and me. It’s normal when the hunter is accompanied by two guides, it makes the group to work more effectively in the hunting area. One of our guides goes to explore the neighboring ridge or gorges, and another one must always and under any circumstances stay with the hunter.  This is the unspoken ethics of guides.      That time, we had to walk along the bed of the stream closest to us. The abundant vegetation reached to the waist, and sometimes completely hid us. Sometime it was even hard to step because we couldn’t see the ground under our feet. The abundance of stones keeps you in constant tension, and you go almost "by touch". A hiking pole helps a lot in such situations.  You can always lean on it in difficult moments, drag yourself through the thickets or jump over a stream, using it as a pole.         It was stuffy and very humid weather. Myriads of midges and other blood-sucking insects were constantly circling around your face, trying to get into your eyes, ears, mouth or nose. Sometimes it was impossible to just breathe so that they didn't get into your mouth.  Repellents practically didn’t work or they were not enough for a long time because sweat immediately washed them off. None of us wanted to put on the mosquito screen because it was difficult to see the path that was already difficult to pass. We had no choice but to have to endure all this buzzing and squeaking camarilla. The only hope was that the higher we would climb the less of them would be there. And we knew for sure that they didn’t live on the heights where sheep inhabited.         But it was not so easy to pass through rocks, bushes and clouds of midges. Each of us managed to inhale some representative of a huge flying armada into his mouth or nose. We breathed through the mouth when climbing that's why midges or mosquitoes with a midge got there. Most often they stopped in the larynx. And we could feel it well inside of the throat.   We stopped several times when on of us tried to clear your throat and spit this stuff out of his mouth. We were literally turning inside out.           During one of those stops, we saw Nikolai, who was not supposed to go with us that day, but for some reason unknown to us at that time turned out to be not far from us. He gestured to wait for him. We used that opportunity to have snacks and sat down in the small spot between two bushes which was blown by the wind. Nikolay joined us. He looked like a tired horse, because he was running after us all the way to say that the sheep moved to the side and we didn’t need to follow the plan we discussed in the camp.          After breakfast that I didn't eat, (prefer to climb with an empty stomach) we went on ascending. I never drink when climbing but don’t urge anyone to do the same. Each physiological organism is individual. What I have developed over decades of walking in the mountains under heavy loads can serve another person poorly. Listen to your body! The only thing that I allow myself during prolonged ascents is a sip of water and a little chocolate or dried apricots. Nuts are very undesirable, despite the fact that they contain a lot of calories. They take a very long time to digest and fall heavily on the stomach. The optimal climbing mode for me consists of tacking, where it's possible.             That time we did short stops to take a breath. After reaching the top of the ridge we made a stop to fuel the lost calories.   Sometimes it's not possible and you are forced to go on the stock that you already have inside. The animals that live in the mountains are extremely cautious and the slightest noise or smell of food can alert them. And the consequences of this are unpredictable. You can simply cancel all the efforts to climb to the height where the animals live.        The place where the sheep were grazing at that time was a series of rocky ridges, between which there were small meadows with sparse vegetation. They prefer to pasture on such meadows.   Success in such circumstances depends on many factors-both objective and subjective. If the sheep are located on the very top of one of the ridges, and the distance to it from another ridge is 500 meters or more, then you will only have to contemplate these animals. Any careless movement of yours will be immediately noticed by the watch sheep in the herd, and they will evaporate like fog. You can either wait for the hunting fortune, when the sheep descend from the ridge into the gorge, and you can make a shot, or strain yourself and make another attempt to get around the animals to be above them.          In our situation we tried to do the second variant. We approached the place where Nikolai saw sheep for the last time but we did not find them there. I exchanged glances with the guides, and we understood each other. We should have to go under the highest rock in these mountains.         We’d hiked two hours already by the very rough and very steep terrain. It was seen that it was hard for Joseph. If you wanted to see the place where we had to go out, it was necessary to raise the head so that the hat flied off. And It’d take not less than 1,5- 2 hours more. It was necessary to walk on the stones and at the same time it was impossible to allow the slightest noise.         The only thing that helped was that we had to move along a rocky gorge, that somewhat hid the sound from movement. Our team had worked out the entire climb so smoothly that, as we could go into exploration with such people.         We agreed that Sasha would go ahead and monitored the terrain. Nikolay would follow us.  I was constantly going between Nikolai and Joseph, or went a little ahead in order to have time to shoot a video. I was glad that I learned to walk on any landscape almost without sound. Even on the dry fallen leaves. This ability came with years and experience of hunting in different climatic zones and at different altitudes. The experience of walking in the mountains, on the rocks without insurance, when there was only one way – up, was useful to me. You wouldn't be able to go down the same slope on your own.          We walked and talked only with our eyes or in extremely low whispers.  Soon we began to understand our sign language and understood each other by the slightest movement of our eyes.  The guides took care not to make a noise to the animal. I tried to find the easiest way for our hunter and did it without noise. We decided to climb with the max tempo. It was necessary not to lose sheep. By the method of elimination, we determined that they could be in the gorge under the highest rocks, to which we were just heading.      The ascent became harder for Joseph with each step. But he continued to go. Tt was already the fourth hour of climbing through a very difficult mountain landscape. I often looked to his eyes and calmed because there wasn’t detachment, which indicates an excessive physical overload of the body. This is often observed among city-hunters who are not used to heavy loads. Sometimes it just threatens the whole process of hunting. One of the most difficult mountain hunts by foot are hunting for tur in the Caucasus and in Kamchatka for snow sheep. Rare hunters can overcome such mountains. And sheep don't go down!  I trained him for this hunt for several months. He even gave up smoking. And started going to the gym intensively. He lost 10kg weight. And all that gave the result.      The weather had changed. On the top, as it should be, a strong, cold wind blew. When we went out to the supposed area of the "attack", we needed to be insulated already.  We began to wear sweaters and windproof jackets. After that, they began to move even more carefully and more slowly. We sent Sasha to the edge of the ridge to scout. He began to inspect the gorge, then jumped back sharply, pressed himself into the ground, crawled away from the edge. I guessed the sheep were there. Sasha confirmed this with a nod and pointed in the direction where the sheep were grazing. Sasha's work at this stage was completed. Nikolay and Joseph crawled to the edge of the ridge. I followed them with the camera.         I have to say that hunting is difficult but to make video is even harder. From the one hand you must not interfere the hunter to make a shot. But from the other, you try to capture everything that happens on video, and at the same time you should not unmask the guide and the hunter with your actions and not scare the animals.  And this is the same whole science. You always strive to shoot the whole process so that you have a hunter, an animal, and a shot, as the culmination of the long efforts of the whole team.       I have a very negative attitude to staged shots, when everything is removed after the animal is taken. The hunter and his shot are filmed separately. And only then the animal. This is completely absurd. You don’t need to climb the mountains to movie it!       Another thing is if you may not be able to shoot. It's like hunting, that is not successful every time. The cameraman has the only chance to make the real video. How he does it depends only on his skill and ... on luck! Sometimes the technique also fails. As it happened with me that time. We crawled to the edge of the ridge where Joseph could shoot, my camera was switched on all the time. Nikolay said to him where the male stood, he took the shooting position and began to aim. At that time, I was trying to catch both a male and a hunter in the camera lens.  I looked into the visor and was horrified Since everything was blurred in the camera. As it turned out later, the camera automatically focused on the image that was closer to the viewfinder at a certain moment. The camera was focused on the ground because we crawled most of the time. Therefore, the automation could not sharpen properly, when I raised the camera to make the shot, there was no clarity of the image. I should move the transfocator in order for the automation to start working.        But I didn’t it at that moment. When I was frantically trying to catch a sheep male in the visor, the shot echoed through the gorge. Two sheep were in 170 m from us. And both ran to the opposite ridge. One of the them that was bigger ran behind the rock and disappeared.   Nicholas asked Joseph in perplexity: “What did you do?” He thought that he missed.  Joseph assured him that he aimed and shot to the male, pointed by Nikolay. Everyone was at a loss. The guide thought that the hunter had missed the hunter couldn’t understand why the animal he was shooting disappeared behind a rock. Joseph was sure that he hit it.        The slight confusion passed quickly. We went back to hunting. The camera began to work as it should be. Nikolay wasn't sure that the first male was hit and commanded to shoot the second one.   At that moment, the second ram came out on the opposite ridge and froze, resting his front legs on one of the stones. Its silhouette was clearly visible to the hunter and us. I was making movie.   An exciting sight!  The snow sheep with good trophy horns froze at a distance of 200 from us. The discouraged hunter has already decided to shoot clearly on the spot and aims a little longer than the first time. The Shot! We heard the slap of a bullet on the body of the ram. The ram stumbled slightly and rushed down. Nikolay shouted: “Shoot one more time!”. But it was late, the male disappeared from sight.         Few seconds passed. Silence. We looked to each other. That time everything was captured on video. As it always happened after such a tense pause, a heated discussion of what happened began. It turned out that Joseph clearly aimed the first male and fired quickly because the sheep were already moving in the opposite direction from us and could hide behind the rocks. He was absolutely sure that hit the first male by the first shot. But he couldn't understand why it he left without even twitching and without breaking his step, as if he had not been injured. Nikolay saw the male was running away and commanded to fire to the second one. We all were sure that Joseph hit the second one and the male was deadly wounded. It remained only to understand the current situation.         We packed our equipment. Sasha and I went faster just in case while Nikolay stayed with the hunter for a safety net. We moved to the opposite ridge. There were only some 300-350 meters to go, but there were no "some" in the mountains, especially in the rocks. Our path went through the talus. Those flat stone can start to flow under your feet in any moment when you don't wait for it. Sasha went ahead of me. I followed him. In 6-8 minutes, we were on the opposite side.   And made a stop on a small stop. Then we looked around. We saw that on the right side of the ridge, the stones in one place were heavily stained with blood. And it was the direction where our first ram went. We had a hope that the big ram, which Joseph shot the first, would also be found. I looked into a small canyon on the left side of us and noticed a lying male It was definitely the one that Joseph shot at second. My heart was relieved. We told the hunter that found the one ram. Joseph was pleased, but he could not show his feelings, because was in a very dangerous part of the path at that moment.        Then we stepped right and found more blood there.    There were the same rocks, only stones were larger, that added danger. We learned to our poles and went down.   I did just five steps when noticed in 50 m from us behind the huge rock, the first male. It was died.  We were extremely happy. And told our guys about the second trophy. They were still going through the “floating stones”. The joy was marked with restrained exclamations, because it was impossible to relax for a minute. It took them not less than 20 minutes to cross those 300 meters.        I used that time to make video. You begin to consciously enjoy the beauty of the mountains only when the main goal of the whole group is fulfilled. The trophy was got and we all were alive and safe. I looked around and saw that Kamchatka nature showed us beautiful mountains and abysses with rivers that flowed into them. I could hardly describe what we felt at those moments after such a difficult ascent, and after we had all completed a single task together? Only there I could appreciate the harsh beauty made by nature.      As far as Joseph reached the safe area, his triumphant cry rang out between the rocks. He was absolutely happy! He climbed the mountain at the end of the Earth and got two nice trophies.       But we had to go down to the trophies.  There was a pile of huge stones where we had to go down.  But we hadn’t choice because it was the only way to the trophies. I had to move faster to make video how the hunter went to the trophy.     Joseph struggled through huge boulders while approaching his final goal. His triumphant exclamation was heard a few steps before the trophy. That gorge still remember his feelings. The first male was really good.  Its horns' length was about 90 sm by Nikolay’s estimation. But the base of the horns (the girth at the base) was very large.  They say about such trophies that they are the trophy of life! The second one was smaller but it was the worthy trophy too.      We did our best to make pictures of hunter with his trophies. Nikolay and Sasha carried the second ram to the first. I was trying to find the most advantageous angle for photographing and shooting a film.  Finally, all these procedures were completed. Good pictures were taken and I interviewed the hunter about his impressions after the end of the hunt and how did he like the process when we were looking for trophies.  The guides butchered the trophies, packed them and we went back.      Some people think that a descend is easier than to climb the mountain. But most often it isn't so. The terrain through which we had to descend was a very steep descent. Even small parts were dangerous. The foot could slip from any careless step, and we could roll down. Sometimes we even didn’t see where to step because of the steepness of the slope. We were literally groping our way down. The poles helped a lot. I always advice to use the poles in the mountains.      It was hot and we all were thirsty but had not water, the only reward was the crystal water of one of the mountain streams, we saw from above, but we still had to reach.      But any the most difficult path ends at some point. We reached the stream that had to lead us to camp. A few sips of life-giving moisture, a little rest and we were on our way again.  In an hour we left alpika and reached the vegetation zone.   The diversity of the plant world has changed dramatically. The colors have become more saturated. My attention could not help but be attracted by the small red flowers and dazzling white moss that are memorable for their inconspicuous beauty. I was a little late and fell behind the group in order to capture these creations of nature on photos and videotape.       In twenty minutes I joined the team, and we continued our difficult journey to the camp. We had to walk for about two more hours along the stream over rocks and among thickets of grass and bushes.  Nikolai's backpack was so heavy that sometimes he skidded so that he could barely stand on his feet.  We all were tired but happy to come back to the camp where we could have rest and eat hot dinner.      Several months of preparation, a long flight from Moscow to Kamchatka; a drop into the camp; an unsuccessful ascent on the first day of hunting; a tedious inactivity in the camp due to heavy rain, and then ... Four hours up through the bushes and on steep slopes; four hours down the same way and ... 10 seconds for two shots!  It was what hunting for a snow sheep in Kamchatka was. P.S. It is hard to go to the mountains, it is even harder to climb steep mountains. It is even more difficult to lead a person who goes to the mountains for the first time. It also adds complexity to the fact that you are in a team, and all of us together should not create noise so that the beast does not notice us. But you still have to manage to make video and take photos of the places that we pass. But you're a human being, too. A person, as you know, is not made of iron, but consists of blood and flesh, which tends to get tired of overexertion. And that's why it's hard for me, too. But I love my work precisely because I always have the opportunity to overcome all the difficulties and adversities and climb to the top of the ridge together with the team and to feel a sense of pride that not only, I were able to overcome all the difficulties of mountain climbing, but also contributed to the hunter, who have be able to go such a difficult way up and make an accurate shot.

THE GREAT SEVEN and THE MOUNTAIN FIVE - these two nominations of Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz were the most prestigious hunting awards when The Cryztal Cup of the CMH haven’t established and today, their importance has not decreased at all. I haven't the Siberian Ibex in my collection - one of the fifth animals needed to qualify for the "Mountain Five". That’s the reason why I was going to Gorny Altai - to hunt there. I'd been there many times but as a tourist and didn’t have the opportunity to hunt. Probably I chose the wrong time - the end of September beginning of October but two of our leading hunting companies didn't suggest me any interesting variants. All the Stalker Group company offers were with the night in the fly camp. I was afraid that night in such camp at the beginning of October would be fraught with unpredictable consequences. I shouldn't forget about my asthma that surprised me at the most inopportune moment, that's why I refused without any doubts. "ProfiHunt" also withdrew from the game after several negotiations. As a result, I had to contact my friends and find out through them how to implement my plans on my own. It is clear that in such cases there is more risk and it is better to assemble a team of several hunters. This was done successfully on the one hand – I found three people, who turned out, had dreamed of such a trip all their lives but on the other hand - two of them refused in a month and the last one was doubting all the time and decided to go on dreaming only in the last moment. I flied alone. I’m sure that people say that should have alerted me! Apparently, I am not one of them – I was not alerted… I was also not alarmed by the fact that when approaching Gorno-Altaysk, when I was about to take a relaxed breath and imagined how I would soon get off the plane, how I would be met, how we would get into the car and rush towards adventures, suddenly the chief pilot of the plane made an announcement in the sense that we would have to wait for landing. He told the stunned passengers the following: due to the unpreparedness of the landing strip, the plane will land in... Novosibirsk. It happened that a three-month norm of precipitation of snow fell in Gorno-Altaysk. I do not undertake to convey the feelings of other passengers but I had an unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach. The fact was that I proceeded from the calculation of 5 + 2 when purchased tickets. I was going to hunt 5 days plus 2 days for the road. But fate has already decided otherwise in Moscow – the schedule in Gorno-Altaysk has changed, because of the low workload, since October 1, planes began to fly not daily, but three times a week. I had to make a sacrifice, and instead of seven days for everything, it turned out to be six. Now I had to adjust this logistics in the direction of reducing the number of days allotted for hunting (although at that time I did not know how much I would have to adjust). We spent six hours in Novosibirsk waiting when they’d clean the runway in Gorno-Altaysk and then flew. Instead of 5 am, we were on the place only by noon and almost immediately went to Kosh-Agach. We had to drive about 450 km by the famous Chuysky tract. The road of federal significance was paved and very good quality. It took us 9 hours to drive because of ice, endless treacherous turns, to collide head-on with an oncoming car on which it was not difficult. Kosh-Agach and beyond. The village of Kosh-Agach is located in a unique place - in the intermountain basin, thanks to which it is tightly closed from the influences of the Atlantic by the main watershed of the Altai Mountains. This fact is the main reason for the very harsh, sharply continental climate here. Just imagine: the absolute maximum temperature recorded by the weather station was +38 °C, and the absolute minimum was -62 °C. That is, the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures is 100 degrees! Even in summer, there is a constant possibility of night frosts. saw flat-roofed houses for the first time in my life in Kosh-Agach. There is practically no rain or snow here, and therefore there is no need in roofs with slopes. The number of sunny days in a year exceeds 300! In my opinion, there is simply no other such place in Russia. It’s clear why the largest solar power plants in Russia and the only power plant in the Altai Republic was built there two years ago. Its capacity is 10 MW. Kosh-Agach is a small town or a large village (about 8000 inhabitants), but it is interesting because all the "threads" of the Silk Road are intertwined in it. The Mongolian border is in 65 kilometers from Kosh-Agach, near China, Kazakhstan. Here the Central Asian Babylon was formed, in which, in addition to the Altaians, many Kazakhs, Chinese, Russians, and Mongols live. You feel it when get to the local market. All kinds of ceramics, products made of yak wool, camels are sold here… The next day we went to the village of Belyashi (in any case, this name is used in official documents and the pass is also called. Belesh is translated from Altai as "a small saddle in the mountains"). The locals call the village in their own way – Jazator. Apparently, by the name of the right tributary of the Argut.    The village is located in the valley of this Jazator, surrounded by the spurs of the Yuzhno-Chuysky ridge. To the south of the village, behind the mountain ranges, there is the Ukok plateau, famous in terms of archaeological finds. From Kosh-Agach to Belyashi is only 140 km, which took us... 7 hours! We overcame three passes, but they were not the main obstacle. The road there was of local importance, and the precipices along its edges would have impressed the most indifferent person. Belyashi, as it turned out, was not the end point of the path. There were still about 40 kilometers to the hunting place. By that time, I had figured out the situation and did not deceive myself with such an insignificant figure – 40 kilometers. As the well-known song says, the premonitions did not deceive him. Those 40 km took us 6 hours! Ascents, passes, turns on serpentines – I have already managed to get used to all this. The new thing was the permanent fear for life. I'm sitting at my desk and don’t believe that it's happened with me. There is a sheer cliff on the left, on the right there is a bottomless abyss, and the width of the road just corresponds to the width of the car. The sensations there were much more lively. From time to time, a question arose in my head that took my breath away: AND IF THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC, WHAT THEN? In two days, we crossed Chyisky steppe along which, as in Mongolia, you can go without any road, if it were not for the snow with enviable constancy. No less desperate snow and cold waited for us in the mountains. And suddenly some magic happened – the car drove into the Argut Valley, where the golden autumn was still raging with contrasting colors! The word "Altai "from the Mongolian language is translated as "gold-bearing". We were immediately surrounded by a fabulous beauty – a blue, clear sky, larch trees in fluffy gold needles, liquid crystal of rivers running over stones... I can hardly convey the feeling of quiet delight in words! The camp seemed quite acceptable to me – a yurt, a table, bunks and a stove in it. What else do you need for a couple of days of camping life (and we still had three more days to hunt and a day to return)? We arrived, settled down and brought water. We discussed how to hunt when having dinner. The problem was that a huntsman was supposed to wait for us in Belyashy. He had to scout out where we can find ibexes there, and thus save us time. If it was so, three days was enough. But he wasn't there. He got the vacation and went for another hunting with other hunters. So, we needed to waste time looking for the animals. But this is not all the misfortunes. There should have been horses near the yurt. They are there almost all year round on free grazing, they are not tied to a peg but at that time they also got the vacation as the huntsman. But only the one horse left. I have repeatedly read that some small, hardy horses are used in the Altai Mountains and in general in the Asian part of Russia. The one I saw (and then all the others) was quite an ordinary, tall horse. But, as life had shown, it was quite capable of moving on steep mountains. I must admit that the local horses made a very favorable impression on me. At dinner, we decided to do it this way: I would ride a horse, and they would walk. We should climb the mountains and try to look for the ibex. Let's hope for the luck! After a while, one of our team members found some strange horses and offered to use them, which was gladly accepted by the whole company. I could only shrug my shoulders – maybe that's the way it was here? By the way about horses. I knew one thing in that trip. the horse inflates the stomach when you tighten the girth, so that the girth does not press so much later. The experienced Altaians wait for some time, and then tighten the girth again. There were many unexpected discoveries that can be useful in a camping life. The Time Machine. By this time, I got used to what was happening around me, and even tried to warn one negative moment. We were not going to hunt for a bear or a tiger, but on a herbivorous, safe animal for humans, but all four guys from our team took carbines. I asked if they were going to hunt with me? And heard that it was possible. It meant that all their knowledge about trophy hunting were like in the Soviet Union when the client meant nothing and they all have the same right for a shot. This is quite understandable – they live here in the same way as in the first half of the last century. The light in the village is given for three hours in the evenings – a generator running on imported diesel fuel is turned on. A mobile store comes to them according to the schedule, that brings bread, flour, salt, matches, sugar. The extraction of wild meat is in the order of things for them and every Altai citizen goes outside the village with a carbine. I means that animals there are afraid of people - what we soon managed to make sure of-all ibexes (regardless of gender and age), as soon as they saw a person, disappeared from view at the speed of the wind. There is a nature reserve in the area that is protected, while the rest of the territory is available for year-round hunting. By default, the law of nepotism applies, no one fines anyone and does not catch poaching. I could hardly call the poaching by this word because for them it is a way of survival in local, very harsh conditions. For dinner they cooked the boiled sheep stomach with its fat. Then it was intertwined with pigtails and fried. Very high-calorie food. In Siberia, I remember, the colostrum of a calved cow cooked and ate with spoons. The mammary glands of all mammals secrete a secret that is rich of fat and vitamins before and immediately after childbirth. And here colostrum is dried, and this product feeds a traveling Altaian all day. Another interesting meal – one of the guides ate crushed roasted barley. These technologies of food preparation have been passed down here from generation to generation for centuries. All these products are energy-intensive, easy to store and just light. If you add green tea, which the Altaians drink, it becomes clear why they do not really need bread, butter and other pemmicans, without which the polar explorers of the past did not think of their great trips to the Arctic. It will have sense to say about the endurance of the Altaians, which, if I understand correctly, shortens their life. There were two people with us who stayed the night in the snow, under a cedar tree. One is forty-eight, the other is under thirty. They had not tents, stoves, nothing. They just made a felt mat, make a fire and lied down on the cat in sleeping bags. When the ambient temperature was -12 degrees. Such an extreme for them is the norm, but as a result, the life expectancy of the Altaians is small. The hunt has began! The next day came, and the typical mountain hunting began. We crossed the river and climbed the mountains. It happened to be the steep mountain, the slope covered by rocks was dangerous for ascending. I decided to trust my horse. It knew better than me about the local "mountaineering", and imagined how best to get to the top. I hope it was so. The main thing was not to look down. The higher we climbed, the more terrible it looked, the slope seemed to be turned out into the depth of the gorge. The probability of falling into the abyss grew exponentially with each step. My patience was enough to reach an altitude of 3000 meters. There I got off the horse and categorically stated that I could not move in such way longer. – I can't move like this anymore. The stones were already rolling down the slope from under the horse's feet! Let's finish the climb and return. We went down by foot. It’s a rule no matter what height you climb on a horse, you need to go down on foot. The steepness of the slope was such that I wanted to sit on the my ass and roll down, as if on an "ice slide". In the afternoon, the hunt was almost ended with success, if not for… We did not climb too high, we passed over one ridge – there are no ibexes, through the second – no, the third – no. It's not a secret that the Altaians themselves do not fully know who they are by faith – pagans or Buddhists. At each pass there is a pyramid made of stones or a tree on which they impose ribbons. They offer a symbolic sacrifice to the spirit of the area in the form of a stone, a cigarette, a coin, a bottle stopper, a box of matches or a used plastic lighter. The spirits are fond of alcohol, and almost every obo Altaians perform an alcoholic ritual: they spray the space around with vodka. Without fanaticism. The obo cult was connected with shamanism, it was frankly pagan, and during the spread of Buddhism, the lamas initially destroyed obo, but over the time they realized that it was much more reasonable to include them in the Buddhist rite. It is believed that the obo is responsible for the weather, crops, people's health, their well-being and makes the decision to let or not let a person on the mountain. So the Altaians probably decided that the obo did not let me (or did it not let them in?) to the mountain. After having overcome the next ridge, the men sat down to smoke not far from the next obo, and at that moment the ibexes came out of the forest, actually resting against us. They immediately broke back. I wasn't ready and didn't have time to shoot. The first hunting day ended with such an unfortunate failure! At the camp, I began to chop wood, the guys unsaddled the horses and went about some of their own business. It wasn't dark yet when UAZ drove to our camp. One of the guys who arrived and looked the most representative came to me. - Why did you take other people's horses?! That was just not enough for the full the picture! I immediately sent him to our chief because believed that it would be easier for them to deal with each other. They talked about 15 minutes. There are no swear words in the Altai language, and they express all their emotional statements in Russian "French". Despite the abundance of such words in the negotiations, their "shooting" stage ended in peace, and the "I apologize" stage followed We celebrated the piece till 1 am, the high contracting parties came to the understanding that the conflict was settled. And only after it we all went to sleep - the new hunting day came! The end of the hunting! On the second day, we went to another place and one of the horses followed us. By that time, our hunters had found their horses, but they did not manage to catch all of them – only four, and the fifth, who decided not to part with the company, continued the "holiday of disobedience". We hiked a lot and at last detected the group of ibexes but they were young about 5-6 years old. The free horse also saw them. Probably it wanted to attract our attention and whinnied hysterically, and the ibexes instantly disappeared from sight. That was the end of the hunt. We should drive back to Gorno-Altaysk. The back road, as you can guess, had not become easier. Once, when the car began to crawl into the abyss, I cursed everything and managed to formulate a rhetorical question: Why would I, an adult man, risk my life for my money?! On the one hand – a rock, on the other-an abyss. The road was so narrow that the car scraped against the rock. It would be impossible to get out of it if the engine suddenly failed – on the one hand, the door would not open – it was pressed by a rock, and on the other, the door opened already over the abyss. It became clear to me what both Artem Veselov from ProfiHunt and Yura Morozov from Stalker meant when said: "Be careful out there!” I thought it was about relationships with people, but it turned out that it was about caution of a completely different kind... After that trip, I saw with completely different eyes the monument to Kolka Snegirev, the hero of the legendary song "There is a road along the Chui highway". This is a song of the thirties, when the Chuysky Tract was mastered by the machines of the Soviet Republic. The song became a very favorite among people, and its motive sounds in the film Vasily Shukshin"There is such a guy". They say that the prototype of the hero, Nikolai Kovalev, happily lived to old age, but many people were sure that Kolka Snegirev crashed. As the song says, his car AMO overtook the "Ford" of his beloved girl and flew off the Chui highway. The first monument to Kolka Snegirev was built by Nikolai Kovalev himself in the late 70s of the last century. At the 744 kilometer of the Chui Highway, a steering wheel and welded parts of the car were installed on a pile of stones. The first words of the song were written in paint on a large stone. In our time, a new monument was installed in place of the steering wheel and the welded parts from the car – the AMO aspiring up the pedestal (which Kolka "loved like a sister") and followed by the "Willis" ("Ford", apparently, was not found, but the "Willis" looks good). The courageous drivers of the Chui Highway, who overcame the passes and worked in the Altai Mountains, developed the national economy here, are worthy of a monument. And yet… What I want to say, summing up. The Caucasus is difficult for hunting, but the Altai is simply terrible! Mountains in the KCR are steep but there are trails that we have walked confidently, everything has been well organized, the risk has calculated and understandable. Nothing has been calculated here! Altai is fascinating, and the desire to visit it again has not only not disappeared, but has grown stronger. I called this trip "reconnaissance battle". I will prepare for the next one with more understanding what I can wait there, and how long has to be and no matter how my body resists it, I will need to spend the night in a tent on the top. There is no other way to get an ibex there. I want to go early in the second half of September, to get to the rut season of the maral as well. And not to get to such a weather cataclysm, which I faced this time. There is another interesting thing– I'm talking about a photo trophy promoted by the KGO. There is the Altai argali -that is in a red-book species of rare species, which in our country can be "extracted" only in the form of a photo trophy. want to try to do it – I just caught fire with such an idea! The guys from the protection service of the reserve promised to give me the horns of argali eaten by wolves, about which a special act has been drawn up. I saw them and held them in my hands. These horns weigh 25 kilograms! They will occupy a worthy place in the exhibition of trophies and taxidermic compositions, located in the main house of my hunting farm "Elms". Children from local Ryazan schools who come to on excursions will be able to see something that not every mountain hunter will be able to do. In any case, I will try not to make all the described mistakes anymore. If I don't get a deer or a ibex next year, I won't despair. It’ll be enough to me to plunge into this impossible beauty – the golden autumn Altai!

Four species of mountain goats, considered to be subspecies of Capra Ibex not long ago but were distinguished as separate species, habitat in European Alps and on the remote and impassable mountain gorges of north-east Africa and Asia. Long distances and geographical barriers isolated the goat population for thousand years and it led to the appearance of differences in the morphometry and color of the wool. Wild goats of Europe and Asia haven’t huge habitats: Siberian wild goat Capra sibirica- is a numerous species with an extensive distribution area covering about 2.3 million km2, extending from the northwestern Himalayas in India and Pakistan to the Sayan Mountains in southeastern Siberia in the Russian Federation. It is now customary to distinguish four subspecies of Capra sibirica, based on the work of a number of researchers: * Capra sibirica sibirica – Siberian mountain goat, or Siberian ibex. Natural habitat: Altai and Sayans west of Lake Baikal; * Capra sibirica alaiana – Central Asian mountain goat, or Central Asian ibex. Habitat: Natural habitat: Pamir, Alai and Zaalai ranges, Tien Shan; * Capra sibirica sakeen- Habitat: Himalayas, Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakorum within the northern Pakistan and North Korea India and adjacent areas of the Western China; * Capra sibirica hagenbecki – Gobi mountain goat, or Mongolian mountain goat. Natural habitat: Gobi, including the Trans-Altai Gobi, Eastern Tien Shan and adjacent areas of northern China. General appearance and distinctive features Both genders have horns, but female’s horns are much shorter and thinner, not ribbed; the bases are located further from each other, and the color of the horns is usually lighter than in males. Annular horn's rings, indicating the annual growth, make it possible to accurately determine the age of the animal. The horns of mountain goats grow most actively in the second year of life. In subsequent years, growth slows down. The growth of horns of adult males (aged 9-10 years) slows down even more. Since the development of horns and their growth strongly depend on environmental factors (the availability of food, minerals, weather), the only horns suitable for comparison are very well-developed horns of adults, since the influence of nutrition and the environment on these animals is minimal. The horns of males have a saber-shaped or crescent-shaped, arc-shaped shape. They are oval in the section, with two noticeable ribs and a clearly distinguishable flat, but ribbed front surface between them. The anterior surface is covered with protruding transverse ribs or bumps located every 3-5 cm, from the base and almost to the ends of the horns. These ribs or bumps grow from a thick, calloused skin at the base of the horns. Two transverse ribs usually grow on the segments between the annual rings, less often one or three. Some forms have more prominent edges, others have smaller ones. Usually, the outer edge of the transverse tubercles of C. Ibex (Alpine ibex) and C. Sibirica is developed as well as the inner one, often intersecting with the longitudinal lateral ribs. The transverse tubercles of C. Nubiana are usually better developed at the inner edge, which, in combination with their narrower horns and rounded outer edges, enhances the ribbed appearance of the horns. The shape of the horns is very variable not only between different phenotypes, but also among males from the one group. The bend can vary from almost straight horns to a complete semicircle, and the distance between the ends can be either narrow or very wide, with the tips of the horns pointing either straight or turned inwards or outwards. An important factor in the overall quality of the head is the ratio of the length of the horn to its thickness along its entire length (horn mass index), which is also subject to significant variability. The longest horns are found in adult males of the Siberian mountain goat (up to 152 cm, and sometimes longer). Unlike the Alpine mountain goat, whose wool has a uniform color and is usually darker, the color of the wool of the Siberian ibex varies significantly throughout the vast distribution area, depending on the geographical location, and also has seasonal and age variations. In the north of the habitat, the main color is quite light; specimens from the Tien Shan and Pamir often have chocolate-brown fur, but there are also lighter shades from reddish to light gray. The shape of spots on the lower back and in the neck area is very different for all Asian phenotypes; spots can be either pronounced or absent altogether, even within one herd. Spots on the back may be absent in summer wool, but they can be clear and bright in winter. Nubian mountain goats generally show a uniform light sandy or yellowish-brown color, while Abyssinian mountain goats have dark chocolate or chestnut wool. All male mountain goats have impressive beards. C. sibirica, like other Asian species, has clear markings on the front legs, which is absent in Alpine mountain goats. Unlike mountain goats of Europe and Africa, the Siberian mountain goat has a callus on the knees and wrist joints of the front legs with a diameter of about 3 cm to climb steep slopes. Siberian mountain goats have to contend with an impressive list of large predators, such as snow leopards, lynx and wolves. Older males are particularly vulnerable to predators. Siberian mountain goats that dwell in remote and highly rugged terrain were the least affected by human influence, although some populations in certain areas of their habitat were subjected to commercial hunting for meat, as well as to a reduction in their range. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The number of mountain goats in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Soviet times (the 1970s) was estimated at about 70,000 animals. By 1980, the National Center for Biodiversity and Biosafety (2003) counted about 41,000 Central Asian mountain goats in Tajikistan. The civil war in Tajikistan (1992-1997) led to excessive poaching, which caused a significant reduction in the population. However, at the end of the millennium, the populations of mountain goats seem to be recovering. Recent reports from both countries indicate that the Central Asian mountain goats are in a safe position, although their exact number has not been named. Hunting legislation in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is specific; in both countries, there are quotas for trophy hunting programs. Kazakhstan. In Soviet times, the population was estimated at 17,000 Siberian mountain goats (mainly C. s. alaiana, but also some C. s.sibirica along the border with the Russian Federation). At present, in some areas, the number of Central Asian mountain goats in the Tien Shan from the Kazakh side could decrease, as well as the trophy value of the extracted animals, which requires a transparent and scientifically based approach to the rational use of the corresponding phenotypes. Uzbekistan. In Soviet times (mid-1970s), the total number of Central Asian mountain goats (C. s. alaiana) was 2,400 individuals. Scientists believe that Central Asian mountain goats have been preserved in the Kyzyldarya River basin in the number of 400-500 individuals, and at least 1000 Siberian mountain goats inhabit the Hissar Nature Reserve. The limiting factors are the poor quality of forage plots, competition for feed with livestock, the development of agriculture, poaching and concern from human activity. Central Asian goats are a traditional object of trophy hunting. Apparently, the production of poachers is significantly higher than the officially declared total production. Russian Federation Hunting of Altai mountain goats (C. S. sibirica) is allowed under a license, but a much larger number are shot illegally. In Soviet times (the 1970s), population estimates in southern Siberia ranged from 8,000 to 9,000 Altai mountain goats, of which 3,000-3,500 lived in the Altai itself, 2,500 in the Tannu-Ola Mountains (Tyva), 1,500 in the Western Sayan and 2,000 - 2,500 in the Eastern Sayan (Buryatia).

The rays of Macedonian sun touch us and go to the side. My fellow Valery and I are driving to the mountains where we want to get the Balkan chamois - the next trophy from the Capra list. The car slides by the road that is good for the former Yugoslavia. How often do we hear the word "ex” in the last time – ex- Yugoslavia, ex- USSR, ex- friends. Fortunately, friendship does not get stale with the years! It acquires the aroma of aged cognac! After arrival we accommodated in the cozy cabin and then went to have dinner where discussed the future plans with the main guide Vasko. He spoke Russian and a little English. The school of friendship of the former USSR is strong! Our guide was absolutely sure in the success of tomorrow hunting. I guessed that he monitored and checked the surrounding before our arrival. Or probably it was his normal behavior with the guests. Next morning Valery tested his favorite (and the only one) carbine Christansen Arms with a carbon fiber barrel. It's a good gun for the mountain hunting. In a half of an hour, we were driving to the foot of the wooded slopes. Macedonia is a predominantly mountainous country. The most part of its territory is covered by the mountains gorges of the Skopska-Crna-Gora system, Pind (the highest point - 2753 m) and Pirin are separated by the wide basins - the valleys of the rivers Vardar and Strumitsa, flowing through the whole country. We hiked through the forest zones. The sight and aroma of the March greenery pleasantly excited all the senses, and I tried to find the place where to step and not to crush the blooming snowdrops that were everywhere. In one word – heavenly beauty! Vasko and Valery were constantly looking up where the forest zone ended and began slopes covered by grass and rocks. But the Macedonian mountains were in no hurry to please any hunter or his guide as invited them to enjoy the beauty of Macedonian nature and forests first. As soon as the trees gave way to grasses, rocky ledges grew in front of us, and the space expanded for viewing, the eye became easy and free! But at the same time the chamois could see us too. Fortunately, the wind was from the mountains. We often checked its destination by plucking the blades of grass and lightly tossing them up. Soon Valko detected the young chamois in 200 meters from us. He pointed to is but Valery said that it was too small. I’m sure and guess that any hunter will support me, that the hunters should get the eldest trophy. The trophy hunter should treasure its old and beaten by time and rivals trophy. I remember the situation how Victor Likhachev arrived to me to Azerbaijan. Later he became a good friend of mine. He hunted for the tur. After getting the trophy he and our chief guide Nariman were going back to the camp when noticed the old and limping male with not the best horns. It had a hole in its shoulder blade. Somebody wounded it. Victor didn't need the second trophy but he couldn’t leave that animal to die in tremendous pain and took it. This is a worthy example for many hunters! Let's come back to Macedonia and to Balkan chamois. Balkan chamois is a subspecies that is bigger than the Alpine chamois and has longer horns.  After a while Vasko noticed one more chamois, its silhouette in the rays of spring Balkan sun loomed on the background of dark rocks The chamois grazed and didn’t noticed anything aroung it. It was its fatal mistake. Valery and I have a mutual friend from England who calls him Hunting machine, so Valery put the stock to the shoulder and clung to the eyepiece of the sight. The shooting distance was 280 meters. The angle was not critical. The sun hits directly into the lens of the sight, clearly playing on the side of the chamois… The Shot! We saw how the bullet came through the animal’s body and it fall and rolled down. Straight into the abyss! Valery kept an eye on the trophy, forgetting about everything in the world and whispered: “Stop... Stop... stop!” There were ten meters to abyss, six, four, three... The male rolled the last time and stopped on the rocky edge in three meters from the bottomless abyss! We congratulated each other with the successful shot. Vasko went up to approach the trophy from above and came back in twenty minutes with the chamois on his shoulders. The trophy turned out to be very worthy! The first morning of hunting brought good luck, and this is not surprising in general. The chamois population in Macedonia is higher than in Bulgaria. At the base, we warmly said goodbye to Vasko and left for another hunting zone. Our next goal was the kri-kri ibex. It is no secret that in Macedonia it lives in semi-free conditions. Only in Greece, this species dwells freely on some islands, but it is a separate story with Greece. In any case GSCO admit this trophy from Balkan. Valery needed this smallest ibex in the world because he is assembling a Grand Slam. Usually, the size of the Kri-Kri trophy ranges from 55-65 cm, and we did not have the task to get the longest-horned one. And there-as Fortune decides! What I noticed immediately after arriving at a new place was the complete peace on the streets, the kindness and cordiality of the people. We checked in a very good hotel and the next morning we went to the lake, on the shores of which we had to hunt. The farm was inhabited by Himalayan tars, bharals (blue sheep), Aoudad sheep, wild goat and multi sheep. Valery was only interested in kri-kri and wild goat, which could be declared to GSCO according to the Capra list. Next morning, we drove to the lake, then sailed by boat to the fenced part of the hunting land. High mesh fences are constantly attacked by the boars which try to dig the passages under them. But the main function of those fences is to protect herbivores from the most terrible local predator-the wolf. Macedonia takes the first place in Europe by the density of wolf's population. If such a bandit gets through the fence, then the hunting farm can be closed. It's not easy to maintain the such huge fenced territory. The staff goes around the perimeter several times in a day. They check the passages and other damage. The Macedonian sun continued to delight us with its warmth, and the rocks pleased us with an abundance of Aoudad sheep and tahr, which we constantly observed with binoculars. We were going in the hunting land for forty minutes already but didn’t see any ibex yet. The outfitter fueled the client's interest in hunting, leading us at first not to ibex places. But it may be that the area of the aviary was such huge that ibex had the opportunity to hide well. In any case it was interesting if there were any secrets or not. At last, we found the male in the remote part of the area. The guide detected its horns through the trees and then the animals moved. We were pleasantly surprised buy its size! The guides hinted just before the hunt that there might be a big ibex, but not so much! We could approach it 200m. But there was no sense to shoot through the trees. We came even closer, observing maximum caution, and suddenly Kri-Kri stood up to his full height! Probably he heard something and began to look for us out of the corner of its eye. It didn't seem to like us at all. We weren’t interested in its opinion, only in its horns. Valery took the comfortable position and pushed the trigger. The male ran a couple of meters and laid down. The branches were in the way and we couldn’t see why it laid down, in any case there wasn’t another opportunity to make the second shot. We congratulated Valery with the trophy and came to the ibex. The trophy was just fantastic – the length of the horns was 92.5 cm, which is more than good for Kri-kri! We had a snack and ... continued hunting. On the same day,we got a four-horned ram and a wild goat. Valery should fire to them from the boat because we spotted the animals when were sailing to the new place. Shooting from a boat bobbing on the waves is not the most convenient thing, but the animals were standing perfectly for making a shot. At night, Valery tried to take the wolf, but this time fortune said: “Enough!” There were wolves and they were moving to our side (Macedonian guides used night vision devices) but suddenly turned around and went away. Valery wasn’t upset because he got the main trophies. The next morning, the cheerful Balkan sun was already seeing us off, continuing to caress us with warm summer rays, which apparently meant "Goodbye" in Macedonian. We were thankful to it and to our Macedonian friends for that hunt. Macedonia is a country that you must definitely visit and hunt!