damian 0 Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 You know how the Sea of Japan is fundamental in creating the great snow in Japan, well there are other similar geographies that have similar great snow. I am tentatively joining an arranged trip to one such place that is one of the least ridden destinations around. The Kamchatka Peninsula in east Siberia (see the map, almost connected to Japan by the Kuril Islands). I thought I might mention it hear since Japan is quite close. If anyone is interested in joining me on this 9 day heli trip in April then let me know as a few guys have had to pull out. http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/as.htm Some info: - largest grizzly bear population in the world - most active volcanoes in the world - previously inaccessible due to Soviet Union military use. - most of the riding will be on volcanoes, kind of shaped like Fuji. - summits of 3500m with descents almost down to sea level - heli usage recorded in hours rather than vertical distance covered. The tour price includes 10 hours of flight time - in really good conditions the anticipated vertical is 9,000m to 12,000m ridden per day, using about 2.5 hours of flight time. - the group is guided by 2 local mountain guides and two UIAGM/IFMGA guides. - besides weather, there is no restriction as to where we can be dropped - although expensive, it is actually very good value: 9 days of riding with 10 hours of heli time price is approx €4,000 (compared to approx $5,000 for 4 days in Alaska) - just did dome research and direct flights are only from Moscow, Seattle and Anchorage. Oh well, I will post anyway.... I am obviously not involved with the organisation of the tour, but I do know one of the mountain guides from Chamonix that will be on the trip. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Sounds fun except that grizzly part! Quote: - just did dome research and direct flights are only from Moscow, Seattle and Anchorage. Oh well, I will post anyway.... Transportation available from Seattle and Ancorage? Very interesting in stead of from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk or wherever close by. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Sounds cool Spud 3000metre decsents would be interesting You will get every type of snow imaginable on that Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Svetik is up that way (ish)... Link to post Share on other sites
threep 0 Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Hi Spud, I went to Kamchatka in the summer of 2004, so if you are interested in any general info about going out there then send me an email to britinjapan_2 at hotmail.com. One route out there is to fly to Vladivostok and get a connection to Petropavlovsk. You can fly Air Vladivostok from Kansai, not sure about any of the Tokyo airports. How's your Russian? Not a great deal of any other language spoken there. No money to join you unfortunately. Enjoy! Gary Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Spud, I posted on Kamtchatka earlier this year with some great links (search the forum). Would luv to go but not this year. I think from the UK you would probably be better off to the Caucasus. The same company has a base there. Closer and bigger verts (top>5000m). Sure Kamtchatka is awsome as well though. I checked the flights from Tokyo to get to Petropavlosk....Yeah, it is close on the map, unfortunately not easy to get from Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 grab a copy of the February National Geographic., it a great story about Kamchatka and the bears. Sounds wild, wish I had some spare cash laying around. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Threep - if it looks like I will have the resources (time and money) to go then for sure, I will drop you a mail. Thanks for the offer for additional info. SerreChe - I will search on your post, cheers. I know there are closer and higher places on offer in Russia. But I am drawn to the remoteness/uniqueness of the place. It is a corner of the globe that I quite literally never thought of going. I heard there aren't many proper roads and the snow is heavy on the waterlogged ground. So most everyday transportation is by dog sled, big 4wd or helicopter. glider - will do dude. I have a bit of hesitation in going to such a remote place just to buzz around in a stinky heli at a time when energy is not to be squandered. Some internal conflict going on. None the less I am very interested in going on this one. I hope it falls into place.... so many unknowns on the horizon.... Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Spud some friends of mine did a ski mountaineering trip to Kamchatka a couple of years ago. Their website is 2004 Kamchatka Ski-Mountaineering Expedition , I'm sure you'll find it an interesting read. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Are you really going DB??? Link to post Share on other sites
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