Gorely

Overview

Gorely is an active caldera volcano with some of its latest eruptions in 1980 -81 and 1984-86. The caldera of Gorely is elliptical and is about 10x13 km with a shield cone at its center. Gorely has several small craters, and one of the summit craters bears a turqouise lake of hot sulfuric acid. Gorely is structurally similar to Hekla on Iceland.

Gorely is very easy to climb (no alpine gear necessary) from all sides and offer superb views of the neighboring volcanos Mutnovsky and Viluchinsky.

Acid lake in the crater of Gorely

A view up to the crater

Ascent to the highest point

Getting There

From Petropavlovsk Kamchatskij or Elizovo take a bus to Termalnij. The bus passes through the villages Nikolayevka (nice food market at the roadside!) and Paratunka. Paratunka has a number of resorts with accomodation and hot springs.

From Termalnij a gravel road leads to the Mutnovsky Geothermal Power station. There is enough truck traffic to allow hitchhiking. The gravel road follows the Paratunka River valley and leads over a pass near the volcano Viluchinsky.

There is a turnoff of a small gravel track east of Gorely. It leads around the north and west side of the mountain to then descend into the Mutnaja valley. This track can be used as starting points for ascends. The foot of the mountain can also easily be reached on a mountain bike.

There is a footpath leading to the summit from the east side of the mountain, but ascends are possible (and easy) also from other sides. A footpath leads around the summit craters.

Red Tape

A visa for Russia is required, it has to be registered within three days of arrival on Kamchatka. Registration can be done either at OVIR or at some hotels (e.g. Hotel Edelweiss in Petropavlovsk).

Gorely lies within the Yuzhno-Kamchatsky Nature Park. Yet no fees need to be paid, and no permit is necessary, but this may change some day.

When To Climb

Gorely can be climbed all year round. Expect fast weather changes in the south Kamchatka region and high winds at the summit.

Camping

Camping is allowed anywhere. There is no specific hut for mountaineering, but Gorely can also be accessed in a long one-day-hike from the station of volcanologists at the base of Mutnovsky

Mountain Conditions

The slopes of Gorely are rather flat, but the ascend still is strenuous. It is not very technical, but since there are very few foot paths you may have to find you own way around lava formations.

During high and gusty winds, the footpath around the summit crater can be very dangerous.

Miscellaneous Info

General information about self-organized traveling in Kamchatka can be found here:
Kamchatka Website

Images

View Gorely Image Gallery - 15 Images