Ski track across Yeshtyk-Kol Meadow, North Chuyskie Belki, Altay

The bowl of Yeshtyk-Kol, in the headwaters of Shabaga River, is the gateway to Shavla Lakes area of North Chuyskie Range. A rolling ridge, with taiga on its East side and the immense grassland bowl to the West, separates Shabaga Basin from Chuya River valley. The summer trail, off a Chuya bridge downstream of Chibit village, crosses into Yeshtyk-Kol over Oroy Pass. In February 1985, we got confused in a tangle of sable-trappers ski tracks, and ended up on a ridge overlooking Yeshtyk-Kol' ways North of Oroy Saddle. Now we could see our blunder, with an old ski track to Shabaga visible down below. In the background, you could see the deep valley of Shavla heading to the left, towards the tallest peaks of the range.