Stolby Nature Reserve - one of the most famous sights of Krasnoyarsk

The famous Krasnoyarsk Pillars became a reserve territory in 1925. Even then, this natural monument did not need a special presentation: the first tourists appeared here a century and a half ago. From the second half of the XIX century, every year, as soon as the snow descended, Krasnoyarsk outdoor activity lovers went on hikes to the Pillars - on picnics, excursions and mountaineering tours. The popularity of the Pillars and became the reason for the creation of the reserve - the most beautiful syenitic rocks needed to be protected from uncontrolled use, because at the beginning of the 20th century there began to cut down the forest and tried to mine the stone.

Today, the reserve includes not only the Pillars, which belong to the spurs of the Eastern Sayans, but a vast forest area of 47,219 hectares. This territory differs from other reserves in a special security regime. More precisely, modes - they are different in different areas. The smallest part of the reserve is the cliffs themselves, a tourist zone of free visit (when visiting, of course, you must follow the rules). The main territory is a zone of complete conservation, and access for tourists is closed there. There is also a buffer zone, which can be reached with the permission of the administration, and a two-kilometer security belt with its own regime around the perimeter of the entire reserve.

The pillars are divided into "open" and "wild." It is easy to get to the open, guided tours take place there, and the wild ones are in remote places. Guides usually write that access is limited, although in fact there are no restrictions. It’s just that the Wild Pillars are so far from the main entrance that it’s almost impossible to reach them on your own, especially for a beginner.

Almost all pillars and rock groups have their own names. Many figurative names associated with the outlines of the rocks: Grandfather, Grandma, Granddaughter, Feathers, Elephants, the Chinese wall, etc. For example, the silhouette of the post Grandfather from a certain angle resembles the profile of an old man. Locals emit stones that form his face, cap, beard, shoulder. If it's really possible to get on Grandfather's nose, then a peaked cap is a goal for an experienced climber.

The most famous group is simply called the First Pillar, the Second, the Third and the Fourth. They are denoted by Roman numerals. That is how one of the first explorers of the area called and marked the rocks - Cossack Ivan Laletin, who owned this land at the end of the XVIII century. Feathers - one of the symbols of the reserve, and the city of Krasnoyarsk. This group of rocks, closely pressed to each other, from a distance really resembles bird plumage.

A long time ago, a special subculture, “pillarism”, was formed around the Pillars. The phenomenon was described by geologist and science fiction Obruchev at the beginning of the century: “... far from all visitors to the pillars climb the most difficult cliffs and not everyone deserves the title of “stolbists”, which in Krasnoyarsk means all lovers of this tour”.

The Stolbists have their own rules and superstitions, they ideally studied the territory and gave names to most of the rocks, laid trails. Some Stolbist rules are unacceptable from a security point of view. For example, they traditionally believe that one should go to the rocks without special equipment - at best, with a sash. However, reasonable stolbisty from this romantic principle still retreat. If you need advice on choosing a route, it is best to contact them.

Krasnoyarsk stolbists are divided into “companies” - the so-called community of climbers of the early twentieth century. Each company adheres to its own code. But the general principles are the same: to help, not to leave in the lurch, to share provisions and equipment. Therefore, quarrels happen in the reserve, but never thefts.

Geography and uniqueness of the landscape
The Stolby State Nature Reserve is located on the northwestern spurs of the Eastern Sayans, bordering the Central Siberian Plateau. The natural boundaries of the protected area are the right tributaries of the Yenisei: in the north-east - the Bazaiha River, in the south and south-west - the Mana and Bolshaya Slizneva rivers. From the north-east "Stolby" adjacent to the city of Krasnoyarsk.

Rocks composed of syenite igneous rock form a uniquely beautiful landscape, moreover, in close proximity to a large modern city. Each stone here is original and unique, has its own name and carries invaluable historical information. At the entrance to the central area of the Pillars, you see the famous Elephant - about 7 meters high. The rock First Pillar, up to 85 meters high, is one of the most popular and has the most extensive system of moves. The Second Pillar, 96 meters high, is visible from the city. Rock Feathers - a symbol of the reserve, depicted on its logo, and one of the symbols of Krasnoyarsk: four 40-meter tall stones, which joined each other, resemble the feathers of a gigantic bird. From the Feathers the trail goes through dense thickets down to the base of a high massive cliff. This is a grandfather, striking similarity with the human face, even those who do not have a rich imagination. The cliffs of the Lion Gate, the Chinese Wall, the Manskaya Baba, the Great Golden Eagle, Mogul, Totem, Farm, Hearth, Toad and many others create a bizarre world that invariably awakens the human imagination.

In total, about forty "pillars" of pink syenite rise in the reserve, and in the north-west there is a karst cave about 200 meters long with a large number of grottoes and an underground lake.

Tourist routes
The rocky part of the reserve includes four areas: the most visited is the aesthetic, or Central, Takmakovsky, Kaltatsky and the Wild Pillars area. In the Central District, the most popular is the circular route, starting from the First Pillar, passing through the Granddaughter, Grandmother, Grandfather, Feathers, Lion Gate, Fourth, Third and Second Pillars and returning back to the First Pillar and Elephant.

Throughout the tourist and excursion area, 11 main tourist routes of varying complexity and length have been developed - for people of any age. There are ecological trails - routes aimed at environmental education and training. While driving along an eco-trail, visitors receive information about natural systems and objects, processes and phenomena. The excursion combines the knowledge, relaxation and enjoyment of the beauty of nature, thanks to which the perception of information is enhanced by a powerful charge of positive emotions.

Thematic excursions are held on some routes:
“Nature is a great sculptor”: 18 km, hiking route.
"Tales of the protected forest": 16 km, hiking route.
“Meeting with Takmak”: 4 km, ascent to the observation deck of the Stolby nature reserve by the cable car of the Bobrovy Log Fanpark, then the hiking route.
"To meet with Mans Baba": 25 km, hiking route.
Ecological trail "Book of Nature": 1.2 km, flat trail on screw piles.
Ascent to the First Pillar: 0.4 km, recreational ladder on screw piles.
Ecological trail "River Valley": 0.34 km, planking trail on screw piles - a route for visitors with limited mobility.
Ecological trail along the Mokhovaya creek "Athlete's Path": 0.8 km, flat path on screw piles.
“Journey to the Chinese wall”: 8 km, radial route.
“Small Berkut”: 10 km, a circular route.
"The path to Yermak": 4 km, a circular route.

IMPORTANT
The territory of the Stolby reserve is divided into three parts with different protection regimes. The most familiar area for tourists is the tourist-excursion area, which occupies no more than 3% of the entire reserve. It is open to the public with the condition of compliance with the Rules governing the norms of behavior in a specially protected natural area.

Most of the reserve (90% of the area) is a closed area of complete reserve. Access to it is allowed only to employees of the reserve for environmental protection and research work.

Between these two zones, a third one is allocated - a buffer zone (about 7%) with limited access by special permission of the administration of the reserve. Otherwise, the buffer zone mode corresponds to the strict reserve mode.

The pillars are a dangerous place. The rocks are quite steep, even experienced climbers, including those with a fatal outcome, have broken down from them. If you are going to not only look at the pillars, but also climb them, you need special equipment. Even if you plan to visit only the lowest places with a gentle rise, be sure to wear shoes with rubber soles. In bad weather, the rocks become slippery.

Stones periodically break away from the rocks, so a simple walk through the Pillars also requires caution.

In the reserve live bears. Fortunately, no attacks on humans have been recorded, but the administration strongly urges tourists not to go deep into the forest in search of the Wild Pillars. On untrodden paths, the likelihood of encountering a bear increases.

In summer, forest fires often occur on the Pillars. Most often - the fault of people who carelessly handle fire. In case of fire, the reserve is usually closed.

In the Krasnoyarsk Territory there are encephalitis ticks. The peak of their activity is May-June. Ideally, vaccinations should be made before the trip. Consider what they do in advance, in February-March. To protect yourself from a tick directly on the spot, you must wear closed clothes, be sure to wear a hat, and after visiting the forest, carefully check whether the tick did not hit you.

LOCAL FEATURES
On the pillars developed several routes that start from stops. At these stops there are shops and cafes, and if you get off at the cableway station, you can use the lift. The last landing at 16:00, the road works all week except Monday and Tuesday. Here you can rent skis or snowboards.

From the viewing platform of the Pillars a path is laid right along the top of the ridge. It is divided, but both paths lead to the Kashtak ridge. It is believed that Kashtak can be climbed without special equipment. There are many people here at any time of the year, the rise is not extreme. True, the detached rock Urban Vidovka (from its summit overlooking all the central pillars) is very steep. Climbers do not advise climbing it in rainy weather or in winter.

HISTORY
The earliest written references to the Pillars date back to the thirties of the 18th century, but only in the second half of the 19th century, the Krasnoyarsk nature lovers began to visit these places not only for hunting, but also for rock climbing.

The first of the extant geographical descriptions of the Pillars is dated 1837. And in 1845, the book of the geographer P.A. Chikhachev was published in Paris, where it was described in detail about the pillars. In 1847, a book of geologist Hoffman was published in St. Petersburg, containing information about them. That was the beginning of the pillar geography.

Mountaineering in the XIX century was a dangerous practice, but inviting. Krasnoyarsk's went to the Pillars regularly, and peasants and merchants tried to climb the peaks. Those who were not satisfied with a day walk on the rocks stayed for the night in Chernyshevsky hut. It was built by the provincial scribe Chernyshev. At first he hunted goats in these places, and then he fell in love to climb rocks. It was Chernyshev who became the first "accomplisher" of the Pillars: he placed ladders and supports near some rocks, facilitating ascent and descent.

In 1892, a hut of Krasnoyarsk writers who sought inspiration on the tops of the rocks was built under the Third Pillar. And in the last years of the XIX century revolutionaries began to gather in the Pillars. The place was perfect: if the police wanted to seize the conspirators, without special skills this would be impossible. On the rocks began to appear provocative inscriptions: "Socialism will be realized", "Proletarians", "Governor - a crook", "Freedom". More than a hundred years have passed, and the inscription “Freedom” on the Second Pillar has been preserved and updated every year.

The organization of the reserve arose in 1919, when the Krasnoyarsk Department of the Russian Geographical Community, the provincial land department and the Union of Krasnoyarsk artists submitted a petition to the Yenisei Gubrevkom to issue a special decree in order to protect the Stolby boundary. The pillars clearly needed this, since at the beginning of the 20th century, and especially in the post-revolutionary years of the Civil War, the tract underwent a wild “development”. Calm before the place experienced a powerful influx of people, among whom were the military, and partisans, and hiding from the mobilization. At the same time, the forests were cut down, the rocks were blown up for the sake of mining stone for construction, hut was erected right at the foot of the Pillars, etc. In 1920, the forest area of 4 square versts in the upper reaches of the Laletina River was declared protective, but this was not enough.

In October 1923, the Krasnoyarsk Geographical Society sent to the Glavnauka of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR a project for the organization of the Stolyby state reserve, which was prepared by the society’s activist, botanist A.L. Yavorsky. The project was supported by zoologist A.Ya. Tugarinov, director of the local history museum, and artist D.I. Karatanov. Thanks to their efforts, a wonderful corner of Siberian nature was taken under protection. Tugarinov, being in the capital, held talks on the establishment of the State Reserve with its subordination to Moscow.

On June 30, 1925, a state decree was issued on the creation of the Stolby nature reserve with an area of 3,960 hectares. The territory remained open to the public, but any economic impact on the natural environment was strictly prohibited. All previously built huts were located away from the rocks. The head of the reserve (on a voluntary basis) was appointed a member of the USSR Geographical Society A.L. Yavorsky.

At the beginning of 1936, the area of the “Stolby” reserve was increased to 5 thousand, and in 1938 - to 11 thousand hectares. In 1944, the reserve was transferred from the regional budget to the republican budget and incorporated into the system of the Main Directorate for Reserves under the Council of People's Commissars (from 1945 - the Council of Ministers) of the RSFSR. At the same time, a new regulation on the reserve was approved, in accordance with which it began to perform the functions of protecting and studying all natural complexes. In April 1946, by order of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the reserve area was again increased to 45.3 thousand hectares at the expense of the territory of the right bank of the Mana River (distant Stolby). Currently, it is 47,219 thousand hectares (6 hectares were withdrawn in 1968 during the construction of the cableway). Already in 1983, joint decisions of the Glavokhoty of the RSFSR and the Krasnoyarsk Territory Executive Committee created a protected area around the reserve with a limited nature management regime of 13,500 hectares.

In 1946, the forester, zoologist and botany were introduced to the reserve staff. At this time, the second “explosion” of the attendance of the “Pillars” and the revival of pillarism, which was prohibited and subjected to repression in the 1930s, took place. In 1952, the All-Union camp Stolby opened in the reserve.

In 1960, the USSR began a company for the elimination of natural reserves. Stolibisty managed to defend the right to the existence of their reserve, collecting about 50,000 signatures in his defense. In 1961, the Living Corner appeared on the Pillars, created by the efforts of the zoologist of the Ye.A. Krutovskoy and her spouse - meteorologist and photographer DG Dulkeyt, and lovingly called "Dr. Aybolit's Shelter". In the summer of 2003, the Living Area in its entirety moved from the reserve to a new zoo, Roev Ruchei, which has now become a favorite vacation spot for Krasnoyarsk residents.

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