Tolpoz-Iz
1,619 m
Russia
Also known as Тöлпозиз, Толпоз-Из, +1Also known as
Тöлпозиз · Толпоз-Из · Тэлпозиз
- Elevation
- 1,619 m
- Prominence
- 1,209 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: T4 to the eastern summit (1,617.5 m), the usual top (estimate from nashural.ru and koronaurala.ru descriptions)
A day's round trip of about 20 km from a camp on the Shchugor, reached by rafting from the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint in Yugyd Va National Park: up the boulder bed of Sukhoy Ruchey, a steep moss-covered slope to a plateau at about 600 m, gently on to Lake Telpos (just over 1,000 m) and the ridge to the eastern summit (1,617.5 m). The slightly higher western top needs a rocky ridge traverse.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 9.8 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,488 m
- −68 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 1,619 m
- Time Up
- 6h 19m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 4h 26m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Most parties combine Telposiz with a rafting trip down the Shchugor. From Vuktyl, a park-arranged vehicle takes the gas-pipeline road to the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint, and the river carries you past the mountain. 14.5 km below the mouth of the Torgovaya, on the left bank, a large shingle bank with a clearing (about 63°59′15″N 59°13′00″E) is the start of the shortest ascent, 9.5 km to the summit; the traditional routes from the Shchugor up the Durnoy-El (12.5 km) and Filipp-El (14 km) streams have more than 5 km of taiga. From the downstream end of the clearing go about 200 m south-south-west (200°) through deciduous wood round an overgrown oxbow, find a branch of Sukhoy Ruchey ('dry stream') and follow its cobbled bed south for about 600 m out of the taiga onto a kilometre-long stone river. At its head a 30 m cascade of waterfalls blocks the gorge (about 2 km from the river). Climb the steep, often mossy and slippery boulder slope on the left bank to a shallow wooded saddle and the plateau at about 600 m. From here it is about 6.5 km at a gentle gradient south-south-west over tundra to Lake Telpos, just above 1,000 m; before the lake bear left onto the ridge and follow it to the eastern summit (1,617.5 m), which has a wooden stool. The western summit (1,619.8 m), about 1.24 km away along a ridge of gendarmes, is rarely visited. Return the same way. In poor weather the plateau above the waterfalls is a good turning point. Another approach from the Telpos river follows the Telposyu stream to the lake below the summit, with knee-deep fords.
Start
Sukhoy Ruchey camp on the Shchugor199 m
- Bus 505 from Ukhta to Vuktyl (203 km, 3–4 hours, summer ferry across the Pechora); park-arranged vehicle along the gas-pipeline road to the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint (1.5–2 hours); raft down the Shchugor. Exit by boat from Ust-Shchugor to Vuktyl or Pechora.
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Sukhoy Ruchey camp on the Shchugor199 m
Shingle bank and clearing on the left bank of the Shchugor, 14.5 km below the mouth of the Torgovaya; reached by raft
- Shoulder: Толпоз-Из (east summit)1,608 m
Eastern summit with a wooden stool; the usual top
- Summit: Толпоз-Из1,619 m
Western, highest summit, about 1.24 km along a gendarme ridge from the eastern top
Key Passages
- Stone river of Sukhoy Ruchey
- Steep mossy boulder slope beside the waterfalls
- Ridge from the eastern to the western summit (gendarmes)
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 60%Overview
Telposiz (Tolpoz-Iz, 1,619.8 m), the Komi 'mountain of the nest of winds', is the highest point of the Northern Urals: a remote twin-topped massif above the Shchugor river in Yugyd Va National Park, usually climbed as a long day out from a rafting trip.
Telposiz rises on the left bank of the Shchugor in the Vuktyl district of the Komi Republic, close to the conventional boundary between the Northern and Subpolar Urals and inside Yugyd Va National Park. It is a two-summit massif of crystalline schists, quartzite sandstones and conglomerates: the eastern top is 1,617.5 m and the western 1,619.8 m, about 1.2 km apart along a ridge of gendarmes. Taiga covers the lower slopes; above about 500 m there is mountain tundra, boulder fields and lakes such as Lake Telpos below the summit. The meridional chain running south from the Shchugor is often called the Telpos ridge.
The Komi name Tölpoziz means 'mountain of the nest of winds', a reference to the strong winds, cloud, rain and snow that pour off it. Mansi and Nenets traditions treat it as a sacred mountain of a woman turned to stone, and Komi legends say the wind-god Shua punished noisy climbers by turning them to stone.
There are no roads or huts. Most visitors reach the mountain by rafting the Shchugor from the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint and climb it in a long day of about 20 km from a riverside camp, choosing a clear day. The eastern summit is a strenuous but non-technical tundra and boulder walk; the slightly higher western summit needs a scramble along the ridge and is rarely visited.
Climbing Notes
Plan around a Shchugor rafting trip of a week or more: the river is the usual access, and a summit day from a riverside camp is about 20 km and well over 1,000 m of ascent over boulders, much of it pathless. Choose a clear day, as the summit is often in cloud and the weather changes fast; the plateau above the Sukhoy Ruchey waterfalls is a sensible turning point in doubt. Wear boots with ankle support, carry a GPS, warm layers and a headlamp.
A Yugyd Va National Park permit is mandatory: apply online, by email or at the Vuktyl office at least 10 working days before your trip, with identity documents for every member. Fishing and collecting plants are not allowed in the park.
History
The explorer Antal Reguly recorded the Nenets name Ne-Khekhe ('woman-idol'); the Mansi name Ne-Pupyg-Nyor has the same meaning. E. K. Hofmann recorded a Mansi legend forbidding ascents on pain of storms. Some researchers identify Telposiz with the 'Stolp' mountain mentioned by Prince Semyon Kurbsky, a Russian commander of the 15th–16th centuries, though this is disputed. No record of a first ascent was found.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Possible
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Arctic winter; ski expeditions only
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter; long ski expeditions
- Apr
- Winter conditions
- May
- Thaw; floods may cut the road to Vuktyl
- Jun
- High water on the Shchugor; snow on the upper slopes; mosquitoes
- Jul
- Main rafting and climbing season
- Aug
- Main season; long snowfields still mark the line below the summit
- Sep
- Early snow and cold; low water
- Oct
- Freeze-up; road to Vuktyl may close
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Yugyd Va National Park visit permitRequired
Issued on application (online, by email to yugyd-va@mail.ru, or in person at the park directorate or branches) no later than 10 working days before the visit, with identity documents for each participant.
yugyd-va.ru
- Hut Booking
- No mountain huts. Riverside campsites and a few park shelters along the Shchugor; a ranger cabin at the Shchugor checkpoint near the mouth.
- Fees
- Yugyd Va National Park visit fee (amount not confirmed)
- Pechora ferry on the road to Vuktyl: 80 roubles per person in summer
- Transfer along the gas-pipeline road to the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint
- Rules
- Yugyd Va National Park: entry only with a permit; fishing and collecting plants are prohibited
- The gas-pipeline road to the Shchugor passes a Gazprom checkpoint where visitors sign a safety briefing
- Many governments (including the UK and US) advise against all travel to Russia since 2022
- Getting There
Vuktyl (Komi Republic)
Ukhta (UCT)
- Bus 505 from Ukhta to Vuktyl, 203 km, 3–4 hours, with a summer ferry across the Pechora; helicopters run when floods or freeze-up cut the road
- From Vuktyl a vehicle (arranged via the park) along the gas-pipeline road to the Verkhny Shchugor checkpoint, 1.5–2 hours, then rafting down the Shchugor
- Exit from Ust-Shchugor by river boat to Vuktyl or Pechora (Regional Transport Company)
Hazards
- Weather
- Remoteness
- Exposure
- River crossing