Rosa Peak - the main point of our trip to Krasnaya Polyana - is not the most high point surrounding mountains (2320 meters, and in the line of sight, for example, there is a Stone Pillar with a mark of 2509 meters above sea level), but it rises here cable car, and from here the most gorgeous panoramic views open (including the Main Caucasian Range). In a word - if you really go to Krasnaya Polyana to stare, then you must definitely climb Rosa Peak.

The cable car "Caucasian Express" goes to the very top, here, in addition to the lift, there is a restaurant "Vysota 2320" and all sorts of office premises:

At the top it is quite spacious and surprisingly comfortable (I expected it to be cold-cold here, but no - about 15 degrees in combination with the sun - I calmly walked in one T-shirt - I didn’t need a windbreaker). However, the weather here is said to be very changeable - so the day before it was about three degrees of heat!
The beginning of the slopes is limited by such decorative fences, but they serve rather for the time when there is snow on the top (so that pedestrians do not accidentally roll):

A lot of walking trails also start from here. Unfortunately, I didn’t specify whether it is possible to walk freely along them or accompanied by instructors is still desirable. In any case, people walking outside the tourist area were seen:

The platform at the top - quite large in fact, "patch" - despite a fair amount of people, there was still such a feeling of peace and tranquility:

In the center of the clearing lies a pile of snow, against which everyone is photographed together and on which children run. I don’t think that he was brought here on purpose, given that also without any outside help, the snow lies quietly on the slopes:

Viewpoint:

Taking selfies with denisanikin and djhooligantk - the only selfie I took during the trip - I think it was worth it!

If you look around the surroundings, smaller cable cars starting from here (more precisely, ending here) are noticeable - this is already purely for skiing. I also see grazing horses with great surprise:

The main part of the ski infrastructure remained below:

Krasnaya Polyana and the Mzymta River are barely distinguishable from here:

Rosa Plateau is smaller, but still seems very far from here:

But the most important thing - what I can admire for a very long time - is, of course, greatness Caucasus mountains. It must be admitted that there is not much high altitude, there are mountains even higher in the Caucasus. But even what I see here is impressive and I want to admire it for a long time: more and more

I take a last look at the mountains, and descend "from heaven to earth" - I continue my journey through Sochi - this time we are on our way to Imereti resort and the Olympic Park...

Then you have the opportunity to spend your vacation not only on the beach, but also to get to many interesting places located in the Greater Sochi region.

When planning your trip, you need to decide on which lift you want to climb. The fact is that in Krasnaya Polyana there are several ski resorts and each has its own cable cars.

I want to stay at Rosa Khutor. The lifts of this ski resort reached a height of about 2500 meters and this is the highest point of Krasnaya Polyana (Kamenny Pillar Peak), which can be reached by cable car. If you want to get to maximum height to the mountains with minimal physical effort, then Rosa Khutor will be your choice.

How to get there

If you are relaxing without a car, you can get to Krasnaya Polyana by bus (from Sochi, routes No. 105 and No. 105s, from Adler, route No. 135) or by Lastochka electric train (departure from railway station Sochi). Choosing between a bus or train, the train will be more convenient.

By car. The distance by car from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana is just over 70 kilometers. From Sochi to Adler, the road runs along the sea and is a modern highway with 2 lanes in one direction and 2 lanes in the opposite direction. It's a pleasure to drive this route.

After Adler the road goes to the mountains. Before the Olympics, the road to Krasnaya Polyana was created from scratch. The old highway was a very narrow highway. In fact, it was a two-lane, but in some places oncoming cars drove around with great difficulty. In winter, during snowfalls, the road could be covered and sometimes it was simply not possible to reach the village by car.

Now the way by car from Adler to the ski resort passes along a comfortable road, as far as I remember, for the most part with one lane in each direction. But due to the fairly dynamic movement of cars, one lane is enough, you can drive without overtaking.

Along the way they will meet a large number of tunnels and wonderful mountain landscapes that you can admire from the windows of the car.

If not for the traffic jam in Adler, the travel time by car from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana would take a little over an hour. But this Adler traffic jam, which begins even before the entrance to the settlement, passes through the entire Adler and continues until the turn to the airport, brings a fly in the ointment to a barrel of honey. Three times in the summer I went to the mountain lifts and all three times I lost more than half an hour to drive Adler.

Having reached the ski lifts of Rosa Khutor and parked the car, we go to the ticket office and buy a ticket for the cable car. I want to warn you right away that in the summer there are a lot of people who want to climb the mountains and a rather long line is lined up for tickets. According to my observations, in the morning the queues are small, but in the afternoon, when organized tourist groups, the queue grows before our eyes.

At the box office you can buy tickets of different prices, which depends on the number of cable cars you can ride. Since our goal is to climb one of the highest points of Krasnaya Polyana, buy "The Way to the Heights". That's what the ticket was called when I bought it in the summer of 2016. If suddenly by the time you are going for a walk there will be no tickets with this name, remember that you need the price to include the lift to Rosa Peak (2320 meters above sea level) and the lift on the Crocus chairlift, using which it will be possible to rise even higher - to a height of 2460 meters. Very close to the top point of the "Crocus" is the highest point of the Aibga mountain range - Kamenny Pillar (2509 meters above sea level).

After buying tickets, you can immediately go to the station to board the booths. The cabins are closed, so the rise in them will be comfortable for both adults and children. The photo below shows the cabin, to be honest, it is from a different cable car, but it is very similar to those used by Rosa Khutor.

The rise takes place in three stages:

1. "Rose Valley" to "Rose Plateau" at a height of 1170 meters. At this height is the Olympic Village.
2. "Rose Plateau" to "Arbor" to a height of 1350 meters.
3. "Arbor" to "Rose Peak" at a height of 2320 meters.

At the station "Besedka" there is an observation deck, a restaurant.

All stages are shown in the diagram (click to enlarge).

Most tourists, having risen to Rose Peak and examined great views mountain peaks, which open from the observation deck, goes down. But since our goal is to climb as high as possible, we, without wasting time, continue our journey on foot along reverse side Aibga ridge. You have to go along this dirt road.

The distance to Crocus from Rosa Peak, we walked with two children in 30 minutes. The primer mostly went downhill, there were ups, but insignificant. Besides us, there were few who wanted to climb the highest point.

As I said above, Crocus is a chair lift. And believe me, climbing on it will not leave you indifferent. In fifteen minutes, he will raise 2460 meters above sea level.

Ropeway Crocus
When climbing to the Stone Pillar, Crocus chairs sometimes pass through the clouds. There is a chance to touch the clouds with your hands

A very important note last time I climbed the Crocus in the summer of 2016 and it only worked on the ascent, I had to go down on foot along the dirt road.

Having risen, you will find yourself at the peak of Kamenny Pillar (2509 meters). I have never seen a higher lift in Krasnaya Polyana.

GPX format. It contains all the coordinate points of our walking path from Rosa Peak to Crocus, as well as the descent back.

After admiring the views from the Stone Pillar, we went down. Despite the fact that it was necessary to go downhill, physically it was not very easy. If you decide to take such a walk with small children, be prepared to carry them in your arms.

The descent to Rose Peak took an hour. After such a walk, the children were tired and we, having refreshed ourselves in the Vysota restaurant, set off on the lift on the way back to the car.

The ticket price included not only the ascent on the Crocus, but also the ascent and descent on the Wolf Rock cable car.

Lift "Wolf Rock"

"Wolf rock" as well as "Crocus" refers to a chair lift. You can transfer to it at the Besedka station. Landing on the "Wolf Rock" is located a hundred meters from the station and is not very noticeable. You can go to it by following the signs.

Tips for climbing Kamenny Pillar Peak, the highest point of Krasnaya Polyana accessible by ski lifts.

• • Since you have to walk, it is better to refrain from such a walk with small children.
  • Starting from Rosa Peak and above, the air temperature differs from the air temperature in Krasnaya Polyana, and even more so from the temperature on the coast. For example, on the day of our walk in Adler it was +30, and at the Stone Pillar the thermometer showed +18. At the time of the appearance of clouds, it became even cooler. Therefore, be sure to take sweaters, especially for children.
  • The road is unpaved with fairly steep and long descents, so walking in flip flops is not an option. And it's hard to walk, and you'll beat your feet on the stones. It is best to wear closed shoes, such as sneakers.
  • It is better to plan a walk in the first half of the day. At this time, panoramas will be better viewed in the mountains. In the second half, there is more chance of cloud cover that will cover the surrounding peaks.

• Cableway "Crocus" is open from 9.30 to 15.10.
• And very important! Unlike all other lifts, Crocus does not operate regularly. The ability to climb on it is highly dependent on weather conditions. Be sure to check his work on the official website of Rosa Khutor here at this link https://rosaski.com/skiing/lifts/?_ga=1.162167221.823745332.1488999783
• Also be sure to call the numbers listed on the site. I called for several days on the phone and they told me that Crocus was closed. And this despite the fact that the weather in Sochi was wonderful.

I advise, especially if you have not been in the mountains before, to follow the path I have described. I am sure that after passing this route, you will get one of the most vivid impressions of your vacation.

And finally

If you came to Krasnaya Polyana by car and after all the walks described above you still have the strength, you can spend another hour and drive a car along a picturesque highway called Alpine Highway.

On it you can climb up to a height of 1100 meters. Check out the views from it google maps in street view. But trust me, the reality is much better!

Carefully! Viewing may cause dizziness. Check for symptoms. Never thought I'd see this. The more I hear. It usually happens differently for everyone. At first, no one even suspects, but still you need to be prepared and know what to do.

A little lower we will talk about mountain heights.

Immediately after I refreshed myself in the Den, I became interested in the lift to Rosa Peak.

The information board showed +7 degrees at the very top. Cold? How to say. If there is sun, then it will be warm and you can sunbathe. And if the sky is covered with clouds, then the cold will be significantly felt. These are mountains. So I took a jacket.

The lifts here are cab 8-seater gondola type. The route is called - Caucasian Express (starts from a height of 1340 m and goes up to 2320 m)
At a speed of 6 meters per second, the cabin rushes up.

Way up.

Avalanche system Gazex. Triggers forced avalanches using the detonation of a mixture of oxygen and propane. Simply put, the snow is undermined and shaken, an avalanche is forced to come down. In the summer, all systems are checked, it is necessary to fix them by the winter.

Views of the mountains. Below is the Champions Trail. I took note, because I want to walk here.

The resort is constantly being built and developed.

We've arrived. Altitude 2327 meters above sea level. Nothing to worry about for me. I saw how many people experienced discomfort due to low atmospheric pressure.
In fact, this is a comfortable enough height for all people.

In the booth I heard, they say, here now the "miner" (mountain sickness) will hammer.
The answer followed - "What the hell is a miner, at 2000 meters ?!"

Yes indeed. Where?

Let's look at the emerging signs of this disease with increasing altitude:

Altitude 800 - 1000 meters above sea level. It is easy for almost everyone to carry.

Altitude 1000 - 2500 meters above sea level. Physically unprepared people may feel lethargic, there is a slight dizziness, the heartbeat quickens. "Gornyashki" no.

2500 - 3000 meters above sea level. For the majority who have risen sharply to such a height, behavior can change: the mood rises, laughter and fun arise for no reason, excessive talkativeness breaks through. "Gornyashki" no.

3000 - 5000 meters above sea level. Everything is serious here. For many, the same “miner” appears in the initial stage. Immediately the rhythm of breathing changes. There is a feeling of suffocation. Possibly nausea. Stomach ache. There is a change from euphoria to apathy and indifference. These signs may develop after some time.

5000 - 7000 meters above sea level and beyond. Dangerous height. Signs of weakness, heaviness, powerful fatigue. It is worth turning your head sharply and dizziness is felt. Blue lips, nosebleeds and hallucinations are the very signs that bring out altitude sickness.

But here on Rosa Peak, not everything is so scary - it's only 2000 meters =) The euphoria here goes off scale for some.

Local map.

Along the entire perimeter of the peak there are protective fences and signs.

You can easily slide down the slope.

View of the Olympic Village

In the distance - the Mountain Olympic Village from a height of 2327 meters.

More and more visitors are coming.

And someone says there is no one.

For tourists there is a place to turn around.

Mountain Olympic village from a height of 2327 meters.

about euphoria. When you miss it, take a hookah.

Mountain Stone Pillar 2509 meters

Everyone had a photo with this friend.

Pleased.

As I said. The sun came out and the tourists finally relaxed.

They took off their jackets, got up hookahs and started a difficult task - a selfie against the backdrop of the mountains.

Look down, there is an abyss everywhere.

Somewhere there is snow.

A few more weeks and it won't be there at all.

View of the Rosa Stadium.

Cableway to the southern slope.

View from the south side of the mountain.

There is an information board for tourists.

Time to get down.

The clouds rolled in right there.

And it got very cold.

Traditional panorama

The Rosa Khutor Ski Resort is a legacy of the XXII Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi. Every year the resort "Rosa Khutor" only increases its popularity among tourists. Now Sochi attracts not only beach holiday in the summer season, but the opportunity to try out the snowy mountain slopes of the Caucasus, skiing or snowboarding in the winter season. The Rosa Khutor ski resort is currently the largest in Russia. This is the only place in the country where you can hold competitions in all types of skiing, snowboarding and freestyle.

All resort facilities are located on the slopes of the Aibga ridge: northern and southern. Ropeways have been built from Rose Valley from the mark of 560 meters from sea level to the mark of 2320 meters of Rose Peak. Modern lifts manufactured by industry leaders Doppelmayr and Leither-Poma operate year-round at the resort's guests. In total, the Rosa Khutor resort has 28 ski lifts, providing a daily throughput of tens of thousands of people. All types of lifts are presented here: gondola, chairlifts, conveyor and rope tows.

How to get from Sochi and Adler

Rosa Khutor resort is located at an altitude of 560 meters above sea level in picturesque valley Mzymta river. Getting to Rosa Khutor is not difficult. The resort is located just 40 kilometers from Adler and 70 kilometers from Sochi. The fastest options to get to the resort are by car along the modern highway or by train along the new railway line. The slowest bus rides, but the cost of the ticket is the most budgetary.

• from 300 rubles - the train "Swallow". The schedule can be viewed;
• from 200 rubles - buses No. 105 and No. 105s (from Sochi), No. 135 (from Adler);
• from 1000 rubles - taxi.

Where to live on vacation?

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Accommodation at the Rosa Khutor ski resort

The choice of accommodation is quite large: from hostels to 5-star hotels. Currently on ski resort Rosa Khutor has 14 hotels. On the banks of the Mzymta River in Rosa Dolina there are 6 large hotels well-known companies: Radisson, Golden Tulip, Accor and Azimuth.

At an altitude of 1150 meters on the "Rose Plateau" there are 8 more hotels. It was on the "Rose Plateau" that the Olympic Village was located, where athletes lived during the 2014 Winter Olympics. After the Olympics, all buildings were converted into hotels and hostels, where anyone can stay today.

rental

Rosa Khutor Resort has official ski and snowboard equipment rentals. In them you can always pick up equipment for any level of skiing: from amateur to professional. At the rental point, you can also rent full equipment: jacket, pants, helmet, mask, gloves and other accessories.

Ski pass - a single electronic ticket for the lifts

Rosa Khutor resort has a single e-ticket for all lifts - ski pass. In the winter season, the resort offers several types of ski passes: family, children, group, individual, as well as seasonal and annual for adults and children.

Most tourists choose to purchase a one-day or multi-day ski pass. And this is logical if you came to ride for a short time. A one-day ski pass, as well as a multi-day one, gives you the opportunity to ski from 8:30 to 17:00 on all open slopes of the Rosa Khutor resort and, of course, use all working cable cars. If this is not enough for you, then it is worth paying extra for evening skiing and continuing down the slope under the starry sky. But do not forget about the time of the last lift on the cable car for the final descent.




There are offers for frequent guests of the resort - these are seasonal and annual ski passes. Such ski passes are personal cards with a photo of the owner and include day and evening skiing. The seasonal ski pass is valid from the beginning of the winter season until its end. The term of the annual ski pass lasts from the beginning of the winter season until the end of the next summer season and includes the possibility of using the bike pass.

It is important to remember that the resort has a personalization system for all ski passes, that is, each card has a photo of the owner assigned to it. You will not be able to transfer your ski pass to someone else or take turns using one ski pass for two. When the control system detects violations, the security service confiscates the ski pass without compensation.

Tracks

The Rosa Khutor ski resort is the largest ski area in Russia. One day of skiing will not be enough to go around all the tracks. The total length of all routes is 102 kilometers, with a height difference of up to 1534 meters. Rosa Khutor has a modern system of artificial snow making of tracks, which increases the duration of the skiing season up to 140 days a year. The winter season starts in December and ends in April. Of course, the skiing season largely depends on the "unstable" weather in Krasnodar Territory in winter. When the winter in the region is cold and snowy, then all the tracks work at the resort. The best time for skiing is considered to be from January to March, at which time a stable snow cover is already formed.

The resort offers all types of trails. According to the level of difficulty, they are classified: green, blue, red and black. There is even a track for tobogganing and tubing.
Green trails are considered easy and suitable for beginners and anyone who likes quiet descents along forest alleys. In addition to the training slope, skiers and snowboarders are usually trained on the green slopes.

The blue slopes are considered medium in difficulty. On such tracks, those who have mastered all the basic elements feel comfortable. The slope of the blue slopes makes it possible to ride at a good speed, and the absence of sharp changes in the terrain makes the slopes more interesting and varied.

Red runs require good technique from the rider and are considered difficult. On the red runs there is always a steep slope and there are no gentle sections.
Black slopes are suitable only for professionals. They are designed for confident skiers and snowboarders. The black slopes at Rosa Khutor are the most difficult, because they were designed for Olympic downhill skiing.

View from the top, the height of "Rose Peak" - 2320 meters. There is an observation platform for tourists and a cafe where you can relax. This is the highest point for the descent. Black and red runs start from here. These trails are only for experienced and fearless skiers and snowboarders. In 2014, athletes flew down from here for a while. Tina Maze from Slovenia and Dominik Gisin from Switzerland showed the same the best time 1:41.57, breaking 2730 meters!

Video: Rosa Khutor, cable car to Rosa Peak.

In this part, we will talk about a walk on the lifts in the mountains in Rosa Khutor, in fact, for the sake of which we dropped in for the last three days of vacation in Sochi.

1. Our journey began from the Adler railway station. This is a new station building built for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The new station building was built next to the old building and built over railroad tracks. The construction of the new Adler station began in 2010 and was completed in 2013 a couple of months before the start of the 2014 Olympics. The new Adler station was inaugurated on October 28, 2013. The shape of the new building resembles an oncoming wave. The capacity of the Adler new railway station is from 2,000 to 4,000 passengers per hour. Solar panels are installed on the roof of the station, thanks to which heat is supplied.

2. The old building of the railway station of the Adler station was put into operation in 1954, even before the village of Adler became part of Greater Sochi (1961).
In this place, a large number of taxi drivers are circling ready to take you anywhere. Agreed with one of them to reach for 200 rubles. from a person. The minibus cost about 130 rubles, but it takes a very long time to ride it, since the route lies along the old highway with stops in all settlements on the way to. Last year we rode it, it's still a pleasure :) The new track to Rosa Khutor is simply gorgeous, 35-40 minutes and we are there. The taxi driver offered the option of buying lift tickets at the same prices as at the box office, but without a queue. According to him, there should be just wild queues. At the entrance to Rosa Khutor, a seller of these same tickets is standing by the side of the road. In general, we refused, the taxi driver’s indignation knew no bounds :) Looking ahead, I’ll say that there were no queues, there were a lot of ticket offices. Most likely, we would have been sold a ticket only for the first level of the ascent at the price of a ticket for three ascents (1300 rubles). Outwardly, tickets cannot be distinguished in any way, they are magnetic.

3. Here we are, beauty :)

4. The ubiquitous McDonald's is here too.

5. One of the branches of the lift.

6. A huge samovar met visitors at the entrance of one of the many cafes.

7. The tower of the Town Hall building, stylized as the tower of the Sochi railway station. Those who wish can take pictures on the pedestal.

8. Bridge over the Mzymta river.

9. View of the river from the bridge, everything was built for the Olympics, there are just a ton of different hotels here.

10. On the right is a multi-storey parking lot.

11. In the meantime, without hesitation, we bought tickets and went to the mountains.

12. A splendid view opens from the cabin of the lift to the Mzymta floodplain.

13. we walked here last year.

14.

15. Branch lift "Olympia".

16. This is a mountainous Olympic village on Rosa Plateau, 1170 m above sea level.

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18. The flags of the countries from which the athletes participated in the Olympics and lived in these rooms hang on the balconies.

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20.

21. Branch of the lift "Reserved Forest".

22. Roza Priyut (upper station of the Olympia ski lift). Panorama, click-to-zoom.

23. I never figured out what kind of building it was.

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25. And around the mountains.

26. Top in the clouds.

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29. We go further, a view of the Olympic village.

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31. Later we will go to the very top of Rose Peak, 2320 m above sea level.

32. At an altitude of 1350 m there is also a cafe :)

33. We rode on closed lifts, now it's the turn for open ones. We go through the tunnel to the open branch "Wolf Rock".

33. Ivan tea in color.

34. Uuuuhh rushed :)))

35. Mountain coolness, Fresh air and gorgeous views, what else do you need?

36. It looks like fresh water reserves, an artificial reservoir.

37. We are going back.

38. Landing on the lift "Wolf Scada".

39.

40. At the very top it was very cloudy, cold ...

41. In August, all the slopes of the mountains bloom, it would be nice to get here in May, if only there was snow on the tops of the mountains.

42. Here, at a height of 2320 m, such devices reach.

43. Nothing is visible below.

44. I don’t know what the flowers are called.

45. Ivan tea again.

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47.

48.

48. Restaurant "Vysota 2320", here "Zhatetsky Goose" costs 350 rubles. 0.5 l.

49. For a long time I could not understand what it was, it turned out to be an anti-avalanche system.

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51.

52. For a moment, the cloud left and the Olympic village below became a little visible.

53. Rose Peak is one of the highest observation platforms Sochi, accessible by gondola lift, with unique 360 ​​degree panoramic views. - on the mountain ranges Abkhazia and the Black Sea from the south, the Psekhako Range from the north. All this is visible, unless of course there are no clouds :)

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57. The road to Aibga, you can ride a horse. We won't go there.

58. We'll go to stone pillar at an altitude of 2509 m, but that will be in the next part.