What to prefer: guided or self-guided tours?

When traveling on his own one collects not only impressions of new places but also the experience of self-guiding in this or that country. People who prefer trips without professional guides should be ready to meet with surprises as well as with unexpected events on their way.

In 1981 I worked near Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. I was with the group of my co-workers in the National Park ‘Stolby’ hereabouts. The trip was guided by the local ranger. The place was so beautiful that I went there again on my own one week later. I didn’t choose beaten paths. After two passes between mountains I met bushes of the wild red currant, then a cold stream. Then fearing to lose my way I decided to follow one of The Park’s trails. I went along one of them for a while and I found a strange thing – the trail ended suddenly. But that was not the end of that route. Three meters aside and two meters downside that way had a continuation. But I couldn’t reach that side because there were cliffs between. Some time later I was attacked by a huge bird. After that I understood: I wasn’t in the National Park, I was in the Nature Reserve somewhere nearby. Mountain goats had made the way I went on.

But my journey has one more surprise. ‘Stolby’ has it’s famous high rocks to climb. After I had reached the top of one rock I decided to find out the new climb-down from that rock. My exploration wasn’t too long. After I jumped down to the small flat ground two meters below, I realized that there was no way further, just almost vertical fall for a hundred meters downwards. So I should go back but… I couldn’t jump up the two meter height to reach the trail by which I climbed up. To my great joy I wasn’t alone there. Two Alpinists were hanging with the rope over the chasm not so far from me. They had a rest while watching my useless attempts. The solution found by me was to elevate one of my legs at the level of my shoulders… It took me about fifteen minutes to get out from that stage.

So please decide whether you need a guide - before your tour, but not after.

We can consider our life as our life-time trip. And for this trip we have the same dilemma.

Alexandr G. Lukash

28th Jan 2003

Thanks to Alla Buriyanskaya, Belarus,
and Anka, SAR, for the proof-reading