In the 1980s, the Soviet Union was among the world leaders in terms of the scale of tourist movement. If in the 1920s travelers organized trips and expeditions to explore the area, helping geologists and cartographers, by the 1960s it had become a truly mass occupation. The state encouraged and regulated this approach in every possible way: a system for preparing tourists was created, the work of route qualification commissions and control and rescue services was organized, and funds were allocated annually for the development of mass tourism. Many people remember tours, contests, and other events that were held regularly. Tourist travel was included in the TRP set of standards. In 1975, there were 350 all-Union routes and 6,000 local routes in the country. They were divided into hiking, skiing, water, biking, mixed, etc.
In the 1990s, the government-funded industry declined. Planned tourism stopped developing, routes were closed, campsites and parking lots were abandoned. But today the tourist movement is coming back thanks to enthusiasts, private travel agencies and also because the state drew attention to the need for its reactivation.
This year, the first tourist rally “Mayovka. More than a trip” took place, new walking routes are being developed, and money is being allocated for the creation of infrastructure. Among the ongoing events, for example, the All-Russian contest for the best author’s journey “Far East – Land of Adventures”. Its participants should not only develop their own route and film their passage on video, but also describe in detail all the stages of the journey – from preparation to completion. The chairman of the jury, a well-known traveler, a member of the coordination council for the development of children’s tourism under the government of the Russian Federation, Matvey Shparo, set the task to the contestants: “So that anyone can watch the film and understand for themselves themselves: this is where I definitely want to go, and this video shows and says that I need to do this.”
“Main interest in outdoor activities, hiking in general, is growing year on year, but when people come across specifics, the sales funnel narrows,” the Adventure Club company said. Because? “Unlike an all-inclusive vacation, here you will need equipment, the quality of which directly affects the enjoyment of the vacation, and physical stamina is also required. Some trips will not be accepted without similar experience. There are many nuances to consider due to to the terrain, weather, individual training of each participant.” The club says the coronavirus pandemic has given hiking a second life: “That’s when we were faced with a huge number of people who wanted to take an active trip. Despite the commercial component, true romantics work in this industry. , because to lead a group to the mountains, you need to be a passionate person “Every instructor has his own path to the profession: someone wants to travel more and earn money from it, someone likes the lifestyle in nature, in tents, someone has such a philosophical life span when they want to communicate with people, look in conditions of active tourism.
For example, the mountain hiking instructor Alena Vasilyeva was fascinated by her mother. “The first time she took me on a hike was when I was seven years old,” Alena says. When she became an adult, she and her mother founded the Adventure Club. The girl took part in rafting on the Okhta River, and then thought about becoming an instructor. “For me, this is a very good opportunity to do what I love and at the same time travel to such beautiful places that not everyone can reach and reach. Of course, I work with people and we are all different, I try to find my own approach to everyone, and this is both challenging and interesting at the same time. Alena has been doing this since 2001 and believes that the main thing in a walk is safety. “I try to convey to each of my contestants that he needs to go crazy and soberly assess the situation, take care of himself and his comrades.”
“Ah, path, path, familiar blue bird! I have long fallen in love with your steep path,” Yuri Vizbor sang. Photo: vizbor.ru
Instructors lead tourists on easy weekend hikes in the Leningrad region and Moscow region, and on mountain trips around the Caucasus with accommodation in tents. “There go families with children, young boys and girls, older people. Each route has its own public. Experienced tourists choose rafting with rapids, climbing or long mountain hikes with backpacks. For beginners, weekend hikes, Mountain camps with accommodation are more suitable for tourist bases and bright radial exits”, explained Club Aventura.
But in different regions of the country there are also communities of like-minded people who are united by a love for the romance of travel. They not only go on walks, but also attend the necessary physical training during breaks: they learn to manage equipment, navigate on the map with a compass, and provide first aid. For example, in Vladivostok, the Splav water sports tourism club has been operating for many decades. “We do not organize commercial rafting, rather we have a community of interests. We are looking for new people with whom we do sports tourism. It happens that they themselves find us, our instructors,” said Ekaterina Kozyreva, president of the club.
“The beauty of rafting for me personally is teamwork. This is a walk with like-minded people: imagine, you ended up there together with ten other calm people, and besides you, for hundreds of kilometers around, no one. You have everything, you don’t have anything else, you don’t need it, you have confidence in the equipment and you can really enjoy the river, going through the rapids, that’s the adrenaline!” she admits
“With the arrival of a commercial niche in our region, many began to do rafting like this: they paid for the tour, took a walk, went home. But here is another romance – to assemble a catamaran yourself, to be confident in your partner. , to spend the evenings by the fire with a guitar…”
By the way
Photo: wikimedia.org
Seasoned travelers remember that every trip in Soviet times was a small life. And the chronic shortage of equipment, equipment and products only added to the excitement. Preparation for the trip began almost half a year earlier: they themselves drew maps, made equipment, sewed, glued, invented – they lived for the future trip. No wonder bards Yuri Kukin, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Yuri Vizbor, Ada Yakusheva and many others sang about the romance of hiking expeditions, rafting and mountaineering.
