Lost Snowboarder Survives Over a Day in Siberian Taiga

Recently, about 200 km from Krasnoyarsk in the taiga of the Mansk-Uyar District, Krasnoyarsk snowboarder and experienced hiker Vladimir Kiyutsin got lost. He went with a group to ride on Mount Argydzhek — a popular spot among Krasnoyarsk tourists. But there is no signal and absolutely no infrastructure. Vladimir disappeared for more than a day. He was searched for by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) and volunteers. Everything turned out fine; he was found. He is still recovering from the night spent in the mountain taiga and will need a long time to recuperate. But he told NGS24.RU correspondent Alexey Taiganaut the details of how he survived in the winter forest. What follows is in Vladimir«s own words.

Breaking Trail Through Knee-Deep Snowdrifts

— 31 January we left the city around seven in the morning. Probably by about ten o«clock we had already arrived at the spot. We all gathered safely and headed along the trail directly to the summit, to Argydzhek.

There were seven people in the group, and not just friends, acquaintances: we just contacted whoever was interested. There were snowboarders and skiers.

We ascended along the main trail that everyone usually takes. Well, saying «trail» is a bit strong; it was more of a direction, because there was a lot of snow. We were breaking trail through snowdrifts up to the knees in places.

We were lucky; the temperature was comfortable, so no one was freezing, there was no wind. The sun was shining. I don«t know how many hours we walked, probably no less than three. We stopped somewhere to rest, somewhere to have a snack, drink tea.

We went through a kurum field directly to the summit. There, of course, the conditions were much harsher: strong wind, to the point that it simply knocked you off your feet. We stood for a couple of minutes literally, confirmed that we were on the summit. And from there, we headed towards the point where we started on skis and snowboards.

Had to Use the Board to Help Myself, Dig Out of Snowdrifts

We all started together as one group. It just happened in the moment that I got a bit separated from the group. I rode ahead a little.

The others had already gone to the side. When I saw that they were above me and to the side, I first tried to go in their direction as well. But I couldn«t intersect with them.

The slope of the mountain no longer allowed me to ride directly in their direction. Well, that«s it, I went a bit lower. I assumed that I would come out to the trail we had ascended on. But I was a bit mistaken in that, it turns out, and I didn»t ride out onto the trail.

After that, I rode to a gentle section, that is, to a complete plain.

I remember walking with the hope that I would either meet someone or come out to the trail. At that moment, my phone had died (mobile signal doesn«t work on Argydzhek), I had no watch. But there was definitely still a lot of time until dark.

This was already taiga, such dense forest, no slopes to slide down. That is, I had to unstrap and walk on foot.

Sometimes I had to use the board to help myself, dig out of snowdrifts. Snow up to the knees, in some places I sank even deeper. That«s how I had to make my way.

Doing Things So That I Would Be Heard and Noticed

I walked intuitively, you could say. I roughly thought that if I go in that direction, I«ll eventually come out to the trail, or meet someone from people, tourists, maybe meet my own. But my hopes were not justified.

What did I have with me? Just the bare minimum. I somehow didn«t count on such adventures. So I only had a walkie-talkie, a flashlight, some tea — a little, a couple of sips in a thermos — one candy left. A tourist folding knife and a lighter.

I periodically tried to make a request on the walkie-talkie, switched frequency channels, but somehow couldn«t contact anyone, no one answered. The thing is, our group didn»t have walkie-talkies.

I was wearing professional ski clothing, so I wasn«t freezing, no wind was piercing through. Everything was going well. Even before dusk, I realized that I was completely lost. When it got dark, I thought that I needed to get out faster somehow, because I hadn»t planned to spend the night in the forest.

But I understood that if this did happen, I needed to approach the situation rationally. And in any case, try to do something, look for a way out, or some landmarks. Or do things so that I would be heard and noticed.

In general, with the onset of darkness, I definitely understood that I would have to spend the night in the forest. I didn«t give in to any panic, I immediately chased away all anxious thoughts. I rationally thought about what to do, what actions to take, I was just as collected as possible.

Can«t Sleep, Need to Keep Going

I was at the bottom and tried to climb higher. Then I found a more or less sheltered spot from the wind, tried to light a fire.

To warm up, rest, plus, maybe someone would see the fire, understand where I am. But I couldn«t light it because all the deadwood branches are covered with moss, and it»s frozen. They wouldn«t ignite at all.

But I decided to rest a little anyway, lay down and realized that I was starting to feel sleepy. I perked myself up, said: «Okay, can»t sleep, need to keep going.« And that»s it. I kept walking constantly so as not to fall asleep and not freeze.

They Didn«t Hear or See Me

I saw a mountain ahead and went towards it to look around, find at least some landmarks. Because in the dark in the forest, it«s completely unclear where anything is, which direction.

With difficulty, I climbed directly to the summit itself and from there saw car headlights in the distance, flashlights flickering in the forest. I also tried to shine with my flashlight. By the way, the whole time I was climbing, I was shouting. On the mountain, I tried to give sound signals. Around one o«clock at night, plus or minus.

But, apparently, everything was so far away that neither they heard or saw me, nor I them. I just understood in which direction they were, and started descending from this mountain towards there. The road, of course, was excessively difficult.

And, accordingly, while I was walking, dawn already broke. I reached the searchers somewhere around 10–11 a.m. What distance did I cover? I don«t even know myself, maybe not so great, but it was hard to walk.

Apologized for the Circumstances

As far as I understood, they saw me or my tracks from a drone. I, by the way, saw that it was flying. So, for the most part, it was they who found me. And I just approached them to meet as quickly as possible.

Well, when I already heard and saw people, relief came, my mood lifted.

I told everyone that I was glad to see and hear them. Apologized for the circumstances and said that I didn«t want to create such a problem for anyone.

Was I scared? Overall, being in the forest at night, I wasn«t particularly worried for myself, no, I wasn»t scared. I understood that I was fine, I could do everything that depended on me. I didn«t break any bones, didn»t get hurt, nothing like that. I just need to get out somehow.

Actually, I was more afraid and worried for my relatives and loved ones, for those who were riding with me. This is a new stressful situation for them. Later, many wrote to me how scared they were and worried about me.

All Muscles Ache, Can Barely Move

Health-wise… I wouldn«t say I caught a cold badly. Now I feel a little that I might have chilled my throat somewhere. Didn»t frostbite my hands or feet. Fatigue, of course, naturally. I still have all my joints aching, all my muscles, can barely move. Now I«m trying to recover.

It turned out that I was on my feet all this time, over a day. From when we arrived at 10:00 a.m. until 11 a.m. the next day. I understood that if I fell asleep, I would frostbite my hands or feet, or even freeze completely.

Went to Calm Down His Mom, Relatives

I made a mistake because, first, my phone was apparently not sufficiently charged. Plus it died quickly on the summit, where the wind was blowing and it was cold. And second, I didn«t take any navigation equipment with me. Now I»ll always take this into account.

The first thing I did when I returned was go to calm down my mom, relatives, we met, everything is fine. After that, I went directly to my home, to my girlfriend. She was also very worried.

Everyone who came with me — they all participated in the search. They walked until dark, then drove to Narva, called the rescuers. And continued the search together with them. Volunteers also came.

And to all who helped in the search, I want to say a separate big thank you. My gratitude simply cannot be described in words. The fact that people responded really warms the soul.

Will I go to Argydzhek again? I will, but sometime later, definitely not this year. Just like on other hikes — as I went, so I will go.