From the city of Maykop (the capital of Adygea) on a clear day you can see a majestic mountain peak covered with eternal snows. This is Oshten - a mountain that is part of the Fisht-Oshten Range. A deep gorge separates it from Mount Fisht.
origin of name
From the Adyghe language the name of Mount Oshten is translated as “eternal snow”. Largely due to these glaciers located to the west and below other glaciers of the Caucasus Range, the mountain is known to mountain climbers in our country. It was the climbers who gave Oshten a second name - "the mountain where the ax is dropped." It is due to the impregnability of its peaks.
Hiking routes have been laid from the south and north of the mountain. There is something to see for both beginners and experienced climbers. In the north, Mount Oshten (photo you see below) rises with picturesque stone ridges. And on its southern slopes, in addition to magnificent landscapes, you can meet graceful animals - Caucasian chamois, which in small herds pass from one rock to another.
History
In addition to the names listed, this mountain has several more. One of them is "the peak that collects rain and hail." The Abadzekhs, who for centuries inhabited the mountainous territories of Adygea, were sun worshipers. For them was sacred Oshten. The mountain, or rather its peak, has become a sanctuary for them. There is a version that it could be named after Eshtan - the Hittite god of the sun.
Scientists claim that millions of years ago there was a bottom of the sea, and the current mountains in those days were coral reefs. Therefore, today the former bottom of the sea - the Fisht-Oshten mountain range with the peaks of Oshten, Psheho-Su and Fisht - is called the “coral island”. This huge, almost three kilometers high sea reef, consisting of sandstone, is permeated with coral branches.
Mount Oshten: where is it located?
The coordinates of the mountain are 44 ° 00 's. w. and 39 ° 56 'in. It forms a mountain range with Mount Fisht, with a wide peak torn into several parts. Along it stretches a path leading to the Shitlibsky or Belorechensky pass (1 905 m), to the valley of the river Shah, which extends to the Black Sea. The Oshten and Fisht mountains are the first peaks located from the west of the Caucasus Range, which rise to the height of the snow line.
Description Oshten
This majestic mountain is the second highest peak of this mountain range. It consists of limestone. The height of Oshten mountain is 2 804 meters. By this indicator, it is quite a bit inferior to its neighbor - Mount Fisht, whose height is 2, 867 meters. From the wide and flat peak of Oshten, which can accommodate about a hundred people at a time, there are picturesque views of the snowy slopes of Psheho-Su and Fisht, of the Fisht Tooth, its Small and Big Glaciers.
Rivers
Alpine meadows of the Lago-Naki plateau, rocky ridges of mountain ranges and the picturesque canyons of the Cice and Kurdzhips rivers, which carry their waters to the north, stretch from the north side of the mountain.
The rivers Belaya, Teplyak, and Armyanka originate on the southern slopes. The Armenian woman is very popular among tourists who are attracted by the grand canyon and beautiful waterfalls. Trout is caught here, and the slopes are covered with blueberry bushes, which is unusual in these places: the bushes reach a height of two meters, and the berries are the size of a large grape.
Fauna
The slopes of the mountain are inhabited by Caucasian chamois. Locals call them black goats. This is a very rare species, which is listed in the Red Book. The population of these animals in recent years has been greatly reduced. Often they become prey to wolves or poachers.
In addition to chamois, Sivertsev's goats for many years lived here. Nowadays, tourists can see them only at the zoo. But noble deer can still be found here, however, quite rarely.
Oshten in winter
In front of the top, in the east, Oshten has a circus bowl. It is covered with packed layers of snow. In Soviet times, skiers from the USSR Olympic team quite often went down the slope of Lago-Naki. The snow cover here does not disappear even at the highest air temperatures. The length of the slope is about 400 meters.
The steep rocky ridges on the northern slope of the mountain, covered with snow, amaze with their beauty. A sparkling fluffy bedspread covers a wide canyon east of the peak of Oshten. He goes down under a large slope, but the most desperate alpine skiing enthusiasts descend on it on skis.
Legends
Numerous folk tales and legends are covered by Mount Fisht and Mount Oshten. Legends about them are passed down from generation to generation, and the watchmen are happy to retell their guests. We will tell you one of them.
This happened in those ancient times, when proud and freedom-loving mountaineers lived freely on the land of their ancestors. They sowed huge arable lands, grazed cattle, engaged in fishing and hunting. And nothing foreshadowed that disaster was approaching this peaceful people. But what to be - that cannot be avoided. And once, like a black thundercloud, they moved to the land of the mountaineers from the sea hordes of enemies who were famous for their cruelty.
They began to kill the helpless old men and young and strong men, and they drove women and children into slavery. And then the council of elders gathered to decide how to defeat the insidious enemy, how to free their native land. The old men thought for a long time and decided that they had only one way out: to fight to the last drop of blood.
But the wise elders did not want to throw all the forces into battle at once. They decided to divide them into three parts, so that each of them became a formidable rampart that would roll on the enemy and put him on the run.
The first squad consisted of gray-haired old men, who were led by Fisht, an experienced warrior, to the battle. Old fighters were not accustomed to heavy campaigns and bloody battles, they had seen a lot in their lifetime. The severity of the shields did not scare them, and the clang of swords was like fine music for them. The old men fought frantically. Many enemies laid their heads on the battlefield. But the forces were not equal, and the old people died, all to one.
Then a young squad came out against the enemy, led by the brave Oshten. Feel free to fight the sons of the dead old men. The battle lasted several days and nights. But in the battle Oshten’s squad also fell.
And then hope remained only on the youngest warriors. The young Lago led the grandchildren of the dead old men to the battle. The young men fought long and fearlessly. He was mortally wounded in a Lago battle. The horse brought the body of a dying warrior to the house of his bride, the beautiful Naki. The brave girl put on the armor of her beloved and led the rest of the squad to the enemy.
And the enemy could not stand such a force. He ran to the sea and never returned to this land. Since then, the gray-headed mountains Oshten, Fisht have stood silently on Adyghe land, and next to them is the young highland of Lago-Naki.
