Climbing a Terrikon. The Summit of a Miners' Barrow

Terrikons in a mining region have always been symbols of the miners' settlements; without them the industrial landscape of the Donbas is impossible to imagine. These "dark barrows" lure conquerors of summits and lovers of contemplating town panoramas from a bird's-eye view. Climbing the newer waste heaps carries a danger - the rock mass goes on burning out, giving off gas and forming voids. The little old extinct volcanoes of long-closed mines are conquered constantly; the ascent has become an ordinary walk to a rock peak, and enthusiasts have created their own kind of health trails.

 

The terrikon of mine No. 5-6. Myrnohrad, Donetsk region

Sometimes an ascent of the local landmark is dedicated to particular events, and guests are invited on a walk to the summit of the man-made mountain to get acquainted with the features of industrial agglomerations. 

But even the lowest terrikon cannot be climbed by those who are afraid of heights, by the indifferent, or by beer bellies.

 

For an ascent to a not too dizzying height my choice fell on a veteran terrikon rising in the centre of Myrnohrad, a mining town in the Donetsk region. 

Mine No. 3-3 "bis" came into operation before the revolution and closed at the end of the 1970s. The working of the coal seams was cut back, and the technical boundaries of the neighbouring coal enterprises came right up close and closed together.

 

The terrikon of mine No. 3-3 "bis". Myrnohrad, Donetsk region

A walk along a beaten path would not bring the desired result, while a forced march over crumbling ground demands a certain effort. I came up to the southern slope of the truncated cone, on which the recent traces of romantic daredevils could be seen, and the forcing of the rock scree began.

 

I recalled the tactical experience of taking the worked-out dump of the kaolin quarry in Prosiana and the trial of the "Purgatory" on the Dovbush rocks in the Carpathian foothills. A goose step up a slope of 40-60 degrees alternated with fairly quick progress. Everything depended on the firmness of the ground and on the slides of the rock mass.

 

Sometimes low thickets of acacia hindered manoeuvres, the thorny branches caught at my clothes and scratched my hands.

 

The day turned out hot for the middle of May, and the effect of the sun's rays was felt more and more. There was no doing without an intermediate halt: I had to quench my thirst and look back at the stretch of the way already covered, which had taken about 7 minutes.

 

The rest and the working out of tactics for the further ascent took a few minutes. Thoughts spun in my head that the full load would fall on the descent, but the main thing is not to break into a run and not to hurry.

The view to the south-east

The view to the south-west

About 5 minutes more - and I am on the lower tier of the dump's cut-off summit. This contemporary of Myrnohrad has been recultivated in order to avoid possible seats of spontaneous combustion. The slopes of the rock bluff have covered themselves with wild vegetation, turning the menacing dump into a landscape park of a kind.

 

In some places the conquerors of the mountain have created something like viewing platforms, next to which the remains of a campfire and picnics can be seen.

 

A little more of a walk that is not exhausting at all, and I came out onto the mountain plateau, from which a circular panorama of the town opened up.

The view to the south-west

The view to the west

It is strange to see familiar places from an unaccustomed angle: the slender lines of the blocks, the layout of the residential districts, the roofs of the houses. Visibility of 8-10 kilometres makes it possible to see the brother terrikons and the headframes of the Kapitalna, Tsentralna, Rodynska and No. 5-6 mines, and of the Novohrodivka coal enterprises as well. The domes of the church of St Victor in Myrnohrad and of St Michael's in Pokrovsk shone gold in the sun.

The view to the north-west

The view to the north

The view east and towards the Kapitalna mine

The view to the east

As a result of the recultivation, two little clearings about 40 and 60 metres across have formed on the terrikon. Football is probably played here; miners always were and remain ardent fans.

 

Thickets of poplar, acacia and lilac border the clearings. A little oak has even seeded itself. A couple of weeks more and a white blizzard of poplar fluff will start whirling from the mountain.

 

Birds nest in the thicket; the bustle of the town does not disturb them here, and the terrikon serves as a splendid bridgehead for their flights.

 

In the little grove on the north-western side a hollow has formed, along the bottom of which a path is laid. Hurrah! I shall not have to roll down the steep slope, but will walk with pleasure along a corridor where travellers from the nearest residential districts pass to and fro.

 

The southern slope of the ravine is covered with green grass and resembles a strawberry glade, while the northern one is gloomy, without a single leaf on the young growth.

 

In places monoliths of sandstone and other rocks have slid down from the slopes, creating an exhibition of samples of worked-out rock mass.

The descent took 2-3 minutes, and the whole walk a little over an hour. In a positive mood I take the last photo as a keepsake and leave the coordinates for those who wish to experience similar emotions.

Coordinates:  48°17'41"N 37°16'18"E

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This story is also available in Ukrainian: Сходження на терикон. Підкорення вершини шахтарського кургану та споглядання околиць