Description of the attraction
Many peaks of the Ural Mountains have their own history, which is associated with ancient legends or with real events that once happened in this area. One of them is Mount Yerkusey or, as locals often call it, Shaman Mountain. It is located in the upper reaches of the Balbanju River, the left tributary of the Kozhim River. The height of the mountain is 1099 meters.
Mount Yerkusey is impressive and remembered for a long time. She, like a bastion, stands alone between two mountain ranges, blocking the entrance to the gorge that leads to the Pelingichi River. The correct outlines of the slopes and steep ledges really give Yerkusey the resemblance to a massive tower, and the flat top, resembling a table, only enhances this impression.
For more than a dozen years, reindeer herders who roam in this area and tell stories and legends about the Shaman Mountain have been "breaking" their summer dwelling at the foot of Yerkusei. Everyone knows that powerful spirits of mountains, lakes and rivers live here, which you should always remember, try to please them so as not to get angry, and bring gifts. There are many ways to communicate with the Almighty, but the most correct is this one: in clear weather you need to climb to the top, raise your eyes to the sky and think about something very important and good. The spirits will surely hear these thoughts and will try to help them realize them. Therefore, there is no better place than the flat summit of Yerkusei for this kind of communication. But it should be noted that the slopes here are very steep, and somewhere even steep, and not everyone will be able to climb to the very top.
One legend tells that in the old days one person lived in these parts. Whether he was a sorcerer or not, he could heal people, predict the weather, and talk about the future. He lived in a hut at the very foot of Yerkusei, and people came to him for help and advice from both the eastern and western slopes of the Ural Mountains. He brought a lot of good to people. Reindeer cannot be found or what kind of ailment will happen - it will prompt or predict. The old shaman turned to the many-sided spirits of tundra, parma and water for different needs. He will climb to the top of the mountain, lay out his amulets there and wait for him to be given a prophetic sign. It so happened that it was cloudy around, heavy clouds were hanging and rain was pouring around everything, in the valley below the chilly wind whistles, it seems that snow will fall, and over the Shaman Mountain it is like a "window", even the sun is peeping out. Then the old man will go downstairs and say that everything will be fine. And if it happens that the clouds suddenly close, the wind intensifies and screams like an animal, rain falls on snow, then the Great Ones are angry - they do not want to let people into the mountains. So, you need to sit out in a warm place and wait for favors.
This went on for a long time. More and more people went to the old shaman. Many requests fell on his shoulders. Having learned about the wonderful witchcraft opportunities, people began to come to him with different everyday intentions. The old man grew more and more gloomy, and it became more and more difficult for him to reach the top of the mountain. And it happened one day that the shaman disappeared in a terrible storm without ever descending from Yerkusei. They say that people saw the clouds open, a blue sky appeared, and a ray of the sun looked out from above through this "window". Then the clouds again closed in a continuous veil, the wind hummed and carried snow squalls over the Urals. The old shaman disappeared, no one ever saw him again. Some of the daredevils went upstairs and found nothing there. Amulets were laid out only on a flat stone. Since then, this peak has been called Shaman Mountain. And if, in good weather, you look at one of its slopes, then you can see an old age profile in the outlines. But you need to have a rich imagination.
Experts say that religious ritual ascents for sacrifices were made on Yerkusei. The local population considered the mountain to be the habitat of Voypel - the spirit of the North Wind. In the 1980s, geologists at the foot of the mountain discovered a treasure of silver coins, probably left as a sacrifice.
Nowadays Yerkusey Mountain is very popular among tourists and mountaineers.
