Towers in Elektrostal
The small town of Elektrostal near Moscow attracts many enthusiasts of extreme adventures. This is all thanks to abandoned radio towers that are completely accessible for climbing to anyone interested. It should be noted that those interested are absolutely daring. On the Internet, you can find a lot of material with absolutely crazy stunts on these towers.
Fortunately, the author leads a mundane lifestyle and is not capable of such madness, but conquering heights and even climbing onto a protruding beam is quite possible.
The height of the towers is 215 meters. For comparison, that’s about nine 10-story panel buildings stacked on top of each other. In total, there are 4 towers in the radio center arranged in a row. Each of them is supported by multiple tension cables made of thick metal ropes, welded to huge stone blocks on the ground. The official name of this complex is “Radio Station named after the Comintern,” renamed to “Radio Center No. 9” after the collapse of the USSR. The towers were built in 1933 by the academician Mintz. Broadcasting from the radio center, it is said, was conducted in 70 languages of the world and continued until 2004 when their service life ended. It should be noted that the towers still stand firm and do not sway at the top even in strong winds.
The adventure begins even before reaching the towers. On one of the towers, a person hanging on a safety harness is discovered. It turns out that someone had parachuted the day before and got tangled in the tension cables. They managed to climb out themselves, but the parachute had to be retrieved separately.
To climb the tower, gloves are absolutely necessary. Personally, I would have scratched up my hands if I hadn’t taken a pair. By the way, there are many discarded gloves scattered at the base, so you don’t have to buy any. It’s worth bringing a windbreaker and wearing long pants because even in the summer heat, it can be quite cold and windy at the top. The process of climbing itself is not complicated. You just need to climb the ladder, which is carefully covered with a protective cover, until you reach the summit. Along the way, it can be scary in any way, with strong winds blowing or feeling like going further is utter madness. The main thing is to pay no attention to anything and keep climbing. If your hands get tired, climb one step at a time, change positions, lean on the cover, but keep climbing. It may take anywhere from half an hour to several hours to conquer the height. But you still need to climb, no matter how long it takes. In the end, the summit will be conquered. The whole process is pure perseverance, nothing more.
But when you finally reach...
It’s a pity that it’s Elektrostal and not some Paris or London. By the way, the height of the Eiffel Tower is 300 meters, which is quite comparable.
A pond in the shape of a heart.
A view of a cluster formed by three other towers. It completely slipped my mind what this antenna is called and how it differs from the main ones.
And here is one of those very beams where the tough Elektrostal acrobats entertain themselves.
If you climb onto it while sitting, the risk is minimal.
