Dramatic misfortune

Day: 278

Sunrise:
06:01

Sunset:
20:39

Total kilometers:
1341

Soil condition:
Ice, snow

Temperature – Day (maximum):
2°C

Temperature – day (minimum):
minus 6°C

Temperature – Night:
minus 20°C

Latitude:
51°33’337”

Longitude:
099°15’341”

Maximum height:
1981 m above sea level

It is also snowing lightly today. It is quiet at the base as most of the men are at spring camp. Tanja had already been to the clearing in the morning to check on Tuya. He survived the first night without any problems. Naraa seems to have enough milk now so we don’t have to worry about his nutrition anymore. We see his presence as a wonderful gift.

As we don’t know how long it will be before the little one can set off, I put the boards I used to level out the unevenness of the awning into the tipi. Then I attach my solar panels to the teepee again to generate electricity for my reporting. We make ourselves at home as much as possible and make ourselves comfortable.

In the afternoon, I enquire again about the departure date of our neighbors. “We leave tomorrow, no matter what the weather is like. Tomorrow, the other families will also remove the remaining items and reindeer from here. That means this camp will be completely deserted,” I hear. Suddenly, the Baishin’s wooden door opens. Hadaa, Huchee, Gamba and Ganaa enter. They talk excitedly to each other. The atmosphere is unpleasant and in snatches of words I understand that something bad has happened. “What’s going on?” I ask Tsaya, who follows the conversation with a serious face. “I’ll tell you right away,” she replies, not taking her eyes off the men for a second. 20 minutes later, the Tuwa leave the Baishin with serious faces. “So, what happened?” I ask. “A terrible misfortune. Can you remember the man who didn’t drink a drop of alcohol at your thank-you party?” “Yes, of course,” I reply, remembering that he was one of the visitors Tsaya called bastards and bad drunks. “Well, this nice man, only 23 years young, is dead.” “What, he’s dead? How did that happen?” I ask, stunned. “Ganaa, the Tuwa who froze his fingers in winter and was also one of the men who visited your festival uninvited, set off on a bear hunt the following day after the celebration with his son, another man and 23-year-old Udee. Everyone said you can’t take the young man from the Gobi Desert with you. He has no idea about bear hunting and has never been to the taiga. He doesn’t know the climate and who knows if he can cope with the cold.” “How does a man get from the Gobi to the Tuwa?” I ask. “He is the fiancé of one of Ganaa’s relatives. He was in this region for the first time to introduce himself to his future relatives. His great wish was to go on a bear hunt. Ganaa fulfilled his wish. Certainly not unselfishly as the fur of a bear alone brings in a lot of money. He shouldn’t have set off. You can see where greed gets you.” “Why greed?” “He made a lot of money with the jade. There’s no need to go bear hunting.” “But if he’s done his future relative a favor, and apart from that, he’s probably a passionate hunter like all Tuwa,” I reply. “I’m sure it was greed.” “And why did the nice boy die? He wasn’t attacked by a bear, was he?” “No. An avalanche took him with it.” “An avalanche?” “Yes. Ganaa rode ahead with his reindeer, his future relative followed him. Then came his son and another person. They crossed a mountain flank at great heights. Ganaa reached the other side of the steep slope unharmed. His son noticed the avalanche because his reindeer suddenly shied away. He shouted to warn Udee, who was riding ahead of him, jumped out of the saddle and ran for his life. The gobi man looked around. He was probably thinking of a bear but not of an avalanche thundering towards him. The avalanche swept him, four reindeer and a dog into the depths.” “My God. That’s terrible.” “Yes. Ganaa, his son and the fourth man survived. They dug all day for the missing man, but didn’t find him. It was wet, heavy snow. You know how much it has snowed in the last few days. They left immediately and arrived here an hour ago.” “And Ganaa’s son was obviously able to save himself?” “Yes, he ran back following the trail. The avalanche only just missed him.” “And how did the fourth get away?” “He had trouble with a sliding load and stayed behind to straighten it. He was lucky. Although we think it was meant to be. Ganaa was able to pass the side of the mountain without difficulty. His son saw the accident in time and was able to save himself and the fourth man was prevented from entering the flank by a sliding load. This is no coincidence. The young man’s time had apparently run out. Even if it sounds tragic. Now, however, Ganaa may have to go to prison. He asked us to look after his family.” “Why is that?” “Firstly, he didn’t have a gun license and secondly, he had illegally led the hunting party across the border into Russia because there are more bears there. The accident happened on the Russian side. We hope that this incident will not have any political repercussions. In any case, none of us want to stay here just one more day. The police might investigate and discover that we have weapons. Once we’re in the spring camp, we won’t be so easy to reach,” she explains. “And does the Gobi man’s fiancée already know that her lover is dead?” I ask sadly. “No. No one dares to tell her. She keeps calling my cell phone but I can’t tell her on my cell phone, can I? Ganaa, his son and the other one leave in a few minutes to walk to Tsagaan Nuur. He will tell the 20-year-old woman. It must be bad for her. I heard she’s pregnant.” “Oh my god. What a drama. Thank you for telling me the story,” I say and set off to tell Tanja about the misfortune.

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