АЛТАЙД Chapter 36 Summary

Bayar and Gerel, two recent university graduates, meet on a bench beneath the Sukhbaatar monument in central Ulaanbaatar and spend several hours discussing an upcoming opera, their studies, a request for a cigarette, and the uneasy tension in their friendship. The expedition team—professor Bat, geologist Erdene, Bayar, Russian geologist Nikolay Vladimirovich Panov, collector Tomor, and driver Ider—meets in a tavern to plan a remote field survey 200‑250 km from Ulaanbaatar, decides to travel on horseback, and schedules departure for 5 a.m. the next morning, while Bat delivers a lengthy historical monologue. The expedition departs at dawn in a Zis‑150 truck, with Ider driving and Erdene as co‑pilot. Inside the vehicle are Professor Bat, engineer‑geologist Bayar, collector Tomor, and veteran Russian geologist Panov. Bat launches an extensive monologue recalling a historic journey on the same road fifty years ago and offering philosophical musings, while Bayar wrestles with unresolved feelings for Gerel and exchanges a “Kazbek” cigarette with Ider. Panov shares his war background, and the team sets out toward the remote field site. The expedition spends its third day crossing the open steppe, sets up a night camp, hears strange noises that are later identified as an opera broadcast, and debates the source of the sounds while Bat continues his pre‑meal vodka ritual. The expedition discovers that trustworthy local guides are extremely limited; they encounter the party committee head Dashnyam and the venerable local figure Ga avgai, who introduce the potential guide Damdin. Damdin, an 80‑year‑old former party‑sent guide who recently suffered a leg injury and bears personal reasons, refuses to join the survey, leaving the team without a confirmed guide. They also learn that the intended research site “Bichig bogd” is a remote wilderness roughly 6‑7 days’ travel from their base, populated by diverse fauna such as deer, goats, yaks, ibex, wolves, and various birds. Guide‑hunt stalls: after two days the team still lacks a local guide. 80‑year‑old former party guide Damdin arrives with a child but refuses to join. He and Russian geologist Panov exchange photos, a kiss, and a confused identity discussion. Panov tells a rambling “fast horse” legend from WWII and reads a faded wartime letter addressed to him, which ends abruptly. The episode adds cultural texture but does not solve the logistics; the expedition remains guide‑less for the remote Bichig bogd area. Damdin arrives and refuses to guide; Panov tells an elaborate WWII “borlog horse” story; the expedition remains without a local guide. On day 5 the expedition, still without a local guide, pressed on across the barren steppe. Bayar and Panov’s horses were attacked by a blue‑grey wolf, Panov suffered a leg injury, both men lost their compasses and became disoriented, deepening the physical and logistical crises before nightfall. After the wolf attack Bayar and Panov are lost, Panov is wounded and both lose their compasses. Damdin warns of an imminent blizzard, and Erdene decides to push the party west toward the stone shelter at Zürkh Kharakhan while the group races against the storm. Day 5 ends with Bayur and Panov injured, compasses lost, and caught in a violent sandstorm after a wolf attack; they are still guide‑less and must survive the night. Day 5 – After a blue‑grey wolf ambush, Bayar (c1) and Russian geologist Nikolay Vladimirovich Panov (c5) lose their horses, sustain injuries, and their compasses are destroyed. They trade the little food, water and cigarettes they have left while panicking about dehydration and pain. A sudden sandstorm forces them to seek shelter in a shallow stone depression at Zürkh Kharakhan. With no guide, dwindling supplies and a pack of wolves circling, they spend the night wounded and disoriented, setting up a desperate fight for survival. Bayar (c1) and Panov (c5) survive the night in a shallow stone depression at Zürkh Kharakhan after a wolf ambush leaves them horse‑less, injured and compass‑less; they endure a sandstorm, a circling wolf pack, and dwindling supplies while the rest of the party remains split, guide‑less and still searching for them. Bayar and Panov survive the night in the shallow stone shelter at Zürkh Kharakhan after a wolf ambush, loss of horses, injuries and a sandstorm; they are rescued by Ider at first light while the main party remains scattered. After Ider rescues Bayar and Panov, the party continues its survey of the remote Bichig bogd region. They spend several days mapping the rugged terrain, setting up and losing geological instruments, building a stone shelter at the shallow Zürkh Kharakhan depression, and coping with missing equipment, harsh weather, and dwindling supplies while still without a local guide. The party spends three days in the remote “Bichig Bogd” area collecting volcanic and metamorphic rocks, encounters eerie nocturnal sounds, loses the only potential guide, and builds a shallow stone shelter at Zürkh Kharakhan. After surviving the night‑long sandstorm at the shallow stone depression of Zürkh Kharakhan, the expedition gathers around a fire. Professor Bat summons the reluctant 80‑year‑old former guide Damdin to speak. Damdin delivers a sprawling, myth‑like recollection of his ancestor Gangan Tögs, a 1909 caravan, hidden passes, a WWII “fast‑horse” legend, and a mysterious valley of riddles and curses. The tale deepens the cultural backdrop but solves nothing; the party remains guide‑less, low on supplies, and must still press onward toward the remote Bichig Bogd region. After rescuing Bayar and Panov at the stone depression of Zürkh Kharakhan, the expedition presses on in the Bichig Bogd region. The team documents intense lightning‑like electric discharges over a nearby mountain face, investigates a mysterious circular cavity with animal tracks, confirms that the local prism contains no gold, witnesses a blue‑gray fire‑encased “ugulz” streaking across the sky, and listens to Damdin’s mythic tale, all while remaining guide‑less and low on supplies. The team remains in the remote Bichig Bogd area, conducts geological work, shares a tea break where Professor Bat shows a historic porcelain cup, discusses music, experiences a sudden rock‑fall, and decides to press onward despite lacking a local guide and low supplies. After the night‑long sandstorm at Zürkh Kharakhan, the expedition split into two detachments. Bayar (c1) and Panov (c5) pursued a western trail, while Erdene (c4), Professor Bat (c3) and driver Ider (c7) moved northward. The northern group collected pegmatite containing modest sulfide minerals and encountered a mysterious ancient Mongolian inscription on a stone, which they could only partially read. Bat experienced a sudden, supernatural transformation—his skin turned blue‑gray, his eyes reddened, and he muttered fragmented phrases about “Бичигт богд.” The team wrapped him in blankets, and his condition stabilized but left him incoherent. Later they observed a group of bears behaving oddly but without injury. The party decided to return to the inscription the next day, hoping it might unlock the electric secret they seek, while remaining guide‑less and low on supplies. After surviving the sandstorm and wolf attack at the stone depression of Zürkh Kharakhan, the party reaches the remote mountain spur Bichigt‑Bogd. The team records extensive geographical, ecological, cultural and geological observations while still guide‑less and low on provisions. They note strange electric‑like discharges on a nearby face, a circular cavity with animal tracks, and plan to continue mapping the area despite injuries and dwindling supplies. After two days of trekking the party reaches the Bichig Bogd stone outcrop, examines a weather‑worn ancient inscription, debates the fragmentary wording, attempts a makeshift ladder, photographs the carving and decides to return with proper climbing gear, all while remaining guide‑less and low on provisions. The team spends a silent night in the canvas tent; at dawn Professor Bat reads and deciphers an ancient stone inscription at Bichigt khar, emphasizing the warning “buu yavuugai” (“do not go further”) and linking it to the mysterious electric phenomena and the legend of Bichig bogd. Panov photographs the carving, the group builds a cairn, lights a fire, and reflects on science, labor, and past anecdotes, but still secures no guide. They finish the night prepared to press on toward the remote Bichig Bogd region. Bat discovers a historic battlefield skeleton and witnesses a strange electric rainstorm, returns to the camp where the team waits for the missing Bayar; Bayar arrives after a wolf attack and shelter at Zürkh Kharakhan, leaving the expedition still guide‑less and low on supplies.

• Morning rescue attempt: At first light four members – Professor Bat, Erdene, Tomor and driver Ider – set out to locate the missing Bayar. Bat, still a little drunk from the previous night’s 200 g “white‑spirit” self‑medication, leads the party. Erdene and Tomor cannot find any trace of Bayar and return to the base camp where the 80‑year‑old former guide Damdin is waiting.
  
  - Clue on the cliffs: While scouting eastward, Erdene and Tomor spot a large, weather‑worn hat perched on a sheer cliff about four metres high. Nearby they see a smear of dried blood. They climb around the formation and discover a tattered field notebook and a broken compass lying in the crevasse beneath the hat. Erdene retrieves both items and brings them back to camp.
  
  - Night‑time debrief: Later that night Panov and Ider return from their own fruitless search. Around the camp fire the group examines Bayar’s notebook. The pages are filled with hurried sketches of terrain, stratigraphic columns, and chemical formulas concerning a bright‑blue, highly conductive mineral MoS₂ (molybdenite). Bayar recorded an observation: “18th day – sky bright, intense electric discharge. MoS₂ deposit ≈ 3 km west of Bichig‑Bogd’s western flank.” He also noted a “circular cavity” with animal tracks and a possible “electric rain‑storm” in the area.
  
  - Scientific discussion: Panov explains MoS₂’s layered sulfide structure and electric‑storage properties; Erdene gives a brief primer on molybdenum; Damdin asks what “molybdenite” is and receives a concise answer.
  
  - Photograph and personal note: Panov finds a faded photograph of a young Uzbek girl in a white dress with a cryptic green‑ink message “Look at this picture, remember me. Light.” Bat places the photo beside a note from a “Kazbek” cigarette box containing a personal confession about hidden sorrow.
  
  - Damdin’s curiosity: He asks why Bayar wrote about MoS₂ and electric phenomena; the team speculates the mineral could explain the strange “electric rain” and “blue‑gray fire” they have witnessed.
  
  - Current status: Bayar remains missing; only his hat, notebook and broken compass have been recovered. The party still lacks a local guide; Damdin has refused to join the survey, offering only occasional advice. Supplies are low and morale is mixed. The team plans to continue toward the western flank of Bichig‑Bogd to verify Bayar’s MoS₂ claim while keeping an eye out for any sign of Bayar. Bayar, alone after the sandstorm, discovers a luminous molybdenite vein, experiences electric shocks, and records observations, while the expedition remains guide‑less and low on supplies. Expedition still split, guide‑less and low on supplies; Bayar survives the sandstorm alone and records a luminous molybdenite vein with electric discharge near Bichig Bogd. Bayar, alone after the sandstorm at the shallow stone depression of Zürkh Kharakhan, limps forward despite severe injuries, discovers a glowing molybdenite vein that emits electric‑like discharges, and fights a bizarre luminous creature (“irves”) before rejoining the scattered expedition, which remains guide‑less and low on supplies. After surviving the sandstorm, Bayar, Panov and Erdene follow the historic Bat road, are attacked by a luminous irves that wounds Bayar, rescue him, and decide to continue toward the western flank of Bichig Bogd in search of the glowing molybdenite vein. The expedition remains guide‑less, low on supplies, and their injuries are fresh. Expedition regroups after sandstorm, discovers a glowing MoS₂ vein and battles a luminous irves; still guide‑less and low on supplies. Expedition reaches remote Altai meadow, discovers glowing molybdenum vein, encounters luminous “irves”, attempts to open ancient ice door, camps by volcanic lake, remains guide‑less and low on supplies, plans to pursue MoS₂ deposit. Damdin warns the team to clear the Bichig‑Bogd boundary by evening; the party gathers water, moves across the steppe, encounters a bell‑wearing horned bear, and continues the search for the luminous molybdenite vein while remaining guide‑less and low on supplies. The team gathers at a roadside tavern near the Zürkh Kharakhan shelter, where Ga avgaï and several local “bag” delegations argue over who should escort Panov; they finally assign the responsibility to the expedition’s own 6th bag, yet they remain guide‑less and low on supplies. The team spends a week celebrating in Bayan Khangai, recounts a local myth, then returns to Ulaanbaatar, meeting a yak herder who spurs odd conversations about a wartime film and a puzzling 62‑day count. Gerel spends a long, solitary stretch at a rest‑area by the Tuul River, reflecting on her unspoken love for Bayar, her career and family ambitions, the fear of hereditary lung disease, and the pressure to choose a rational over an emotional love. A brief encounter with Bayar and the student‑union leader Chuluun breaks her reverie, leaving her emotions unresolved. After the harrowing field work, a convoy of more than ten trucks and dozens of people departs Ulaanbaatar early one summer morning for the Altai mountains and Biligt Bogd. Bayar now heads the department tasked with a detailed study of the Biligt Bogd molybdenum (MoS₂) deposit, and laboratory analysis of the samples retrieved the previous year confirms the earlier observations of a luminous, electrically active vein. The narrative concludes with a congratulatory note to a newly‑graduated woman and the date 22 March 1951, Ulaanbaatar, marking the end of the saga. Added bibliographic details of a 1951 Mongolian Writers’ Anthology printed by the Sukhbaatar State Printing House.