The SKA track was laid back in the fifties of the last century. Regional and all-Union competitions were constantly held here, for which the Kavgolovo sports complex was equipped with four hotels, a ski stadium and a referee pavilion. SKA is one of the most difficult tracks. Its length is 10 kilometers, and the total climb (in other words, the sum of the heights of all the slides that you have to climb) is 400 meters. It's perfect for the pros, but for beginners, it's best to practice on shorter trails.
How to get there: train from Finlyandsky railway station to Toksovo station, fixed-route taxi 431 from the Prospekt Prosveshcheniya metro station to the Toksovo-center stop, from there - a kilometer on foot. The journey will take 30-40 minutes.
"Dynamo" in the Kavgolovsky forest park
A small but comfortable training track among ancient fir trees.Unlike the nearby SKA, Dynamo is also suitable for those who are not very confident on skis. Its length is 5 kilometers, and the total climb is only 120 meters. It is occasionally used for local level competitions. The rest of the time, the wide road, protected from the wind by coniferous forest, is ideal for training.
How to get there: train from Finlyandsky railway station to Kavgolovo or Toksovo station, fixed-route taxi 431 from the metro station "Prospekt Prosveshcheniya" to the stop "Toksovo-center", from there - a kilometer on foot, in addition, next to the "Dynamo" is located ski resort"Eagle Mountain" with parking. The journey will take 40 minutes.
"Pargolovskaya ski track"
Winding and uncomplicated route on the northern outskirts of St. Petersburg."Pargolovskaya ski track" runs through the southern part of the Shuvalovsky forest park. This is the most convenient track for skiers who do not have time to go to train at Eagle Mountain or Blue Dacha. In addition, it is very suitable for beginners: the height difference is only 15 meters, there are no slides, and the coach can observe the skier practically without moving from one place.
How to get there: by bus, fixed-route taxi from the metro stations "Ozerki" or "Prospect Prosveshcheniya" to the stop "Road to Kamenka", from there - 500 meters on foot. The journey will take 10 - 20 minutes (depending on traffic jams on the Vyborg highway)
LMZ
A well-equipped and wide trail in the picturesque Lembolovo forests.An ideal road for those who are already bored in Pargolovo, but it is still early in Toksovo. The total length of the track is 10 kilometers. It is laid by Buran snowmobiles, so the track is wide enough for both classic and free running competitions. The total height difference is 200 meters, the section is especially difficult for beginners and "middle peasants" - right in the middle: there are many slides and sharp turns. The area around the LMZ ski track is indented with small walking trails, which are used by children and ordinary vacationers, who occasionally get out of the city with skis. Of the amenities - a well-equipped racing start (with radio communication) and a recreation center with brick houses: relatively comfortable, although without any frills.
How to get there: train from Finlyandsky railway station to Lembolovo station. The total travel time is just over an hour.
"Blue Dacha"
A long and difficult route at the foot of the Koltush Upland.The route of the MOO STC "Monolith" is located a few kilometers from the urban area of Rzhevka-Porohovye. This is one of the longest ski runs in the vicinity of St. Petersburg (about 15 kilometers). Part of it runs through open areas, one section is replete with long and steep climbs (total drop - 255 meters). Competitions on it are quite rare. The main convenience is that it can be reached directly from the city on skis, since a special walking track from the forest park in Porokhovy is laid to it, along which it is straight to the track - only 7 kilometers on flat terrain.
How to get there: buses and minibuses 426 - 430 from the Ladozhskaya metro station to the village of Suoranda. Travel time is only 30-40 minutes.
Hi all!
I was put on cross-country skiing around the same age I learned to walk. IN hometown snow lay for 8 months, and a forest began across the road from the house. Having moved to St. Petersburg 7 years ago, I really missed my favorite slopes, and began to look for recreation centers with ski rentals. That's how I found out about "Kavgolovo"...
Location: Toksovo village, 20 km north of St. Petersburg
How to get there: the most convenient way is by car, but we took a minibus from the Devyatkino metro station to the Fantastica store, and then walked for another half an hour along holiday village. Trains go that way, but then you still have to go by minibus or bus.
What to expect: a typical soviet hotel, but with very friendly staff
Nutrition: you can buy complex meals for the whole day, order separately or, like us, bring food with you. Although for breakfast we went to the dining room and bought a plate of delicious milk porridge for cheap.
All rooms are equipped with private facilities, i.e. there is a small bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower. One place in such a room, regardless of the number of beds, costs 550 rubles (autumn 2015), and if you want to splurge and get a TV with a refrigerator, then each person will have to pay another 150 rubles.
When we went for the first time, we took a double room with equipment, because at that time there was a winter Olympics, and my friend was going to watch. But then the prices were a little lower. I must say that both the refrigerator and the TV worked properly.
Inside, too, everything is Soviet. There are signs everywhere to keep windows closed in winter. In general, they all have access to the balcony. In the summer, it's probably wonderful to drink hot tea.
The beds are new, the curtains are new, the bed linen is also not made of synthetics and not washed - it's nice to touch it.
Old batteries barely heat. Both times we ran into frost -30, which, to put it mildly, is not very pleasant for Peter. So we slept in all clothes, except for street jackets. In the morning they climbed together on one bed and covered themselves with two blankets. If they sat in the room and watched TV, they also did it side by side and under two blankets.
The water in the shower ran in a thin stream, and it was barely warm. But in such a frost, I didn’t really want to wash in the room either. I didn’t take a picture of the bathroom, so just like that. The shower is supposed to be taken while standing on the tiled floor.
So for a romantic date with your other half in winter, this base is not suitable. To this end, you will have to overpay three times the price, but live with all the comfort at a neighboring base.
This neighboring base is located at the foot of the famous "Northern slope" - a ski resort. Living there is expensive, so "Kavgolovo" in winter is clogged with unassuming students and young people. So if someone wants to drive a snowboard, they can save money and stay at Kavgolovo. It takes about 30 minutes to walk to the skiing area, the road is lit with lanterns, so it’s good even in the evening.
On the "Northern slope" in the evenings on weekends they often arrange some kind of movement, so you can come and see. We only had enough to "take a picture", and we returned back to the Olympics
There is a rental of cross-country skis and boots, cheesecakes and sleds. The site also states that in the summer you can take a barbecue, a boat and a bicycle, but in the summer I was not there. I don’t remember the price of skis, but it was very budget. The skis are plastic, but the boots are of the old mounting option when there is a metal clip. I’m fine, but my friend hadn’t ridden one of these for 5 years at that time, and it was hard for her to adapt.
For more modern equipment, including snowboards and skiing, you can visit " north slope". The prices there, however, are quite high, and you need to leave documents for a car or money as collateral.
Where to cross-country ski
We thought that we would ride on a frozen lake, which is located next to the base. But it was very windy, and we did not dare to go out into the open space - we skated around a small stadium nearby. During the preparation of the review, I learned that there was a ski track on the "Northern slope", but then we did not hear about it.
The fact is that in Toksovo there is a ski track famous throughout the Soviet north-west. When my dad was young, there were international competitions there, and this center is still working. In general, it was there that we initially aimed, but in Kavgolovo it turned out that it was impossible to get there on foot, and we didn’t have a car. So for cross-country skiing, I recommend going there with your car.
For more than 30 years, the SKA LenVO Sports Complex has been a base for year-round training of winter sports representatives and an arena for holding competitions of various ranks and scales. The Kavgolovsky Games, famous in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, the stages of the World Cup in cross-country skiing and Nordic combined, international, all-Russian and city competitions of skiers, biathletes and combined athletes were held here.
The national teams of Russia, St. Petersburg and Leningrad region in winter sports, orienteers and rowers, cyclists and climbers tested and test their strength. In recent years, mass sports events have also been held here, gathering hundreds of participants and becoming famous throughout Russia - such as the Toks Marathon and the Hepojärvi Tour, which combines competitions in cross-country skiing, cross-country skiing, cycling and roller skiing. Gunde Svan, Per Elofson, Bjorn Daly, Thomas Alsgaard, Mika Myllula, Vladimir Smirnov and many others competed on the SKA tracks. Here Yulia Chepalova won her first victory at the World Cup stage, becoming an Olympic champion a month later.
The SKA Sports Complex, located on the shores of Lake Hepojärvi, included:
Sports base with a stadium, a rowing center, a hall, hotels, a boiler room and a canteen;
- Biathlon shooting range;
- A ski track certified at the time by the International Ski Federation (FIS) (for certification, the track was laid, profiled and cleared of vegetation in accordance with the FIS certification requirements);
- The only ski-roller and cross-country tracks in the vicinity of St. Petersburg
The combination of the necessary relief, favorable microclimate, prepared for the development of infrastructure and transport accessibility make the SKA Sports Complex a truly unique base for training athletes of all levels and holding competitions in various sports. A similar complex within a radius of 250 km from St. Petersburg No . Unfortunately, these advantages have also attracted people with other interests. As a result, last summer and this fall, the threat of destruction hung over the complex.
Over the past few months, active and large-scale work has been carried out directly on the ski and biathlon track of the SKA sports base in the village of Toksovo in the area of Lake Hepojärvi and the biathlon shooting range, related to cutting down forests and moving soil and marking areas for building (photos are attached). Work is being carried out on the famous Samurai climb, which, due to its complexity, has been honored to have a proper name. Judging by the ongoing excavation work and the posted markings, the lift itself, as part of the ski and biathlon tracks, should be destroyed.
Many children's sections, teams of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region and amateur athletes involved in various types sports: biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, orienteering, mountaineering, cycling, etc. use this complex not only for competitions, but also as a base for training. Athletes who became the pride of Soviet and Russian sports grew and polished their skills on the tracks laid along the Toksovo hills: Evdokia Mekshilo and Nina Gavrylyuk, Lyubov Egorova and Evgeny Belyaev, Nikolai Puzanov and Rinat Safin, Anatoly Alyabyev and Dmitry Vasilyev, Vladimir Drachev and other legendary representatives Leningrad and St. Petersburg.
Transfer for development and subsequent the inevitable exclusion of the use of the famous Samurai climb as part of the route, directly on which deforestation is being carried out and marking signs have been installed, will make it FUNDAMENTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to use not only this section, but the WHOLE sports complex for holding official all-Russian and international competitions . This is due to the fact that there are no other climbs in the vicinity of the SKA shooting range that have the elevation and profile required for certification.
The current situation and the threat looming over the ski and biathlon complex cause extreme concern among the sports community, active athletes and sports organizations in our region, however, appeals to the administration of the village of Toksovo and the leaders of the LenVo Army Sports Club did not bring clarity. Rather, on the contrary, from the answers of the administration representatives it became clear that either the leadership of the Army Sports Club does not control what is happening in the territory under its jurisdiction, or deliberately does not provide information about the development to representatives of sports federations, state bodies and the public interested in using the Complex for its intended purpose.
Vladimir Zhitenev
