Project Goal: Through volunteer and community assistance, to build a rockclimbing wall in the sports hall of School #7 of the Aviazavod district of Ulan Ude.

The idea started about 10 years ago, when we saw the need for a good training ground for young athletes in mountain climbing in a safe environment. We brought the idea to the director of School 7 of Aviazavod and he agreed to the idea of building a training rock climbing wall. We then applied for funding and received enough to get started: putting up wooden scaffolding and rock climbing material in the gym area of school 7. More than half of the project has been completed, but we need funding and in-kind donations to complete the project. We are currently seeking partners in the business, government, and NGO sectors to complete the wall.

The wall will be open to the whole community and will create new extracurricular activities and open new opportunities for youth in the Ulan Ude area. Youth in Buryatia have a lack of healthy outlets for ways to spend their free time. Drug use, alcoholism, and criminalism among youth have significantly increased since the Soviet period when there was a much higher level of state support for extracurricular activities. To reverse these trends, youth need more opportunities for engaging actitivities. Rock climbing develops physical and mental skills and enhances appreciation for nature. By participating in the project, youth will also be attracted to the volunteer movement and to engaging in hands-on civic initiatives.

We started building the rockclimbing training wall in 2003. It is being built by both adult and young volunteers and has been about 65% completed thus far. Over 2500 hours and $2300 have gone into the building. It has undergone assessment by an independent commission, NEKS Independent Property Assessment. The overall area of the training wall is 190 square meters, and the construction method used is concrete covering, a pioneering technique that will be the first of its kind in Siberia and the Far East.

You can help us realize our goal! By making a contribution in any amount, you will help youth in Buryatia to get the training they need to become mature athletes. In the depressed region of Buryatia, youth have few opportunities, and mountain climbing is an outlet which promotes good physical conditioning, develops mental capacity, gives a sense of accomplishment and hope, promotes a healthy way of life, and encourages a love of nature and desire to protect the fragile and unique Baikal environment.

The project can be supported not only through financial resource but also in kind, through acquiring construction materials: plywood, PVA glue, cutting machine, metallic netting, and cement. We will give credit to all donors, making for excellent advertising opportunities for business partners.
Please contact us at to help with in-kind or financial support that will make this dream come true. We can be reached at: baikal@eastsib.ru or 7 (3012) 25-37-32 or by mail at: 670000 Russia, Buryatia, g. Ulan Ude, ul. Kommunisticheskaya 16, Zadevalov Igor Mikhailovich.