From March 4 to 11, scientists from the Altai State University Institute of Geography conducted a winter expedition to Kamchatka. They assessed the load on Nalychevo Nature Park, collecting data to calculate its maximum permissible recreational capacity. This will help preserve the ecosystem while developing tourism. The work was carried out under a government contract.

The project manager was Yulia Kozyreva, Director of the Altai State University Institute of Geography, and the person in charge was Irina Rotanova, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Geography and Geographic Information Systems. Representatives from all departments of the Institute participated: Irina Rotanova, Natalia Prudnikova, Alexander Redkin, Olga Otto, Svetlana Slazhneva, Evgeny Rygalov, and Anna Minakova.

"A field expedition to the Nalychevo Nature Park during the winter tourist season was necessary for in-kind research along the park's routes and cordons. The expedition members recorded the number of tourists in the snowy expanses of the nature park over the weekend marking International Women's Day. The overwhelming majority were snowmobilers—both on snowmobiles and on attached sleds. A few skiers were also encountered," explained expedition leader Irina Rotanova.

Despite challenging weather, the team conducted field research in the Kamchatka Volcanoes Nature Park. A looming cyclone—with strong winds and snowfall—prevented landing at one surveyed cordon.

• A successful helicopter flight provided valuable data on traffic along tourist routes and sites, including actively used hot springs.
• Using equipment from the park's management (a snowmobile and a Severtrak all-terrain vehicle), the team explored virtually all winter routes.
• Particular attention was given to the Avacha Cordon, a popular winter recreation spot near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo (just an hour's drive away).
• From March 6–8, more than 160 tourists and over 70 snowmobiles visited the Avacha Cordon.

The expedition met its goals: screening empirical data on winter visitation to the Nalychevo Nature Park was gathered. Office work at the Nature Park Directorate secured the documentary data needed for calculating maximum permissible recreational capacity.

At the expedition's end, the Institute of Geography scientists met with Anna Sushentsova, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Kamchatka Krai, to discuss further plans and the final contract report.

Participants thanked the regional directorate of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka Nature Park for their assistance and support. "Of course, my stay in Kamchatka left many pleasant and unforgettable impressions from the beauty I witnessed: the graceful Koryaksky Volcano, the smoking crater of Avachinsky Volcano, the panorama from Avachinsky Pass to Zhupanovsky Volcano, and the vast snow-covered expanses of the natural park, sparkling not just with whiteness but also with the blue hues of pure snow," the scientists concluded.