# I wonder if anyone knows more about "Yamantau" than the internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301 "2013-06-06T16:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/1 "2013-06-06T16:25:49Z")
“Yamantau” translates into “evil mountain” located in Russia … you can look it up, but it won’t get you any closer to knowing what it is all about in my humble opinion Russia is thinking way ahead of the USA ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/2 "2013-06-06T16:27:18Z")
What the hell are you yammering about this time? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/3 "2013-06-06T16:28:06Z")
Could you possibly tell us what it’s about and why it matters? If you’re saying it’s a mountain that Russia could use as a leadership base in the event of a big war or something, the U.S. has those, too. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/4 "2013-06-06T16:32:41Z")
Well, yes. As documented in the Chernabog segment of Fantasia. > **[Chernabog](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Chernabog)** > > Chernabog is a demon featured in the "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" segment of Disney's 1940 animated feature film, Fantasia. He is based on the God of the Night in Slavic mythology. At Walpurgis Night (the Witches' Sabbath), he emerges from the... ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/5 "2013-06-06T16:33:45Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > “Yamantau” translates into “evil mountain” located in Russia … > > you can look it up, but it won’t get you any closer to knowing what it is all about Well here’s the wiki page. > **[Mount Yamantau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Yamantau)** > > Mount Yamantau, or Yamantaw (Bashkir: Ямантау, romanized: Yamantaw, Russian: гора Ямантау) is a mountain in the Ural Mountains, located in Beloretsky District, Bashkortostan, Russia. Standing at 1,640 metres (5,380 ft), it is the highest mountain in the Southern Ural section, and lies is within the South Ural Nature Reserve. > An extensive secret bunker complex has allegedly been built under Yamantau, per United States claims, by the Russian government or the Russian Armed Forces, similar to the C... > [@](#): > > Along with Kosvinsky Mountain (600 km to the north), it is suspected by the United States of being a large secret nuclear facility and/or bunker. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/6 "2013-06-06T16:36:58Z")
I’ve heard that it was a Balrog that was discovered and basically rendered the whole facility unusable, though of course the Orcs and Goblins are still able to live there. My suggestion is that if you need to go through the facility is to say ‘friend’ in Russian at the door, and don’t disturb the creature in the pond outside…and, whatever you do, don’t drop rocks down the well and arouse the watcher below! Other than that, keep your hands and feet inside the cart at all times and enjoy the ride… ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/7 "2013-06-06T16:40:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What the hell are you yammering about this time? Hell is the right word Czarcasm … what do they call you for a shorter name anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/8 "2013-06-06T16:42:55Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Hell is the right word Czarcasm … Err, what? You know “evil mountain” is just a name, right? It doesn’t mean it’s actually evil any more than Chomolungma means that mountain has children. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/9 "2013-06-06T16:45:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Err, what? You know “evil mountain” is just a name, right? It doesn’t mean it’s actually evil any more than Chomolungma means that mountain has children. I’m telling you man, there is a Balrog in there. Seriously. The OP wanted something more than you can get from the internet, and there it is…Balrog. Big bastard. Wings. Fiery whip. Cloven hooves. Eats dwarves and Russians on crackers with caviar. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/10 "2013-06-06T16:48:48Z")
**XT** is totally winning this thread. The rest of y’all better step up your game if you hope to compete. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/11 "2013-06-06T16:52:45Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I’m telling you man, there is a Balrog in there. Seriously. The OP wanted something more than you can get from the internet, and there it is…Balrog. Big bastard. Wings. Fiery whip. Cloven hooves. Eats dwarves and Russians on crackers with caviar. Wings??? Blasphemy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/12 "2013-06-06T16:53:35Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Hell is the right word Czarcasm … what do they call you for a shorter name anyway? Two syllables too much for you to handle? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/13 "2013-06-06T16:55:03Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > **XT** is totally winning this thread. The rest of y’all better step up your game if you hope to compete. Nope. Balrogs don’t have wings. * * * If Russia is great at playing the long game… then why did the Soviet Union fall? To make us think “the threat” has disappeared? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/14 "2013-06-06T16:56:27Z")
I wouldn’t go as far as “blasphemy”…[ > [@](#): > > Whether Balrogs have wings (and if so, whether they can fly) is unclear. This is due partly to Tolkien’s changing conception of Balrogs, but mostly to his imprecise but suggestive and possibly figurative description of the Balrog that confronted Gandalf in Moria. > > The two key quotations: > > His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. > > … suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall … > > The argument hinges on whether the “wings” are physical wings or simply figurative wings of shadow. Many additional facts are adduced to the argument, but there is not enough firm description in Tolkien’s writing to settle the argument definitively ]([Balrog - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balrog)) > [@mlees](#): > > Nope. Balrogs don’t have wings. See above. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/15 "2013-06-06T16:59:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > See above. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/16 "2013-06-06T17:02:27Z")
I’m sort of wondering if there is any random/weird thing the OP _doesn’t_ believe. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/17 "2013-06-06T17:03:24Z")
Should Balrog wings be served with traditional Buffalo sauce, or a habanero sauce, or Cajun, or…? [QUOTE=Marley23] I’m sort of wondering if there is any random/weird thing the OP doesn’t believe. [/QUOTE] Well, he seems to be wavering in his belief in capital letters. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/18 "2013-06-06T17:03:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m sort of wondering if there is any random/weird thing the OP _doesn’t_ believe. Bet he doesn’t believe in Balrogs (with or without wings) eating dwarves and Russians on crackers with caviar. 😉 Er, on second thought, when I said ‘bet’, I didn’t mean in any monetary type sense, as you never know… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/19 "2013-06-06T17:06:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Should Balrog wings be served with traditional Buffalo sauce, or a habanero sauce, or Cajun, or…? Sadly, no one knows the answer to this question. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301/20 "2013-06-06T17:07:39Z")
Do Balrogs taste like chicken? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-anyone-knows-more-about-yamantau-than-the-internet/660301.md?page=2)