DESTINATION Generic 994 Photosets
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| Hike & Climb | 18.42 Miles |
8,768 AEG |
| | Hike & Climb | 18.42 Miles | 5 Days | | |
| 8,768 ft AEG | | 41 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | It was a long way getting all the way to the foot of Mount Elbrus. The road took from PHX to SLC and onto Paris, France May 11-12. On the following day making the hop to Moscow, Russia. Spent two days walking the city and accumulated quite a bit of miles.
On Sunday morning we flew down to Mineralnye Vody in the caucasus region, at the airport we hopped on a cab that charged us 3000ru for the 3 hour ride......it was a great price! We arrived at the town of Cheguet under cold and rainy weather. Spent 1000ru a night at Hotel Cemerka for a very nice room. The following day was just as rainy and cold as the day before, kept a close eye on the weather forecast and came up to the conclusion that friday AM was going to be our summit day being the best weather. On this day we also took care of some last minute registrations and gear rental.
Around mid day on tuesday we started making our about 5 mile hike up to the village of Asau at the end of the road and where the ski lift taking us to Mir Station is located. I guess we left a bit too late and we werent able to take the ski lift that evening and were forced to camp next to town, where we met a Russian hiker named Nikolai. He spoke a bit of english which helped greatly the next couple days since everything and everyone only spoke Russian.......even ordering food became quite the adventure, which i welcomed very much.
The following morning under semi cloudy skies Ayden the third person on our team finally joined us from NYC and the four of us took the ski lift together and after getting dropped off at Mir Station i was picked for an interview for Russia TV where i was asked a handful of questions including my name, where i was from and what had brought me all the way there. After finishing the interview we started making our way up to Garabashi, about an hour's walk up the slope where we intended making our base camp, from there the flexibility of our plans started to open up based on weather and mountain conditions since it had been snowing on the mountain pretty much non stop the two weeks leading up to our arrival.
After setting up camp and starting the process of melting enough water for food and drinking started right away. About mid afternoon we decided it was time to start making our way up for our first acclimatization hike, where we made it to 4000 meters, hung out on a rocky outcrop for a while until winds and clouds started making their way in and we started walking back to camp.
In the middle of the night and according to the weather forecast we were supposed to be hit with heavy snowfall, strong winds and whiteout conditions hit the entire area dumping at least a foot of snow at camp, my four season tent performed admirably keeping Matt and I warm and dry. The following morning under windy conditions still we tried to dig our way out of our tent and some of our gear left outside overnight had to be dug out from all the snow. More melting snow was on our plans but because of the weather we were stuck at camp for longer than we wanted to. The plan for that day was to make it up to Pashtukova Rocks at 4800 mts that morning, we did ended up making it almost all the way there later that afternoon before 40-50 MPH winds and drifting snow turned back almost everyone climbing up to the area around.
After getting back to base camp we got together with our guide and decided that in order to expedite getting ready by 4AM the following morning for our summit push it was better for us to get a decent bed at the old barrels at Garabashi, they were super cheap, costing only 500ru per person.
Finally the morning of friday May 20 had arrived, we had set up our alarms for 3AM, I made myself a big bowl of oatmeal with extra sugar and whole powder milk for breakfast along a two serving up of hot chocolate. At the start of the climb we had been joined by a team of French ski-mountaineers. We got lucky and had virtually a wind-free morning and the clearest of skies, as we made our way up the volcano we witnessed a bright glowing organge moon setting at the same time the sun rose from the east creating these magical shadows all over the Caucasus mountain range.
At the start of the climb we also saw a line of head lamps of climbers ahead of us by a good hour or two higher up the mountain. As we made our way up we caught up with our dorm mate Roman, one of the Chinese expedition's guides. (Cool side story, we had the privilege of meeting the leader of the Chinese team who had already completed the 7 summit challenge and was also one of the Chinese Olympic torch bearers that carried the torch up to the summit of Everest for the 2008 Beijing Olympics)
As we continued our ascent our third teammate Ayden started suffering from a mild case of altitude sickness and threw up at least 4 times on the way up. After reaching the saddle of Elbrus I started getting the feeling that I was going to make the summit and two hours later at 10:49AM local time i reached the highest point in Europe followed by my two team mates and our guide. For 20 minutes we celebrated and took plenty of photos before starting our descent. Unfortunately Ayden's sickness continued and started getting dizzy and light headed to the point that our guide roped Ayden to him. Approaching the steepest slope just above the saddle Ayden almost took a fall but the guide kept both of them safe.
I was deeply concerned about Ayden but I was also feeling very energized to have been to the top of Elbrus and that adrenaline carried me back down issue free all the way down to the Garabashi barrels.
After having made it back to base camp all i craved was a Coke (which is weird since i dont drink soda) but the Cafe nearby didnt have any on hand. Both Matt and Ayden quickly fell asleep on their bunks while i ate through the rest of my food supplies and water. At this point my face was feeling super hot despite the sunblock and chapstick i put on my face throughout the day. My face burns were slight compared to other people's burns. For a while i layed on my bed inside my sleeping bag unable to fall asleep and constantly looking out the window with a clear view of the majestic Elbrus. What a climb that was!! I dont know if i'll ever make it down there again but i would love to climb Elbrus from the north if i ever get the chance again. |
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