Entries from Elbrus Southside
July 13, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
It was a beautiful day here on
Elbrus, not a cloud in the sky!
We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, not two, but three gondolas to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms that sit atop some makeshift skis so they can be moved. Creative to say the least!
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500ft before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us.
We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing, walking around and just enjoying the amazing view of the Caucasus mountain range.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
July 12, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 7,500'
Hello again everyone -
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jump start on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' before we started our two hour hike to the top of a local peak called Cheget, which is also the name of the town we are staying in. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and we even caught a few glimpses of
Mt. Elbrus between the clouds.
After our hike we made it back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting on us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our local outfitter and to top it off we celebrated one team members birthday!
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Well... This is it. The final blog for the July 1 - 13, 2016 is sadly here. However, as is the case, we had an amazing day in
Saint Petersburg! Our local city tour guide Elena, was amazing as we strolled around the entire city. I have been here 13 times now and today was simply put, the coolest tour I have had in St Petes. I am sad as I sit here writing this blog during our last dinner. Our entire team has been absolutely amazing. It is not every climb where complete strangers come together and have such an amazing adventure.
Thank you for following along. The team sends giant hugs and kisses back home to friends and family! Thanks for your support.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
July 11, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 7,500'
Zdravstvuyte (hello) from Russia,
Things are good here in Russia. We left Moscow this morning and have traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucus mountains.
Our flight took us to southern Russia near the Black Sea, or if you remember Sochi from the Olympics, it not too far from there. We flew into Mineralnye Vody. This part of the country is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depends on. We were meet by our trustworthy guide Yuri, whom I've climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the 3hr drive up the
Baksan Valley to the base of Mt. Elbrus.
The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to climbing in the summer. We didn't do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the rain and the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling.
However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring.
All is well here and the team is excited to stretch our legs a bit!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hi everyone!
We are excited that today is over! The team spent the day traveling by car then airplane then car again. We have finally arrived in St. Petersburg and it is so nice to be here. It has been a long day but tomorrow stay tuned for some photos of our city tour and my favorite, the infamous canal tour.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hello Everyone,
All is well here in
Moscow. Most of the team arrived yesterday evening after some very long flights. As most of us are still adjusting to the massive time change we keep things simple with a little round of introductions and stepped out for a short walk and a nice dinner. Today we meet with our local tour guide and had an outstanding tour of the nearby Red Square, Kremlin as well as visiting several churches including the iconic St. Basil's. We took a short break and then headed out once again for dinner and a nice walk. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide
Casey Grom and Crew
The weather was even worse today on
Elbrus. The team spent the day back down in Cheget. We took a beautiful hike to a giant waterfall and then enjoyed lunch at a great spot with fresh trout. Tomorrow we head to St Petersburg!
RMI Guide
JJ Justman and Team
July 9, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 17,700'
Hi everyone. Today was a tough day. The team departed camp just before 3AM with moderate winds. As we climbed along the traverse above 17,000 feet the wind was getting dangerously strong. As the the team stopped to clip into climbing ropes for safety, another climber NOT on our team slipped, fell and slid down the mountain nearly a thousand feet. I was relieved to see the climber get to their feet but I am still not sure of their condition. I believe and hope they are ok. Her local guide climbed down and assisted and again, I believe all is fine.
I was extremely thankful our team did not get sideswiped as the climber fell. Needless to say, there were a few team members with very shocked expressions. Being roped up for safety we continued to climb higher. As we were approaching the long traverse into the saddle, four hours from the summit at our pace I witnessed another climber get knocked off his feet by the wind. Luckily he slid a hundred feet and stopped.
It was at that point that I needed to quit thinking and just trust my gut. Our team turned at 17,700 feet and we focused on getting back down safely. And we did.
We are all back at camp and we are now making the decision if we give the summit another shot. The forecast is not in our favor. Either way, up or down, we are focused on safety and I am sure a little fun is in store for us one way or another.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
July 8, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
Well...if there ever was a day to have a rest day, it would be today. As I laid in my sleeping bag last night watching Caddyshack for the 74th time I could hear the snow falling on the tin roof of the hut. Upon waking it appeared several inches of snow fell and it continued through most of the day.
The team spent the day relaxing and I even gave a mini slideshow on
Mount Everest. We are putting the final preparations on packing our summit packs. The forecast is for this weather to push off and clear skies are on the horizon. Knock on wood. If all goes well the team will be on the
summit soon!!
Stay tuned.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
July 7, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 15,000'
Today was another magnificent Russian day on
Mount Elbrus. The team did an acclimatization day to exactly 15,000 feet. Not only did they do it, they rocked it! The stage has now been set. We are back in camp hydrating and recovering with a great lunch. As I told the team, sure, we could summit tomorrow. They are strong! However, there is no need to rush. Tomorrow is calling for a little snow so we are going to have a rest day. That way, come Saturday, if the weather allows, everyone will be feeling even stronger.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Glad you survived all three ski lifts Michael:) haha. Hope everyone has a great climb today and the weather continues to hold up for the Summit. We are sweating back here in the US, enjoy the snow!
Be safe.
Jancy
Posted by: Jancy Darling on 7/13/2016 at 8:02 pm
Hi Thad. Hi Sam. Blazing heat every afternoon here now with triple digit heat indices, so to paraphrase WC Fields, all things considered I’d rather be in the Baksan Valley. Lovely scenery! I’ve seen pictures before of brightly painted shipping containers used as dwellings, but hadn’t seen the interiors. Looks cozy, though they might do with a skylight. You guys look pretty happy…
Posted by: Burton Golden on 7/13/2016 at 4:09 pm
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