Entries from Elbrus Southside
July 10, 2012
Posted by: Linden Mallory
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
We woke to the steady patter of rain falling on the village of Cheget this morning. The clouds hung low in the valley, all of the mountains above still obscured. But to the west the clouds were thinning and the rain let up as soon as we finished breakfast. We left the hotel and walked over to the base of the ski lifts to catch a ride higher into the mountains. We hopped onto the lift, each chair painted a different color, and slowly rose into the clouds. At one point the lift stretched across a high point and all we could see was the little yellow and red chairs bouncing along into a sea of grey. By the time we passed the switched lifts at the mid station the clouds began to part and soon the views were improving.
Near 10,000' we unloaded from the lifts and began hiking above the resort towards the summit of Peak Cheget. We navigated the narrow climbers' trail, scrambling across the big rock slabs and over boulders, quickly gaining altitude on the narrow ridge. The weather continued to improve and we were soon shedding our rain jackets in favor of sunglasses. Close to 11,500' the skies briefly parted and we caught our first views of Mt. Elbrus across the valley. The view was fleeting, as the window in the clouds quickly closed, but we were able to see our entire route to the summit.
By midday we reached the summit of Peak Cheget near 12,000'. The change in altitude from Moscow (~500') was noticeable, but everyone on the team felt strong. We stayed on the summit for a few minutes before descending back down the trail to the lifts and returning to town for the afternoon.
We spent the rest of the day sorting and organizing our gear in anticipation of moving onto the mountain. Tomorrow we head up to our hut along the edges of Mt. Elbrus' glaciers where we will spend the next four nights. We are excited about getting on the mountain and looking forward to trading our hiking shoes for climbing boots and crampons. We will check in tomorrow from the Garabashi Hut.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
July 9, 2012
Posted by: Linden Mallory
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 7,500'
We left Moscow early this morning, leaving the city's quiet streets behind for the forest of pine that surround Moscow's Domodevo Airport. The calm morning was broken as soon as we arrived at the airport, with travelers packing the main terminal trying to check-in for their flights. With plenty of time to navigate the crowds, we found our check in counter and meandered through the serpentine line to the front, doing our best to keep our towering carts of climbing gear from toppling over on the unsuspecting passerby. Despite the complete language barrier checking in for our flight was smooth and easy and before long we were climbing the steps into our neon green 737 for the flight to Mineralnye Vody.
The two and a half hour flight took us from Moscow south across the farmland of central Russia to the foothills of the Caucasus. Thankfully all of our bags appeared on the carousel in Mineralnye Vody and we shouldered our duffel bags and navigated the chaotic parking lot outside to our van (conveniently parked, we all noted, in the farthest possible point from the door of the baggage claim). After cramming all of our duffel bags and 9 passengers into the narrow van, we took off down the highway bound for the mountains.
The drive from Mineralnye Vody to the village of Cheget in the Baksan Valley with the base of Mt. Elbrus took about 3.5 hours and brought us from the busy agricultural centers near the airport deep into the heart of the Caucasus. In the small towns on the way to the mountain we passed little markets and stores spilling out onto the streets, dozens of errant cows lounging in the roadway, and a tungsten mine and former factory used in the Soviet Space Program, long since shut down and now in the process of being reclaimed by the forest.The recent rains in the area still left thick clouds hanging throughout the peaks when we reached the little ski town of Cheget. We have yet to catch a view of the high Caucasus or Mt. Elbrus, but the clouds started to thin as we finished dinner and we are hopeful that the views will prove more rewarding tomorrow on our acclimatization hike.
We are staying in a small ski lodge at the base of the Cheget ski resort, where we will be until Wednesday. The rooms are comfortable and the food hearty. We are all very pleased to be in the mountains and looking forward to our hike tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
We’re glad you (and all your bags) made it to Cheget. Climb safely! We’ll keep checking in on the blog for updates.
Posted by: Kristin PIngree on 7/9/2012 at 11:28 pm
July 9, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 18,510'
Hello friends and family of Rainier Mountaineering. This is J.J. Justman really happy to report that our entire team is on the summit of Mt. Elbrus as we speak at 18,510’. We had a great day today. We actually started out pretty iffy weather, there were a lot of clouds, winds, sleet, snow and rain but it parted ways. We started out about 3 in the morning and wouldn’t you know it, we toughed it out, we are in a little bit of a white out. We wish we could have better photos but we are on top.
Everyone wants to say hello to friend and family back home. I’d like to definitely give a shout out to the folks back at RMI: Autumn, Sarah, Melissa, Lacey and Casey for helping to get this trip started the right way. Definitely helps me focus on what I need to focus on and that was making sure our team was acclimatized and having fun. What do you say guys, are you having a fun time? [Cheers in background].
So, we are a little tired and we still have a little bit of work to do so we are going to start heading down hill. Chaio from Russia.
That was Vladimir our co-guide along here with me, it was great climbing with him. We will have some photos and videos for all of you of our terrific summit day. We will send them tomorrow when we descend to the village of Cheget at the base of Mt. Elbrus.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls in from the summit of Mt. Elbrus.
On The Map
Fantastic effort all the way to the top! Have a fun and safe return.
Posted by: Robert Ward on 7/9/2012 at 9:28 am
We spent the day visiting the heart of Moscow today, walking through places familiar from a lifetime of hearing their names but only witnessing for the first time - Red Square, Kremlin, Bolshoy...
We left the hotel this morning and crossed the two bridges spanning the Moscow River and walked along the walls of the Kremlin until we reached Red Square. After wandering through the area for a bit we met our Tour Guide, Nina, for a tour of the city. In fluent English tinted by a distinct Russian accent, she spent the next three hours recounting stories, history, and significances of the many places we bounced between. First walking around St. Basil's Cathedral, the ornately decorated church on the south side of Red Square, we then passed through the GUM Department Store, the beautiful former Soviet State Store now turned luxury shopping mall. Between the stores full of familiar Western brands - Levi's, Prada, Jaques Cartier - she also recounted her personal experiences transitioning from Communist Russia to life in Moscow today, explaining the differences in food choices to retirement.
Across from the Bolshoy theater we descended into Moscow's subway system, hopping trains between several of the impressively ornate underground stations, many covered with mosaics, frescos, and hanging crystal chandeliers, before emerging into the sunlight back at the entrance to the Kremlin. We then walked beneath the thick red brick walls into the center of the Kremlin, passing throughout the churches and monuments in the heart of the Russian Government.
By late afternoon we returned to the hotel and spent a few hours of down time before dinner, trying to shake the last of the jet lag. Tomorrow we leave Moscow and fly to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains to reach the foot of Mt. Elbrus. The team enjoyed Moscow and we are excited to head into the mountains and begin the climbing.
We will check in tomorrow from our hotel in the Baksan Valley.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
July 8, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
Mountain Guides can be a superstitious bunch. So as we did a little bit of training including rope travel, self arrest and cramponing in our second day of gorgeous weather. My superstitious side is coming out.
Tomorrow is our summit day on Elbrus and we are knocking on wood that the weather stays beautiful. But if I may ask all of you (because this worked for me before), please leave a comment on this post wishing our team luck. The more posts we get from you the better the weather will be. And that means great photos and video to share with all of you when we get safely down.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hope the weather held- keep it holding for our trip as well!!! Safe travels back to St. Petersburg.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 7/9/2012 at 5:48 am
Good luck all. Hope the weather holds and you have a good climb!
Posted by: Chris Foley on 7/8/2012 at 1:18 pm
Dobrye Veycher from Moscow! The RMI Mt. Elbrus Team arrived into Moscow throughout the day today, making the hour long drive from the airport to our hotel in the heart of the city, across the Moscow River from the Kremlin. With climbers coming in from all over the globe, it has been a long couple of days of traveling for the team and we had a mellow evening, finding dinner in a small restaurant down the street from the hotel.
This far north, it is still daylight at 10:30pm as we turn in for the evening. We are excited to be here and looking forward to exploring Moscow tomorrow, visiting the city's most famous sites - from Red Square to St. Basil's Cathedral to the Kremlin. We will check in tomorrow after our city tour.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Good luck and good weather Daniel and your fellow climbers on your ascent tomorrow. Hope all that New Zealand and Kilimanjaro training comes to good use. Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.
Regards
Rina
Posted by: Rina Mrhar on 7/12/2012 at 10:24 pm
July 7, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 13,000'
Today the team awoke to a gorgeous sunrise in the mountains. Typically the weather can be sunny in the morning and then the clouds engulf the surrounding mountains including Elbrus. However, today the mountain has been out in all its glory.
After an early breakfast we threw the rucksacks over our shoulders, strapped crampons to our boots and we went for a four-hour acclimatization hike. We made it to 15,000 feet and enjoyed the views as they only got prettier the higher we went.
We are back at camp, after a nice lunch (Albina makes the tastiest soups) we are resting in our hut. As a matter of fact, I hear the movie Dumb & Dumber playing on someone's iPad. Gotta go...
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
July 6, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
Hello from the Garabashi Hut on Mt. Elbrus (also known as the Barrels Hut).
It was an exhausting day getting up here. First we took a gondola and when we got off we had to walk 175 feet to the next gondola. After our second ride we took a single chair chairlift and that dropped us off at the hut. It was a grueling effort to finally walk up to our private barrel but we are now situated all comfy and cozy.
We had a great lunch and met our Executive Chef Albina who served up seafood salad, hot soup with crackers, cheese and salami. A surprise for me was to see Mariana, who cooked for us back in 2002. That year I brought some Peet's Coffee and a giant smile was on her face when I pulled out another bag of cafe goodness.
The team went for a short but pleasant walk uphill to get our lungs working. Now it's time to relax, drink tea and eat more good food as life at 12,000 feet couldn't be any better.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
On The Map
Hi Larry! You bet! Watch our summit video, it was a great day with a lot of fun climbing.Its nice not having to lug a giant pack around all the time. Maybe I will see you in Russia some day.
Keep Climbin’
Posted by: JJ on 7/11/2012 at 10:57 am
Do you do any climbing on this trip? This appears to be much different than Denali.
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 7/6/2012 at 10:45 am
July 5, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 10.600'
Hi everyone this is JJ Justman for the Mount Elbrus expedition. Today we had a great day here on Cheget Peak. We had a great acclimatization hike on a very beautiful clear sunny day. We had fantastic views of Mount Elbrus and we topped out at 10,600 ft.
We finished the hike with a wonderful lunch down in town après ski style. After a little rest and relaxation we went over our climbing gear and we are now officially ready to jump on the big hill tomorrow!
RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team.
On The Map
LeighAnn, great photos of R&R with climbing team in the Cheget ski area. We must have rocks in our blood since I live at 7100ft and you are there looking forward to the next challenge. Say hello to Jim and have a very successful and safe expedition. Dad
Posted by: Vic Belloli on 7/5/2012 at 9:12 pm
July 4, 2012
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 7,500'
Hello RMI family. The team had a great flight from Moscow to Mineralyne Vody. We met Vladimir who will be with us on the mountain. Judging from his light heartedness, I am predicting we are going to have a few laughs.
We drove to Cheget, which is a destination for skiers. Our hotel is situated in the foothills of Mount Elbrus. I do have to admit my surprise. The last time I was on the south side of Elbrus I didn't remember such a beautiful and charming hotel. I am glad we are staying two nights here to acclimatize and prepare gear. After all, there's nothing wrong with First Class, even if it's in the mountains.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
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Planning to spend some time with heavy-drinking Russian soldiers on this climb? Or was that a one time thing? Is there a plan to introduce those chairlifts on Denali?
Posted by: Madhu Rao on 7/14/2012 at 4:56 pm
Have a great time. Be safe, have fun and drink soup at the barrels, and catch a fish! Bill M.
Posted by: Bill McGahan on 7/13/2012 at 2:16 am
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