Entries from Elbrus Southside
One of St. Petersburg's many names is the City of White Nights, recognizing the few hours of darkness that descend on the city during the summer months. Perhaps it was the daylight or perhaps the change in time zones but it was a fitful night's sleep, deep rest intermixed with periods of wakefulness as the body struggled to adjust to a new sleep cycle. Thankfully, a good cup of coffee at breakfast chased the dregs of sleep away and we headed out to visit the city.
Just down the canal from our hotel stands St Isaac's Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe. We climbed the 207 steps up it's spiral staircase to the Colonnade, a walkway offering the best panoramic views of the city - to the port to the west, across the maze of roofs and streets to the south, and to the spires of the Admiralty and the Peter and Paul Fortress standing along the Neva to the north.
The beautiful morning made for nice walking along some of the city's 80 canals on our way to the Church of Spilled Blood, an ornately decorated onion domed church built upon the very cobblestones upon which Tsar Alexander II, the defeater of Napoleon, was killed. Wandering through the gardens and side streets, we made our way to the Hermitage, a collection of over 3 million pieces of artwork housed in 5 buildings that as former palaces of the Tsar's are works of art in themselves. Thanks to some "creative route-finding" we managed to avoid the throngs of visitors milling outside the entrance and were quickly walking amongst the grand ball rooms featuring an exhibition of dozens and dozens of Picassos. Hours, days, even weeks could be spent visiting the Hermitage (and only 5% of it's collection can be displayed), so we focused on seeing the highlights for us.
By late afternoon our days of traveling and site seeing began to catch up with us and we returned to the hotel for some rest. With evening drawing on and feeling a bit rejuvenated, we ended our day on the water, taking a boat through the city's canals and rivers, watching the sun set over the Neva river.
Tomorrow we leave St. Petersburg and trade the shores of the North Sea for the hills of the Caucasus, flying to the town of Mineralnye Vody on our way to Elbrus. We will check in tomorrow when we reach the foot of the mountain.
Well it was an amazing last day to a great adventure on Elbrus. The group left the hotel early this morning if different directions as there are so many sites to see. Some went to the famous Hermitage Museum that houses more art than any other single exhibit in Europe. Others went to St. Isaac's Cathedral, The fifth largest cathedral in the world, and other palaces that are throughout the city.
Everyone enjoyed the day and we finished the evening off with a city tour on a boat. St. Petersburg was built with Dutch influence and is similar to Amsterdam. There are rivers and canals that tie this beautiful city together and there is no better way to see the city then from the water.
Most of the team heads home tomorrow.
Thanks for following along.
Dobre Veycher,
After a long couple days of travel we arrived in St. Petersburg this afternoon. Compared to the throngs of summer travelers filling the terminals back home in the U.S., the airport here in St. Petersburg was comparatively calm and within a half hour of landing we were strolling into the afternoon sun with all of our equipment. The drive into St. Petersburg is a fascinating mix of eras and cultures, with the clean lines of the European inspired city mixed with neon Cryillic street signs, statues and archways celebrating the USSR, and giant billboards advertising the latest in electronics and hair care products. Plunging northward deeper into the heart of the city the wide boulevards gradually constrict and soon the buildings push in on both sides of the streets, occasionally intersected by the canals that help drain the city. With the warm temperatures of summer we saw several locals out on jet skis in the canals, navigating between the barges and tour boats at full speed, leaving bewildered visitors and boat captains in their wakes.
After reaching the hotel, we dropped our bags in the rooms and then snuck out for a quick dinner at a trendy little cafe around the corner. On our way out we met up with the RMI Team led by Casey Grom, returning from a successful climb of Elbrus. They reported fantastic conditions on the mountain and great climbing up high.
With the sun setting out to the west over the North Sea we are turning in for the evening. Tomorrow we will spend the day visiting St. Petersburg and getting settled into the new time zone before heading south to Elbrus and the Caucasus the following day.
Hello everyone,
We spent the entire day traveling from Elbrus to St. Petersburg. It was a long and tiring journey that has left everyone tired. We are currently relaxing at our hotel and are looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow.
Showers was the word of the day! That's all anyone could think about after such a great night of sleep, that and having not bathed in four days.
After breakfast the team descended back down from Elbrus to our hotel in the Baksan valley via the 2 gondolas and single chair lift. The weather continues to be sunny and very warm here in Russia. Tonight we will have a celebratory dinner and I'm sure there will be a little sampling of the local Vodka too. Everyone is smiling.
100% on Top!!!
The team has safely returned to our high camp after an amazing climb. The day started pretty early with breakfast at 1:00 a.m. We departed camp at 2 a.m. and rode a snowcat for about 30 minutes which dropped us off at 15,000'. A rather convenient start, but it's the norm here and was enjoyed by all.
The climb took about 6 hours to reach the summit of Elbrus (which is the highest point in Europe) and 5 hours to descend. The weather continued to be perfect, with only a slightly chilly breeze blowing out of the north. It was an incredible adventure with a great team.
Currently everyone is relaxing back at camp and we are all looking forward to sleeping tonight.
We got up early this morning to make use of the night hardened snow to review cramponing. We then rolled into breakfast and just relaxed until lunch. After lunch we reviewed a few more basic climbing skills and began preparing for tonight's departure. Everyone and everything is looking good so far. If all goes well we hope to be climbing just after 2am. The climb usually takes between 6 to 8 hrs to reach the summit and just about half the time to descend.
We will have dinner early tonight and get to bed by 7pm, and hopefully the team will get a little rest before we head out to summit Elbrus. We'll check in as soon as we are safely back down.
Wish us luck!
Hello everyone,
Today the weather was beautiful again here on Elbrus, and the team went on another acclimatization hike. This time we set a few new altitude records by climbing up to about 15,000. The team did great and even made better time than yesterday, which is a sure sign that everyone is adjusting to the altitude.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing here in camp, people watching and socializing with all the climbers. We've even managed to befriend the local cat, who we are calling Brus, short for the mountain we are hoping to climb, Elbrus. Not much else to report. Everyone is in good health and seems to be having a great time.
It's another beautiful day here in Russia, which was perfect for our move to our base camp. We started with two gondola rides and finished with a single chair lift to reach our home for the next few days (sounds tough I know). Our base is a series of giant barrels that sit at 12,000' about half way up the mountain. There are 12 barrels in total and they are shared by climbers from all over the world.
After our move and a quick lunch we headed uphill on Elbrus to further help our acclimatization. We climbed uphill for about 2 hours and reached just over 14,000'.
The team has return to camp and are currently awaiting dinner. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a good night's sleep.
After a good night's sleep and a hearty Russian breakfast the team headed out for our first acclimatization hike. The weather was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and clear skies. Our hike was on the flanks of a neighboring mountain called Cheget, named for the small town below it. Cheget rises sharply out of town and is a steep ski resort in the winter. It has several chair lifts that came in handy for the ascent and descent. Along the way we were treated to some amazing views of Elbrus and a large portion of the Caucasus mountain range. Everyone was thoroughly impressed!
After our hike we returned to town for a traditional Caucasus lunch of borsht, carrot slaw, and a meat roll. The team then headed back to our hotel and started packing for tomorrow's move to our base camp on Elbrus.
Everyone is doing great and we are all excited about tomorrow.
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