Entries from Elbrus Southside
Hello Everyone,
Today the team left behind the busy city life of Moscow and have arrived safely at the base of Mt. Elbrus. We caught an early flight to Mineralnye Vody, which is known for its abundant mineral springs and then headed to the mountain via a four hour bus ride. The drive was reminiscent of the rural Midwest we have back home, full of farms and beautiful sunflower fields that stretched on as far as the eye could see sometimes. The only difference was that the cows seemed more content standing in the middle of the road than in the fields. It sure made for an exciting ride to say the least!
The plains quickly gave way to the deep Baksan Valley that sits at the base of Caucasus Mountains.
Everyone still seems a little tired from all the travel, but we are all happy to be in the mountains now.
Hello Everyone,
Casey here checking in from Moscow.
All is well and the team arrived yesterday evening. We had a quick meet and greet, then headed out for a bite to eat before calling it a night as everyone was feeling the jet lag.
Today we had a wonderful breakfast and then set off on today's adventure. We spent most of the morning in and around Russia's famous Red Square. We started off with a quick visit of Lenin's Tomb, then headed to the Kremlin for a few hours. Up next was a short subway ride to one of Moscow's many Cathedrals and then headed back to see the beautiful St. Basil's. Several team members did a little exploring on their own and others got a quick cat nap back at the hotel. We have just returned from a nice meal and are getting ready for bed again. Tomorrow we have an early departure and catch one more flight before we get to Elbrus.
The Elbrus team is doing great in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. We had an incredibly exhausting day of travel yesterday filled with car problems, delayed planes, baggage issues, but managed to make it to our new hotel safe, albeit a little tired. We finished the night off with one of the most impressive and delicious spreads of Indian food I have ever seen. A special thanks to Parth and his family for that. Thanks!
The day has been spent enjoying this beautiful city on foot and by boat. Most of the team split up to do a little exploring of their own. Some went to the famous Hermitage museum while others just enjoyed the elaborate architecture this city has to offer on foot. We will wrap up the day with an evening boat tour of the city and then head off to dinner.
Thanks for following.
After yesterday's adventure the team slept soundly, some a little too soundly, if you know what I mean (read snoring). We had a leisurely morning with breakfast at 9am and then finished packing up all of our gear and headed back down the combination of lifts to reach Azau once again. The thick air of 8,000 ft was warm and welcoming. There was a look of panic in everyone's eyes when I reminded the team that there were 12 of us who were hoping for hot showers and the water might be limited. Everyone quickly raced off, but there was plenty of hot water and everyone is looking and smelling much better.
We spent the next 2 hours stuffing our bellies with chicken kebabs and some tasty local beer. After lunch the team headed out on a gift shopping mission from which we have just returned.
There is a celebratory dinner on schedule for tonight that usually ends with a little sampling of the local vodka. I'm sure it will be a fun night as everyone is happy to be down from Elbrus and ready to head to St. Petersburg tomorrow.
That's all for now.
We made it!
Everyone has safely returned from our fantastic climb of Elbrus, the highest point in Europe. Our summit day started with falling snow and flashes of lightning in the distance that left the team feeling a little uneasy. Shortly after starting our climb the snow stopped while the lightning provided some beautiful views as it slowly moved away and the skies cleared. We ended up having one of the most enjoyable days in the mountains I've had in a long time. It took us about 7 1/2 hours to reach the summit, which was sunny, warm and windless. All but two of our team were able to stand on top and we spent about 20 minutes taking photos, giving hugs, high-fives, and just taking in the breathtaking views. We made it back to camp after 13 hours on the go and most of the team is currently taking their well earned post-climb naps.
Thanks for wishing us luck
Hello friends,
Summit day is finally here!
The team is doing great and we are all well rested. It's been a beautifully clear day with fantastic views of Elbrus and the Caucasus range. Most of the day was spent telling tall tales, eating lots of Russian food (plenty of borsht) and watching scantly clad russians dance (really). We will be waking at 1 am for breakfast and start our climb shortly there after. If all goes well, we should reach the summit in 6 to 7 hours.
Wish us luck.
Hello friends,
We spent the day hiking to over 15,000' on Elbrus to continue our acclimatization before our summit bid. Our plan is to spend the rest of today and most of tomorrow resting in preparation for Saturday's climb. The weather has been less than ideal with snow falling the last few days. Although there have not been spectacular views the team is psyched about the improving climbing conditions. Normally the route is very icy which makes for tough going and slightly more dangerous conditions. However, all the new snow has made easier and safer climbing.
Everyone is doing well and we are looking forward to lounging around tomorrow.
Greetings from Russia,
Today the team left the comforts of town and headed up hill to our new home on Elbrus for the next few days. We started our day with a ride in an enclosed ski lift, switched to a gondola, and then finished it off with a single chair lift. This unique transportation system delivered us to 12,000' where we will spend the next few days getting ready for our climb. Our new home is in a series of giant barrels. They are quite nice, especially on days like today where there is a slight blizzard outside.
After our arrival we headed out into the inclement weather for another acclimatization hike. After a few hours of battling the wind and snow we headed back home, had dinner (dill free thankfully) and are currently cozy in our heated barrels.
The team is doing great and we will check in again tomorrow.
Hello again everyone,
The team awoke this morning to the soothing sound of rainfall. After a quick breakfast of cream of wheat and fried eggs we headed out into the downpour to test our waterproof pants and jackets. We had hopes of going on a long hike to help start our acclimatization, but after a short walk and a few rides on ski lifts we were greeted with more rain that eventually turned to snow. Although our adventure was short lived, everyone enjoyed riding the lifts, seeing the new snow and we even managed to climb just over 10,000 ft. We are excited for Elbrus.
After our brief and wet exploration we head back into town for a little last minute shopping, lunch and to make it back to our hotel just in time for a quick nap before dinner.
Dinner was nice and the team is adjusting to the fine Russian cuisine. Ever wonder why you don't see Russian restaurants in the States. Well, I assure you there is a reason. It almost seems as if there is an over abundance of Dill and the locals are attempting to eradicate it by ingesting it. For some reason they have volunteered us to help them with this.
Dill-icious!
That's all for now. The team is doing great and we are looking forward to moving further up the mountain tomorrow.
Greetings Everyone,
Casey here checking in from Russia.
Everyone is doing really well despite the standard jet lag we are all feeling.
The last few days have been busy with sightseeing in Moscow while trying to chase down missing luggage. The group spent the better part of yesterday seeing the sights, which included the Famous Red Square, St. Basil's, and the Kremlin. Some of the team even had a quick visit to Lenin's tomb. After our day in the city we wrapped up the day with a very traditional meal of beef stroganoff. I won't mention any names (Kevin) but someone thought it would be ok to order Nachos! Needless to say they were not quite up to US standards. Sometimes we just have to learn the hard way.
We woke early today for our 3 hour flight to Mineralyne Vody which is in the southern plains of Russia that lead to the Caucasus Mountains and Mt. Elbrus. After the standard delays that everyone encounters while traveling here we were on our way. The drive took us about 4 hours and was through the beautiful country side that reminds one of the Midwest (think of rural Ohio). There were sunflower fields that streched out as far as the eye could see. After a few hours of driving and a few near misses with the wandering cows we finally arrived at the Baksan Valley which leads to the mighty Elbrus. We are currently in a small ski town called Azau.
Our plan is to catch up on some much needed sleep and spend tomorrow hiking and taking in the views.
Stay tuned! more to come soon.
Previous Page
