Entries from Elbrus Southside
July 27, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
It was a beautiful day here on Elbrus.
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 views of the Caucasus Mountain Range.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
What a way to finish our great adventure in Russia! Today our team had a great day with our local St. Petersburg guide exploring this incredible city! It was incredible day in the city that ended with an amazing canal tour. I have to admit, it is hard to leave Russia. I am so happy that we have enjoyed the many great wonders of this great country! Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
July 26, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
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. Afterwards we 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' on a chair lift before we started our two-hour hike to the top of Peak Cheget. Yes, it is also the name of the town in which we are staying. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and we even caught a few glimpses of 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 for 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 ever so gracious local outfitter.
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
July 25, 2016
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
An early rise gave way to a groggy ride to the airport this morning that was fortunately on the quicker side because the majority of Moscow had yet to wake. After navigating Aeroflot's slightly confusing baggage system our team was relieved to settle into an airport restaurant and enjoy a decent breakfast and more importantly a decent cup (or two) of coffee. A slight delay, a quick flight to Mineralnye Vody, and a longer bus ride to Cheget completed our traveling for the day. On our drive we watched the rolling hills of farmland become more pronounced, eventually turning into mountains, and finally turning quite impressive with huge relief as we drove up a craggy canyon. Cheget is a little outpost of sorts but our hotel is pretty cool, complete with beautiful views of glaciers above from the forest below and even a medieval motif to the dining room. A bit weary from travel, we're all excited to get out and stretch our legs on our first acclimatization hike tomorrow.
We'll let you know how it goes.
Over and out,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Hi Everyone!! First, the entire team wants to say hello to family and friends back home. Today we spent all day traveling to St. Petersburg, the coolest city in Russia. Needless to say, we are tired. However, the team is going to celebrate our first night here by going to one of my favorite restaurants, Jerome’s, a “French-ish” restaurant. Yes, French! We have eaten plenty of authentic Russian cuisine. Tonight, the team is going to kick back, relax and enjoy the “white lights” of St. Petes!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
July 24, 2016
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
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
July 24, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 18,510'
It has been an adventure full of adversity. The weather on Elbrus has been so finicky. We didn't even see the mountain until a day ago! This morning the winds were still howling but certainly not as much as the last few days. Today was our last hope at making the summit. We awoke and headed out at 4AM and the climbing was tough with moderate winds. The winds stayed steady at 35mph and the team simply did an amazing job. It's not easy climbing in less than ideal conditions. At 9:15AM we reached the summit of Mount Elbrus. It has been a long day and we are all very happy to be safely down in Cheget. Tonight certainly calls for a celebration.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Nice job! Congratulations Matt and Team JJ! Glad things worked out for you to summit… Looking forward to the pictures and stories!
Posted by: Fred Dietrich on 7/24/2016 at 6:10 pm
Yay! Well done David and Team! JJ, thank you for leading them to success and safety! Super excited for you all!
Posted by: Beth on 7/24/2016 at 11:54 am
July 23, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 15,000'
After a great day of acclimatizing to 15,000 feet on Mt. Elbrus our team has decided to take a day of rest. So today will be filled with reading, playing cards and watching Tommy Boy for the 102nd time. We will also get out and play in the snow refreshing our mountaineering skills.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
David and Team, thinking of you everyday. Glad to hear the weather has cleared and you’re relaxing at 15,000 feet! All is good at here….after a week in AK, the family is happy to be home. You’ll be happy to hear that we took Foster on gondola ride and he “hiked” around at the top as he’s also a mountain climber. All too soon he’ll be joining you on one of these!
Love, Beth and the family.
Posted by: Beth on 7/23/2016 at 8:23 am
July 22, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 15,000'
We survived another stormy night up here on Elbrus. It definitely is nice staying in a hut rather than tents. Especially when lightning strikes and the whole ground rumbles underneath.
It looks like Elbrus got that nasty weather out of its system. Later this morning the sky cleared and for the first time the team saw the mountain! We took advantage of the day and went up to 15,000 feet to acclimatize. The team did great and we are now resting back at camp. It is still a little windy so we are waiting and watching for the right opportunity to make a summit push.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
July 21, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 15,000'
Wow! What a night and what a day for Team Russia. I have been guiding here since 2002 and I haven't seen weather quite like this. The winds are very strong still. However, the thunder and lightening has moved away. Instead of acclimatizing towards 15,000 feet, the team was forced to stay put. So today was a rest day and we did manage to go for a short walk and do some skills training. Tomorrow we will give it another try in climbing up towards 15,000 feet, weather permitting.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
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52 Peaks! I’m with you in spirit! Stay safe & enjoy!
Posted by: Todd on 7/26/2016 at 10:53 pm
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