Entries from Elbrus Northside
August 13, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 18,510'
What a spectacular day of climbing here in Russia! We got up just as that big orange ball of fire was cresting the horizon, but distant, low clouds to the East turned it blood red, as it set the Caucasus on fire. The excitement of a summit morning was palpable as everyone moved about with a little extra pep putting the final preparations on their packing jobs, and them we were underway.
The skies were crystal clear for nearly all of our ascent, and a 10mph downhill breeze kept things pretty chilly, as well as filled in any trace of a trail, though there was a group of 12 just 30min ahead of us. Three stretches of climbing brought us to the saddle between the East and West summits. There, we joined the Southside route for the final push to the West Summit. Five and a half hours after leaving camp, we were standing on the top of Europe, snapping photos, sharing congratulations, and enjoying the achievement. The wind was still chilly, and cranking steadily, so after 20 min or so, we were ready to beat feet back down. Our timing couldn't have been better; as we left clouds started to flow over the summit, and descended as we did. We got back to our high camp, packed things up, and kept rolling down to our camp 1 at 12,300, where we are now, enjoying kebab and mulled wine from our outfitter Yuri.
Tomorrow we'll wake early to descend to base camp and meet our vans to return to Kislovodsk and civilization. From there, our Russian adventure will continue in St. Petersburg! For now, we'll relish in our success and look forward to showers and beds tomorrow.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
August 12, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 15,200'
We have settled in to high camp at Lenz Rocks after a beautiful day of climbing. Warm sun, and a cloudless sky at breakfast let us dally a bit longer than had been our want, and then we set to packing up camp, paring down our gear to the essentials, and getting ready to climb to 15,000'. The climbing is very smooth, mostly walking straight up a broad shoulder of the glacier, and everyone performed well. The scale here is pretty large, and difficult to get a grasp on, and it was quickly apparent that it was better to focus on one's steps than looking up, as things took much longer to approach than it seemed like they should.
With camp built, we're headed to bed early in anticipation of an earlyish start for the summit tomorrow. With any luck, we'll be calling in from the summit tomorrow!
Dobrye din,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
August 11, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 12,300'
Rain and wet snow pounding on the tent this morning told us all we needed to know about the wisdom of moving uphill today. With folks recovering from our united GI distress, another day to rest up and be ready for the move was in order. The clouds gave us a break finally, and most of the day was very pleasant, though the moving snow and lenticulars told a different story above. By this evening everyone was excited to be feeling good again, and we are well prepped for a move to our high camp at Lenz Rocks tomorrow.
We'll be in touch soon,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
Go Go Pete + crew…GI distress ~ Hmm: Sounds familar!
Posted by: Walter Glover on 8/12/2016 at 5:49 am
August 10, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 12,300'
Sometimes you get thrown a total curveball, which was the case with our Mt. Elbrus expedition today. Apparently there has been a stomach bug simmering in the group, and it reached its boiling point last night. With most of the team suffering and feeling less than 100%, it was an easy decision to stay put and rest and recover today. That ended up lining up well with the forecast, as the next couple of days look better than today or tonight. So with that positive note, we'll get a good night's sleep so that we wake up ready to get back to work.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
August 9, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 12,300'
Our first clue that things had changed was that it was COLD this morning. Still cozied in our sleeping bags, we peeked out of the tent, and couldn't find a cloud in the sky anywhere. Psyched to have a break from the rain, we layered up and headed out to fire up breakfast and get our train rolling uphill.
The climbing above Camp 1 follows a broad glacial shoulder almost straight up to Lenz Rocks above us. As fast as we can tell, most Russian climbers don't believe in switchbacks. There is a wide trail punched into the snow, but it goes straight up. We made some switchbacks of our own, cruising up to our next camp in style, where we deposited a load of food and a bit of fuel, before returning. The downhill trail couldn't be any better for making good time, and quickly we were back at our tents at 12,300'. The rain even stayed away for us to have a nice dinner outside together, and take some night shots of the moon rising over Elbrus' twin summits.
If all goes well, we'll pack up camp tomorrow to move to Lenz for the night and start our summit bid. The next couple of days should be busy!
Best from way up here,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum and team
On The Map
August 8, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
It rained last night. Then it fired off a couple blinding flashes of lightning with a throaty growl of thunder that rolled on and on for what seemed like minutes. Then it rained some more.
We did the only logical thing we could think of this morning and put on the brightest clothing we all could find and crawled out to eat a breakfast of champions: cocoa puff and coffee.
The rain eventually diminished and we grabbed empty packs and returned to our cache to be reunited with the rest of our gear. An afternoon of rest and staying dry led to dinner, which showed promise with a brief glimpse of the sun. But it was not to be; within 30 seconds of putting out the dinner call, the hail began, which became rain once again.
Despite the 110% humidity, spirits are high, and we keep looking upwards at our next step, the glacier climbing towards Lenz Rocks and eventually the summit. We shared our current reading endeavors, learning about the reality of fish farming, and the Russian stereotypes portrayed by Dostoyevsky. Tomorrow we will try for an acclimatization hike and small carry to Lenz, with an eye towards making that move the day after to start our summit push. We'll see if that lines up with the weather's ideas.
Best from a soggy camp one,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and Team
August 7, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 12,300'
We're tucked in to our nice new abode at 12,300', at the foot of the glacier on the North side of Mt. Elbrus. The smooth roll continued today, as the deluge of rain that we listened to all night broke early this morning, letting us rise to cloudy skies that increasingly became blue. We packed up our camp, sorted through the final odds and ends that were going to come with us or stay in base camp, then shouldered packs and headed uphill again, this time for good. The terrain rolled by as clouds intermittently protected us from the sun, and after 5 hours of hard work, we reached our new digs. It took some time to level the gravel in this glacial moraine to yield tent platforms, but pretty soon we had a comfortable new home that will serve well for the next few days. Tomorrow we'll retrieve our cache from just below, and spend some time reviewing our climbing skills.
The rain was kind enough to hold off long enough for us to enjoy a group dinner outside, but now it has returned. We're going to head towards bed, thankful for dry tents and warm sleeping bags. We'll check in tomorrow.
Thanks for following,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and JM Gorum and team
On The Map
August 7, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 11,200'
Hello all!
We had a wonderful day today. After waking to sunny skies overhead, we crawled out of our tents at a leisurely hour and enjoyed a nice breakfast in base camp. A few cows made it into the fenced in area of base camp overnight, and were apparently enjoying their breakfast as much as we enjoyed ours. After packing up and shoring up camp against our new bovine friends, we started working our way uphill towards Camp One.
The walk was quite pleasant, as we had a nice breeze, good company, and pleasant vistas all around. Mt. Elbrus was visible to us all day, and as we got closer, we were able to get a good view of the route, and climbers descending it. It looks to be in great shape, and everyone is excited. After about three hours we found a good spot to cache our gear, and divided it up into duffel bags. We descended with nearly empty packs, taking a detour to Mushroom Rocks. An interesting group of rock formations that look like, well, mushrooms. Very weird.
Upon arrival back at camp, snacking and napping commenced and continued until dinner time. We ate a fine meal of spaghetti and watched distant thunderstorms roll by. Tomorrow we will move to Camp One. Everyone is feeling good, and excited to get going uphill. You'll hear from us again tomorrow.
RMI Guides JM Gorum and Pete Van Deventer
On The Map
August 5, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 8,300'
The mountain was calling and we answered. We spent the last two days making our way towards Elbrus. Our apologies for the lack of a dispatch yesterday, but the small city of Kislovodsk that is our jumping off point is not a hotbed of wifi access. Some smooth flights got us that far yesterday, and we spent the afternoon shopping for food and putting the final touches on our expedition preparations. We were overjoyed when the bags for three of our team members finally arrived in Moscow, and they were able to grab them and rejoin us late last night. The woes of travel.
This morning we boarded a new off-road sprinter van type machine that our driver Alexei referred to as his "Russian hammer," and started the winding drive through the steppes of the Caucasus. After an hour and a bit we left the pavement and set out along the four wheel road - which at times had our hearts creeping towards our mouths with the precipitous slopes that drop from the side of the road - that takes us to base camp at 8,300'. We arrived, said goodbye to Alexei, whose jolly laugh had kept the mood light, and set up our compound. An afternoon hike into the surrounding hills let us stretch our legs and find an incredible waterfall that cuts straight through a large rock ridge, reemerging on the other side. An afternoon siesta led to dinner, and just as we were ready to serve it up, the rain started with a few flashes of lightning. We retreated to our tents with our meals, and are now getting ready to hit the hay as we listen to rain drops beat a percussion on our tents, happy to be dry.
All the best from here,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
August 3, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Last night's sleep was refreshing for all, and everyone looked chipper as they sidled in to breakfast. That was good because we had a whirlwind day ahead of us. We headed over to the Resurrection Gate of Red Square to Victoria, our tour guide. After a slow start waiting in the queue to see a national treasure, Lenin's entombed body, things got going with a tour through St Basil's Cathedral, abyssal made up of 10 churches, all in the same foundation, and to the GUM, the large Soviet era department store that now carries the biggest brands (Prada, Gucci, Armani, etc.). We made a stop for ice cream, then cruised around the Kremlin wall to see the changing of the guards, and on in to the Kremlin, and more cathedrals. We closed the tour down with lunch at a delicious Ukrainian restaurant, and then into the afternoon to sort details and nap. Dinner at a restaurant in the nearby design and architecture school went long, but was delicious, and no one minded given the good company we are in. All in all, we had a stellar day, and are excited to take steps towards the mountain early tomorrow morning. By tomorrow evening, we will be in Kislovodsk, ready to launch to Elbrus Northside Base Camp, where the mountain adventure begins, and we leave the city life behind for a bit.
We are very much looking forward to it!
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
Sounds like the trip is terrific, if a bit soggy. Have a safe climb - looking forward to hearing more. Have fun Ed!
Gayle
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/8/2016 at 6:50 pm
Looking forward to reading the blog! Wishing all of you a terrific and safe climb.
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/4/2016 at 9:33 pm
Congratulations all on reaching the summit! Wonderful news.
Gayle
Posted by: Gayle Hitton on 8/13/2016 at 6:06 pm
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