During my preparations to climb Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest summit, I came across a youtube video from Annelie Pompe who described that her first impression was that Russia is beautiful. Arriving at the Elbrus region in the Caucasus mountains close to the Georgia border, I can only confirm that this is true. A ‘rough’ terrain much like the high alps, yet incredibly green. I had just met my two other expedition members, a silent Russian guy called Denis, and a more talkative Indian girl called Nandita. Our guide, Ekaterina, had picked us up from the airport region and after a drive of several hours we arrived at our hotel at the Terskol ski area. at 2066 m / 6780 ft.
I unpacked all my gear and laid it out on the bed for a gear check. “Your down jacket is too thin”, said Ekaterina. I had brought my Patagonia Ultralight Down hoody and realised later that this should have been a spare jacket. She proposed to swop my hardshell and down jacket layers on summit day (normally you’d wear the down on top), hoping this would work. The hotel was not prepared to serve lunch but Nandita had brought plenty of food from India and used the hotel kitchen to warm it up and service us a delicious meal. We spent the afternoon looking around at Terskol where time seem to have stood still. I could see on of my most favourite 4×4 terrain cars, the Lada Niva, in various versions.
The first day of the climb brought us to 3037 m / 10000 ft. It was an acclimatisation hike to Terskol peak, offering a great view on to the (cloudy) Mount Elbrus. It was clear that Denis was the fastest among the three expedition members (and the youngest) however my personal training was based on long duration stamina carrying weight, not fast ascents. It was a beautiful hike of a few hours leaving time in the afternoon to rest and sort out missing or rented gear.
Day 2 was ‘checking in’ at the ‘Leaprus hut’, located at 3912 m / 12830 ft. To reach it we we took the ‘cable car’ up. I had brought a thick sleeping bag, and also a Russian 3G week-pass in order to stay connected, only to find out that this Leaprus hut offered comfortable beds with blankets, heating, and wifi! Next to our hut was a kitchen and eating hut, as well as hut with clean toilets. Such luxury in the mountains! We did an acclimatisation hike to 4084 m / 13400 ft and practised glacier techniques such as traversing with crampons and self arrest. Upon arrival back at the huts a fantastic meal was waiting for us prepared by our ever-smiling cook.
The third day was yet another acclimatisation hike. Unfortunately Nandita, while walking up the iron stairs to the kitchen hut in the darkness, had taken a bad fall and injured her leg badly so was unable to join. With Denis and Ekaterina we reached an altitude of 4726 ft / 15500 ft and enjoyed the stunning views of the Caucasus mountains under the shining Sun. There was, however a problem….
Weather predictions told us that the good weather was not going to last. In fact, on our planned summit night in 30 hours, storm was expected. The next day was supposed to be a resting day; hanging around the huts and practising more glacier techniques while getting used to the altitude. Ekaterina called for a meeting and proposed to go up tonight already, therefore skipping the extra rest / acclimitization day. From my Kilimanjaro climb I knew I’d actually prefer to do without resting days, so we all agreed to go immediately during this night. We would split up in two teams though, with one dedicated guide for Nandita due to her injury, and Ekaterina with Denis and me.
After a short rest, we had a quick breakfast and filled the thermos with warm tea, and set off. There is something special about climbing in the night I think, and also something strange. For some strange reason, you just start and keep climbing, typically with an empty mind, and the suddenly it is light again. We paused at the saddle of Elbrus, between its two summits, at 5380 m / 17650 ft. The wind was agonising and seemed to go through all my clothes despite having proper wind protection. We had breakfast but taking a bite out of my chocolate breakfast bar it turned out to be so frozen that a small part of my tooth broke off (with me thinking…not again?!?!?). Luckily my thermos bottle had a cup so I could dip the bar into the warm tea and warm it up a bit. The break was long since we had waited for Nandita to join us, who was obviously a bit slower due to her leg injury.
When she showed up, I realised that the long break, while being incredibly cold, had a positive effect on me; just before the break I noticed my breathing was getting heavier as we were going up quickly, overtaking groups going alongside the path in softer snow even, and I clearly noticed the altitude a bit. Now that I had a proper break with plenty of food and drinks, I felt reborn and was ready to climb up, belayed, to the Summit. Expedition member Denis however, did not feel the same. He was moving slower and slower and the altitude was getting to him. The final part is an un-belayed stretch to the Summit peak. Denis took another short rest while I continued with Nandita, who had caught up with us despite being injured and not having done the acclimatisation hike.
We reached the 5642 m / 18510 ft high West Summit at 10:24 in the morning and were able to enjoy the stunning views. It was still very windy but clouds were high above us. It was a nice moment standing on the top of Europe. Compared to Kilimanjaro this feels like a real ‘peak’.
Coming back ‘home’ in our kitchen hut after the descent, I took out my 5 cl Bailey’s mini bottle to celebrate, which was quickly overshadowed by Denis’s one-litre wodka bottle which he finished all by himself. During the night we could see the storm coming from the wonderful Leaprus hut living room window. Soon we were surrounded by thunder and lightning and we were all happy not to have waited for this night.
Next day we woke up with snow and foggy conditions; we packed our bags and went down to the hotel. With one day still to spend now due to the skipped acclimatisation day, we hiked through the surrounding forest, visiting natural springs in the area. We found out later that from the North side of Elbrus, where expeditions typically arrive a bit later at the Summit, there were no summits on our summit night, nor on the next night, due to the storm.
My impression with Russia was very positive. People were generally very nice, from aircraft personnel to people we met in the streets. My compliments go to Elbrustours who gave such a high value for money, to Ekaterina for her professionalism, to the cook who kept smiling all week despite me telling her ‘good morning’ in Russian instead of ‘thank you’, every time she gave me a meal (oops..), and to Nandita whose extreme positiveness got her to the top despite her injury, and kept improving all our moods. Check out her website here for all her adventures..
On the way back to the airport in the coach, with a beautiful view over Elbrus, I realised I learned a lot; little things that will be important later. Such as not putting your camera in the pants pocket above my knees, as I could feel the weight. Not wearing a baseball cap that is closed on top as it gives me a headache. Not to put food / energy drinks in pockets that go ‘under’ the harness, as I couldn’t reach them. And to wear liners even under the warm mitts, as my hands were freezing every time I had to open food or drinks at the windy saddle. While I was planning on climbing some other peaks of the seven summits, Ekaterina advised me to focus first on climbs to gain more experience on technical level. An advise that I decided to follow up. This is the great thing about doing expeditions like these; they are a great learning experience, in every way.
Ciao!
Robin
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