free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I kind of lost the notion for doing trip reports as the hills are pretty much well covered but interestingly the highest point of our continent isnt. Further more I dont see it on any of the other forums. Kili is, but ours isnt. Kili is bigger and very busy not to mention expensive so whats wrong with the highest point of our continent? Last months news regarding mortar and airstikes on Elbrus hunting militant fighters might have something to do with it at the mo and I wouldnt blame anyone but hey ho now where is perfect.
Elbrus is in Russia and more to the point the border with Georgia. This means there is the bureaucratic hassle with visas and getting insurance can be a problem. I got insurance from America but they still classed me the same as someone visiting Afganastan! In reality the pair are nothing like one another.
I traveled with a company EMP. They are basic but thats what I wanted rather than be wined and dined like Kili. Having guides is important not so much for the mountain but in dealing with the unfriendlys on the lower slopes and valleys. They got us right up to the steps of the plane and dealt with the constant barrage, without them I reckon we would of been lucky to get out in our underpants!
Internanal flight from Moscow to Min Vody allowed me to meet up with the other 6 Brits going with EMP. These internal flights would not be allowed in most countries air space due to the nick of the planes and the previous week one crashed killing most the occupants. Just the thing to see in the news before traveling.
On landing the airport stank of **** due to open sewer toilets and we were met by our two guides Vladimier and Max. They got us out and into the van for the 3 hour journey to the Baksan valley. Traveling though the valley it was clear it used to be a very industrial area but was now run down and poverty striken. This was due to Russia being largly at peace and the mineral mined was no longer in demand. This may explain the bitterness the locals seem to have for Westerners.
We werent long in the valley when a soldier waved us to stop. Max shot off the track round him while he waved his gun with anger. One of the party asked why we didnt stop. "He only wanted money" but he had an AK47! "yes but he has no bullets" Seems that everyone has guns there but very few have bullets and if they did they would trade them in as there worth a lot doh.
We got to Terskol and into our hotel for the night. The rooms gave a hint of what hotels are for in the valley and once down stairs the owner told me he had 14 girls and one man. "Lucky man"
Stylish bed covers in rooms.
Hotel in Terskol.
Beer was cheap about 40p a pint but we couldnt enjoy it to much due to acclimatization process. An early start had us off on a trip to climb a peak in Georgia across the border. We were warned we would meet the army in the forest and were briefed what we needed to do and most importantly what not to do. All the same meeting this bunch was anything but a pleasant experience. It involved being intimidated by a bunch of guys with AK47s (probably with bullets) for about an hour sitting in the forest while they buggered off with all our documents. It was obvious what they wanted but we were told on no account show money. Eventually some folks arrived and we were pushed on to allow the process to start again with them.
Hot n wet conditions in the forest.
Once clear of the forest and into the mountains the place really is staggering with stunning peaks all around. You could spend an age tracing out routes up the peaks and some of the tower block size bergschrund seemed to defy gravity at an alarming angle. We stopped for the night at a green oasis on the glacier thats popular with climbers in the area. Not surprising it was hard believe lying there sun bathing than we were at roughly 10000ft and surrounded by glacier.
Food was cooked up on two gas stoves and was the diet we would live on for the coming weeks stews with big potatoes etc, not bad. I do like to have decent grub away and the thought of rehydrate/ spaceman food would of really dented the moral.
Out of the forests the place was so beautiful and our camp site heaven.
The next morning we left to climb as far as possible the peak behind the camp. The weather was not great and visability got worse as we traveled up. It was not to be as a crevasse seperating the upper and lower slopes had grown by almost a metre since the year before and this route was now no longer possible. We made our retreat and decided to move out of camp to a different peak. Max explained that it was only recently that things had started to move at a faster rate in the valley, globel warming or just a gravity thing it was go elsewhere or get a ladder.
During the day we reached our next camp and it was still round about at the 10000ft mark. We would cross the pass above next day then make our way to Elbrus. After dinner we still had 3+ hours daylight left so I made my excuses to have a wee wander and picked up my gear for a dash for one of the nearby peaks. It didnt make sense to be hanging about at 10k when we then would be shooting up to nearly 19k so the higher seemed to be the better to me but I didnt understand fully the complex nature of Acclimitization at the time.
Campsite below just tiny dots.Heading up a peak behind the camp.
The next morning we crossed the pass and I got to see what I didnt see the evening before due to cloud. Elbrus!
I always thought it looked a boring mountain, one big plod to bag. That morning with it appearing through the clouds miles above the rest of the mountain range it was something else. It was lower than Kili but looked huge where as Kili doesnt really.
We returned to Terskol where the hotel owner treated us like **** because we brought wet gear, didnt buy beer and didnt shag any of his staff. Well he probably had.
Next morning we were going to start Elbrus :
Look carefully this picture shows clearly how Elbrus stands well above the surrounding mountains.