Podcast Series: 7 Summits Eposide 6–Elbrus, Russia
Welcome to my limited series on climbing the Seven Summits. For eight weeks, I’ll drop a new episode discussing one of the 7 Summits in detail. Today is Episode 6, Elbrus, Russia. #7summits
Of all the Seven Summits, Elbrus offers a unique cultural experience as it lies in Russia. Thus, it is the highest peak in Europe and is considered an active volcano. Mont Blanc is second and highest in Western Europe. The Ukraine war has discouraged many climbers from going there, but a few still make it, including Americans. However, the US State Department strongly advises Americans against entering Russia for any reason.
Overview
Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano in the Caucasus Main Range, the European border with Asia in southern Russia between the Black and Caspian seas. It has two main summits: the western summit at 18,513’/5642m and the eastern summit at 18,442’/5621m. A Russian army team was the first to ascend the West Summit in 1829, and an English team at the East Summit in 1874.
The regular climbing season is from May to September. The climb is relatively short by 7 Summit standards, taking less than a week at most. I climbed from the north side using a base camp and a high camp, where we launched the summit bid. This side offers more of a climbing experience and is significantly less crowded.
The 7 Summits idea was hatched and first accomplished by American Dick Bass. He started with six summits in 1983: #Aconcagua, #Kilimanjaro, #Elbrus, #Denali, #Vinson and #Kosciuszko. Then, with guide David Breashears, he became the oldest person, 55 at the time, to summit #Everest in 1985. Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first to summit all seven with Carstensz in addition to Kosciuszko in 1986. Italy mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner summited all the peaks without supplemental oxygen, a first, and completed the task in 1986. #7summits
Episodes will drop each week:
September 15: Introduction
September 22: Mt. Kosciuszko, Australia – 7,310/2228m
September 29: Mt. Blanc, France/Italy – 15,771’/4807m
October 6: Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067/4897m
October 13: Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), New Guinea – 16,023/4884m
October 20: Elbrus, Russia – 18,513/5642m
October 27: Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340/5896m
November 3: Denali, Alaska – 20,320/6194m
November 10: Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,902/6960m
November 17: Everest, Nepal/Tibet – 29,035/8850m
Elbrus 2011 Final Trip Report
Climbing the highest peak in Europe was more of a cultural experience than a mountaineering accomplishment. That said, the climbing on summit day was challenging and rewarding and I found Russia a great place to visit. In my normal manner for all my climbs I have added a few pages to my site to document the expedition: Elbrus 2011 Trip Report with videos Elbrus FAQ Elbrus Photo Gallery In general, it was a good trip and I am very pleased with my personal performance on this climb. I had always planned to climb Elbrus from the traditional south side and quite honestly was looking forward to an easier climb after 9 weeks on Everest and 3 on Denali where I sat for 8 days at 17,000 feet waiting out storms! I was excited to be climbing again with Phil Ershler of IMG, whom I summited Vinson with in December. But violence in the Elbrus region forced all guide services to cancelled their trips when local authorities officially closed the south side of the mountain for climbers. The south side is the more popular option given that it is easier, shorter and has more facilities. The north, on the other hand, requires a long drive on horrible roads, a longer summit day and more load carrying. But Elbrus, being one of the 7 Summit, has a strong appeal so some teams continued to bypass checkpoints and successfully summited from the rural north side, albeit taking a few risks and inconveniences. When I got the word from Phil while on Denali in mid July that he was forced to cancel our south side trip, he said he would do everything he could to help me find a quality guide service if I still wanted to climb on the north. You see, Phil understood my 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s and my strong desire to keep my 2011 schedule. So with Phil’s above and beyond professionalism and friendship, I signed with AlpsIndustria (Alps) out of Moscow at the last possible minute to climb Mt. Elbrus’ north slopes. It was only 15 days after I had returned from Denali that I arrived in Russia. Without Phil’s help, this climb would never have happened. We had a nice team of 9 climbers; 7 from Moscow and 2 from the US. You can read the trip report to see how it went for the team; but for me I was thrilled to have made the true summit (west) of Elbrus from the more interesting north side and to be able to send our message of hope, need and urgency about Alzheimer’s from the top of Europe. There is a video of me making my satellite phone call to this blog in the trip report that I hope you enjoy. OK, next up is Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa. I leave in mid September. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Elbrus Summit Recap
Well, prescription I am back in Southern Russia at my hotel after a very fast and successful summit of Mt. Elbrus at 18,583 feet. As usual I will do a complete trip report but here are the highlights. We arrived at the Elbrus Base Camp on Sunday, August 7 and took another few days to reach the High Camp at 12,000′. The weather was good throughout the week so I was a bit worried when we took a rest day after an acclimatization climb to 14,500′. After eight days at 17,200′ on Denali only a couple of weeks ago, I was ready to go for the top of Europe. Then on Thursday around midnight, we awoke, ate a basic breakfast and headed up. We had two teams, one of 5 of the 7 Russians on our climb and then myself and the other American, James, along with the lead guide Daniel from AlpsIndustria. The Russian team was headed for the east peak while we went for the higher, west summit. We took a direct line towards Lenz’s rocks, a collection of boulders jutting out of the glaciers and then veered towards the west summit, the higher of the two peaks making up Elbrus’ summits. Remember, I was climbing from the north and thus there were no ski lifts or snow cats like on the south side. The crevasses were in full bloom and the winds were quite strong throughout the night. But thankfully the temps were only in the mid teens making the wind chill around 0f so not too bad considering. We traveled roped up for about half the way and then unclipped for the final climb of a steep snow slope of about 1,000′. It was sobering moment when Daniel pointed out to me the remains of a few yellow tents where nine climbers had died during a fierce storm. This was no easy walk-up as sometimes advertised. Once on top of a huge flat plateau, it took another 15 minutes to reach the true summit. Once there I made my audio dispatch to this blog. It was a 6,000′ gain that took about 7 and half hours. The view was excellent with Daniel pointing out the “Russian Alps” and all the famous peaks in the surrounding Caucasus Range. The Black Sea was to our west and the Caspian Sea to the east. Georgia was to the south and of course, Russia to the north. While a bit hazy, I felt the touch of all the cultures on top of this peak. And also, I felt grateful to once again send the message of hope and urgency for Alzheimer’s. We spent about 15 minutes on top and took about 4 hours to return to High Camp and Base Camp the next day. I will post a panorama summit video plus a video of my audio dispatch in the complete trip report. OK, more details later when I get home and start preparing for Kilimanjaro in mind September! Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Summit: Audio Dispatch from Mt. Elbrus
I summited Elbrus on August 19, 2011. It was a great climb. Read the full trip report for all the details. This is the audio dispatch I posted live from the summit; the 6th of my 7 Summits climbs. Click to listen: [audio:http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/audio/Elbrus 2011 Summit.mp3|titles=Elbrus Summit Audio Dispatch|artists=Alan Arnette] These climbs are to raise Alzheimer’s awareness and $1M for research. I lost my mom and two aunts to Alzheimer’s. Please join me to end Alzheimer’s by making a donation today. Read the details. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Elbrus Summit Bid Tonight
We leave for the summit of Elbrus tonight after midnight. I will turn the SPOT on when we leave High Camp.The last two days have been spent acclimitizating through climbing to 14,500′ to Lenz Rocks on the East part of Elbrus and a rest day today (Wedne…
Touching the Elbrus Snow
Climbing Russia’s Mt. Elbrus is as much of a cultural experience as it is mountaineering. Today we carried our summit gear from Base Camp at 8200′ to the edge of the glaciers on Elbrus’ North side at 12,000′. Tomorrow we move there and to the High Camp…
Audio Dispatch from Mt. Elbrus
This is the latest audio dispatch live from Russia's Mt. Elbrus; the fifth of Alan's 7 Summits climbs. These climbs are to raise Alzheimer's awareness and $1M for research. Please donate today. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
A Russian Smile
The 747 hit the Frankfurt runway with the finesse of a fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier in a hurricane. Wow, I thought, if this is Lufthansa I wonder what my intra-Russian flights will be like? And with that I was part way to Mt. Elbrus and my hotel in the Southern Russia town of Kislovodsk. For some of these 7 Summits, it feels like just getting there is an adventure. For Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, I flew a Russian cargo plane crammed between the cargo and a stand-in for Sean Connery at the controls. For Carstensz Pyramid in Irian Jaya, I might have to trek for a week in the jungle bribing cannibals and pealing off leaches. I left my overpriced airport hotel in Moscow this morning a bit apprehensive about finding my flight for an airline I couldn’t remember the name of much less pronounce. I put my single 56 pound duffel through the x-ray machine and entered the large Moscow airport terminal. I searched the monitors for my flight number by departure time and found the check in gate. I was 3 hours early. Through a series of smiles and blank expressions, I checked in but needed help from a friendly lady in line behind me to understand that I needed to pay for excess baggage – 6 kilos about US$10- at a different location and they were closed until 7:30. So I had breakfast of a slice of pizza and a Pepsi in the terminal, people watching to pass the time. I was amazed how many men dressed like John Travolta and how many women looked like Olivia Newton John. And, no I did not watch Saturday Night Fever on the flight over. Just saying. 🙂 I boarded the bus to take me to my flight enjoying the sea of old airplanes parked in the grass beside the modern runway at the Moscow main airport. We arrived at my plane parked on a far away concrete strip. I thought about my duffle. The plane was a Soviet era Tupolev Tu-154 jet. Similar to a Boeing 727 with 3 engines mounted on the back of the airplane, it looks like it is going light speed on the ground with it’s swept back wings. I boarded the plane along with John and Olivia and went back to glacial speed with a Wright Brother’s era interior. The seats were firm and narrow. Did I mention firm? And the legroom was, well did I mention firm? Anyway, the crew was friendly – didn’t understand a word they said and the flight was short, about 2 hours. I arrived at Mineral Vody and found my duffel on a wayward carousel. Life is good! I was met by AlpsIndustria’s owner Vicki and one of the guides, Viktor. Both right out of central casting. Viktor, with his long flowing blond hair and over-sized forearms, grabbed one end of my duffel and grunted for me to grab the other. I did so promptly as we threw it in the back of the scared Land Rover. He drove us to the hotel ignoring the heavy traffic, signals, lane markers and pretty much everything else. I am now in the small town of Kislovodsk nestled at the foothills of the North Caucasian mountains. With the mineral rich area, it is also a city of spas attracting many visitors each year. Like much of Russia, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it attracted musicians, artists, and members of the Russian aristocracy. Coming off my Denali climb, I had no need and thus forget this time to bring a converter for my American style electrical plug. I had tried in vain to find and one back in Moscow and was met with blank looks at my hotel in Kislovodsk. They suggested I go shopping a few blocks from the hotel and good luck. After I stashed my beloved duffel in my room, I went for a walk. The city is nice. It is neat and orderly. The hotel is near a large park complete with grass and flowers. There are a lot of trees lining the streets and neighborhoods. I wandered aimlessly looking for a Russian version of Radio Shack or a store window with computers in it. In my semi jet lagged state, I stumbled into a large department store attracted by the well dressed mannequins in the window. Not sure why I thought I would find a plug adapter here. There was a small kiosk section selling CDs and a young man behind the counter staring at a Windows XP dialog box on his computer, some things are universal. I pulled my electrical cord for my computer out of my pocket and held up the business end to my new young friend. “Do you speak any English?” “Yes, a little” “Do you have a converter for US to Russian for this?” I asked with low expectations. He smiled and turned away, back to his computer. Then came back to the counter holding the magic piece. He took my cord and to see if it fit. It did. He just smiled. I just smiled. I think we were both in shock. “Can I it” He shrugged his shoulders “I don’t need it.” he said. I fumbled for words as he said I could borrow it, have it or give him whatever I wanted for it. Having spent most of my Rubles on pizza earlier, I only had 200 in my pocket. “Is this enough?” I asked, again a smile and a shrug. I gave him my money and shook his hand. We exchanged names and I thanked him again as I walked back onto the streets now power enabled. Walking back to the hotel, I noticed several families walking with young children. Holding hands, laughing. A furry grey cat preened on a small lawn, snapping her head towards a sound alert for lunch. A soft breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees
Elbrus Trip Report
Trip report from my August 11, 2011 Elrubs summit.
Elbrus FAQ
FAQ for the highest in Eruope, Mt. Elbrus