Somewhere between the time I graduated from Colorado State University on May 16, 2008 and June 16, 2008 (the time I got to enter the real world as a working adult in Carbondale, CO) I was doing my best to squeeze in a peak outside the states.
In the end I settled on Mount Elbrus, located in southern Russia near the border with Georgia. Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe and one of the 7 summits.
The Bags are Packed.
Our journey to Russia took us through Chicago followed by a direct flight to Moscow. It turns out that we happened to be on the inaugural flight to Moscow, complete with smoked salmon and caviar served at the gate.
The gourmet buffet at the gate.
A little over 9 hours to Moscow, a night in the airport hotel, a 1 hr drive across Moscow to the other airport, a 2 hour flight to Min-Vody, a 3.5 hour van ride and we found ourselves in the minuscule town of Azau, the base of Elbrus. The day was June 4th, 2008.
I spent the rest of the day unpacking and repacking for the next few days on the peak. The base of Elbrus is a ski resort, complete with 2 trams, 1 gondola, and a single chair up to about 12,000 feet.
June 5th, 2008
My day started with riding two trams in a row up to about 11,500 ft.
Leaving Azau.
I think I’m on that tram.
The upper chair lift was not working at this time of morning, so out came my skins. Some friends of mine had coincidentally planned roughly the same travel schedule as me, and were at the barrels when I arrived.
Derek Dreschel, Brandon Chalk, Kristine, and Rob Schnare were packing up to head up the hill to a hut known as the diesel hut. I had met Derek before, but the other three were new aquaintances now. I waited around for them to finish packing up and we started the walk up to the diesel hut.
Elbrus is on the left.
After about an hour of grunting our heavy packs up another 1000 feet or so we arreived at our new home; the diesel hut.
The move up to the barrels.
Upon our arrival the somewhat unfriendly tenant of the hut showed us to a room that would accomodate all 5 of us; a pie slice shaped room with 5 bedspots side by side. We went to bed gazing upon a gorgeous sunset, with the hope of a summit day the following day.
June 6th, 200
In the morning we woke up to weather I might describe as “mediocre at best.” Hanging clouds and wind–If there is one thing that I was ready to be done with coming out of a big winter in Colorado it was wind! Given the weather we opted to just do a short hike up to around 14, 600–now a record for Derek.
I had carried my skis up, which made for an extra quick descent to the lukewarmth of the diesel hut.
We passed the remainder of the day watching as a blizzard moved through the area. The winds felt as though they must have been 60 mph or more at times. We constantly remarked at how much more enjoyable it was to be in a solid structure rather tha
n sitting all day in a tent. A few pictures of the Diesel hut:
The Front Entry.
The amazing amenities.
Our room
June 7th, 2008
Part of my preparation.
If there is a benefit outside of warmth to 5 people sleeping in the same room, it is the updated weather report every 1/2 hour because people have been doing nothing but hydrating a
ll day.
Around 12:30 AM I went outside, and despite a little wind, it was nothing but stars. I returned an said: “Guys…you should get up and look outside for yourselves, but I think we should go!”
All in agreement, we started boiling water and readying for the day.
Cooking with Crampons on.
Rob is ready to go.
I’m almost ready.
2:45 AM– Walking
5:10 AM– We had already gained 2,600 feet. TIme to slow down a bit.
Yours truly.
Derek Climbs upward.
It wasn’t until the 17,000 ft mark that I started to really fell the altitude. Not in a sick sort of way; it was just that breathing became more of a chore than an instinct.
Elbrus casts a shadow on the sky.
Sometime in the last couple weeks Elbrus was home to an adventure race to the summit, therefore it was wanded to the top.
As we reached the saddle, we had about 1,000 feet left.
The crew climbs
Taking a breather.
Everyone was tired, but motivated and reached the top of Europe at 9:45 AM to a bluebird day with more than enough wind to go around. All downhill from here!
On top of Europe!
I went ahead and did my typical tribute and threw a Frisbee off the summit. I can’t say it was quite as impressive as the one I threw off the top of Aconcagua, but it was a thrill nonetheless.
Taking flight.
At this point it was time to leave and everyone’s hands were cold anyway. I had a little getting ready to do, so the rest of the group started walking. I clicked in and made turns directly off of the summit.
I quickly caught up to the group on the long traverse and just as we were dropping off the ridge I said my farewells to the group and headed on down at a skiers pace.
The idea of skiing from the top of a continent sounded like a very fun idea to start with but in the end the most fun part of it was really just the accomplishment of it. The summit ridge could easiy be compared to that of Mount Sherman, albeit at 18,500 Feet. The skiing was a majority sastrugi, mixed with ice. Around 15, 500 I reached the Pashtuhova Rocks; the location where the snowcat drops off those unwilling to walk for their summit attempt.
From this point it was a cruise to the hut where I had a message saying that my mom and sister were at the top of the last chairlift.
Packed up– i skied the 1000 feet of cat track to where they were waiting for me. I was greeted by hoots an hollers from my mom and sister as I skied into the barrels camp. At this point my family hopped on the lift to meet me at the bottom as I skied to the bottom of the top lift.
At this point I had a while to wait for my mom and sister as they were riding a lift that must be older than anyone I know personally. During my wait I had a couple of Russian Women who were fascinated by the large pack I was carrying and insisted on taking pictures with me. I looked down to notice that they were wearing sandals on the snow with plastic bags wrapped around their feet.
Finally my family arrived and we took some photos and hung out in the snow for a few minutes.
The family and I.
My mom took my pack down the tram for me while I got to ski a bit farther.
I dropped into the steepest skiing of the day, combined with excellent corn conditions to boot! I skied all the way to snowline at 10,000 feet, capping off an 8,500 ft descent!
I rode down the gondola with my family and headed straight to a restaraunt for some real food and a much desired beer. Sitting there for a couple hours I finally noticed what looked to be Derek coming down the tram. I watched over to talk to him and learned that the other three had opted to spend one more night in their tents. We enjoyed a beer and both headed to bed fairly early. The next day Brandon, Kristine, and Rob showed up mid day.
We had arranged for a flight that afternoon back to Moscow, so that we could see a few sights while in a country so foreign to us.
We were off to Moscow for a little tourism. Its hard to believe that we found ourselves standing in the middle of Red square!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and story.
Thanks for Reading.
JW