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Mt. Elbrus:  JJ and Team Reach Summit!

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 09, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 18,510'

Hello friends and family of Rainier Mountaineering.  This is J.J. Justman really happy to report that our entire team is on the summit of Mt. Elbrus as we speak at 18,510’.  We had a great day today.  We actually started out pretty iffy weather, there were a lot of clouds, winds, sleet, snow and rain but it parted ways.  We started out about 3 in the morning and wouldn’t you know it, we toughed it out, we are in a little bit of a white out.  We wish we could have better photos but we are on top.

Everyone wants to say hello to friend and family back home.  I’d like to definitely give a shout out to the folks back at RMI: Autumn, Sarah, Melissa, Lacey and Casey for helping to get this trip started the right way.  Definitely helps me focus on what I need to focus on and that was making sure our team was acclimatized and having fun.  What do you say guys, are you having a fun time?  [Cheers in background].

So, we are a little tired and we still have a little bit of work to do so we are going to start heading down hill.  Chaio from Russia. 
That was Vladimir our co-guide along here with me, it was great climbing with him.  We will have some photos and videos for all of you of our terrific summit day.  We will send them tomorrow when we descend to the village of Cheget at the base of Mt. Elbrus.

RMI Guide J.J. Justman

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Mt. Elbrus: Mallory & Team Sightseeing in Moscow

Posted by: Linden Mallory | July 08, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside

We spent the day visiting the heart of Moscow today, walking through places familiar from a lifetime of hearing their names but only witnessing for the first time - Red Square, Kremlin, Bolshoy…

We left the hotel this morning and crossed the two bridges spanning the Moscow River and walked along the walls of the Kremlin until we reached Red Square. After wandering through the area for a bit we met our Tour Guide, Nina, for a tour of the city. In fluent English tinted by a distinct Russian accent, she spent the next three hours recounting stories, history, and significances of the many places we bounced between. First walking around St. Basil’s Cathedral, the ornately decorated church on the south side of Red Square, we then passed through the GUM Department Store, the beautiful former Soviet State Store now turned luxury shopping mall. Between the stores full of familiar Western brands - Levi’s, Prada, Jaques Cartier - she also recounted her personal experiences transitioning from Communist Russia to life in Moscow today, explaining the differences in food choices to retirement.

Across from the Bolshoy theater we descended into Moscow’s subway system, hopping trains between several of the impressively ornate underground stations, many covered with mosaics, frescos, and hanging crystal chandeliers, before emerging into the sunlight back at the entrance to the Kremlin. We then walked beneath the thick red brick walls into the center of the Kremlin, passing throughout the churches and monuments in the heart of the Russian Government.

By late afternoon we returned to the hotel and spent a few hours of down time before dinner, trying to shake the last of the jet lag. Tomorrow we leave Moscow and fly to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains to reach the foot of Mt. Elbrus. The team enjoyed Moscow and we are excited to head into the mountains and begin the climbing.

We will check in tomorrow from our hotel in the Baksan Valley.

RMI Guide Linden Mallory

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Mt. Elbrus: JJ & Team Ready For Summit Bid

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 08, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'

Mountain Guides can be a superstitious bunch. So as we did a little bit of training including rope travel, self arrest and cramponing in our second day of gorgeous weather.  My superstitious side is coming out.

Tomorrow is our summit day on Elbrus and we are knocking on wood that the weather stays beautiful. But if I may ask all of you (because this worked for me before), please leave a comment on this post wishing our team luck. The more posts we get from you the better the weather will be. And that means great photos and video to share with all of you when we get safely down.

RMI Guide JJ Justman

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Elbrus Expedition: Mallory & Team Arrive in Moscow

Posted by: Linden Mallory | July 07, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside

Dobrye Veycher from Moscow! The RMI Mt. Elbrus Team arrived into Moscow throughout the day today, making the hour long drive from the airport to our hotel in the heart of the city, across the Moscow River from the Kremlin. With climbers coming in from all over the globe, it has been a long couple of days of traveling for the team and we had a mellow evening, finding dinner in a small restaurant down the street from the hotel.

This far north, it is still daylight at 10:30pm as we turn in for the evening. We are excited to be here and looking forward to exploring Moscow tomorrow, visiting the city’s most famous sites - from Red Square to St. Basil’s Cathedral to the Kremlin. We will check in tomorrow after our city tour.

RMI Guide Linden Mallory

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Mt. Elbrus: JJ & Team Enjoy an Acclimating Hike

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 07, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 13,000'

Today the team awoke to a gorgeous sunrise in the mountains. Typically the weather can be sunny in the morning and then the clouds engulf the surrounding mountains including Elbrus. However, today the mountain has been out in all its glory.

After an early breakfast we threw the rucksacks over our shoulders, strapped crampons to our boots and we went for a four-hour acclimatization hike. We made it to 15,000 feet and enjoyed the views as they only got prettier the higher we went.

We are back at camp, after a nice lunch (Albina makes the tastiest soups) we are resting in our hut. As a matter of fact, I hear the movie Dumb & Dumber playing on someone’s iPad. Gotta go…

RMI Guide JJ Justman

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Mt. Elbrus: JJ and Team at Garabashi Hut

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 06, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'

Hello from the Garabashi Hut on Mt. Elbrus (also known as the Barrels Hut).

It was an exhausting day getting up here. First we took a gondola and when we got off we had to walk 175 feet to the next gondola. After our second ride we took a single chair chairlift and that dropped us off at the hut. It was a grueling effort to finally walk up to our private barrel but we are now situated all comfy and cozy.

We had a great lunch and met our Executive Chef Albina who served up seafood salad, hot soup with crackers, cheese and salami. A surprise for me was to see Mariana, who cooked for us back in 2002. That year I brought some Peet’s Coffee and a giant smile was on her face when I pulled out another bag of cafe goodness.

The team went for a short but pleasant walk uphill to get our lungs working. Now it’s time to relax, drink tea and eat more good food as life at 12,000 feet couldn’t be any better.

RMI Guide J.J. Justman

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Mt. Elbrus: Justman and Team Hike Cheget Peak

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 05, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 10.600'

Hi everyone this is JJ Justman for the Mount Elbrus expedition. Today we had a great day here on Cheget Peak. We had a great acclimatization hike on a very beautiful clear sunny day. We had fantastic views of Mount Elbrus and we topped out at 10,600 ft.

We finished the hike with a wonderful lunch down in town après ski style. After a little rest and relaxation we went over our climbing gear and we are now officially ready to jump on the big hill tomorrow!

RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team.

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Mt. Elbrus: Justman and Team Check in from Cheget

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 04, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 7,500'

Hello RMI family. The team had a great flight from Moscow to Mineralyne Vody. We met Vladimir who will be with us on the mountain. Judging from his light heartedness, I am predicting we are going to have a few laughs.

We drove to Cheget, which is a destination for skiers. Our hotel is situated in the foothills of Mount Elbrus. I do have to admit my surprise. The last time I was on the south side of Elbrus I didn’t remember such a beautiful and charming hotel. I am glad we are staying two nights here to acclimatize and prepare gear. After all, there’s nothing wrong with First Class, even if it’s in the mountains.

RMI Guide J.J. Justman

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Mt. Elbrus: JJ and Team Enjoy Moscow City Tour

Posted by: J.J. Justman | July 03, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside

Today our team enjoyed a city tour of Moscow with our Guide Nina. She was a wealth of knowledge and we all learned a great deal. We visited of course Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral and fortunately the subway of Moscow. At first I was a little skeptical. Mainly because I was expecting something like NYC and some dude in a snakeskin jacket and a funny hat saying, “that ain’t a knife…this is a knife”. However a nice jaunt underground displayed some spectacular artwork fit for a King and Queen. What a way to start a Mt. Elbrus adventure!

Thanks Nina!!

RMI Guide J.J. Justman

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Team reaches Moscow

Posted by: | August 13, 2010
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Elbrus Southside
Elevation: Moscow, Russia

Early morning in the Caucasus found us loading our duffels into the back of our van and heading from the base of Mt. Elbrus towards Mineralnye Vody. The three hour drive brought us out of the mountains and into the broad sweeping farmlands to the north, the craggy hillsides gradually replaced by fields of wheat and expanses of sunflowers. The road was a bustle of activity, with the markets in little towns we passed brimming with people, their cars parked number to bumper along the edge of the road. And like our drive to the mountain a week ago, the cows once again idled lazily in the lanes like moving road blocks, causing traffic to swerve around them.

Check In at the Mineralnye Vody Airport is a true mad house, hundreds of people jamming towards two check in counters. The concept of a line is a forgotten thing as people jostle their bags for position in the stiflingly hot air of the cavernous room. Once again, thanks to some “creative route finding” we got our bags checked and escaped to the “calm” of the waiting area - which thanks to air conditioning, made the wait much more bearable.

After an uneventful two hour flight we emerged from the plane in Moscow. The reports of stifling heat and thick smoke led us to have some trepidation about arriving, but we found the skies relatively clear and the temperatures quite reasonable. After collecting our bags we raced unto the city, past decaying communist era housing blocks and shiny car dealerships. In the oncoming lanes cars packed the expressway as Muscovites sought to escape the city foe the weekend, but the driving for us was quick and easy.

Passing the Kremlin and crossing just over the Moscow River we arrived at our hotel. After dropping our bags in our rooms we strolled back across the Moscow River and alongside the walls of the Kremlin to Red Square. The perfect summer evening brought locals out in force and the pedestrian walks were crowded with people lounging on benches and chatting casually.

The entrance to Red Square is always stunning, with the onion shaped domes of St. Basils Cathedral standing on the horizon, the giant expanse of cobblestones flanked by the red brick walls of the Kremlin and the ornately decorated facade of the GUM, the former State Department Store turned high end shopping mall. We strolled across the Square, examining the boxy marble mausoleum where Lenin still resides, beneath the colorful domes of St. Basil’s, and passing over the painted lines drawn across the Square to direct the military vehicles during state parades. It is a special experience to spend time in a place that remains both fascinating and elusive in our collective history and we were awed by it.

After eating dinner we walked back across the river and through parks packed with young Muscovites socializing amongst the trees and fountains. We found it interesting that the play sword fighting seems to be a popular activity right now amongst the younger generation, as does Iron Maiden t-shirts and black eyeliner - certainly a change of pace from the rural mountain towns of the Caucasus where we have been spending our time recently.

With the sun setting and night arriving we returned to our hotel. Tomorrow we return home and end our trip here. It has been a fantastic adventure and a wonderful climb.

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