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ELBRUS DISPATCHES
Casey Grom, July
28 - August 8, 2008 Elbrus Expedition
July 28, 2008 :
Program begins.
Casey Grom, July 20 - 31, 2007 Elbrus Expedition
July 25, 2007 (10:00 a.m. PDT/ 9:00 p.m. Moscow Summer Time) :
Hi this is Casey with our daily check-in. We had a good day today. We woke early and had porridge, our typical breakfast.
We left at 8:00 a.m. and took a 4 hour hike to 15,400, this is called Pastukhova and is about ½ way up the route we will be taking for our summit climb. We took a lunch break and then made the descent back to our camp. The snow had warmed and the walk down was pretty slushy. Our weather has been nice and sunny but today was the first day that was really clear and we enjoyed great views of the entire Caucasus mountain range stretching approximately 100 kilometers.
We are going to rest and acclimatize tomorrow before making our summit attempt on Friday. We wont check in tomorrow but will give you a call after our climb.
July 24, 2007 (9:20 a.m. PDT) :
Hey this is Casey checking in again from Russia. Things are going great here. We moved to the barrel huts yesterday located just over 12,000. We rode two cable cars and then would have taken a single chair lift but it was closed. It added an extra hour to our hike but it was good for our group to get a longer hike and stretch our legs and lungs a little more. Once we got settled into the hut we took a hike up to 13,000 and did work in our crampons. The weather has been beautiful and warm. We had a few clouds this morning that obstructed our views but this afternoon the sky cleared and we enjoyed great views of Mount Elbrus.
We plan to make an acclimatization hike up to 15,000 tomorrow. We will check in again soon. Good night.
July 23, 2007 (6:57 a.m. PDT) :
Hi this is Casey Grom checking in from the Mount Elbrus climb. We have been in Cheget for a day and a half now, we arrived yesterday around 6:00 p.m. We had a mellow flight out of Moscow and when we arrived in Mineralyne Vody it was 95 degrees. Sunny, hot and humid was a big change from the weather in Moscow. We made the four hour drive through rural Russia to the Baksan Valley. During the drive we all felt that rural Russia resembles the mid-West of the United States with lots of farming taking place. When we arrived in Cheget we had a typical Russian dinner of borsht, cabbage and potatoes.
Today we woke up early to another beautiful day and went on an acclimatization hike. We used the chair lift and then hiked several hours to the lower summit of Cheget Peak at approximately 11,300 feet. Throughout the day we saw glimpses of Mount Elbrus between the clouds.
We are currently organizing our packs and getting ready to start our climb. Tomorrow we will hike to base camp in the Barral huts at 12,000'.
That is all for today. Everyone is doing great and we will check in again soon.
July 21st, 2007 (email message 7:01 a.m. PDT):
Everyone is here in Moscow and doing well.
Today we had a tour of the city, with stops at red square, the Kremlin, and various historical churches
and buildings. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and plenty of smiles. Tonight several members
of the group will head out on the town and visit one on the many ballots. Tomorrow our group will rise early and
head to the airport to catch a flight to Mineralyne Vody ( mineral waters ). We will get our first views of Mount Elbrus
and travel to the Baksan valley at the base of the mountain. That's all for now.
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