Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Tonight is the night!
We are at Barafu camp, 15,240', the last stop before our summit push.
The whole team is in good shape. A few high clouds have moved in, so we will see what comes along. I will start looking at the weather conditions at midnight and hope we can get moving shortly there after.
Fingers crossed.
100% on Top!!!
The team has safely returned to our high camp after an amazing climb. The day started pretty early with breakfast at 1:00 a.m. We departed camp at 2 a.m. and rode a snowcat for about 30 minutes which dropped us off at 15,000'. A rather convenient start, but it's the norm here and was enjoyed by all.
The climb took about 6 hours to reach the summit of Elbrus (which is the highest point in Europe) and 5 hours to descend. The weather continued to be perfect, with only a slightly chilly breeze blowing out of the north. It was an incredible adventure with a great team.
Currently everyone is relaxing back at camp and we are all looking forward to sleeping tonight.
Just finished a nice lunch here at Karanga camp.
Another beautiful day, just a bit breezy with clouds below and clear above. We have become a smooth moving team. Everyone is in good shape and having fun. This afternoon we'll have a short nap and then tea time.
We got up early this morning to make use of the night hardened snow to review cramponing. We then rolled into breakfast and just relaxed until lunch. After lunch we reviewed a few more basic climbing skills and began preparing for tonight's departure. Everyone and everything is looking good so far. If all goes well we hope to be climbing just after 2am. The climb usually takes between 6 to 8 hrs to reach the summit and just about half the time to descend.
We will have dinner early tonight and get to bed by 7pm, and hopefully the team will get a little rest before we head out to summit Elbrus. We'll check in as soon as we are safely back down.
Wish us luck!
Hello everyone,
Today the weather was beautiful again here on Elbrus, and the team went on another acclimatization hike. This time we set a few new altitude records by climbing up to about 15,000. The team did great and even made better time than yesterday, which is a sure sign that everyone is adjusting to the altitude.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing here in camp, people watching and socializing with all the climbers. We've even managed to befriend the local cat, who we are calling Brus, short for the mountain we are hoping to climb, Elbrus. Not much else to report. Everyone is in good health and seems to be having a great time.
Greetings from Barranco Camp.
We are enjoying great weather and everyone did well last night. We had a nice hike today and the team is doing great. From our camp we have beautiful views of the summit and the Barranco Wall. We gathered in the dining tent for our afternoon snack of tea, fresh popped popcorn and hot peanuts. This is the life!
It's another beautiful day here in Russia, which was perfect for our move to our base camp. We started with two gondola rides and finished with a single chair lift to reach our home for the next few days (sounds tough I know). Our base is a series of giant barrels that sit at 12,000' about half way up the mountain. There are 12 barrels in total and they are shared by climbers from all over the world.
After our move and a quick lunch we headed uphill on Elbrus to further help our acclimatization. We climbed uphill for about 2 hours and reached just over 14,000'.
The team has return to camp and are currently awaiting dinner. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a good night's sleep.
After a good night's sleep and a hearty Russian breakfast the team headed out for our first acclimatization hike. The weather was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and clear skies. Our hike was on the flanks of a neighboring mountain called Cheget, named for the small town below it. Cheget rises sharply out of town and is a steep ski resort in the winter. It has several chair lifts that came in handy for the ascent and descent. Along the way we were treated to some amazing views of Elbrus and a large portion of the Caucasus mountain range. Everyone was thoroughly impressed!
After our hike we returned to town for a traditional Caucasus lunch of borsht, carrot slaw, and a meat roll. The team then headed back to our hotel and started packing for tomorrow's move to our base camp on Elbrus.
Everyone is doing great and we are all excited about tomorrow.
Jambo
We are here at Machame Camp. Everyone is doing well and hoping to be out of the clouds soon. The mountain hasn't shone itself yet but maybe tomorrow as we continue our ascent to the Shira Plateau.
Hello Everyone,
Today the team left behind the busy city life of Moscow and have arrived safely at the base of Mt. Elbrus. We caught an early flight to Mineralnye Vody, which is known for its abundant mineral springs and then headed to the mountain via a four hour bus ride. The drive was reminiscent of the rural Midwest we have back home, full of farms and beautiful sunflower fields that stretched on as far as the eye could see sometimes. The only difference was that the cows seemed more content standing in the middle of the road than in the fields. It sure made for an exciting ride to say the least!
The plains quickly gave way to the deep Baksan Valley that sits at the base of Caucasus Mountains.
Everyone still seems a little tired from all the travel, but we are all happy to be in the mountains now.
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