RMI Expeditions Blog
Our northerly latitude was evidenced by the long evenings last night, even at this time of year. Dawn broke early but we were in no rush to greet it, enjoying the opportunity to sleep in a bit. After breakfast we walked down the canal outside of the hotel to St. Isaac's Cathedral, the 4th largest cathedral in the world, where we climbed its winding staircase to the colonnade that offers expansive views of the St. Petersburg skyline. Afterwards we made our way across the historic center to the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, a stunning classical Russian Church built upon the cobblestones where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Finally, we ended at the Hermitage Museum, an expansive collection of artwork spreading out over five buildings of St. Peter's palaces. With only 5% of it's collection displayed, it would still take days to fully explore the museum, much less appreciate the thousands upon thousands of pieces of art.
After several hours of sightseeing we had some time in the afternoon to relax and explore the city on our own. After dinner, with the evening sun spreading across the sky, we boarded a boat and took a tour of St. Petersburg's canals, watching the city go from evening to night from the water.
Tomorrow we all head home, ending our journeys in Russia. It is difficult to imagine a better group of people to share the challenge, excitement, and adventure of Elbrus' North Side with. It has been a fantastic trip and we are sad to see it end.
It was another wonderful day here in Tibet. We woke to a light drizzle so we put the hike on a rain delay. Just a few miles from here is the Shegar monastery, so we decided to pay a visit and are we glad we did. It is an amazing sight to behold. It was built in the 12th centry on a steep mountain side, and it looks like something out of the "Lord of the Rings". We spent a few minutes exploring the grounds and even got a quick view of Mt. Everest. After our exploring we headed to the main temple of the monastery for a quick look. To our surprise we found that the monks were still in their morning prayer session and were chanting, playing horns, and beating on drums. It was a very special moment for everyone to say the least. A few team members said it was the highlight of the trip so far.
After our adventure we headed back to the hotel for lunch then went out on a hike. There is a nice hill right behind where we are staying and the team made good time getting to the top. It only took about an hour to reach the summit that was just over 15,000'. Along the way we saw several mountain goats and a bunch of strange yet beautiful rocks. I even found a small stone with some crystals on it. All in all it was a great day. We will get an early start tomorrow as we have one last drive to reach Cho Oyu base camp.
We left Kislovodsk early this morning, making the 45 minute drive north out of the foothills and into the farmland to the Mineralnye Vody airport. Getting checked in was a smooth affair and before long we were airborne, heading northward to St. Petersburg.
We touched down in the early afternoon and navigated the mayhem of the Pulkovo domestic terminal to retrieve our baggage and drive into town. The difference between St. Petersburg and the Caucasus as well as Moscow is striking. Built by Peter the Great and modeled after European cities, wide boulevards are neatly aligned through rows of classically built buildings, painted in shades of pastel colors. Constructed on swamp land, miles of canals help drain the city and water is everywhere with bridges and waterways weaving throughout, giving the city the reputation as the "Venice of the North".
Our hotel sits right on the banks of the Moikya Canal, a few minutes stroll from the historic center of St. Petersburg. We arrived early enough to have some time to explore the city on our own before our tour tomorrow. It was another long day of traveling and after an excellent dinner we are turning in for the evening.
Its been a busy last few days here in Tibet, and we have logged some serious car time. Yesterday we left Lhasa around 9am and drove until 8pm to reach Xigatse (sha-got-see). It was an exhausting, but beautiful drive across the Tibetan Plateau. There were hundreds of small villages scattered across the countryside. Most of the homes are handmade from stone and are inhabited by Tibetans that live very simple lives. Most of the Tibetans are farmers and raise livestock in this stark environment. The terraced valleys are evidence of the centuries of farming. We visited several monasteries along the way and drove over a few paved passes that reached as high as 17,000'. Today was more of the same and we have finally reached our last town before we head into the mountains. We are currently in Shegar or also known as New Tingri in a hotel with other climbers and trekkers from around the world. We will spend two nights here to continue acclimatizing. Shegar sits at just over 14,000', nearly as high as Mt. Rainier. We are thankfully going on a hike tomorrow and everyone is excited especially after so much sitting in the car.
All is well and we'll check in again soon.
With fresh sheets and comfortable beds we slept soundly last night, enjoying the luxuries of town after being in the mountains for so long. After breakfast we headed out to explore Kislovodsk, walking through its broad pedestrian area and wandering in the large parks that cover town. Kislovodsk is known throughout Russia for its many mineral baths and is experiencing a rebirth in domestic tourism. The grand old buildings are being renovated and small touristy shops built of shiny glass and decorated with all sorts of neon lights line the streets of downtown. The parks and plazas were busy with sightseers, browsing the stalls of goods or getting their photo taken with eagles and owls now domesticated by enterprising locals. The contrast of Russia's past and present continues to show itself in this town and is a fascinating occurrence to be watching unfold.
We were all much in need of a mellow day to rest a bit after Elbrus and most of us took advantage of the rainy afternoon to sort our gear and sneak in a nap. Tomorrow morning we head back to Mineralnye Vody to catch our flight to St. Petersburg to visit the city before ending our adventures in Russia. We will check in tomorrow evening from the banks of the Neva River.
The thick air of Elbrus Base Camp, the same air that felt so thin a mere 8 days ago, put us into a deep slumber. With a casual breakfast in the morning we gradually packed all of our gear in preparation for the van rides out of the mountains. By midmorning we were snuggly sitting in the back of our vehicle - a Russian interpretation of a '60s VW van with 4 wheel drive. Although lacking in certain onboard amenities (cup holders, anyone?), the vehicle performed its task of getting us out of the Caucasus admirably.
We returned to Kislovodsk around 4 in the afternoon and immediately jumped into the hot showers. Emerging clean and sporting a new change of clothes, we headed to dinner at a nearby cafe, mystifying the waitress with multiple orders of appetizers and entrees per person. But she rose to the challenge and brought a fantastic meal to the table, all the more enjoyable due to the 8 days on the mountain.
Tomorrow we will remain in Kislovodsk, exploring the city and relaxing a bit. We are hoping to visit some of its renowned mineral baths in the afternoon before repacking all of our gear for Thursday's flight to St. Petersburg.
It was another beautiful day here in Lhasa. Everyone has thoroughly enjoyed our visit but I think we were getting a little stir crazy with the confines of the city. So today we went on a short hike up a nearby hill. It just so happens that this hill is sacred to the Tibetan people and is commonly visited by them. We hiked just over two hours to reach the high point. It sits at just over 14,000' and is adorned with hundreds if not thousands of prayer flags. Not only was it a magnificent site to behold but the view was amazing. We could see the entire Lhasa valley and beyond. We spent a few moments soaking it all in then quickly descended back to the busy city for lunch. After a nice little lunch we ventured off to see a few of the other monasteries and then it was back to our hotel for a quick nap. Everyone is doing great and we are excited to leave Lhasa tomorrow and see some more of this beautiful country.
It was a beautiful night at Camp 1 last night, without a light for miles the stars were simply stunning, covering the dark sky so thoroughly the whole expanse seemed to glow. Beneath it all, we slept soundly - tired from the day of climbing. When we awoke we had a leisurely breakfast, enjoying the morning sun and watching the clouds form, dissolve, and reform on the summit far above. Despite the pleasant weather at Camp 1, the weather up high looked unsettled again with clouds racing over the summit. We commented again on how fortunate we were to sneak in a successful summit.
Packing up all of our gear, we shouldered hefty packs and began our descent to Base Camp. It took a few minutes to get the legs loosened up but once we navigated back down through the scree and boulder fields we were again moving well. Taking a slightly more easterly trail on the descent from that which we came up, we visited a series of rock formations known as the Mushroom Rocks - towers of eroded rocks sporting broad flat tops, very reminiscent of landscapes found in the American West. Continuing on, we rejoined our original trail and descended back into a carpet of green and yellow as the alpine grasses and small shrubs are turning colors with the approach of fall.
At last, with tired feet we arrived at Base Camp, happy to drop the packs. Several of the Russian soldiers, temporarily stationed here since the helicopter crash up on the mountain, came over to congratulate us and convinced a few of the more courageous team members to take a dunk with them in the springs next to camp, which they informed us bubbles up at a scalding 2 degrees Celsius (~36F).
We are planning to return to Kislovodsk tomorrow, a day earlier than anticipated, to seek out some hot showers, clean clothes, and fresh food. Although the climb of Elbrus is behind us, a long journey still awaits us as we make our way back out of the Caucasus and to St. Petersburg on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. We are eager to set off on the next leg of our adventure.
Today the team explored Lhasa mostly on foot. Just a short walk for our hotel is the Barkhor Square and Barkhor street market. This is where most Tibetans buy and sell their handmade goods, local vegetables, and just about anything else you can think of. We managed to find a few good deals, but not after some tough bargaining. After our shopping extravaganza we headed off to lunch. We found a nice little local spot not far from the hotel and had fun trying to order in English even though no one understood us. However, the food was great!
The next few hours were spent visiting the beautiful Potala Palace. It was built between the 7th and the 13th centuries and had been the home of the Dalai Lama's until 1959. You don't have to be Buddhist or even religious to understand the sacred meaning this place has to the Tibetan people. I believe everyone was truly moved by just the presence of it. Walking through it was like stepping back into time. We could all sense the spiritualism and were thankful to have an opportunity to see it.
If you would like to get a feel for what it is like, I suggest renting the movie "Seven years in Tibet."
The winds continued to blow through high camp last night, not breaking until early morning. With the winds gradually dying down we got up at 6:00 to make our summit push. Leaving camp we still were experiencing sporadic gusts but they were becoming less frequent and weakening. From our high camp we started a long gradual traverse on the glacier, cutting below the East Summit and eventually gaining the saddle between Elbrus' twin summits. The days of wind had scoured the slopes, leaving a firm surface of snow that made for smooth sailing - we rarely encountered drifts of new snow to break trail through and we made excellent time.
By midday we reached the Saddle at ~17,500'. The winds were stronger here as they were funneled between the two peaks so we took only a short break before tackling the final push up the steeper slopes to the Western Summit. About halfway up the slope we joined the main route from the South Side, falling into stride on the substantial trail kicked in by the climbers coming from that side. The Western Summit is a broad plateau with the high point on the far side from where we gain it. When we reached the plateau the winds really picked up, making the final steps to the summit especially tough. But by 1:00pm the entire group stood on the summit of Mt. Elbrus, the highest point in Europe. Below us Russia stretched out to the north while to the south the jagged peaks of the Caucasus marked the border with Georgia.
We spent just about ten minutes on the summit, snapping photos and exchanging high fives before the winds chased us away. We later estimated the wind chill to be about -15F up there. Needless to say, it was cold. We turned our sights back towards camp, making a quick descent off of the summit. We stopped at about 15,800' on our descent at a little plateau amongst the rocks where about two weeks ago a Russian military helicopter crashed trying to land during a training routine. It was bizzare to stand next to this hulking mass of metal, electronics, and hydraulics all twisted and lying on its side in such an environment of rock, ice, and snow.
Back at high camp we took a short break before packing our gear and continuing our descent to Camp 1 where we are more protected and conditions are far more hospitable. It has been a long but exciting day. We are all tired and ready for a good night's sleep, but still energized by our climb today. After such an unstable weather pattern we feel very lucky to have made the summit - thanks to everyone who kept their fingers crossed for us! Tomorrow we will descend back to Base Camp and are hoping to check out some of the nearby hot springs.
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