It is a soggy day on Mount Elbrus. The weather has turned and not for the better. It's raining pretty constant at the moment. What was to be a training day has turned into a hunker down day.
Don't get me wrong, I could make it sound like its epic and the team is hanging onto the walls of our huts. However, it's still not too bad. But with the potential of a small break in the weather for tomorrow, there is no need to get sopping wet.
The team is reading, watching tv and dreaming of their dance moves on the summit of Elbrus...hopefully tomorrow! So keep your fingers crossed for us...
RMI Guides JJ Justman
Hello from Mt. Elbrus! Our team awoke from a good nights sleep to a beautiful, clear sunny day. After a great Russian breakfast with great American Starbucks coffee we threw our spikes on and went for a walk.
The higher you get the slower things become. As our team approached 15,000 feet many of us began to feel the air getting just a bit thinner. However, we accomplished the goal and the high altitude was a great welcome for us to become stronger for summit day.
Everyone did a great job and even though towards the end it got a little tougher, everyone is having fun and in good spirits. However, no one is still laughing at any of my jokes!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hey sis…...proud of you keep up the good work. Just and FYI I will be one of the 50 closest friend of Kristina that will be at the all night kegger
.......don’t tell Kristina because she does not know…....shhhh!! Talk to you soon. Call when you can. I will inform dad of your progress.
Hello -
We are checking in live from the huts on Mt. Elbrus at a grand altitude of 12,001 feet. We have settled into our cozy home with gear and clothing splayed out all over!
The team took a hike up to 13,104 feet today and we returned for a great lunch made by our Executive Chef Masha. I'm not lying when I say we had caviar...we did.
We are slowly adjusting to the new altitude. After doing this adventure year after year after year I firmly believe the reason why our teams do so well is our relaxed itinerary. Everyone is doing great and we are soaking in the beautiful mountain views.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
We had a fun day acclimatizing on Peak Cheget in beautiful weather. The views were breath taking and it certainly was nice to stretch the legs.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hi you crazy russian mountain goats!! L O V E the intro video, you all look like bad asses.
Triscuit! I’d leave you a tour update but you know I don’t follow that stuff at all! Sorry. Take good care of yourself, and J-Lo of course, and enjoy the breathtaking scenery!! Oh, yeah, and you’re welcome, now you have some explaining to do to your climbing team!! Remember to tell them you get 2 E-vites! Haha. Love you tons :)
July 12, 2014 - 1:15 am PT
Hey - This is JJ. Well, this morning we did not play Eye of the Tiger. We did not play T-N-T. But let me give you a few of the lyrics we played this morning:
I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast. I do like jelly on my breakfast toast.
And do you know what else I like? Not one, not two but every single climber on top of Europe's highest mountain.
What do you say gang? (cheers in back ground)
It's an urgent news message, we are on the summit of Mt. Elbrus. Everyone did a great job. Strong as can be. And we are enjoying a beautiful day, a few puffy, happy clouds out in the distance, but that is about it
Stay tuned for some photos and videos. We are going to head back down. I do believe we have a well deserved dinner and maybe a little bit of a celebration back at camp. Take care and thanks for following along. We will touch base again soon.
Sayonara from the summit of Elbrus.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman and the team call from the summit of Mt. Elbrus.
July 11, 2014 - 4:31 pm PT
Hey Everyone –
This is JJ Justman with team #1 here on Mt. Elbrus. It’s about 3 am in the morning. We have the crampons on, it’s a breathless night here for climbing. We are about to jump on the snow-cat, which will give us a little lift higher up on the mountain.
It’s a gorgeous evening, it’s going to be a gorgeous day tomorrow. We will touch base again. And I am pretty darn positive we will be doing that from the highest mountain here in Europe.
Take care everyone, talk to you soon.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in just before summit attempt.
July 11, 2014 - 4:00 am PT
Good day RMI followers. The news today is sun, sun and more sun! We spent the morning reviewing mountaineering techniques in preparation for The Big Day on Mt. Elbrus! And speaking of the big day, rumor is it is going to be gorgeous! Keep your fingers crossed for us. We are all doing great and having a blast. It's nice when a team that is diverse in age can all joke around, have fun and enjoy the mountains together. The big item on my plate is deciding what song to wake the team up with. It's either Eye of the Tiger or TNT. If you have any other suggestions let me know.
Stay tuned for a call on the summit!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
First and foremost, please tell me Argentina won. Please. This morning our team awoke to beautiful clear skies. The twin summits of Europe's highest peak were shining and in the faint distance several climbers could be seen on the upper slopes.
Lower down we prepared our packs and after a hearty breakfast we laced up our boots and pulled up our knickers for a good day of acclimatization. The entire team did fabulous as we made it above Pastukhova Rocks with an end altitude of 15,500 feet. I swear some of the team wanted to just keep climbing to the top!
Now, we are back at camp recovering from a great day in the Russian mountains.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Today we had an early morning as we finished packing all our gear in preparation for heading to the upper mountain. We rode two trams up to the Mir station and then we jumped on the final chairlift to Garabashi Hut at 12,000 feet.
We used to stay at the Barrels but we were in for a real treat. We are staying in a brand new facility exclusive to our in-country outfitter. They have brand new huts which really resemble shipping containers with windows. The hickory flooring and coat racks are a nice touch.
Our head chef is Albina and let me tell you, I almost forgot how incredible her home-cooked food is. Fresh cucumber and tomato salad is my favorite!
The team just returned from a good acclimatization hike that took us to 13,200 feet. A blanket has covered the upper mountain giving us zero views other than a tipsy feeling of being surrounded in a constant shield of white. It didn't stop us from having fun and doing our bodies some good.
We are back in our huts relaxing and getting settled in. Stay tuned for some more adventure!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Enjoy your lazy day and I hope the weather is awesome tomorrow for your summit!! It’s a little warmer in San Jose (CA) today ... a balmy 100+ degrees!
Posted by: Rebecca on 7/25/2014 at 5:04 pm
Hope you guys have great weather tomorrow. Good luck to everyone can’t wait to hear all about it!
Posted by: Mona on 7/25/2014 at 1:48 pm
View All Comments