Entries from Elbrus Southside

Hello again everyone. The weather continues to be beautiful here on the mountain for us. We started the day with a nice breakfast prepared by our wonderful cook Dasha, then set out on our last acclimatizing hike around 9am. The team did a great job as we made our way up to a little over 15,300', setting a new record for some in just over 3.5 hours. We stopped along the way to take a few breaks and enjoy the view as well as chat with the other climbers that are here from all over the world. After reaching our high point we made our way back to camp just in time for another enjoyable lunch. Since then it's been nap time for some or just relaxing in our little huts after our big day. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

It was a beautiful day here on Elbrus. We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, but two gondolas and a short snow cat ride to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms. Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500' before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us. We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing, walking around and just enjoying the views of the Caucasus Mountain Range. We also had a cribbage lesson to prepare for the upcoming tournament. Thanks all for now. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Wow! It has been a whirlwind. This is the first chance I have had to catch my breath. We have explored St. Petersburg and it's beautiful museums and churches. We took an evening canal tour and ended the evening with a bit of Karaoke (not on the itinerary). Most of us, me included, should keep our day jobs. A few of our team mates will remain to some additional site seeing but the majority of us have left St. Petersburg and are making our way home. Our bags are filled with local treasures for friends and family members and heads our spinning from our recent experiences and plans for upcoming adventures. It has been a wonderful trip and it's been my pleasure to spend time abroad with this great team. Until next time, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Hello again everyone. It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jumpstart on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' before we started our hike to nearly the top of a local peak called Cheget. Normally we got to the top of the peak but being close to the border of Georgia, the Russian military had the upper part closed to climbers for some odd reason. Regardless, we enjoyed stretching our legs. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and plenty of other hikers enjoying the day, and we even caught a few glimpses of Elbrus too. After the hike we made our back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting for us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats. We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter. Things are good here. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Hello from southern Russia! Things are good here in Russia. We left Moscow this morning and have traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucasus Mountains. Our flight took us to southern Russia not too far from the Black Sea. This part of the country is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depend on. We were meet by our trustworthy guide Yuri, whom I've climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the three-hour drive up the Baksan Valley to the base Elbrus. The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to climbing in the summer. We didn't do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling. However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring. All is well here and the team is excited to stretch our legs a bit! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Hello everyone - All is well here in Moscow, although it's been a little damp and cool. Most of the team arrived yesterday evening after some very long flights. As most of us are still adjusting to the massive time change we kept things simple with a little round of introductions and stepped out for a short walk and a nice dinner not too far from the Hotel. Today we meet with our local tour guide and had a wonderful tour of the nearby Red Square, Kremlin as well as visiting several churches including the iconic St. Basil's. We took a short break and then headed out once again for dinner and a nice walk. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow. That's all for now. RMI Guide Casey Grom

July 8, 2017 Here we are back in Cheget! We had a very interesting climb. We started looking at the weather around midnight and made our plan to leave at 3 am with the help of a snowcat ride. It was clear above us with a mild breeze at camp and the forecast was calling for moderate winds. We woke the team at 1:45 am and got ready for our summit attempt. The wind increased as we ascended but it didn't turn us back. We were prepared for a big climb and that is what we experienced. We took a few photos on the summit of Mt. Elbrus and then started our descent. We return to the huts where we spent the last few nights, had lunch, packed our gear and then continued down to the thick are of the Baksan Valley. Tommorow we will enjoy a day of rest and touring in Cheget before we head off to St. Petersburg. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Wow, that's all I can say! No chance to call from the summit. We are all back down at our base camp and everybody's doing well. Toughest climb in my whole history of 20 plus years of climbing here. An Incredible team effort! Unbelievable! We were the first and only team to climb the mountain today, so we are pretty darn proud! I couldn't be more proud of this group of hard working mountaineers than I am right now. We'll talk to you later. All is good!

Today was our first rest day up on Mt. Elbrus. We managed to sleep in a little bit, usually a rarity in the mountains. After a substantial breakfast, we got a little training in reviewing some essential skills and introducing some techniques specific to the route. In addition to training, a few members of the team got some gambling in during our down time. Playing poker for toothpicks is serious business up here. We just finished dinner, everyone's gear is organized, and we are ready for an early morning tomorrow! RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Today was a perfect day in big mountains! After yet another tasty breakfast in our dinning hut we set off for a solid 4-hour training climb. It was cold enough last night that we all put on crampons to help with traction. This was great training for the team, they did their homework and are physically prepared. We turned around just below 15,000’. This was a new altitude record for some of the team. Then we were back to camp for lunch a bit of a rest. Right now, we are waiting for dinner, and watching the colorful sunset on the dramatic huge mountains in all directions. This evening we meet to go over climbing equipment and tactics. Team is in fine shape and glad to be here! RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team