Trip Reports

Elbrus - 21 July to 2 Aug '18

Written by Leader Simon Verspeak, August 2018

I suddenly jerked awake and looked at my watch. 2320, ten minutes before my alarm was due to go off and heavy rain lashing on the tin roof inches above my head had woken me. Around the hut I could hear the stir of bodies awaiting the signal to go. Throwing on my clothes, I called out, "stay in your sleeping bags, I'll be back in five". Venturing out into the rain to meet our local guides, I knew we wouldn't be going to the summit that night. We delayed an hour but the unforecast rain and cloud decided it; we'd try again tomorrow...

Fast forward 24 hours and this time my alarm drew me fast out of sleep and us all quickly up and out onto the mountain. The sky was clear, cold snow crunching beneath our crampons and the advance rope startled by the appearance of a fox at 4500m!

By dawn we had reached Lenz rocks. The traverse out with the wind in our faces took seemingly forever but suddenly the gail increased as we crested the summit col... 5 members pressed on with Alexey, clipping past hoards of exhausted climbers coming from the south side. Down in comparision was a fast and easy affair.

That night in the comfortable dining hut, the cooks handed us 3 bottles of champagne. Everyone barely stayed awake long enough to drink it.

Fast forward again and we were back in the civilisation of Piatorgorsk. The Georgian restaurant singer called out congratulations as he induced the team onto the dance floor! Exuberant, they headed out and I was once again struke by the surreal nature of expedition life...

Well done to Luke, Gareth, Matt, Gilles and Bjorn for summiting, to Willem and Nick for reaching the summit col and Sue for getting a new altitude high. Thanks to all for making a great expedition.

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