Trip Reports

Elbrus 5th - 17th July '14

Marisa & Kit heading to Lenz rocks, 2:45am summit morning
Trip Report

Written by Leader Neal Short, August 2014

This Elbrus North Side expedition was a success with 5 members summiting the West Peak 5642m (the highest of the twin-peaked mountain).

It had been well over a decade since Jagged Globe had visited Elbrus due to, at times, major political instability in the region and consequently the British Foreign Office advising against travel. Previously JG had made their ascents from the busier ski station strewn south-side but aimed to return in 2014 to the relatively isolated and unspoilt North-side. The three originally advertised expeditions booked up so quickly that JG put on another date which enabled myself and the team the opportunity to attempt the mountain this summer. Our ëextraí date (7th July) was to be ahead of the planned trips so it was to be a privileged for me to be leading on ënew groundí for the company on a continental summit.

I met part of the team, Leigh, Chris, Doug, Tim and Marisa at Heathrow, then Kit and Andrew in Moscow airport (as theyíd taken the opportunity for a short sight-seeing tour of the city) and Alan who had also overnighted in the capital. Things were to be ëallí Russian as soon as boarding at Heathrow as we flew with Aeroflot for two over-night flights to Mineralnye Vody in the Caucasus region. It was here we met Boris our dependable, jovial and strong in-country leader before transferring to the Intourist Hotel in Paitigorsk. Boris was invaluable to us throughout the trip but firstly, before getting anywhere near the mountains, in finding us restaurants for lunches and dinners in Piatigorsk - humungous kebabs being a memorable moment.

The journey to Base camp was in classic soviet-era four-wheeled drive mini-buses which looked completely out of place in the Intourist Hotel car park and on the wide tree-lined avenues of Piatigorsk but proved to be just the thing when negotiating the rugged terrain and a river crossing close to BC. Viewing the wonderful interior of St. Nicholas' Orthodox Cathedral in Kislovodsk was a cultural highlight of the journey.

BC (2594m) was in a stunning spot for venturing onto our twin-peaked objective. Various huts and tents where sited on an lush grassy plain near the Kyzylkol river and backing up against grassy spurs with protruding finger-like rocks formed from lava flows (sources suggest the last eruptions on Elbrus, a stratovolcano, where close to 2000 years ago). However the best thing about the BC set up was the wonderful and plentiful food produced by our host Olga. She had a great ëtouchí in making all of her dishes very tasty with various herbs & spices - a particular favourite being Borscht soup, a dish of Ukrainian origin made with tomato or beetroot as the main ingredients.

Our acclimatisation walk was up to Mushroom Rocks (3200m). (See image below, can you spot the famous Olympians on the team?) The initial part of the route from BC led us up through a marvellous narrow gorge with an exposed trail high above numerous small waterfalls. Then it followed on to an area suitably dubbed the ëAirfieldí due to its perfectly flat terrain but moreover because it was used by the German airforce during WWII (1st Edelweiss division having planted their flag on Elbrus west peak in 1942). Onwards and upwards took us to a junction in the trail (approx. 3000m); left to Mushroom Rocks and right to North Hut. Beyond, it was of interest to wind our way through a couple of small secluded cwmís and then up past rocky slopes carpeted in colourful pioneer flora before reaching the oddly-shaped eroded rocks (6.5 hrs round trip). (Sadly, Tim jarred his back on this day and had to leave the expedition early.)

On Day 5 we made our first proper steps to climb the mountain. We left BC for North Hut (3763m) at 7.40 am. The aim was to make a load carry of high mountain boots, harnesses, axes and a few other bits. This time we struck right at the path junction and then headed up a rocky rib and onto a broad spur which took us to the ëMoonfieldí (another appropriately named flat area). From here we completed the ascent up to the hut(s) via blocky scree slopes and an easy short cut up a large snow patch. It was a long hike taking nearly 7hrs to reach the hut but it was accomplished in nice weather and with the splendid views taking our mind off the weight of the bags and the increasing altitude - grassy ridges to the north, east towards the sharp pyramidal peaks of the Dzhangi-Tau range (5,051m) and of course, getting close-up to the snow slopes and glaciers pouring off Elbrus.

After a full hot lunch and dumping the kit inside the sleeping hut we descended back to BC in cooler conditions brought on by swirling low afternoon cloud. We returned to go straight into the BC mess hut for another hearty feast from Olga. (9.5hrs round trip). The following day we knocked 1.5hrs off our time when re-ascending to stay at North Hut. The views that evening of the burning orange setting sun, the moon rise and the staggering star-scape made the effort of the last few days well worth it.

Staying on itinerary, our next move was an acclimatisation wander up the glaciated slopes of the East Peak to Lenz Rocks at 4600m. It proved to be surprisingly hot day and many of us felt over dressed to begin with. Most of the team pushed on past Lenz Rock to a crashed helicopter wreckage at about 4850m therefore completing an impressive 1100m of ascent. (8-9hrs round trip).

Over the past four days the team had completed around 4000m of ascent so a rest day was certainly in order on Day 8. However the day soon disappeared once time had been taken to sort kit & pack summit day rucksacks, have an afternoon snooze and then eat an early dinner at 5.30pm before turning in to try and get some sleep before our big day.

The images below show the route.

Alarms went off at 10.45pm, a strange hour to be rising but one a hopeful continental summit alpinist needs to deal with. A splendid breakfast was served. This was mainly due to the phenomenal efforts of Sasha, our star in-country assistant leader, who on his rest day just ënippedí down to BC to collect food to re-stock North Hut, particularly with fresh bread, the round trip taking as long as one of our ascents! (Unfortunately Andrew decided against making an summit bid).

We left the hut at a fraction after midnight and with a beaming bright full moon illuminating the slopes and silhouetting Lenz Rock and a pair of climbers further up. The roped teams worked well to ascend the constant angled slopes to arrive at Lenz rock for sunrise (5am). Even though nobody really felt like it, it was important for us to keeping nibbling away at food and taking on some fluids as the whole ascent would be a long one.

As the day dawned we could see the lower angled traverse slopes across to the start of the col between the East and West peaks. (Unfortunately at this point Alan went down accompanied by Sasha). Leigh, Doug and Chris (aka the Hobbits of Team Middle Earth) with Boris struck out ahead of my team of Marisa and Kit.

Above 5200m the pace slowed and by late morning low cloud had formed around us and we started to feel light flurries of snow. By this time ëThe Hobbitsí had scampered on, crossing the broad col to the south side and starting up the fairly steep lower section of the West summit face and so proving what we know of this humanoid race - that they are ëcapable of great courage and amazing feats under the proper circumstancesí. For my team, I started to realise the day was getting away from us and therefore the only scenario was to descend to North Hut empty handed despite such a concerted effort. Team Middle Earth summited at 14.20pm, seeing en-route an incredible ice-halo forming a circumhorizontal arc (see image below courtesy of Chris Bond). It was a terrific result for them and the team. The descent was relatively swift taking only 3.5hrs.

The Elbrus adventure didn't end there for Marisa and Kit, as they jumped at the chance of a second summit bid after Boris volunteered to go back up after a days rest. And ultimately after long day they summited in quite inclement conditions (Day 11). A totally brilliant achievement by the three of them and everyone was so pleased and impressed that they had managed fulfil their personal goal. (See all summit images below)

The expedition drew to a close with a lively and amusing dinner in Piatigorsk. We also gave a big thank you (bolshoe spasibo) to Boris for his comradeship and effort throughout our expedition. On the return home, Doug had a super stop-over in Moscow and Kit & Andrew went further north to visit St Petersburg.

And lastly, the team must be praised and congratulated for their individual success but also crucially for the way all members (mostly booking on as individuals) bonded so quickly and shared the whole mountain & travel experience with spirit, humour and humility. We had a lot of good times and many laughs - bolshoe spasibo to you all. I will use a few comments that have been emailed by team members to perfectly sum up our expedition to the wild beauty of the north side of Elbrus;

ëAn excellent adventure with a great group of peopleí.

ëSuch a memorable experience, loved every minute. Awesome to be part of such a great group of peopleí.

ëAmazing Elbrus trip with some amazing peopleí.

Neal Short, Expedition Leader.

Map for Elbrus:

Elbrus, Climbing And Trekking 1.50í000, publisher Climbing Maps - lots of useful extra information with regional maps and also description of the flora. Available online at Stanfords or Amazon. « | »

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