Trip Reports

Elbrus - 29 July to 19 August '17

Chris Groves team on the summit of Elbrus

Written by Leader Leader: Chris Groves, October 2017

Not the best start, while travelling down to the airport I received a message saying that 2 clients wouldn't make the trip due to injury. But things soon improved, Aeroflot have a very modern fleet of Airbus aircraft so our flight via Moscow to Mineralny Vody was not the experience it could have been in the past. Another very pleasant surprise was the lovely weather on arrival, located between the Black & Caspian seas we maybe shouldn't have been too surprised to land into 30+ degrees.

A short time later we were settled into the comfortable hotel in Piatigorsk, the whole process efficiently handed by our Russian guides Viktor and Timur (Tim). After a kit check, a pizza and beer lunch was hastily arranged locally before returning to the hotel for an afternoon nap (needed to catch up after overnight flights). Before dinner Viktor enthusiastically led a tour of the local mineral water springs, taking delight in encouraging the team to try the most sulphurous liquids on offer, apparently it IS good for you.

After a morning travelling and still without a view of the the mountain, due to cloud, we set off on foot to walk up to basecamp. The most striking features of the 2½ hour walk up a gorge were 3 rather spectacular waterfalls. Viktor tried unsuccessfully to get the team to try the hot water springs on the way but there wasn't room anyway as they were full of Russian tourists. So, less than 48 hours after leaving Heathrow we moved into base camp. After an acclimatisation walk the next morning up to c.3350m with great view of Elbrus and a visit to the rock features Mushroom Meadow we prepared to move up to high camp the following day.

Despite the help of porters carrying some personal kit most people still had bulging bags on the sunny hot climb but at least the views kept on getting better with only the last 30 minutes up the final loose screes spoiling the fun as the trail seemed to disappear. The team moved into a recently renovated hut that we had to ourselves, although once kit was strewn everywhere there wasn’t too much space for anyone or anything else.

Over the next couple of days, while our bodies acclimatised to the altitude we made a couple of trips up the snowy slopes, familiarising ourselves with the skills needed to walk on a glacier and the patience required to move as a roped up team. On the second day everyone reached a high point of 4820m, so above Mont Blanc and a new record for Duncan. Our other main pastime was eating the excellent food provided by our hosts. Usually, the food gets worse the higher up a mountain you go as the challenges of carrying ingredients up and actually doing the cooking increase with altitude, but not on Elbrus - the food gets better.

Despite some afternoon showers the weather always cleared in an evening leaving an amazing night sky for anyone who ventured outside, and the mornings were always clear and still, exactly the weather that was ordered for our summit attempt. After a rest day, with bags packed, preparations completed and afternoon spent snoozing, during our early evening meal it became apparent the weather had other ideas as the wind got up considerably, the heavens opened and huge hailstones bombarded the tin roof as well a ricocheting around the hut through the open door. Trying to get some rest before a summit attempt is never easy but with the weather looking unlikely and with a spare day still available our hut was silent even before it went dark (apart from wind and heavy rain thrashing around outside)

After waking to a 2330 alarm and silence outside I stuck my head out of the door to find stillness, clear skies and a surprisingly warm temperature. In this short few minutes it appeared everyone else had woken up, noticed the wind had died and had started stirring themselves into action. We were on! After a good breakfast (or midnight feast?) we picked our way across the rocks the short distance to the snow to don crampons and rope up. On the way Duncan snapped a walking pole so quickly returned to the hut to get his spare. Meanwhile, Arran, while adjusting his clothing managed to punch himself in the face giving himself a nosebleed - and things were going so well…..

Setting off as 2 roped groups, but sticking close by we began the pattern of slowly plodding for an hour at Viktor’s very steady pace, gaining about 300m, then having a short standing break. Up into the darkness, with the just the light of a head torch lighting up the heals of the person in front after the full moon had disappeared behind the summit. After struggling for a while and after a couple of hours Duncan was “redlining” and the cold he’d been fighting off for a couple of days finally caught up with him. He made the hard decision to head down and was accompanied by guide Tim. At just short of our previous high point with the sky starting to brighten we had a slightly longer stop at which point Doug decided it was cold enough (maybe minus 2 deg) to justify putting on some gloves and his hat - hard as nails northern climbers!. And so began the traverse up and over the saddle between the east and west summits… and it went on and on and on.

Our eventual arrival on the col was met with a thin covering of cloud that protected us from the sun but obscured our route ahead. Viktor led a rising traverse up some of the steepest ground of the day, shortly we came across the fixed lines rigged for the “tourists” who ride most of the way up the from the south. With the last steep section completed a line of poles marked the way across the summit plateau, not that they were needed with a steady line people returning from the summit.

After 8 hours of steady ascent the first team reached a cloudy summit, the second rope team were only 5 minutes behind. We only had a few very fleeting glimpses of a view but that didn’t seem to matter - after a long steady ascent the reward of reaching the top was enough. Team and individual photos were quickly taken and although it wasn’t cold everyone was aware it was going to be a long way down and wanted to get moving. Surprisingly, back at the fixed lines we met Tim, who after seeing Duncan back had raced back up to rejoin us. Thankfully the cloud level hadn’t changed, so back on the col we returned to sunshine. Retracing our route back along the traverse seemed to take just a long as on the way up. Then the descent down to the hut seemed to take an age with weary legs and aging knees. Everyone was back in the hut by 1400 for another great lunch.

Celebratory beers were consumed in the afternoon sunshine as several of the team passed comment that the trip felt a lot longer than the 7 days we’d been in Russia. A possible reason for this feeling was the highly experienced and competent team I was fortunate to lead (I think they were used to being away for longer). With Elbrus climbed, more than half the members had ticked 3 or more of the 7 summits and between us, all but Vinson.

All that remained was a leisurely descent back down to basecamp the next morning, where all the cold beer quickly disappeared so, Viktor managed to bring forward our return to the hotel and after a short walk back down the valley we were treated to some spectacular views of Elbrus from the road as we drove back to Piatigorsk.

You could go to Elbrus just for the “tick”, because it’s a relatively short trip or maybe to sample the mineral water. Whatever the reason, I'm sure a visit to the Caucasus region will be very rewarding, just be prepared for a long summit day with way too many false summits on the way to the saddle. We were very fortunate not to experience the infamous winds that often plague summit attempts. I was also very lucky to accompany such an experienced and competent team, so a huge thanks to them along with Viktor and Timur who made everything possible. Congratulations to Nick, John, Martin (nice to finally reach the top of something with you!) Ian, Sam, Arran, Paul, Doug & Peter

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