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Mount Elbrus Customer Review

THE CLIMB UP MOUNT ELBRUS AND VISIT TO RUSSIA
August 21 – September 6, 2010

We arrived back home on Labor Day. Communication from Russia was practically impossible over these past two weeks – no cell phones and no internet sites before St. Petersburg and then a completely full and busy schedule for the three days in the city from morning to night.
The good news is that we made it to the Summit of Mt. Elbrus. At least my daughter and I did; unfortunately my son fell ill after dinner the night of the Summit attempt and had a severe bout of intestinal virus and flu, with vomiting all night long – it was terrible. Although he put on his clothes at 2 a.m. and started out on the climb, he was unable to go more than 50 meters and collapsed on the snow. It was a situation I had never experienced. Our guide told us that we had five minutes to make a choice. I suggested to Matthew that he go back to the huts, accompanied by the guide and that my daughter and I would try to summit, as that was our only chance. He was a good sport and agreed, though he had not many options. The guide helped him down and settled him, and my daughter and I proceeded to climb about 25 percent of Mt. Elbrus alone in the dark, just the two of us, following the lights of a couple of groups ahead of us. It was an experience I had not imagined would ever happen to me. We saw the sun rise together, alone on the mountain and continued forging our way upward. The guide then had to come back and make his way up the mountain to join us. But that was at least two hours later, after we were already at around 5,100 or (we started out at 4,600).
We reached the saddle in between the two mountains – small Mt. Elbrus and big Mt. Elbrus – at around 9 a.m., having caught up with the only two other groups on the mountain. Corinne and I are pretty solid hikers, though going up in altitude it is really important to go slowly. Fortunately the guide was with us for the last part of the ascension and the summit - 5,640 meters, as there was a diagonal stretch along the mountain side that required us to be roped together. We actually saw a man slip a few meters ahead of us on that diagonal path and slide about 150 meters down to the saddle, which was rather exciting. We made it to the summit around noon, after 8 hours of walking, all of it with heavy boots, crampons, an ice pick, a ski pole and a day pack, plus several layers of clothes, so a lot of weight. The climb required about 200 percent of my physical strength and about 500 percent of my mental strength. This was especially the case because we had been training intensively for the four previous days, walking up at least 1,000 meters each day, in order to acclimatize. I thought that we would have a rest day, but the guide decided otherwise because of the weather forecast, which was excellent for our summit day. So I started the climb with tired legs and muscles rather than fresh ones, which made it even more challenging. He was correct about the weather. It was spectacular – warm, no wind and lots of sun – clear views on top of all of the mountains in the Caucasus. It reminded me of the incredible view of the Alps that we had seen on top of Mt. Blanc in 2007. I was so happy to reach the top that in spite of me, tears were streaming down my checks.
Our guide was from the Ukraine (Vladimir) and a very serious person – professor of geophysics and a specialist in magnetic fields. He had been guiding on the mountain in the summers for over 15 years and told me later that in all of his time he had only had two previous families (father and son both) – never a mother and daughter. He finally broke out in a smile when we reached the top. I asked him about it and he said: “Elbrus is a serious mountain – no reason to smile before now”. The descent was the difficult part; after I let my mental focus slip a little bit halfway down the mountain, the remaining 500 meters were really tough. But at that point it no longer mattered since the feeling of elation was stronger than the exhaustion and the muscle aches and the queasy stomach. Once back at the huts, 15 hours of rest was in order, interrupted only by getting up periodically to care for Matthew who continued to be sick throughout the night. Luckily we were able to descend the next morning and to see a nurse who came to the hotel in the town below with her medicines and equipment in a plastic shopping bag! The closest hospital was two hours away. After another day of complete rest, Matthew did recuperate and was able to begin eating little bits after that and regain his strength. Obviously coming down from the altitude helped also. My daughter showed no side effects and was the strongest of all – she reminds me of bionic woman and has a mental will of iron as well. I am very, very happy and feel like this was another real accomplishment. Each mountain gets a little harder for me – and a little easier for my daughter. The balance is definitely tilting in her favor. The weather gods were very kind to us, as we had five continuous days of sunshine, which is apparently unheard of during that time of the year in the Caucus. And that made the climb much easier and so much more pleasant. It was a wonderful experience, all in all, except for my son’s stomach mishap. But he made a brave effort and did reach 4,700 meters, which is no small feat. One never conquers a mountain; one simply learns to conquer oneself.
The days after the climb went by in a haze of recovery. The four days in St. Petersburg were interesting but the luck of the weather had disappeared and our sightseeing was accompanied by rain, cold winds and gray weather – morning to night. I did not really care, but it meant that I had not packed the proper clothes, so I had to unpack my mountain clothes and wear them all over again in the city! St. Petersburg is the northernmost city of the world, so it is not a warm place – called the “Venice of the north”. It does live up to its reputation in beauty, but that beauty is on an epic scale. The city is huge, certainly not walk able. And this is mirrored by the Hermitage, which is a gigantic museum. We spent one day there and still did not see everything superficially. The summer palaces of the Tsars outside of the city are as beautiful and impressive as the palaces and buildings in the city, so there is a treasure of sights to view. To make up for the mountain, my son put himself into discovery mode in St. Petersburg and we never ended our days before midnight, as he added on several bars and nightclubs to the list of places to explore after the official touring ended. So I feel like I know St. Petersburg both by day and by night.
It is not easy to visit Russia; the bureaucracy seems endless and we were always asked for numerous pieces of paper to prove that we were “legitimate”. Woe is to any visitor who misplaces these pieces of paper – the visa, the copy of the passport, the confirmation of paid travel services and the registration in the city (as under the Soviet regime). And of course an additional permit for the mountain area. Very little English is spoken anywhere, even in Moscow. So it is imperative to know some of the Russian alphabet. Luckily my daughter had studied Russian for one semester and she could say a few basic phrases – most helpful. The Russian people seem to be perpetually unhappy; no one ever smiles and no one is friendly or helpful. They really do not seem to enjoy life, have a very defined sense of duty and Americans are not high on their list of favorite people.
While we never felt unsafe, we never really felt welcome either. One of the highlights of the trip was the circus performance in Moscow. Russians really do have a long-standing tradition of the circus and it is a more family-oriented, authentic event than the huge productions in Europe and the U.S. The ballet in Saint Petersburg was unfortunately of the tourist-level quality; there are much better production in the U.S. in any given city. The Bolshoi had not yet begun its official season so we were unable to see them. The summer palaces outside of Saint Petersburg (built by Peter the Great and Catherine the 1st) were truly magnificent and the restoration work that has been done to restore them after the WWII and Nazi damage most impressive. And of course the Hermitage is a world treasure; we spent over half a day there and did not even get to all of the rooms. An extraordinary cultural treasure. Now glad to be back home…….