If you have heard of this mountain even once, it will probably remain in your memory for ever. Elbrus truly is special and mysterious. At times, it seems distant; at others, almost within reach. It can be an attainable goal even for novices, despite rising more than five thousand metres above sea level. This appearance of accessibility is often exactly what misleads climbers. They relax and are simply unprepared when danger approaches. It is important to understand that every mountain involves risk, so an ascent must be approached with genuine care and seriousness. You cannot rely on luck alone, because luck may not come. If you want to climb Elbrus, you have to be ready for anything, beginning with physical preparation. Even if you do not consider yourself athletic, make an effort to prepare your body for the coming exertion. Preparation also has a psychological and emotional dimension. Think everything through in detail and try to imagine yourself in the mountains. If that is difficult, watch a variety of video reports and picture yourself in the conditions shown. If you feel considerable fear and uncertainty, perhaps the time for the climb has not yet come. It may be better to postpone the idea and try for the summit of Elbrus in a year or even a couple of years.
For my part, I felt that I had a great deal of strength. I wanted to test myself specifically on Elbrus. An excellent team came together, and we boarded a train for Nalchik. It turned out that only one train served the city and ran just once a day.
We arrived at around six in the morning. Denis collected us soon afterwards, brought the equipment we were missing and drove us towards the foot of Elbrus. The journey took roughly six hours and passed Kislovodsk. We were extremely tired, and the monotonous winding road quickly sent us to sleep. We reached our destination earlier than planned. According to our guide, a ski resort was due to be built here. In places where a vehicle once had to be pushed through, the road now had two lanes in each direction. Several menhirs stood along the route to the drop-off point. At last, we reached the beginning of our journey at an altitude of two thousand three hundred forty metres. We initially gained a little height and then decided to descend to two thousand two hundred metres. The route opened a magnificent view over the Dzhily-Su valley, the name of an unofficial resort in Kabardino-Balkaria. Interestingly, local people called it the principal Muslim resort. Mountain communities were said to have used mineral water from its healing springs to treat various illnesses since ancient times. The mineral springs now had several outlets with improvised pools at a temperature of around twenty-three degrees. Two rivers flow through the valley. One is described as containing living water and the other dead water. The living-water river begins at the striking Sultan waterfall, which in turn flows from the Kyzyl-Su River. The dead water is hot narzan mineral water. Its high iron content gives it an orange colour. Another remarkable place, the Kyzylsu kosh, stands a little above the Dzhily-Su valley. We decided to establish our first camp near the Kyzyl-Su River.
We devoted the second day to acclimatisation and set out towards the Sultan waterfall and the narzan springs. The walk took five hours in all. If you visit this area, I recommend making time for these places. Another legend is associated with Dzhily-Su. According to the story, a boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead once existed there. Evil creatures from the world of the dead repeatedly tried to enter the world of the living, but brave warriors stopped them. The battle between good and evil continued without end.