Tourism in the modern world has reached heights nobody expected. Climbing mountains is a case in point. Ten years or so ago it counted as an extreme sport; now going up a mountain can fairly be called one of the extreme forms of holiday. And anyone who wants to can buy a package for a climb up one mountain or another. Elbrus itself, it should be said, came into being at the end of the Neogene. That was during the uplift of the Caucasus range. At that time Elbrus was an immensely powerful volcano. There is little to argue about here, given that scientists still find the traces of its ancient eruptions more than a hundred kilometres from the mountain. The volcano stopped working more than two thousand years ago. Even in the sixteenth century, though, the mountain was drawn as a cone with fire.
As for climbing Elbrus, the first attempts were made at the beginning of the nineteenth century. One Russian expedition, made up of scientists and soldiers, tried to make the ascent in eighteen twenty-nine. They managed to reach four thousand eight hundred metres. Only their Kabardian guide made it to the summit that time. He had adapted better than the others to the thin air. And there were commemorative plaques as proof of the ascent. The event was recorded on them. But the story of mighty Elbrus did not end there. In seventy-four, English climbers reached the western summit. Both summits were surveyed by a topographer by the name of Pastukhov. The rocks at four thousand seven hundred metres are named in his honour. Climbing equipment has become far better since those days, it should be said. And there are far more people wanting to go up the mountain now. If in earlier times climbing Elbrus really was a trial for anyone, today even someone with no particular training can try. Yet it is important to remember that people die here every year. Which is why going up Mount Elbrus should always be treated with particular seriousness.
As for the weather and climate on Elbrus, it is closer to Arctic. The highest temperature here is eight degrees above zero. February is considered the coldest month. Frequent snowfall is characteristic of Elbrus. The weather in these parts, it should also be said, is always extremely changeable. That is exactly what earned the mountain its reputation as the “director of the winds”. That is how the mountain’s name translates from the Nogai dialect.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries climbers setting out on an ascent had nothing but luck to rely on. Thanks to modern meteorological equipment it is quite possible to know in advance when to go for the summit of Elbrus. Most climbers say that knowing the weather often saves the life of someone heading up the mountain.
To make the climb as convenient as possible for climbers, staging huts are set up at different heights on the mountain. Their main purpose is to serve as shelter in bad weather, and they are also a good chance to acclimatise properly before the summit push. And acclimatisation is essential. Elbrus is very harsh with anyone who treats safety carelessly. The difficulty depends on which flank you climb. Elbrus is generally regarded as a tourist area. Climbing the mountain became a form of holiday of its kind only fairly recently.
Infrastructure here has grown enormously. There is a cable car, a range of hotels and staging huts. All of it has drawn tourists from all over the world. Cheget, for instance, is considered a ski resort. And it has the hardest piste in the world. Everyone who wants to challenge the mountain, as they say, comes here and tests what they are capable of.
There are seasons when a great many snowboarders want to get here. So many of them, in fact, that four lifts and three cable-car lines cannot cope. Even so, thanks to the cable car any skier who wants to can start their descent from three thousand and seventy metres. But that is not altogether good for beginners. The trouble is that a fairly slow ascent and a fairly quick descent can affect how a skier feels. It often shows as dizziness and nausea. There are plenty of cafés and hotels in these parts. Anyone can have a proper break in them between runs. On top of everything else, you can start up the mountain from here. Many people say that the lifts from the beautiful Azau meadow really do cut the time needed to get up the mountain many times over. As for the trekking huts on the mountain, they are not especially suited to longer stays. Their main purpose is to let you acclimatise by moving from one hut to the next. That way the climb itself becomes much easier to bear. Many climbers say, though, that there really are no good conditions there for a proper rest and for building your strength back up.