At the beginning of July I was lucky enough to stand on the highest point in Europe! Yes – I was on the very summit of the beautiful Elbrus. It was not a dream but the truth, and I will remember it for a long time as a real miracle in my life. Until then my highest mountain experience had been one and a half thousand metres. And Elbrus is five thousand six hundred and forty-two metres! Precisely because I had no ascents behind me, I decided to go up from the south. That route is considered the easier one for climbers. There is a cable car, there are small restaurants, and there are other comforts of civilisation that an inexperienced climber like me can make use of. I will admit that at the very beginning I even considered the northern side. But for a first attempt that really is a big step, and a very hard one. I have to admit that during the ascent I twice experienced the symptoms of that treacherous altitude sickness. The first time I felt unwell and had a mild headache during the first night at three thousand eight hundred metres. The second time came when we stepped onto the home straight, at five thousand six hundred and twenty metres. My head began to ache badly, although on the whole it was bearable. On the descent, though, I suffered. Once I got down to five thousand one hundred metres I felt much better. If symptoms appear you must not keep gaining height; if they get worse or become severe, you have to descend. I really was happy that it all worked out, because I had set myself this goal a long time before. And I took the question of the ascent very seriously. I read a great deal of literature. I learned everything there is to learn about Elbrus – all sorts of trip reports, and information on how to prepare for a climb of Elbrus. What I took from it was that preparation genuinely has to be serious and thorough. No letting yourself off. If I went easy on myself down here, it would be much harder later up there. Elbrus is unlikely to go easy on me. So how did I train for the ascent? First and foremost, I ran a lot. And that running should not be fast; it should cover long distances. In the mountains you will not be running but walking, and walking a great deal. It is important to understand that you have to train not only your body for the load but your endurance as well. It is not so simple to make yourself climb upwards for hours on end. And if your endurance is not up to it, it is better not to try the mountains at all, because you will not have the strength. Many experienced climbers also recommend training by climbing to the top floors of tower blocks, adding weight to your rucksack each time. That is not easy, of course, but it makes things far simpler in the mountains later on.
After the ascent we all set off for the remarkable Irik-Chat gorge. And that is where my camera disappeared for good. The annoying part was not so much the camera itself as the fact that so many photographs from our climb vanished with it. It was a disaster.
I will not pretend otherwise: the emotions still overwhelm me. All my thoughts are still there, near Elbrus. I am a lover of the mountains, and the Caucasus bowled me over. Its beauty struck me and, in the best sense of the word, left me stunned. I badly want to go back. As for me personally, I can say that I am happy: a long-held dream came true, and those emotions will stay with me for a long time. I also feel that I managed to achieve something. And it strengthened my character.
Editorial medical note. The author’s personal outcome does not change the general rule: if symptoms appear you must not go higher, and if they worsen at the same altitude you need to descend and get help. Source: CDC Yellow Book — High-Altitude Travel and Altitude Illness.