It seems that a moment comes in everyone’s life when you want to change something, to bring something new and out of the ordinary into it. That change came for me too. For a long time my life had been asking for vivid emotions and variety. So one morning I woke up feeling that it was time to make my life more interesting and fuller. I decided that this time, instead of the usual seaside break, I would go to… the mountains. Yes, the mountains. And although my friends thought the idea was madness, I was convinced it was exactly what I needed. I wanted to test myself, to find out how I would feel in the mountains, whether my body would cope with the demands of altitude, and whether I could get to the top of Elbrus. So after a short deliberation I chose Elbrus. Why that mountain? Because Elbrus is considered the highest point not only in Russia but in the whole of Europe. And technically it is not that hard to climb. Why not, I thought, and made my final decision.
After that, the preparation began. Although I was not a sporty person, I understood that the climb would take a lot of training. Otherwise I might well have had to turn back without ever reaching my dream. First and foremost, that preparation was physical, mental and informational. There is a good reason people say that to be informed is to be armed, and I decided to arm myself thoroughly. I read trip reports and studied everything about the mountain and its possible dangers. In parallel I started work on my body. First I took up running – long runs at a moderate pace, because nobody runs in the mountains, but you do walk a great deal. I also went to the gym to strengthen my legs and arms, since the load in the mountains falls on the whole body. On top of that, I would be carrying a rucksack on my back. I had heard that going up and down the stairs of tower blocks is useful training, so I started doing that too.
Mental readiness mattered as well, because climbing to a summit is no walk in the park. I watched trip reports and videos to get at least some sense of the difficulties waiting for me in the mountains. I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.
After preparation like that, I was ready for the adventure. So what is the best time to climb Elbrus? I had heard a great deal about July and August, but in the end I settled on June. I chose a travel company, got in touch and went through all the details. The way the group came together was unusual and rather like military manoeuvres. Part of the group took a bus to Mineralnye Vody, then joined up, switched to taxis to the railway station and met three more members there. We bought food and drove on to Kislovodsk, where the remaining members were waiting. Two hours later we were all together.
From Kislovodsk we set off towards Dzhily-Su, at the foot of Elbrus. The place is known for its warm narzan springs, which draw crowds of people. The water here is said to be healing. The Emmanuel meadow, at 2530 metres, became our base camp. It is named after General Emmanuel, whose expedition was the first to reach the summit. Having made it up the mountain road, which reminded me of the Pamir Highway, we pitched our tents in rain that had not let up for several weeks. There were several groups of foreign visitors in camp, and cattle grazing all around that had to be shooed away from our tents. Once the tents were up we cooked supper and went to bed.
The next day one of the group took charge of dividing up the food, while some of us set off for the local sights. We walked to the Dzhily-Su area and saw the Sultan waterfall – an impressive sight. We wanted to bathe in the narzan springs, but the cold kept us to photographs, and we headed back.
The northern side of the Elbrus region is nothing like the southern slopes. Being tens of kilometres from civilisation preserves its untouched beauty. There is no infrastructure here and no mobile signal, which is precisely what appeals to lovers of mountain travel. The landscape is like a miniature Pamir, and the Emmanuel meadow is like the Onion meadow below Lenin Peak, which I managed to get up to six years ago.