{"id":37366,"date":"2016-01-27T12:36:12","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T09:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/?p=37366"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:10:33","slug":"dreams-are-meant-to-come-true-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/ko\/2016\/01\/27\/dreams-are-meant-to-come-true-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreams Are Meant to Come True. Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because we stuck to that schedule, everyone felt well and nobody even had a headache. So we were able to enjoy the beauty of the nature around us, without suffering from headaches or the other symptoms of altitude sickness, which can appear even in a well-prepared climber but does not develop in everyone. The same could not be said of other climbers. From time to time we came across signs in the snow that people on the ascent were not feeling well. The travellers who arrived shortly after us were in a bad way. They had headaches and could not sleep. What I want to say is that even if you have trained hard at home, you still feel less than well during the first days of the ascent. You are short of breath again and again and have to keep stopping. It seems as though at that rate you will never get to Elbrus. But once you have spent a few nights at four thousand metres, you climb even a steeper slope with what you might call extraordinary ease. Only a week earlier you could not have imagined going up so fast. That is why you can say with confidence that acclimatisation really does matter for anyone who wants to reach the summit of a mountain. Treat it properly and everything will be fine!<\/p>\n\n

As it happened, we were on Elbrus in the second half of November, even though late autumn is generally thought a rather unfavourable time for a climb. The number of visitors coming to Elbrus is already falling by September. As for winter sports, at that point there is still not much snow. And so at that time the infrastructure always stands idle.<\/p>\n\n

In our case we had to stay in one of the local hotels. Its location is very convenient: its windows look out onto the Cheget lifts. It also has to be said that at that time of year accommodation prices were several times lower. That is a substantial advantage of the season for a climber. What struck us then was that there were, you might say, no people at all, not only in the hotel but on the lifts. The Cheget lifts were only switched on in the middle of the day, and even then they ran completely empty. On Elbrus, meanwhile, the lifts did not work at all for about three days. So it was unclear how we were supposed to get up. We had not counted on that. There was nothing for it but to climb under our own steam. We then had what is called an intermediate night out between the Stary Krugozor station and the Mir station. That is a height of three thousand one hundred metres. The attendant at one of the stations told us there was nobody on the mountain. Just us and that was all. Many of the shelters were buried in snow and padlocked. We had already made up our minds to pitch a tent at three thousand seven hundred metres. Even so, we did manage to find one unlocked and unfinished cabin. That is where we moved in. In time the cable car did start running, which of course could only please us. The cable car then brought up four more people who wanted to climb Elbrus. They turned out to be compatriots of ours. The weather, however, was not kind to them. The very next day it began to snow. So if you want to climb in the shoulder season, be ready for the cable cars not to work. On the one hand that is no bad thing, because there are few people about and nobody gets in your way, and above all there are no great crowds. On the other hand, not everything is so good, since you cannot enjoy the pleasures of riding up by cable car, and you will have to sleep in a tent. Of course, someone may give you a lift higher up on a snowcat or a snowmobile. But however it turns out, every option has its own charms and advantages.<\/p>\n\n

Speaking of the shoulder season, it should be said that what sets this period apart is not only the infrastructure but the weather. The fact is that at this time of year the weather really is changeable. There can be a good deal of snowfall and other surprises from nature. But it also happens that the Caucasus enjoys perfectly sunny weather during this period – and not for a single day but for a long stretch. That is exactly what happened this year. I can say with complete confidence that we were extraordinarily lucky. For all those two weeks that we had set aside for the climb there was not a single cloud above the mountain. Only when we were getting ready to leave did the sky cloud over and the snow start.<\/p>\n\n

It is worth saying that at this time of year the sun rises at about seven in the morning and it gets dark between four and five. It also has to be said that darkness really does fall very quickly here, roughly within an hour of the sun going down. At altitude it starts to get cold very fast. During the day, though, once the sun is up, it can be very hot even at modest heights. Without sun cream life is genuinely difficult. And you very much want to take your clothes off, that is how hot it is here. As for us, we walked about in nothing but thermal underwear. That is how it is. As for sunglasses, you cannot manage without them here. You need category three or even category four. And as soon as the sun goes down, everything changes several times over. Several times over is putting it mildly – everything changes completely and it turns cold. That is when you cannot do without warm clothing. Let me say that nobody doubted how necessary such warm clothing was. Life is complicated further by fairly deep snow. A pole goes into it almost to the hilt. Snow can make progress difficult, and all the more so uphill. But if you walk on a beaten track, you may well meet snowcats and snowmobiles there. Setting off on an acclimatisation walk, or simply going somewhere for a stroll, can become a problem. Sometimes you sink in to the knee and sometimes right up to the thigh. You are hardly going to carry snowshoes as well, are you? We really were lucky that time and there was not all that much snow. So we got by with gaiters.<\/p>\n\n

As for the dangers at this time of year, one of them is ice. All the more so if you meet ice fields like that on the climb to the traversing shelf. Then the ascent becomes genuinely difficult. And then you certainly cannot manage without proper protection. On top of that, you may not have enough time for the climb. Here it is especially important to take care.<\/p>\n\n

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What to read next<\/h2>\n

See the programme:<\/strong> Climbing Elbrus from the south, 9 days<\/a><\/p>\n