{"id":37462,"date":"2024-11-18T18:45:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T15:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/?p=37462"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:12:10","slug":"east-summit-of-elbrus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/pt\/2024\/11\/18\/east-summit-of-elbrus\/","title":{"rendered":"The East summit of Elbrus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The East summit of Elbrus stands at 5621 m.<\/strong> It is 21 m lower than the West summit, but it remains a summit in its own right and was historically the first point of the twin-peaked massif to be reached.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The East summit<\/strong> and <strong>the eastern route<\/strong> are two different things. The summit is the objective, at 5621 m. The route from the east describes the side you approach from, the self-sufficient logistics involved and a particular line of ascent. The East summit is also reached from the northern side and on two-summit programmes.<\/p>\n<h2>The East summit in brief<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>height: 5621 m;<\/li>\n<li>21 m lower than the West summit;<\/li>\n<li>the first documented historical ascent dates from 1829;<\/li>\n<li>often the objective of northern and eastern variants, though the side you start from does not automatically determine the summit;<\/li>\n<li>moving between the summits means descending to the saddle and climbing again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The first ascent of the East summit<\/h2>\n<p>In 1829 an expedition under the command of General Georgy Emmanuel surveyed the northern slopes of Elbrus. According to material from the Russian Geographical Society, the party that pressed on towards the summit consisted of Emilius Lenz, the Cossack Lysenkov and the local guides Khillar Khashirov and Akhia Sottaev. Higher up the others turned back, while Khashirov continued and became the first person to reach the East summit.<\/p>\n<p>In 1868 the East summit was reached by Douglas Freshfield&#8217;s expedition, guided by Akhia Sottaev. The West summit was not climbed until later, in 1874.<\/p>\n<p><small>Sources for the historical account: <a href=\"https:\/\/rgo.ru\/activity\/redaction\/articles\/severnoe-prielbruse-kamennye-griby-glinyanye-zamki-i-tyeplye-vanny\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Russian Geographical Society on the first ascent of 1829<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/rgo.ru\/activity\/redaction\/photo\/na-sklone-elbrusa\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a short Russian Geographical Society note on both summits<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>\n<h2>Routes to the East summit of Elbrus<\/h2>\n<h3>From the north<\/h3>\n<p>The north is bound up with the history of the first ascent and is often used to reach the East summit. But a modern <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/tours\/climb-elbrus\/elbrus-from-north\/\">programme for climbing from the north<\/a> should be read literally: check which summit is stated, where the overnight camps are, whether a contingency day is built in and where the group descends to.<\/p>\n<p>The northern side is more self-contained than the classic south: there is no southern cable car here and fewer ways to change the logistics quickly. That affects the workload and the requirements even when the technical grade is similar.<\/p>\n<h3>From the east<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/tours\/climb-elbrus\/elbrus-from-east\/\">The route up Elbrus from the east<\/a> is a separate expedition programme. It is not merely &#8220;another way of getting up the lower summit&#8221;. The eastern approach demands self-sufficiency and experience, and the actual line depends on the programme you choose and on the state of the route.<\/p>\n<h3>Both summits<\/h3>\n<p>On the <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/tours\/climb-elbrus\/two-summits-of-elbrus\/\">two-summit programme<\/a>, East and West become a single large high-altitude undertaking. After the first summit the group descends to the saddle and climbs again. Whether to continue is the guide&#8217;s decision, taking account of the time, the weather and the condition of the party.<\/p>\n<h2>The East summit is not a &#8220;training version&#8221; of the West<\/h2>\n<p>A 21 m difference does not justify the logic of &#8220;lower means easier&#8221;. Difficulty is made up of the whole route: the side you start from, the terrain, the degree of self-sufficiency, the state of the snow and ice, the length of the day, the acclimatisation you have built up and the weather.<\/p>\n<p>You cannot, then, compare the figures 5621 and 5642 m and leave it at that. The classic southern route to the higher West summit can be organisationally simpler than a self-sufficient eastern route to the East summit.<\/p>\n<h2>How to choose a programme<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>for a first Elbrus, most people choose the classic south and the West summit;<\/li>\n<li>the north is chosen for a different route logic and greater self-sufficiency;<\/li>\n<li>the east is a specialist objective for climbers with suitable experience;<\/li>\n<li>two summits demand a bigger reserve of strength and time;<\/li>\n<li>the name of a side is no substitute for reading the day-by-day itinerary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Compare all the options in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/2025\/03\/03\/elbrus-climbing-routes\/\">&#8220;Routes up Elbrus&#8221;<\/a>. The difference between the two summits is examined in detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/2025\/01\/24\/which-summit-of-elbrus-is-higher\/\">&#8220;Which summit of Elbrus is higher&#8221;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Was the East summit the first peak of Elbrus to be climbed?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. It was reached in 1829 by Khillar Khashirov, a member of General Emmanuel&#8217;s expedition.<\/p>\n<h3>Is it easier than the West summit because it is lower?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Difficulty is determined by the whole route and the conditions, not by a 21 m difference.<\/p>\n<h3>Do northern routes always go to the East summit?<\/h3>\n<p>No. There are various schemes, including ascents of the West summit and traverses. Check the objective of the specific programme.<\/p>\n<h3>Can you choose the East summit from the south?<\/h3>\n<p>There are specialist variants and the two-summit programme. It is not the standard objective for most classic southern groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The East summit of Elbrus stands at 5621 m. It is 21 m lower than the West summit, but it remains a summit in its own right and was historically the first point of the twin-peaked massif to be reached. The East summit and the eastern route are two different things. The summit is the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14084,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The East summit of Elbrus, 5621 m: routes and history<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The East summit of Elbrus at 5621 m: the first ascent by Khillar Khashirov, routes from the north and east, and why a summit is not the same as a side.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/pt\/2024\/11\/18\/east-summit-of-elbrus\/\" 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