{"id":37311,"date":"2012-12-12T12:56:30","date_gmt":"2012-12-12T09:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/?p=37311"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:09:47","slug":"once-upon-a-time-in-the-caucasus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainguides.pro\/zh\/2012\/12\/12\/once-upon-a-time-in-the-caucasus\/","title":{"rendered":"Once Upon a Time in the Caucasus."},"content":{"rendered":"

A long time ago we were a hundred dollars short of the entry fee for the Russian Championship, yet we still had the means to organise \u2014 and the creative drive to climb \u2014 a wall after acclimatising on Elbrus from the south<\/a>. A big wall. We settled on the north face of Ullu-Tau in the Adyr-Su valley, the Burlutsky route, to the right of the Islands. It was not the hardest climb I have done (though a winter 5B is hardly a stroll to the bakery), but it was certainly the coldest. Even counting the climbs in Alaska and on K2. Nowhere else have I met cold like that. By the time we were well into the face, down below \u2014 almost 2 km lower, and in the forest zone at that \u2014 our support team recorded -35. What was it where we were? At the same time friends of mine were climbing Kazbek<\/a> and swore their brandy had frozen. And in winter the sun does not touch our north face for a single minute.. We climbed the route all the same. Fast. There was no other way. The stakes were far too high. Sadly, we did not come away without losses. Max was badly frostbitten, even though all three of us had the same boots. The doctors even saved Max’s toes. In spite of everything, I can say without hesitation that for the sheer brightness of the good memories and for the harmony within the team, this was the most vivid experience of my life. The world has been a different place ever since. Thank you, my friends, for that wonderful climb..<\/p>\n\n

Incidentally, Max went on to write a fine account<\/a> of it at the time, along with a short set of pointers for winter climbers.<\/p>\n\n

Sergey Baranov<\/p>\n\n

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What to explore next<\/h2>\n

View the programme:<\/strong> Climbing Elbrus from the North<\/a><\/p>\n