These places are never crowded. There are no lifts and no snowcats here. And it is here, more than anywhere, that you have to keep the natural hazards in mind. If difficulty does not frighten you and you want to feel the spirit of mountaineering, then climb Elbrus from the western side. Who knows: perhaps this is where there is a chance to revive a climbing culture that can be considered destroyed on the \u201cclassic\u201d route. My own climb was spontaneous, in a way. The main purpose of my trip to the Elbrus region at the time was a race, and AI has been responsible for its safety for several years now, helping with various organisational matters as well. A section of the course had to be closed off, the checkpoints checked, communications provided, and we had to be ready for anything unforeseen. The event itself went off without incident, but the melting snow caused the river to flood badly, and our professional skills were needed to get the competitors safely across to the other bank. So at the outset there was no talk of climbing at all. About two weeks before we left, though, Vitaly suggested a climb, and the idea appealed to more than just me. In the end a decent number of people signed up: six of us, with different levels of preparation, but all of us joined by a love of the mountains. Our group included both beginners and experienced masters of sport who had already been in the Caucasus. I will say straight away that one of our party is planning to come back to the Elbrus region in the autumn and repeat the climb. It will soon be clear how the route behaves in the autumn period.<\/p>\n
Elbrus is the highest point in Europe and a genuinely difficult mountain with a character of its own. The sad statistics bear that out. Although the route is not especially hard in technical terms, climbs from the west are fairly rare, and the reasons are obvious. Unlike the classic route, this one demands more preparation and more skill. There are objective hazards on it as well: snow avalanches, falling rock and crevasses. And the mountain draws in weather fronts of all kinds, so you have to be ready for changeable conditions. The success of a climb depends not only on how well prepared the party is but also on the weather. As they say, if the mountain lets you, you will reach the summit.<\/p>\n
The climb took us a full five days, including a day of waiting out bad weather. The approach to the route starts from base camp on the Jily-Su narzan meadow, at 2670 metres. You can get there by car, or on foot from a village with the interesting name of Khurzuk. If you decide to walk, your rucksacks can be sent up by car. On the way you can sample the local treats: wild strawberries and raspberries grow at the roadside. There is no organised base below the route in the Jily-Su area. There is an emergency service base, which does not operate in winter. If you are good at talking to people, try coming to an arrangement with the rescuers \u2014 nothing ventured, nothing gained, or at least it is worth a try.<\/p>\n
There are also narzan springs and bathing pools at Jily-Su. You can rest in them after the climb and get your strength back before going on. At weekends traders sometimes come up here, and with luck you can buy any food you are short of. Not far from the rescue base there is a shepherds’ camp where you can buy cheese, ayran and meat.<\/p>\n
I have to say the approach to the camp at 3500 metres is genuinely interesting. The country here is remarkably beautiful, and you often see comical ground squirrels and yaks, the traditional animals of these parts. Daisies, forget-me-nots and other beautiful local flowers grow all around. There are also patches covered entirely in thick moss, which you can sink into.<\/p>\n
This is our second day in the mountains already, and it is hard to believe. The approach to the ice took us two days at a steady pace. If you want, though, you can cover that distance in one. There were no difficulties up to 3900 metres, only scree, which is better crossed in helmets and in a tight group.<\/p>\n
There are prepared tent platforms at the camp below the Utyug. I want to thank the earlier groups who took the trouble to build comfortable pitches and put up windbreak walls. Our own team left the platforms clear of litter, and a few more pitches for the generations to come.<\/p>\n
Our third day in the mountains turned into an unplanned rest day. We were waiting for the weather to let us carry on with the climb. The time was not wasted, though: we ran several excellent training sessions led by two masters of sport, which proved very useful for the climb. Who knows, perhaps the weather deliberately gave us a chance to pause for something genuinely important. On the same day we did an acclimatisation walk and studied the next part of our route up to the western plateau, where one of the hardest sections lies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Related:<\/strong> all Elbrus routes and programmes<\/a> – the classic route from the south<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These places are never crowded. There are no lifts and […]<\/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-37354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n