All things. We need to set new goals. But somehow all this was in very distant plans and conversations. In July 2015 Transaero (blessed memory) put everything in its place. By chance, tickets from St. Petersburg to Minvody and back at a price of 5300 rubles caught my eye. It was immediately decided that we take. We wrote a post in contact - and in a couple of days there were as many as 8 people who wanted to climb Elbrus. Then there were 2 months of preparation: searching for a guide and a more budget option, correspondence, discussing the details, digesting in my head what we actually fit into and searching for equipment. They flew by unnoticed. It was September 10th - the day of departure.

First day: departure and Minvody

The most ordinary airport. Nothing special.

The flight was not without incident. One of the members of the expedition was so intensely “preparing for the flight” that he overslept and had to urgently go and wake him up individually. And this is two hours before departure. The telephone receiver was turned off. Fortunately, the flight was eventually postponed by an hour. Everyone made it. It is worth noting that due to problems with work, one of the alleged participants in the trip still could not escape. 6 people flew out of St. Petersburg. And the seventh character (an aborigine of the city of Sochi) joined us already in Minvody. There is nothing to write about the flight. What is the cost of such and flight. Killed Boeings, aged 20-30. They don't fall and it's good. According to the plan, the transfer in Moscow was short - only an hour. Due to the transfer of the St. Petersburg-Moscow flight, we barely managed to run to the transfer. The plane was waiting for us on purpose, but the luggage did not have time to transfer.

Minvody

Compared to the cloudy cool September St. Petersburg in Minvody, it was just like summer heat. Still, a couple of thousand kilometers to the south. Not the tropics, of course, but still. As mentioned above, our luggage did not arrive. The usual story for connecting flights with short transfers. We spent half an hour on bureaucracy. They promised to deliver our luggage to the hotel, and it was supposed to arrive on the next flight from Moscow around 8 pm. Then we went to look for something to get on. Traditionally, we refuse a taxi and sit in some kind of minibus. Having traveled half the distance to the desired address, we unload, and walk the rest of the distance.

Guesthouse "Sofia" and surroundings

In Minvody we had to spend only 1 night. The next day at 12:00 we had an appointment with a guide at the railway station. They did not stand on ceremony with the hotel for a long time: a couple of weeks before departure, they went to Agoda and chose a cheaper option and booked it. The room was, in fact, a one-room apartment in a one-story private house. The room has 6 beds. A folding sofa in the kitchen was supposed to be the seventh bed. The whole thing cost about 3500r. for everyone. That is, 500 rubles. from the nose. There is a shower / bath, everything is in order, even there are towels and a full kitchen. It's ok to stay 1 night. After checking in, we walked down the street in search of a store. We found a canteen. They ate almost everything that remained unsold at the end of the working day. They asked how much vodka cost. 140 rub. In the cafe. Bottle!

Second day: meeting with the guide

We go to meet the guide at the railway station.

Live in the mountains.

Clean, nice, a little Soviet.

As a result of the evening - the meeting was late for half an hour. But it seems to be allowed. The guide met us at the station and took us to the meeting point, where there were 2 minibuses, an assistant guide and the eighth participant in the trip. It turned out to be Pavel from St. Petersburg. He, as it turned out later, made the decision to travel just after seeing my post in VKontakte. We load and go to the Adyr Su gorge.

Mountains in the clouds.

There we were supposed to have the acclimatization part of the program: getting used to the heights, living in tents, and at the same time admiring mountain beauties North Caucasus. But, something went wrong. The gorge is located in the border zone and a special permit is required to visit it.

The scale of the stones is amazing!

The lift only lifts cars. No car - walk up the stairs.

But downstairs I had to walk.

Swill, of course, but warms well.

The flow of the river is quite strong. You shouldn't swim there.

Caucasian "chocolate hills".

Adyr-su is the right tributary of the Baksan River.

Muddy streams of the river. They are cloudy because of the minerals in the river.

After an awkward moment with customs. We go down and wait for the car.

The organizers of the trip did not take into account one detail, that one of the participants in our trip was a citizen of Ukraine. According to the border guards, to stay in the border zone, a special permit was required, which is done in advance. Attempts to resolve the issue on the spot did not lead to anything. We were not allowed into Adyr-Su. The situation was not very pleasant, but, nevertheless, not hopeless. The trip program was promptly changed and we went straight to Cheget, Elbrus region for acclimatization. A couple more hours of waiting and we are loaded onto the bus again. Two hours later we arrive at the Cheget glade at the base with the touching name "Reserved Tale".

Very small but fast stream.

This is our house.

With a mountain view.

Alcohol in the Elbrus region

Despite the fact that we, it seems, were going to conquer a mountain that was not easy in terms of altitude, the issue of alcohol was studied in detail. Bottom line: in the Elbrus region, in small shops everywhere, you can easily buy singed vodka without any problems. It costs by metropolitan standards just obscenely cheap 100-150r. for half a litre.

Light beer after a long journey.

Already in the camp. Drink beer =)

Real Zhigulevskoe. Beer brewed locally =)

Beer, on the other hand, is relatively expensive. A bottle of locally produced beer, mostly unpasteurized, costs an average of 70 rubles. In many local cafes and restaurants, alcohol usually costs about the same as in stores. You can also bring alcohol purchased outside the establishment. There are no problems with this.

Why do people go to mountains? It seems to be a simple question, but for some reason you will never hear a clear answer. Maybe because there is no universal, correct answer? Everyone who goes to the mountains has his own goal, his own motive. To achieve something previously impossible for you. Test yourself. Test a friend or girlfriend with whom you go camping. To prove to someone that you are no worse than you could, reached. Switch, escape from reality. Take a wonderful photo at the edge of the world. You can think of many more reasons. But is it necessary to do it? Probably, not. Still, mountaineering is not mountains. These are people who go to the mountains together.

For me, mountaineering in general and Elbrus in particular began six months before the ascent. With reflections on how to spend the upcoming vacation. Underwater adventures have already been. Water too. What's next? Or higher? The mountains? Why not? I had no experience of mountain hiking, not to mention mountaineering. I started by researching the issue on the Internet. What kind of mountains do we have? What do you need to know and be able to go to the mountains? What equipment is needed? How hard is it physically? Even a cursory acquaintance with the materials of Internet sites dedicated to mountains was enough to understand that this is by no means entertainment, but a lot of hard work and struggle. Fight with yourself. Not with a mountain. It cannot be "conquered", as some say. They stood long before us, and will stand for a very long time when we are no more. A person can only briefly climb the mountain if SHE wants to let him go. Spend a little time at the top, for a moment, soaring above the clouds. And go downstairs, if SHE decides so and wants to let go of the little man who disturbed her peace.

In all this time, people treated the mountains with respect. In the legends of many peoples, it is said that gods live on the tops of the highest mountains. The Greeks believed that Zeus lived on Mount Olympus. And, according to a Chechen legend, Pkharmat (Prometheus) was chained to Mount Kazbek. According to this legend, Prometheus was a giant who stole fire for people. For this, the gods severely punished him. But the suffering of the hero did not end there. Every evening the hoopoe comes and pecks at his heart. The Balkars have a legend that during the Flood, Noah's ark touched the top of Elbrus sticking out of the water. It hit with such force that the top of the mountain split in two. Noah, tired of sailing at the behest of the waves, asked for refuge from the mountain. Not forgiving the disrespectful attitude, the mountain refused. Then Noah cursed the top: “And even if spring is at your feet, and flowers will bloom, let the middle be always in autumn, and the peaks will be in eternal winter.” And since then, the top of Elbrus, bifurcated by the ark, has been covered with eternal ice and snow.

This mountain, covered with various legends in the epic of many peoples, had to be climbed. A prerequisite for a successful ascent is, among other things, the availability of equipment necessary for such a case. By the way, it's pretty cheap. At that time, I had practically nothing. I had to study on the Internet what people wear to the mountains now. Learned a lot about modern high-tech clothing. For six months, little by little, I bought the necessary equipment. I tried to take goods only from well-known, proven brands that make equipment for climbers - Sivera, Bask, Marmot, RedFox. When the issue of equipment more or less cleared up, I thought about the physical preparation for the hike. To begin with, as a warm-up, I went on a hiking trip across the Crimea in May. To my chagrin, I realized that there was nothing to do with such a physical form in the Caucasus. I had to urgently, because. time was already running out, to do physical education. BUT The best way preparing for mountain climbing is running. Swimming is also very helpful. In winter it would be nice to go skiing. But now it was summer, the time for skiing had gone. What loads to give when running? For myself, I decided simply - I start with 2 kilometers a day, gradually increasing the distance, after 3 weeks I bring it up to 10 kilometers. He completed the task, although of course, with 10-kilometer runs, there was no question of daily training - the body did not have time to rest. It was necessary to redraw the mode and composition of training. After consulting with a professional trainer, I settled on three full workouts a week. As practice has shown, this was enough to prepare for the campaign. For 3 months of such training, I lost 10 kilograms of excess weight. This result was encouraging, but of course nothing was guaranteed. It was necessary to start classes earlier, at least six months, and preferably a year, so that before leaving for the mountains, 2-3 weeks before climbing, slow down the pace of training a little to restore the body's strength. Indeed, with such active training before the trip itself, there is another risk - a decrease in immunity. Unexpectedly, sores that you did not even suspect can “emerge”. And the course of diseases in highlands is much more acute than in the plains. On the eve of departure, my temperature rose to 38 degrees. No more visible, for me, a non-specialist, symptoms were observed. There was no time to run to the doctors. The question arose whether to go or not. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to take a chance. In the end, I had a few days for treatment on the way south with a layover in Moscow. As it turns out, I made the right decision. After a couple of days I felt fine.

I got to Pyatigorsk, where the meeting of the group was scheduled, by train. I was somewhat surprised by the conductor's question about my documents. It turned out that the train is going through Ukraine and we have to double-cross the border. My documents were in order. I did not expect any trick from the customs officers. But in vain. As it turned out, you can’t carry knives with a fixed blade on trains. And I had one just like that. And a young boy from Udmurtia, with whom we were traveling in the same compartment, also had a knife of this type. We passed the Russian-Ukrainian border normally. Already on the territory of Ukraine, a policeman is filling up with us in a compartment. I asked my fellow traveler, Misha, if he had a knife with him. Of course have. Show. I sit nearby, and my knife lies on the table. But the cop doesn't even look at him. In short, after a short conversation in the vestibule, Mikhail's knife leaves with the policeman.

In Pyatigorsk, the group gathered early in the morning at the station. There were three of us: our guide Alexander, Ivan and me. There were a few hours before the opening of the grocery store, and we decided to take a little walk around the city, along its old part. The city is pretty clean. Narrow streets. Right on the street there is a house where you can drink narzan for free. Typical seaside town.

our team

Pyatigorsk, Lermontov St.

Having bought provisions, we returned to the station, where a minibus had been waiting for us for a long time. We dived and went on a three-hour trip to the Adyl-Su gorge in the Elbrus region. I felt the local color even on the road, when we stopped at a gas station. I haven't seen such old gas stations for a long time. And none of them worked. But on the other hand, there was a fuel truck nearby, and those who wished could refuel directly from it. Great service!

Herds of cows roam freely along the road, feeling like owners. Nobody looks after them. And where can you go from the gorge? Especially a lot of cows accumulate on bridges. They are cool there from the river and blown by the wind. The condition of the road surface on the bridge is appropriate - like in a barn. Local jigits, on their iron horses, carefully drive around the herds, trying not to hurt anyone.

Several stationary checkpoints passed along the road. Soldiers on duty at roadblocks do not like being photographed. The city of Tyrnyauz, the center of the Elbrus region, was built as a city of miners extracting tungsten and molybdenum. It is located at an altitude of 1300 m above sea level. When in 1938, as a result of geological exploration, it became clear that tungsten and molybdenum ores were suitable for industrial development, a decision was made to build a tungsten-molybdenum plant. In Soviet times, the plant worked, giving the opportunity to live to the whole city, it was a city-forming enterprise. In the nineties, the plant was closed. Currently, attempts to resuscitate the plant do not lead to anything, because. tungsten and molybdenum mined here are very expensive and cannot compete with metals supplied from China.

We stopped at a tent camp in the Adyl-Su gorge. We walked to the border post. Alpine camps Shkhelda, Elbrus, Dzhantugan were located behind it. But you can't get into the border zone without a pass. A pass must be ordered 2 months in advance. Having photographed against the backdrop of mountains and fasting, they began to descend back to the camp.

Camping

The next day we were waiting for the first acclimatization trip to the mountains with two overnight stays. We went out in the morning. We went down the road to the village of Elbrus. We went through it, briefly going to the store to buy more bread. Having gained a couple of hundred meters in height, we went to the Narzan source. Unusually tasty water runs in a powerful stream from a pipe neatly inserted into the slope of the gorge. Unforgettable and incomparable, refreshing taste. The beauty of the mountains around you. And below, as in the palm of your hand, you can see the village of Elbrus. But it's too early to relax. It's time to go.

Elbrus village

We went along the Irik River along the Irik Gorge. On the way there are climbers to Elbrus from the East. Normal dialogue: Hello! From Elbrus? Did you go to the mountain? Sometimes Alexander asked a few more questions, or suggested some points to the travelers. And further and higher. We did not go to the Irik glacier, but turned into the Irikchat gorge. Perhaps the most vivid impression of the beauty of the mountains is associated with this gorge. Unfortunately, photography cannot convey all the greatness and power of the mountains. It must be seen, it must be experienced on the spot.

Irik Gorge

Having risen to a height of 2600 meters, we arranged the first overnight stay. Not far from the tent, a mountain stream flowed from the glaciers. Ivan went to freshen up in a small font formed by a dam on a stream a little further downstream. To say that water invigorates is to say nothing. Scorchingly cold, icy. In the meantime, the sun had set behind the mountain. It immediately got very cold. We reached into our backpacks for warm jackets and fleeces. A cloud of fog crept along the gorge. This cold air, descending from high mountains, meets the sun-warmed earth in the gorge, forming a cloud before our eyes. Ten or fifteen minutes pass and we are in a fog. Visibility is no more than a hundred meters and continues to decline. It's time, having previously removed all things under the canopy of the tent, thereby protecting them from getting wet, go to bed. But he doesn't sleep. We talk about life in an undertone. About places where they went with backpacks. About plans for the future. Suddenly, the silence of the night is broken by the sharp cry of a bird. Freeze. Silence. Darkness. Wait, where is Ivan? He wanted to read some book in English before going to bed near the tent by the light of a headlamp. But the light next to the tent is not visible. We lean out of it on different sides. We scream into the night. We peer deeply into the darkness, hoping to spot a ray of light. What happened to him? Various thoughts run through my head. After a few infinitely long seconds of waiting, they saw a flash of light fifty meters away. Relieved from the heart. It turned out that he went off to take some night photos of the mountains without warning anyone. Reckless act. Those are mountains. You have to be careful. And walking at night alone with a flashlight on a scree of stones can lead to very deplorable consequences. Before going to bed, we measure the pulse. Counted 117 beats per minute. This started the process of acclimatization. Once in the mountains, especially for the first time, you need to listen very carefully to your well-being in order to avoid the negative consequences of the impact of altitude.

Place of the first night

The next day we went further, under the pass of Russian officers. Gradually the grass underfoot becomes less and less. Only stones. Bigger and small. More and more islands of snow come across. We leave on a small flat area at an altitude of 3600 meters. Nearby are large boulders and a snowfield. We leave our backpacks and go to the pass lightly. Along the way, Sasha tells how to walk in the mountains. For example, when ascending and descending a slope, the minimum possible distance between participants must be observed. With such a movement, a stone that accidentally breaks out from under the foot of the leading stone, without having time to pick up speed, will be stopped by the tourist following him. For conversations we gradually rise to the pass. This is my first pass. Pass difficulty category 1B. Height 3819. Technically, it is nothing complicated. But emotionally, it's a huge step forward. First step. And the first step is the hardest. And here we are at the top. We open a plastic bottle left in the tour of stones on the pass. There's a note from the last group that passed through here. Who is going where. When they passed. Someone's note was taken away, putting their own. I ask, will we write? It turns out that it is written only when passing the pass, i.e. up the pass on one side and down the other. Our descent follows the path of ascent.

On the descent from the pass, we noticed three mountain goats - aurochs, which were closely following us from the mountain steeps. With incredible ease, as if on wings, they galloped along the sheer walls. I imagined how fast I would go this way. The comparison is clearly not in my favor. And not in favor of a person in general. After observing us from afar, they descend below. Hoping for something delicious. But we ourselves have provisions in the account. Feeding three hefty rounds is not in our plans. Before lights out, all supplies must be securely hidden so that the next day of the campaign does not become “unloading” in terms of food.

Trouble happens on the way to the camp. Stepping on a moving, “live” stone, I unsuccessfully fall onto a trekking stick and bend it in the middle. Looked like there are no cracks. I'll try to fix it if I don't break it. Without it, Elbrus is hard to go.

In the evening, the pulse was measured. 97 beats per minute. The body gets used to the altitude. The head is a little heavy, but does not hurt. This is good. We spent the night okay. The tours didn't come close. They had nothing to live in the camp. They must have felt it.

Got up in the morning. We had breakfast. The tent is damp with dew. But until the sun rises, it will not dry out. I had to wait. We managed to take pictures, sunbathe, slowly collect our backpacks. Illuminated by the sun, the tent dried quickly. We started the descent. We met many climbers, mostly foreigners - Czechs, Slovaks, Italians.

drank cold water from a Narzan source, stocked up for the future. In the village of Elbrus, they bought a bottle of home-made Ayran. It is so thick that you have to eat it with a spoon. There is no comparison with what we sell in stores. Just two different products.

We came to Saklya, our guest house. We set up a tent. Tonight is rest. You can relax a little. We had dinner with two Czechs. One turned out to be the director of a large furniture store. The second - lieutenant colonel, head of the criminal police. Both understand Russian quite well. Still, they were well taught Russian in Czechoslovakia. They treated us to Czech vodka. We them - local beer. We prepared borscht. Have a great time, relax. The next day they were also going to Elbrus. And they planned to climb the next night. Just monsters.

In the evening, another problem with ammunition was discovered. My trekking shoes did not stand the test of the Caucasian trails. The soles of both boots were broken. It was impossible to climb in such shoes. I had to rent shoes. Buying normal climbing shoes for one time is too expensive.

The next day, in the morning, a gazelle was supposed to come for us to throw us at the foot of Elbrus. We plunged into the gazelle. On the way, we left for storage in one of the hotels things that were unnecessary on the ascent. At the box office I took boots, high-quality and inexpensive, 250 rubles per day. Subsequently, he was repeatedly convinced of the correctness of this decision. They made climbing so easy. In addition to the physical component - good shoes on your feet, the psychological component is also important - confidence in your equipment and, as a result, confidence in achieving the goal.

On the lift we went up to the station "Mir", located at an altitude of 3500 meters. It was already wet, cool and windy here. Temperature +5°С. Put on warm clothes. It's good that we had plenty of them. It was a pity to look at those who climbed here just to ride the lift and look at the mountains. A sharp rise to a height, windy weather with drizzling rain and the lack of warm and wind-moisture protective clothing made real martyrs out of the tourists. Many, just leaving the building cable car, took a couple of pictures for memory and, frozen, quickly returned back to warm up. Our path lay even higher. By chairlift we rise to the mark of 3870 meters. All. Further on foot. Of course, you can also climb on a snowcat - a special caterpillar machine used for training ski slopes, as well as for the transport of goods and rescue work. But this is somehow uninteresting, unsportsmanlike. We decided to climb on foot to a height of 4200. This will be our advanced base camp, from which we will go to storm the summit. On the way we pass "Barrels" - a camp for climbers, which is a huge iron barrels, in which there are 4 beds and a small table. They are placed if it is necessary to carry out acclimatization on the mountain. You can also go on the assault from the barrels. Although walking is a bit far. On a snowcat just right. But we were already at that height. We need higher. At 4100 meters, there are the remains of the highest mountain hotel in the world, the Shelter 11, which burned down in 1997.

We stopped on a rocky ridge, formed after the passage of a lava flow here. The place is excellent, flat, protected from the wind. Only here is a huge stone that hung right above the tent ... He looked at it from one side, from the other. Seems to be strong. But all in deep cracks. And just below the parking lot I saw a piece that had once broken away from it. By themselves, the words from Vysotsky's song "... and the stone that gave you peace ..." did not look like a monument. And then I remembered other words: “Stop talking. Forward and upward, and there ... After all, these are our mountains, They will help us! We need to calmly prepare for the ascent.

Didn't sleep at night. At altitude, he generally falls asleep poorly and sleep is superficial. Such is the effect of height. The higher we go, the less pressure. And consequently, the oxygen content in the inhaled air. First, the body tries to deal with its lack of rapid breathing. The heart rate increases. Shortness of breath appears. If we rise higher, it won't be enough. There must be deeper changes in the body. Full acclimatization is obtained by being at altitude for 3 weeks. If you climb too fast, altitude sickness can develop. Its manifestations, on the rise: headache, sleep disturbance, mood swings, loss of appetite; weakness, nausea and vomiting, fever; development of cerebral or pulmonary edema, coma and death.

The next day, an exit to the Pastukhov rocks was planned. This is a stone ridge named after the Russian military topographer, climber, geodesist, glaciologist and explorer of the Caucasus Andrei Vasilyevich Pastukhov. The lower edge of the rocks is at the level of 4600 meters. Upper - 4800. Climbing these rocks is not technically difficult, but important in terms of acclimatization before storming the summit. Last check of yourself and equipment. Before leaving, we put on crampons. We learn to walk in them. Tomorrow, these skills will be very useful. We reached the rocks quickly. The weather is excellent. But for how long? She has been favoring the climbers for 3 weeks already. Someday this must end. Characteristic clouds appear in the sky - harbingers of bad weather. Tomorrow we must definitely try to go down the mountain. The second chance, most likely, the weather will no longer provide.

Three heroes

After taking pictures on the rocks, we go down to the tent. The snow is wet. Streams gurgle under the melted snow. We try to avoid them carefully. Although we are in waterproof mountain shoes with a membrane, no one wants to wet their feet unnecessarily. Drying it out will be difficult.

Alexander went to the camp. And Vanya and I decided to go to the neighboring rocky ridge, where we had not yet been. To better get used to the height, you should not sit, but move. Not fast, not hard. But constantly.
After walking for another hour, we also went to the tent. It is necessary to have dinner, prepare for tomorrow's ascent and go to bed early. They start to storm the summit at about 3 o'clock in the morning. Usually the ascent takes 8-10 hours. At one in the afternoon, regardless of whether you reached the top or not, you have to turn back in order to return to the camp before dark. Cold nights should not be allowed. This is the name of an overnight stay without a tent and a sleeping bag. After all, we go light, and we don’t take anything with us to spend a comfortable night on the mountain. Only an ice ax, a thermos with hot tea. Snack - a handful of nuts and dried fruits. Spare gloves and jacket. They went to sleep. But something is not sleeping. All sorts of thoughts come into my head. How will the mountain meet us? What will the weather be like? And dozens more questions. Important and not so important. You try to think them over, to let them pass through you. Then it dawns on me - this height is playing such a joke with us. One of the symptoms of altitude sickness is poor sleep. You need to calm down and try to sleep. Can I take some pill from my first aid kit? No, I'll try to sleep without drugs. If I don't fall asleep in half an hour, then I'll take it. For now, I'll just count the sheep. And not simple, but mountainous. One mountain sheep, two mountain sheep, three mountain sheep. And imperceptibly I fall into a dream. At about ten o'clock in the evening, through my sleep, I hear the hysterical rumble of snowcats going upstairs. So something happened. Too late for walks. After a while they went down. Already with unlucky climbers on board. It turns out that a couple of tourists, having not gained sufficient acclimatization, went to the Pastukhov rocks. And there they were covered by a miner - mountain sickness. They could no longer move on their own. I had to call the equipment for an urgent descent down. Altitude drop is the best and only cure for altitude sickness. All kinds of medications only relieve the symptoms without eliminating the cause itself. And there is a big risk behind it. By medically suppressing the signals that the body gives - “You can’t rise higher!” - we can reach heights, from where we can no longer descend without outside help, thereby driving ourselves into a trap. At the same time, one must understand that the rescuers are, of course, strong, hardy people with excellent acclimatization. But they are People (that's right, with a capital letter), but not GODS. There is no need to consciously bring the situation to that critical point, when you yourself can no longer cope with it. It is necessary to predict possible scenarios for the development of events. Rescuers, of course, will do everything possible so that the mountain tourist (alpinist) who has received his portion of adrenaline, is lowered down alive and, if possible, healthy. And they do it, often risking their own lives. If a person has a desire to test himself for strength in extreme conditions, then let his own life be put at stake. And not the lives of dozens of people trying to save him.

Woke up at about one in the morning. The backpacks were already packed from the evening. Sasha was the first to get out of the tent. He looked critically at the sky. Clouds. The stars are not visible. This is bad. The weather starts to deteriorate. Last nights were stellar. We accept (or rather, they bring to us) the decision that we should try to make an attempt to climb this night. Because there may not be another opportunity in the coming days. But we must be prepared that in bad weather we will have to retreat before reaching the top. Well, let's take a chance. We put on cats, backpacks behind our backs, and forward.

We leave the rocky ridge on the snow. On the route, garlands of lanterns are already visible, with which the climbers illuminate their path. Moreover, the lights are visible both above and below us. We start moving. One step, one more step. We're going in a zigzag. We place our legs wide, the width of the foot, as taught, so as not to get sharp cats on the leg, not to fall on the slope, not to hurt the leg. We are overtaken by a snowcat coming from somewhere below. Probably from Shelter 11. He has 20 climbers on board. Let's go take the summit, damn it. No, we do not need such mountaineering. We'll get there on our own.

We approach the place of rest, from which about a dozen climbers have departed. On the ground lies a one and a half liter plastic flask for water. We call out to the retreating group - who forgot the flask? In response, they shout - “You don’t need it, take it if you need it!” Indeed, its contents froze in the cold, crystallized and moved inside the jar like thick sour cream. There is little sense from such a drink. And the rise has just begun. Someone was left without a drink. Although the group is large. Will share. There will be no problems. I had to take a thermos on the ascent. Preferably with red tea. At altitude, it goes better than black or green. Or you can use special energy drinks for athletes. In general, taste sensations change at altitude. I want to eat more hot spices. Ordinary food may not go at all, seem insipid and tasteless.

We approach the Pastukhov rocks. I adjust the flashlight on my head. And suddenly it dawns on me - I did not take sunglasses. Yes, it's a number. I talk about this to Alexander. He raises his hand to his head - he also forgot to take his glasses. And without them on the mountain in any way. Situation. Cursed. What to do? If we turn back, on this day we will not have time to ascend again. I start looking for options. I have a wind mask. At the level of the lips in the mask there is a mesh for breathing. If you pull it higher, to eye level, then the road, in bright light, will be visible. I'll try and do that. Sasha has a spare set of glasses in his backpack. Let's break through!
A little higher than the Pastukhov rocks, they caught up with the first large group climbers. These are the snowmen who overtook us along the way. And now we overtake them, despite the big odds. Okay, let's go. The path slowly turns to the left. I understand that we are going out on an oblique ledge. Becomes brighter. You can already go without flashlights. Step. Step. Step. Many, many more steps up the hill. The sun is shown above the mountain, illuminating the mountains of the main Caucasian ridge with its light. I recognize Donguz-Orun with its Seven glacier. Indeed, this glacier in the middle of the mountain makes a 90-degree turn, forming a profile that resembles the number seven. We saw him at the exit to the Irik gorge. Opposite us rises Cheget. And many more peaks and glaciers with unusual to hearing, but beautiful and sonorous names. So we met the dawn on top of Europe. Time to put on my makeshift goggle mask. Its front part is made of windproof material - windblock. You can only breathe through a special mesh. I pull the mask over my head, I try to inhale - it wasn’t there. Windblock blocked the access of oxygen in the already highly rarefied atmosphere. I take a couple of breathy breaths. From lack of oxygen, it immediately becomes cloudy and swims in the eyes. You feel like a fish thrown ashore. It was not enough for you to be "led" and you fell on a steep slope. Trekking poles in hand. The ice ax is fastened to the backpack, they will not be able to cut themselves. You can drive many tens of meters until you can stop. I pull the bottom of the mask off my face, exposing my mouth and nose, leaving only my eyes covered. I take a few deep breaths. It gets easier. So I will go further. Forward. Gradually the slope becomes more and more comfortable. We are going to the saddle. This is a huge flat field between the two peaks of Elbrus, Eastern and Western. It seems huge. 800 meters long. The sun is already shining brightly enough. It bakes. On the saddle staged a small snack. We ate a handful of dried fruits, took a sip of tea. The food doesn't impress. I just automatically threw food into my mouth, chewed a little. swallowed. No taste sensations. This is also one of the manifestations of height - loss of appetite and a change in the taste of familiar foods. Well, at least the food is not asked back. It lies quietly at the bottom of the stomach and, slowly, is digested. But they drank tea with great pleasure. When driving in the mountains, you lose a lot of water, up to 5-6 liters per day versus 2-3 liters under normal conditions on the plain. This occurs mainly with sweat and through pulmonary respiration, since the air at altitude is very dry. After 5 minutes we moved on. We pass fumaroles. In our case, these are holes located on the slope of the volcano and are a source of hot gases. The gases that come out of them may be unbreathable. But these fumaroles are quite harmless. On the contrary, you can wait out the bad weather in them, since the air inside them is warm, not poisonous, and the entrance to the fumarole is narrow, but a person can freely enter it .. The fumarole itself resembles a cave that can accommodate up to 20 people. About 50 meters away from them, the remains of a hut destroyed by the winds are visible. It was put up a couple of years ago so that tourists, caught in bad weather on the mountain, had a chance to wait out the bad weather in a hut, in relative comfort and coziness. However, the wooden structure could not withstand the gale-force winds blowing on the saddle. Maybe a more reliable shelter will be built later. But so far, nothing is better for salvation than hiding in fumaroles.

Behind the saddle there is a steep ascent to the western summit. Carefully we pass it, and we leave on a plateau. You can already see the top from there. This is a small elevation, 15 meters high. We overcome it in one breath, one more jerk, and that's it. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!! We've arrived!

What do you feel when you stand on top of a mountain? Of course, the joy of reaching the top. We ascended. Reached. Wherever you turn your head, you look down at the mountains. Clouds are also somewhere below. You are at the top. And you understand that from this point the road goes only down. Breathing hard. Height presses, makes itself felt. Dropping backpacks. We get cameras. It is necessary to take a mandatory photo at the top of the tour. On the western peak of Elbrus, this is a stone about a meter high. Near it lies a lot of flags that the climbers left here. Several panoramic photos. We are at the top for 10-15 minutes. Then you have to go down. The weather is getting worse.

Vertex. 5642 meters.

We quickly reach the saddle. On an oblique shelf, I feel that the movements become somehow smooth, as if in slow motion. Covered. Slowly, but I'm going. It is necessary to drop about a kilometer of height in order to let go. They drank a sip of tea. Feeling as if reborn. From somewhere there were forces. It was not in vain that I took a large thermos, 1.5 liters, instead of the recommended liter ones. Without these tea breaks, it would be much more difficult.

In the middle of the oblique shelf, the neighbors are catching up with us. Our tents are next to each other. It turned out that they had a spare set of glasses, which came in handy for me. You can finally take off your mask and put on your goggles. Although the lack of side curtains on the glasses played a cruel joke on me - in just a couple of hours I managed to set my left eye on fire in the sun. As if he picked up “bunnies” during welding. The last kilometer of the descent went, looking at the world widely with the right eye, while screwing up the left one. Here we have already passed the oblique. Now straight down to the Pastukhov rocks. Height still makes itself felt, but the condition is improving.

I turn and take a last look at the peaks. Clouds have already formed above them. Those who are now at the top, not only will not be able to take good pictures. If it were not for the landmarks that stand every 30 meters, you can get lost at the top, go to the drop, break loose.

The sun melts the snow that holds the individual rocks. One of them, the size of a large watermelon, breaks off 15 meters from me and begins to slowly roll down. I shout "Stone!" The speed is small. Can it stop itself, braking on the firn? No. Having rolled a few meters and not meeting an obstacle, he accelerates along a steep slope. It hits another, larger stone and bounces up a couple of meters. It flies about fifteen meters in the air and hits a hard firn, carving a fountain of snow splashes, and continues, bouncing like a ball, to fly down. Two hundred meters below is a boy. The stone flies right at him. I've never seen anyone run so fast with a backpack. Managed to run away. The stone passed from him about three meters away. The sun melts the snow, which holds the individual stones. One of them, the size of a large watermelon, breaks off 15 meters from me and begins to slowly roll down. I shout "Stone!" The speed is small. Can it stop itself, braking on the firn? No. Having rolled a few meters and not meeting an obstacle, he accelerates along a steep slope. It hits another, larger stone and bounces up a couple of meters. It flies about fifteen meters in the air and hits a hard firn, carving a fountain of snow splashes, and continues, bouncing like a ball, to fly down. Two hundred meters below is a boy. The stone flies right at him. I've never seen anyone run so fast with a backpack. Managed to run away. The stone passed from him about three meters.

After 30 minutes, he reached the tent. Sasha poured an energy drink. Each sip was literally empowering. Congrats on the ascent. Congratulations on the mountain right below, upon arrival at the base camp. By the way, most emergencies happen not on the rise, but on the descent. Fatigue, melted snow, increasing avalanche danger and the likelihood of rockfalls. Changeable weather in the afternoon. The onset of dusk and many other factors can lead to an accident in the mountains.

The ascent took us 6 hours. Usually go for 8-10 hours. So we walked at a pretty good, sporty pace. The descent took me 3 hours and 40 minutes.

There is no desire to eat after such physical exertion. Lie down with your legs stretched out for at least a couple of hours. But there is no time. We need to get down to the camp today. I pop a few pieces of food into my mouth. Chew. I swallow. No taste is felt. I just replenish the calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates spent.

The tent is assembled. The mountain is already covered with a continuous cloud. Humidity begins to be felt, which, with the loss of altitude, turns into a drizzle. On the way to the Garabashi station we go through the snowy porridge. We try to bypass, as far as possible, puddles in the snow. True, not all of them are visible. A couple of times I fall into the snow, under which there is water. If it weren’t for good shoes, all my feet would definitely get wet through. And these are nothing, they endure, resist water. We approach the cable car. The queue is about 50 people. Mostly sightseers. Lightly dressed, not for the weather. Everyone is rushing down. It's our turn. We sit in the wet chairs of the cable car. It's already raining quite heavily. The wind dangles you in the air on a small seat. Lightning strikes are visible in the distance. Smells like ozone. Water flowing down the legs fills the boots with water. Still got my feet wet. Not from below, so from above. The gaiters would have saved me from that, but I've already taken them off.

We went down to Azau, the car was already waiting for us "under steam". On the way to Saclya, I rent out the rental shoes that helped me out so much. We stock up on branded beer "5642". We have the right to go down the mountain! We celebrated the ascent in a cafe. Balkar khychins, lagman, beer.

This is how we went to the highest point in Europe, the highest mountain in Russia - Elbrus, Western Peak, 5642 meters, category 2A. What's next? On the the globe there are many more interesting and beautiful places where I have not been. And where you should definitely visit. Maybe even with you, dear reader? So to be continued...

Valery Smetanin

photo Pavel Bogdanov - www.pavelbogdanov.ru

Step #5: To the mountains!

I arrived in Pyatigorsk a few days before leaving for the mountains. It was the right decision. There were several locals among the participants of the trip, so almost immediately after checking into the hotel I was taken to see the sights of the city. So the legends about the hospitality of this region are true.

One of the main attractions of Pyatigorsk is Mount Beshtau, which rises to 1400 meters above sea level. It offers a breathtaking view of the city. Despite the small height and ease of climbing, I, I confess, almost died: terrible shortness of breath, pulse under 200. There is only one thought in my head: “what else is Elbrus if I can’t climb such a small hill.” Subsequently, I observed the same condition in several participants in the campaign, who ended up in the camp almost immediately after the plane. Turns out it's all about acclimatization. It just takes time to get used to the altitude.

And one more plus of my “early” arrival: at the entrance to the city there is a large shopping center with two specialized stores. In one of them, I rented everything I needed and bought some of the things.

The next day we went to Kislovodsk, or rather to its Kurortny Park. It is considered the second largest in Europe, so it is almost impossible to get around it in one day. There are routes for the treatment of heart and vascular diseases. Yes, you heard right. It is the routes called "health paths". The doctor conducts an examination and instead of taking pills, he prescribes walks in the park, the purest mountain air and Narzan. There are only 6 programs, ranging from 1700 to 6000 meters.

Early in the morning with all things we gathered at the railway station. There for the first time I saw all my comrades on the hike, including the guides who checked our equipment. We boarded buses (it turns out there are all-wheel drive Gazelles), on the way we stopped at the nearest rental point so that someone would take the missing one, and hit the road. On the way, I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes, it was as if in another world. The road went along a mountain serpentine. There were just crazy views.

They couldn’t take us to the camp itself, so after we unloaded, we had to walk a few more kilometers. Herds of sheep ran past me, followed by an elderly dzhigit on a horse.

Due to the sudden change in altitude, some did not feel very well. By the way, one of the “tricks” of faster acclimatization is movement. It is advisable not to sit still, not to wallow in a tent, but to go for walks.

On the way to the camp, we passed through the Emmanuel glade, named after General G.A. Emmanuel, leader of the expedition that first reached the summit of Elbrus on July 23, 1829. We walked the same route and on the same days as the first successful expedition to Elbrus, only 186 years later.

Symbolic, isn't it?

"1829 from July 8 to July 11 Camp under the command of the General from the cavalry Emanuel"

Continuing to walk picturesque routes, marveling at the lack of civilization, people, mobile communications and a quick change in the weather, we reached our first camp. He was at an altitude of 2600 meters in Jily-Su (translated into Russian means " warm water"). This is an incredibly beautiful and interesting place. It was here that we first saw Elbrus up close.

The camp itself consisted of several fenced-in areas. There was a generator and several blocks in which the commandants of the camps and rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations lived. In the camp, electricity was sometimes turned on, there was a shower, a kitchen, and toilets. We set up tents, divided into groups, appointed duty officers and dealt with other domestic issues. And all this time, with every cell of my body, I enjoyed the views, the air, the open spaces, the feeling of being a grain of sand surrounded by majestic mountains.

The small dots on the left are our camp.

Evening came unnoticed. It was necessary to cook dinner and, naturally, I volunteered first. The menu was not the most diverse, but satisfying and useful. We had dinner and went to sleep in our tents.

Surprises began with the fact that I woke up at 5 am. For me, this fact is surprising, since I am a night owl, and I usually wake up late. This happened every day. But this fact was impossible not to rejoice. There is more time for admiring the stunning landscapes. Just imagine: on the one hand the rising sun, on the other - Elbrus. Cows graze in the valley. And all-consuming silence all around.

Early in the morning we had breakfast, took some food, water and went to look around. We did not climb the mountains, since not everyone could comfortably endure this height. Nevertheless, the day turned out to be very eventful: we went to the Sultan waterfall. The power of the natural elements could not fail to impress us. Being close to her was enchanting. A spring spouted from some crack in the rock. It turned out to be Narzan. Carbonated and delicious. I tried not to drink too much. The body is already overloaded with height, so it’s not worth frightening it with unusual drinks.

We passed through the Kalinov Bridge - a natural stone arch that hangs above the water at a height of about 15 meters. Of course, we took a dip in the narzan bath, a kind of natural “jacuzzi”. Baths help to improve the functioning of the cardiovascular, nervous and musculoskeletal systems, as well as connective tissues and digestive organs. You need to take a bath motionless: gas bubbles cover the entire surface of the body, it becomes warm, and towards the end of the 15-minute session, the skin on the body turns red, there is a burning sensation, as if you were whipped with nettles.

Late in the evening, tired and satisfied, we returned to the camp. We had dinner and went to bed in anticipation of a new day.

On this day we had a more serious acclimatization hike. First came to interesting place, called the "German airfield". Due to the unique relief, this place was used as a real military airfield during the Great Patriotic War.

Then we went even higher to a height of about 3100 to a place called “Stone Mushrooms”. We were taught to use trekking poles, walk on boulders, stones, and breathe properly.

It was interesting to watch how nature changed with the rise. Bright colors faded, giving way to muted shades, the flora became poorer because of the stony soil.

The exit was quite difficult. But we were helped (who would have thought) by an ordinary ascorbic acid.

The day ended with a descent to the base camp, household chores, a cup of bulgur for dinner, and, of course, a sound sleep.

According to the plan, on this day we were supposed to throw some things into our “upper” camp - to a height of 3700 - and then return to spend the night at 2600 in the lower camp. But since the group felt good and we were afraid to miss the clear weather, it was decided to save one day and immediately go up with everything you need (tents, food, gas cylinders). Guides advised not to take extra things with you.

I packed my backpack, grabbed some of the community food, some gas tanks, and was horrified by its weight. I have never lifted such a heavy backpack. We set out on the road. One of the girls immediately pulled a ligament in her leg. How she managed to get to the top, I never understood. Apparently, women are indeed more resilient than men. Hiking is the same as running: before going out with backpacks, you need to do a serious warm-up, and after a hitch. I had no injuries, no sprains, no muscle pain in the morning.

We walked almost the same route as yesterday, only already loaded with backpacks. Specially moved slowly, in a single rhythm. It is believed that it is much easier to go uphill with a heavy backpack.

The vegetation disappeared almost completely, we walked on huge black boulders. Sometimes they swayed underfoot. Sometimes they rolled. It's amazing how quickly the body gets used to a change in the situation! A couple of days ago, I would never have walked on such stones without insurance, but now I also had a huge backpack with me.

It was getting noticeably cooler. In places, ice was already visible between the stones.

After 7 hours of such an ascent, everyone was very tired. We tried to support each other. Personally, it helped me a lot to realize that many girls go with almost the same heavy backpack as I have. By the way, it was on this climb that I felt all the comfort of my backpack and light trekking boots. The weight of the backpack was somehow cunningly redistributed to the hips, the back was ventilated, the boots did not slip on the stones and did not braid each other.

On the way we passed the base of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. There we were given tea and we rested a bit.

To camp away from popular trails, one had to go further, already through the glacier. I had to put on climbing boots for the first time. And after about 9 hours of travel, we finally reached the place of our second camp.

It was a spit of black volcanic stone (moraine) in the middle of a glacier at the foot of Elbrus. The view was unique. Some kind of alien: ice, stones, wind, clouds floating underfoot. Although we were so tired that we didn't care anymore. In addition, we were at an altitude of 3700 for the first time, and each step was accompanied by shortness of breath. Somehow we set up tents, boiled water, had a quick bite to eat and quickly climbed into the tents to recover. The state was strange. There was fuss and nervousness, it was difficult to concentrate on something. I was looking for something in my backpack for about thirty minutes, someone wandered around the tent for a long time. We must have looked funny from the outside. So our brain was affected by a lack of oxygen. With the last of my strength, I climbed into the sleeping bag and instantly fell asleep.

Traditionally, I woke up at 5 am. The head was clear and calm. I left the tent: there were clouds under me, and Elbrus hung from above, glowing in the rays of the rising sun. We dressed in "space" clothes: membrane jackets and pants. Despite the fact that they are light and thin, it feels like you are walking in a spacesuit, since they are not blown. Well, and, probably, the height so acted on the fantasy.

After breakfast, we went to the acclimatization exit, to a height of 4500 to the Lenz rocks. We learned how to put on crampons, tied ourselves with a rope and hit the road. It is almost impossible to go fast at such a height, and, as it turned out later, it is harmful.

After several hours of climbing, a strong wind blew, and the sun disappeared behind the clouds. It got much colder. I had to warm up.

The temperature flurry continued. The sun came out from behind the clouds again, the wind died down, it became hot. I overheated in warm clothes. Yes, and quickened his pace to quickly reach the place of rest. And then I felt what mountain sickness is, or, as it is also called, “mountain sickness”. The condition resembled poisoning: nausea, wadded legs and severe weakness. I changed my clothes, lay down at a halt, drank tea and ate ascorbic acid. It became easier. When we returned to the camp, as if nothing bad had happened. Conclusion - it is better to go slowly and get a little chilly than fast and overheated.

On the way to the camp we saw an interesting cloud unusual shape, which was rapidly moving towards us. And literally in 10 minutes it covered us, driven by strong wind and snow.

We returned to the camp at about 18:30 and spent the rest of the evening dealing with domestic issues, relaxing, and thinking about the upcoming ascent.

We were given a rest day. We had to gain strength before climbing. You know, I was definitely lucky with the team. It's impossible to get bored with her. Despite the strong wind, we were even able to play cards

Our guide went to the base of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to find out the weather forecast. Being in the mountains is very important. It often happens that bad weather persists for weeks, and no matter how well prepared and equipped you are, climbing is impossible. In the mountains you are at the mercy of the elements, to compete and compete with which is akin to suicide.

We were lucky. The weather forecast was optimistic. Plus, the full moon was starting, which is a good sign. So it was decided to use the chance and start to the top tomorrow. Immediately, excitement ran through the camp. I was also very excited, I didn’t even think that I could fall asleep. Everyone began to gather, as we must leave the camp at one in the morning.

I went to the tent, quickly gathered a storm pack so as not to forget anything, put the necessary things into the pockets of my jacket, dragged my boots into the tent, climbed into the sleeping bag and prepared to suffer from insomnia. I did not believe that I could fall asleep at 6 pm in this state. But somehow he quickly fell asleep.

At midnight, we were waiting for a very early breakfast or an extremely late dinner. Whatever you prefer to call it. Ate a plate of buckwheat (one of the best options food before climbing), poured boiling water into a thermos and diluted it with isotonic instead of tea (a sports drink that provides the body with water, carbohydrates and minerals).

When the preparations were over, we tied ourselves with a rope and went into the darkness. The silence was broken only when it was necessary to jump over the cracks in the glacier. They say they are up to 200 meters deep. At about 5 o'clock in the morning we met the dawn on the slope of Elbrus. A stunning spectacle.

Around the same time, three rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations joined us. They walked a little behind and looked after us.

At about 6:20 we made a short halt at an altitude of 4500 (lower cliffs of Lenz). In the same place where 2 days ago I became ill. I intensely listened to my body and (oh, a miracle!) There were no signs of gornyazka. I was delighted, but did not relax, closely controlled my body, tried to calm my pulse and breathing. They took off the ropes, since there are no further cracks, and you can go not in a bunch.

Serious height, lack of oxygen, one-dimensional rhythm and pace of movement, equally swaying back in front of the walker introduced me into a trance state. It was difficult to estimate the time. It seemed to freeze. Sometimes he raised his head, assessed how close the summit was, and again became convinced that it seemed to be inaccessible.

So, slowly we reached the upper Lenz Rocks (about 5000 m). At this height, the rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations strongly advised some of our team not to climb further, as they noticed signs of an incipient “hill climbing” in them. The rest went on. It remains for us to overcome the “Eternal Dome”. This is a gentle snowy slope, behind which you can see the top of Elbrus, deceptively attracting with its proximity.

I started to feel weird. I took a step, counted to three, and took the next one. It may sound strange, but I was walking at such a snail's pace. Surprisingly, at such a constant pace, I began to overtake the rest of the participants. I turned on my favorite music, to which I ran and trained for Elbrus. The effect of height on the body has changed. I felt some pleasant feeling of euphoria, excitement, intoxication. Thoughts were spinning in my head about what is important to me: family, relatives, friends, colleagues. Step is a memory. Another is a picture from the past. Music intertwined with them in an amazing unity.

Suddenly, at some point, I realized that there was nothing else besides the person walking ahead of me. The weather deteriorated sharply, a strong wind blew with snow and nothing was visible beyond 15 meters. The situation, to put it mildly, is not very comfortable. I followed the same “man in front”. So we reached the edge of the volcano (Elbrus is a cooled volcano) and, as it were, it is believed that we climbed it. But somewhere further there should have been a memorial obelisk, where everyone takes pictures, and we went further.

The wind picked up and blew straight into my face. I tried to turn away from him and almost crashed into that very monument. Several of our members sat around him. The guide patted my shoulder and took some photos.

So, at about 12 noon on July 28, I climbed the eastern peak of Elbrus, 5621 meters high.

I just started to comprehend emotions, but from somewhere a rescuer of the Ministry of Emergency Situations appeared and ordered to urgently descend because of the storm wind. Adrenaline began to be produced furiously, new forces appeared, the head began to work clearly and clearly. In general, I felt great. Going down was much easier than going up, and the weather began to improve.

At about 18:00 we reached the camp and climbed into the tents to catch our breath. Then they sat down to drink tea and eat. Almost no one spoke, but comprehended what happened.

Again 5 am. Since we were tired of the rocks and ice, and the memories of our first camp came up in our heads, we asked the organizers to return to the lower camp. Green grass, warmth and delicious food awaited us there. By 10 am we broke camp and went down. The road was also not easy, but the anticipation of the camp gave strength.

When we got to the camp, almost the entire group experienced overwhelming bliss. And you know from what? We drank a can of cold cola, which someone was able to buy from the camp commandants. We decided that it would be reluctant to disassemble our backpacks and set up camp again, so a transport arrived for us a few hours later and took us to Pyatigorsk.

The rain has just stopped. When we were driving along the road, under which a kilometer-long abyss gaped, right below us we saw 3 rainbows at once. I saw this for the first time. Usually to admire it natural phenomenon, you need to lift your head high. The driver (a highlander who doesn't speak Russian well) turned on Joan Osborne - "One Of Us". We suddenly realized what a great adventure we had. And that we are a team, each of which gave 200%. A very bright feeling. We joked, laughed, rejoiced, finished eating stash of sweets. It was almost night when we checked into the hotel. When they reached the mirror and city clothes, everyone noticed that they had lost weight. My scales showed minus 6 kg.

Neither I nor the other members of the group wanted to sleep. And we went for a walk around Pyatigorsk at night. They drank tarragon from street vending machines, talked, admired the beauty and originality of the city. We went to the restaurant to finally eat regular food. We ate a piece and that's it ... we ate It's good that at least you thought of not eating more, but taking it with you - you need to smoothly return to ordinary food.

The next morning I got ready, handed over the things that I had rented. Then I went to the airport and within a few hours I was with my family, telling them about one of the most unusual vacations of my life.

P.S. We continue to communicate and meet with our group. Such a vacation really allows you to make new friends!

Idea to get to the top highest point Europe arose relatively recently, it arose somewhere at the beginning of the year. Initially, it was Tanya's dream, but she was able to infect me with it, and already at the beginning of the year we began to look for information on how to do this. Googling, I found out that everything is not so simple and finding a person at altitudes of more than 4000 m is fraught with some difficulties ... All climbers know firsthand what mountain sickness is, but a resident of the plain, having heard this phrase, does not take into account, but in vain. This is a very dangerous thing and if you do not take action in time, it can lead to death. The fact is that at altitudes of more than 3-4 km, low pressure and lack of oxygen in the air, the standard reaction is headache, nausea, vomiting. Sometimes this leads to such effects as pulmonary edema, cerebral hypoxia, loss of consciousness of coordination, etc. There are clear rules that must be observed in order to maximize the safety of the body getting used to mountain conditions. Climb no more than 1000 meters per day, and even less is better. Therefore, the ascent to the summit of 5600 m lasts at least a week, and preferably 10-12 days for complete acclimatization. Also, the conditions at the top are not sugary, the temperature can be -20 -30, a hurricane wind blows, it can be cloudy to such an extent that you can see a couple of meters ahead, so the issue of equipment for climbing should be considered with all seriousness. After reading the experiences of independent climbing and not feeling an avid climber in myself, I decided to order a ready-made tour, where we are accompanied by guides and control the ascent from the side, looking at your condition, if you don’t understand that you shouldn’t go further, then they go down. Generally main law climber, as I figured out for myself - turn back in time, even if the top is 100 meters from you, this is the key to saving yourself in an extreme situation. Having booked a tour for 2 people in the company http://www.bigmountain.ru/, we received a list of uniforms, which was not so small and much of this had to be rented, I advise anyone not to neglect this item. The list included thermal underwear, a fleece jacket, fleece pants, warm winter jackets and pants + a puff over the jacket, tops (hefty mittens) are put on the hands over the mittens) glasses + a ski mask, as protection from wind and ultraviolet radiation, special climbing boots on the feet + crampons, self-insurance, trekking poles, ice axe, thermos backpack, sunscreen, good headlamp, winter sleeping bag. Taking everything winter that was at home, plunged into the car and drove to the Caucasus.

corn is ripe :)

sky on the way

the village of Tyrnyauz, I immediately remembered the USSR

Day 0

We arrived from Yaroslavl to the city of Terskol in a day, this big base climbers and skiers in the Elbrus region, located at an altitude of 2000 m, they settled in the Salam hotel, in front of which they parked our car for the entire duration of our trip.

hotel Salam

At the Hotel we met our group - 5 more people, and everyone got to know each other at dinner. Everyone except us to some extent prepared for the ascent: someone ran a marathon, someone was just an athlete, a girl was a gymnast, only we were two photographers with trained fingers :)). We met with our guide, Albert - an amazingly silent person, reliable, in the end we learned how to get information out of him, but mostly we got it from Svetlana, his wife who organized this tour. For dinner, we were fed local Kabardian food, which seemed terribly tasty, which, however, was not confirmed later, we were fed much better upstairs in the shelter :)

day 1

In the morning everyone dressed in summer clothes for the first acclimatization climb to a height of 3000 m, had breakfast, ran to a nearby shop, found out that food prices were cheaper than at home, bought water and gathered on the porch waiting for our guide.

Albert came, immediately said to smear sunscreen and led us along the standard route to the observatory, sometimes cutting off the serpentine road through the forest.

Albert, Sergey, Alexey, Alexey, Sasha, Sasha, Tanya.

After the city, the mountain air seems unusually clean and fresh, the snowy peaks of the mountains in the distance are especially pleasing and it is hard to believe that soon we will be in this winter, which is now so far away. Everyone somehow rushed in unison like moose, and along the way I photographed the surroundings, shamelessly lagged behind and everyone was waiting for me at halts.

halt

The next day, the situation repeated itself and I already began to doubt my ability to overcome climbs :)Today everyone dressed too warmly and got too hot. Trekking poles helped me a lot to walk, unloading my legs, and Tanya, on the contrary, interfered, according to her, but it seems that in the end she used them to the fullest.

views of Mount Donguz-orun on the way

hiking trail up

views along the way

lava exits frozen in bizarre shapes

The way up was short, after a couple of hours we came to the waterfall girlish braids, and hung there for about half an hour photographing it and its surroundings.

Lyokha, a comrade from near Murmansk, went for a swim. In general, he is such a northern guy, he even went to the glacier at first in shorts, not to mention these summer warm-up exits

Albert, our guide.

After hanging out at the waterfall, we went further up trying to look out for Elbrus somewhere in the distance, an hour later we made a halt and a snack, where we measured the pulse of the whole group, everyone had about a hundred except our guide, who had 50, he didn’t perceive this part at all lifting as a load :)

halt, height 3000


view from the resting place, the observatory is on the left side of the frame, the glacier seven is in the center.

I was already preparing to move on to the observatory, as we were told that here we were turning around and going down, since today we still had to get into the rental. All my being rushed up there to this wonderful observatory, the ball of which was visible from above, very close, but everyone decided to go down. It was much faster to go down, then my knees hurt for the first time - an unusual load on my legs affected .. We went down in an hour, and just by that time the weather had deteriorated.

descent back to Terskol.

We sat down in the rooms waiting for the guide, who said he would come in an hour to inspect our uniforms in order to tell us what else was missing and needed to be rented. We pulled everything out onto the bed, laid it out nicely, and got ready for the inspection. Basically, everyone had to take climbing boots, crampons, tops, also those who did not have puffs, and many sleeping bags (we had our own). Having written everything down on a piece of paper, a friendly crowd went to the rental, where the meticulous uncle drove everyone out into the street and launched 2 people each to individually approach each uniform, try on everything :), While the first group was getting dressed, I went for the car and drove it to the entrance to take our Alp is a shmurdyak and do not drag him in our hands. At the box office, for two of us, we took equipment in the amount of 15 thousand (rental of 7 peaks), this is for 4 days. We met at dinner an interesting person “Ivan Filipych”, an elderly (over 70), but very perky guy, the head of the blast furnace service of the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works (former head of the department of the Institute of Steel and Alloys in Moscow), who every year goes on vacation to Elbrus. After his stories, everyone was overcome with excitement and everyone plunged into thoughts, we won’t climb up, and went to bed to sleep in such a mood :)) tomorrow at 9 in the morning we were supposed to move to a height of 3800 to a shelter with all the junk that we got today, but we didn’t Everything always works out as planned...

Elbrus - the highest Mountain peak Caucasus, Russia and even all of Europe. The legendary giant, a huge block of ice, which I always wanted to visit. Every summer, climbing Elbrus was considered as one of the options, but was constantly postponed until later. At first there were native, Siberian Sayans, Baikal and Altai. Later - Kamchatka, Tien Shan, a month of hiking in the Himalayas, climbing Mont Blanc. Finally, after moving from Moscow to Sochi, I proclaimed for myself the "season of the Caucasus", highlighting the winter and spring campaigns in the Western Caucasus in the vicinity of Krasnaya Polyana. By the beginning of summer, it became clear that the physical form lost over the seven years of living in Moscow was more or less restored and time Big Mountain come!

UPDATE! AT May holidays In 2017, my friends and I climbed Elbrus from the south along the classic route. Read this story too.

Day 1. Transfer to the meadow of Emmanuel

It is not difficult to get from Sochi to the Elbrus region - you take a direct train in the evening and early in the morning you are already in Mineralnye Vody. As agreed, Yuriy was waiting for me on the platform. Clothing and a characteristic "spectacle tan" immediately betrayed an experienced tourist in him. We say hello, load my things into the trunk of the outdoor-pumped Niva, drive to the airport to pick up Artem and leave for the mountains!! Beauty is all around - the morning fog covers the tops of the laccoliths, scattered here and there in the steppe.

After a couple of hours driving beautiful road we climb the spur of the mountain, which offers a postcard view of Elbrus from the north! According to Yura, the road to recent times became much better. The mountain looks truly majestic from here: a huge two-headed snow giant dominating everything around! All the key objects of the northern Elbrus are at a glance: the Emmanuel glade, the springs of Dzhily-Su, the "airfield", the Northern Shelter, the Lenz rocks, Kalitsky peak.

Artem, Yura and me against the backdrop of the northern slope of Elbrus

We descend to the ford through Kyzylkol, a tributary of the Malka River. From here to the Dzhyly-su camp is only a few hundred meters. Yura decides to save the car and drops us off in front of the ford. We are not worried - there is still a whole day ahead, and today's program is only a walk to mineral springs. We negotiate the time when Yura will return for us after the mountain. This must be done in advance, since there is no mobile communication here anymore, it will appear only on the southern side of the Elbrus saddle or at the very top. (update 9/09/2012 - Megafon installed a tower in the camp at 3800, so now the connection should work in the entire northern Elbrus region!!!)

Yura leaves for home in Kislovodsk, and we, without even crossing the river, decide to have breakfast right by the shepherd's cat. We collect water directly from the river, which flows along a wide valley, where huge herds of sheep and cows graze. A little dumb, but the water was boiled and thank God there were no consequences :)

After breakfast, helping each other, we hardly climb under our 30-kilogram backpacks and make a short half-hour march to the camp. Backpacks, of course, are hellishly heavy - a powerful tent, a bunch of warm clothes, "iron" ... It's good that our entire short path runs along perfectly flat terrain, so, apart from crossing the river on a suspension bridge, there are no difficulties.

In the camp at Emmanuel's glade, life is in full swing - some are arriving, others are leaving, someone is preparing to go upstairs.

The height here is no longer small - 2600 meters, and the oxygen content in the air is already 1/4 lower than at sea level. So don't be in a hurry to climb. Our plan for today is to set up a tent, register with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and take a walk to the springs (active acclimatization is the most effective). The camp of the Ministry of Emergency Situations stands right on the clearing. A pleasant woman writes down the dates of our trip, the names of the participants and the contact phone number for contacting relatives in the log book if the group finishes the route on time. At the end of the trip, so that they don’t look for you, you must definitely call back and report that everything is OK.

After lunch we go for a walk to the springs of Dzhily-Su. The trail starts from the suspension bridge and goes along the right bank of the river, going down two hundred meters below our camp. It’s a little insulting and lazy to throw off the height, but nothing, extra acclimatization will not hurt. On the way we meet dozens of tourists. The people are motley: foreigners, Cossacks with flags, seasoned tourists. What to say about sources? Well, it's cool. Warm mineral water gurgles right from the ground. A bunch of locals (talked with a cool granny) go to these places every year for health. But we're still early! A little disappointed was the Sultan waterfall, located directly above the springs. Some nondescript, muddy water, didn’t even take pictures ... We spent three hours walking from the camp to the springs and back, a good warm-up!

By seven o'clock in the evening we return to the camp, and then the fun! The Cossacks celebrate the anniversary of the first ascent of Elbrus, made by General Emmanuel in 1829 (then they also climbed from the north). They covered the clearing, vodka flows like a river. They meet a Cossack with a huge backpack and a flag. Came down the mountain. One for all?? They pour, drink a lot and noisily, but without debauchery. Fun camp.

Camp at Emmanuel's Glade

It is worth noting several important points regarding the camp. The most important thing to know about Gila-soo's camp is that there is no cell reception here! So, as I said, you need to agree on the return transport in advance and for a certain time! There is, of course, an emergency option - the guides of some travel agencies that work along the route "Elbrus from the North" have satellite phones and, in principle, probably for a small amount of money, you can call from their phone. In a clearing, surrounded by a small fence, is the territory of a small commercial project called "Alpine camp Oslik". There is a real cafe, an outdoor shower and even the Internet. Menu - soup, second course, cola, beer! The truth is not cheap.

Northern slopes of Elbrus from Emmanuel's glade

Starry sky of Elbrus region

Timing of the day:

• 5:30 - departure from Minvod
• 9:30 - 11:45 - breakfast at the river crossing
• 12:30 - camp at Emmanuel's glade
• 16:00 - 19:30 - walk to the springs

Day 2. Rise to "Mushrooms"

The classical program of climbing Elbrus from the north, usually calculated for 9-10 days, suggests that the next day after arriving at the Dzhyly-su camp, you make a radial acclimatization hike to the camp at 3700. Therefore, there is no time for people to relax and as soon as it dawned, the camp buzzed like hive - some in a hurry collect tents, others - have breakfast, the most nimble ones are already going to the acclimatization exit to the northern shelter, at 3700. Climbers (they can be seen right away - tanned, thinner) are waiting for their transport down. We have 12 days to spare and we are not in a hurry!

Morning in the camp at Emmanuel's glade

Instead of a radial acclimatization hike at 3700, our plan is to slowly climb this altitude in two days, making an intermediate overnight stay at an altitude of around 3000 - 3200 meters, following the "rule of 500" (climb no more than 500 meters from overnight to overnight). This rule is quite conditional and "with a good margin", but its observance allows any healthy person to acclimatize reliably and painlessly. If you are at such a height for the first time - I advise you not to neglect it! By the way, the Americans have a stricter rule and call it "1000 feet", that is, only 300 meters.

The morning turned out to be great - warm, quiet, sunny. Therefore, we gathered for a long time and left the camp, perhaps the last, when it was already eleven by the clock :) It is not difficult to find the path to Elbrus, it is the only one here and it is impossible to get lost. Nevertheless, according to a long-standing habit, we still turn on the GPS, fill the drinking bottles with isotonic (glacier melt water is “empty” and flushes salts out of the body), generously smear nose, ears, cheeks, neck with sun cream and begin to gain height! After the first meters, it becomes clear that we flew into a steep flight due to the fact that we refused to take hats (we decided to save weight !!!). The sun is almost overhead and it's beating hard. Walking is not easy! But there is nowhere to go.

The first kilometers of the trail to the northern shelter

Climbing is not easy. Not only do our backpacks weigh under 30 kilos, but also high-altitude climbing boots do not add agility. Still, for such approaches, you need to have sneakers, and because of the relief, we took only sandals as the second pair, in which, with such a backpack, and even on such a terrain (the path in places goes over a cliff, the river roars below, then here and there fresh scree) is not entirely correct. But nothing, the main thing now is not to twitch, get into the rhythm, go calmly, after all, the height is under 3000 meters, it can cover ...

Slowly, but confidently, we gain the first 200-300 meters and go to iconic place- "aerodrome". The unique relief made this area suitable for use as a real military airfield during the Great Patriotic War. The Germans were pretty bossy here in 1942 ...

"Airfield", height 2800

"Airfield" is a scorched plateau under the open sun at an altitude of 2800 meters. I remember another golden rule of tourism: "On the first day of the trip - do not overload!" We find a small shadow near one of the volcanic boulders and arrange a midday siesta - we finish our snack (hematogenous, dried apricots) and drink prepared tea from thermoses in the morning (for the first time we took small personal half-liter thermoses, very handy!). After a snack, we even manage to take a nap for fifteen minutes :). I wake up from the sound of Spanish speech - funny foreigners made a halt right in the middle of the "airfield". Tin! Well, okay, the Spaniards can, they are accustomed to the heat :))

Immediately after the "airfield" the path takes you up steeply. We make another +200 meters and turn off the main path, which continues to climb and goes straight to the northern shelter. We turn left, towards the "mushrooms". The trail first goes through a quiet valley, then winds a little among huge volcanic mounds. I remembered a trip to Kamchatka, deja vu!

I will not say that by this moment the forces were running out, they were still there. But, when, having gained about 500 meters in height from the place of the morning stop, we went to a fabulous clearing with a small clean spring, the decision was made instantly - we will stay here for the night! The required altitude in the region of 3000 meters (in fact 3100) was reached, there was beauty, silence and no one around. Here's an unexpected gift just an hour's walk from the main trail.

Paradise Glade Camp (3100)

The places are fantastic! I didn't even expect it to be so great. It's also amazing how clean it is. There is practically no trash. Following the environmental code, we take out our trash run (garbage bag) - shitting in such places simply does not rise! While I spent the whole evening rushing around our heavenly glade with a camera, Artem in slippers ran to the "Mushrooms" - it turns out they are right above us. Grabbing a tripod, I rushed up the hill in pursuit of the fleeing rays of the setting sun. "Golden Hour" to miss - a sin! I barely managed to capture myself with these gizmos before sunset!

North view

Self-portrait with beloved "Mushroom"

Northern slope of the Eastern peak of Elbrus and the path to the Lenz rocks

In the vicinity of Paradise Meadow

In the evening I was visited by a seditious thought - to change the plan of the campaign. Well, I don’t want to break at 3700 tomorrow morning and leave our wonderful Paradise meadow. I really want to not only climb Elbrus, but also see the nature of the Northern Elbrus region! Therefore, we decide tomorrow to “run away” lightly to the radial to the area of ​​the Kalitsky peak and the Jikaugenkez plateau, and at the same time find mysterious lake, which is hiding somewhere in one of the moraine pockets.

Timing of the day:

• 11:00 - Departure from the camp at Emmanuel's glade
• 13:00 - 14:00 lunch break at the "airfield"
• 16:00 - camp at 3100

Day 3. Radial hike to Kalitsky peak and Jikaukengyoz plateau

We went out again late, in the heat ... Well, I want to get enough sleep, after all, it's a vacation! And the terrain still allows you to walk during the day - there are no couloirs and slopes dangerous with rockfalls in the vicinity. Our goal is the Jikaukengez ice fields - it seems to be nearby and almost at our own height, but the first impression is deceptive. For a short section of the traverse, one has to constantly go down and up, crossing small, fifty meters deep, valleys of streams running down the northern slopes of Elbrus. But, again, a positive attitude helps us out - we will get more here, we will better acclimatize! So let's go, sweat, but don't grumble. Fortunately, there are beautiful unreal lunar-Martian landscapes on the sides! It's a pity going short, classic route- they do not see even half of all the beauties of these places!

Yaskolka (Cerastium)

The Jikaukengez ice field itself was a little disappointing - stones, gray ice, brown water. But I was pleased with the unreal tiny valley on the way - a clear stream with cool water and unusual flowers. Here, among the black-brown ruins of solidified lava, it looks fantastic and seems like some kind of fairy tale. I remember my other mountain hiking and I am surprised how diverse the mountains are. For example, in Kamchatka, at such a height, winter reigns even in summer, and in the Himalayas - a real pine forest.

We return to camp tired and hungry. Still, the exit dragged on for six hours! Instead of throwing in a backpack a little stuff, a can of saury and a JetBoil burner and having a normal lunch, we took only a snack in the form of a handful of dried apricots and hematogenous. But nothing, but the acclimatization went off with a bang, and we saw very interesting places!

Timing of the day:

• 10:00 - departure from camp 3100
• 13:30 - reached the beginning of the Jikaukengöz ice plateau
• 16:00 - returned to camp 3100

Day 4. Ascent to the Northern Shelter (3700 m)

Once again we leave late. I relaxed a bit, I didn't have any problems with it before. Along the already familiar path we climb past the mushrooms. The trail competently bypasses the spur, on which these amusing rock formations are directly located on the left, so as not to gain sharply uphill. Having gained half of the height set for today, we make a lunch halt with a snack. There is absolutely no water around (muddy water from streams does not look appetizing at all), but you want to drink and you need to! Isotonic goes well, but our half-liter personal thermoses turn out to be very useful, filled with hot sweet tea since the morning.

After a snack, we decide to have a rest. Despite a decent altitude (already 3400), it is very hot. We make, as it turned out to be a very correct decision later - we put one of my two thermal T-shirts under the knife and make two excellent bandanas out of it, almost branded (LowAlpine logos glow on the forehead!) It immediately becomes easier, white color and even an excellent thermal material is excellent reflects the rays of the southern midday sun and at the same time does not cause discomfort from overheating - the fabric is too small and with microscopic holes.

Artem on the rise to the northern shelter

At an altitude of 3500 we again go to the main, thorny path along which the vast majority of climbers climb. Again it becomes noisy and fun, you can watch "colleagues in misfortune." It is interesting to see who, how and especially in what (professional illness) goes, who has acclimatized how. We seem to be in order - the appetite is excellent, the pulse is normal. True, Artyom’s head hurts a little, but this is normal, the body is working! The last three hundred meters to the shelter, the trail takes a steep uphill, climbing a glacial moraine. The trail forks. Since there is nowhere else to go except to the shelter, we decide that both of them go to the same place and decide to go along the right, more gently rising up. Then it turned out that it was better to go on the left, since it goes directly to the tent camp, while ours, the right one, goes a couple of hundred meters to the west, to Oleinikov's huts.

Glacier to the right of the trail

Oh, and we got tired on the last meters of this trail! The path began to divide and merge again, sometimes getting lost among the scree with areas of "live" stones. There was a moment when I even doubted whether we were going right, but suddenly, somewhere above, against the background of the sky, a wooden cross first appeared (or did it seem to me?), And then a felt boot (!) On a stick, which I remember exactly. It turned out that this is a landmark for the same doubters as we are, pointing straight to Oleinikov’s huts :) When we finally got to the top, the whole camp came to look at us, and especially the guide guys working “for Petrovich” (Oleynikov). Apparently, they do not often see such backpacks, because 99% of the people do not make traverses with an overnight stay on the saddle, which means they do not need tents and as many warm clothes as we carry!

Friends, trip technical report(schemes, track and coordinates, prices and budget) can be found on a separate page "Technical report".

I really want to eat and the guys are kindly invited to the dinner table in Oleinikov's main hut. We take out our trendy JetBoil and prepare dinner for ourselves in a couple of minutes - pour Gala-Gal sublimated buckwheat with boiling water and drink a couple of cups of tea. It turns out that one of the guys working as a guide does not eat meat! A lively discussion ensues, full of jokes and jokes. It seems that someone even offered to bet whether the "vegetarian" will last until the end of the season! To which the culprit of the dispute replied that on the mountain he would give odds to any meat-eater :)

Oleinikov's hut at 3700

From Oleinikov's hut to places where you can stand up with your tent for five minutes of shying among huge lava blocks and small puddles of water and snow on the edge of the glacier. I suddenly meet Danya, my old friend. By his tan and lean figure, I immediately recognize a man who has already climbed Elbrus more than a hundred times. I ask where is the best place to stand. Points to a distant couple of hundred meters from the main campground place - it's quieter there, more space for the camp and the water is right at your side.

Thanks to Dani's advice, we get up in a really good place. I was surprised that in general there are a lot of free sites in the camp area. We choose the largest and widest with a ready-made windproof stone wall. For the first time in this trip, we set up not only the inner tent, but also the top tent. The weather at these altitudes can change suddenly, and it's best to prepare everything in advance! In the evening we go to visit, to see how the main camp lives where there are tents of commercial groups. Indeed, we are better! It's crowded here, the tents are almost one on one, and it's noisy. I can imagine what it will be like to sleep here when the next climbers start to swarm from one in the morning, preparing for the assault exit, which is usually scheduled for 2 am.

Timing of the day:

• 11:30 - leaving the camp at 3100
• 13:30 - 14:30 - lunch and halt at ~ 3500 m
• 16:30 - climbed to the northern shelter at 3700

Day 5

Usually, the next day after the first overnight stay at the Northern Shelter, climbers make an acclimatization hike to the Lenz rocks up to a height of 4600 (the beginning of the rocks) or 4800 (the middle). This is usually followed by a day of rest, and on the night of the third day - an exit to the summit. But we have our own plan. Spending the night on the Elbrus saddle requires you to have excellent acclimatization, which you cannot get in one walk to the Lenz rocks ... Therefore, our plan is this: to be sure, we make a day of rest at 3700, on the second day we go to the acclimatization exit to the Lenz rocks (at the same time we bring gas, food and parts of things that will be needed only on the top), the third day we still rest, on the fourth day we climb to our throw on the rocks of Lenz, we spend the night there and on the fifth day we go to the saddle of Elbrus. We have enough days, so everything will be OK!!!

Again, we sleep until we stop… But today we can, because we have a day and a day of additional acclimatization. We crawl out of the tent at the beginning of the tenth, when the sun peeking out from behind the moraine warmed the temperature inside the tent to +25 degrees! And this despite the zippers open on both sides on the doors of the tent and open ventilation holes under the dome. That's what the alpine sun and clean mountain air that does not interfere with the sun mean :)

Glacier or meringue cake? :)

At lunchtime, we put aside gas and food for delivery. It turned out to be a three-day supply - a day to go to the saddle, a day to reserve for bad weather on the rocks of Lenz or on the saddle, and a day to descend to Bochki. After lunch, right from our camp, they watched the rescue work. Grandfather, who went to the top yesterday evening, at an altitude of 5000 became ill. The rescue guys had to lower him into the akya (photo). Fortunately, everything ended well. When grandfather was rolled down at 3800, he got up from the akya and, little by little, hobbled to his tent ...

Day 6. Transfer to the Lenz rocks (4800 m) + acclimatization

The camp has its own mode of life. First, those who go to storm the top of Elbrus wake up. Their day is long and hard. It's no joke - to gain two thousand vertical meters, and then also go down back to the camp. Therefore, they go out early, at one or two in the morning, with flashlights. The second echelon of climbers wakes up already at dawn - they have a plan half as long, climb to the Lenz rocks and down. These leave at 7-8 in the morning, this is enough to go down to the camp by four or five.

We all overslept again and left only at nine! But it's good - no one breathes in the back! We walk at our own pace, “we don’t touch anyone” :) Right at the camp, the path goes to the glacier. The first two hundred meters of ascent pass along the flat part of the firn zone. We dress crampons, systems, the rope is not needed yet, we throw it under the backpack valve. We quickly rise to a height of 4000. Four years ago, in Nepal, it was at this altitude that I first encountered symptoms of altitude sickness - I ate almost nothing for dinner, and had to take a headache pill before going to bed.

Pimply ice at 3900

At an altitude of 4000 - 4200 meters, the top passes through a zone of cracks. The cracks are not wide, not wider than a meter. The trail among them is marked with wooden sticks stuck into the snow at a distance of 20 meters. We carefully cross the cracks along the snow bridges. The slope gets steeper, you have to get to work! Yes, and the height makes itself felt. There is a drop in the power of the body due to a decrease in the oxygen content in the air. You have to consciously work on breathing and walking technique. At the guys from Pyatigorsk (firefighters!) who overtook us, I peep an unusual lifting technique - rest on the upper leg, the lower one at this time is free from load, which gives rest to the muscle. I try - interesting, it really seems easier!

Caucasus from a height of 4400 meters

At a lonely stone sticking out of the snow at an altitude of 4400 we untie, there are no cracks above. The place is notable. Climbers gather here in flocks - those going up take a breath, those going down - admire the surrounding panoramas. The views are really impressive! In the southeast they proudly soar above the clouds highest peaks Caucasus - the peaks of Bezengi, a cult area for truly serious mountaineering. It is necessary to go to the shift in the local alpine camp!!

"Party" at the stone not reaching the lower rocks of Lenz

Another 200 meters of "plowing" (inhale-exhale for almost every step) and we finally climb to the Lenz rocks. Directly under the rock there is a small area, more or less protected from the wind, where you can drop your backpacks and take a breath. In principle, if the state of health is not very good or the weather is bad, then this height will be enough for acclimatization. But our goal is different - to explore a place for a future overnight stay on the "middle" rocks of Lenz at an altitude of 4800 and it is desirable to find the same metal kung near the ruins of a military helicopter that fell a few years ago. These two hundred meters of height are already really difficult - the speed drops significantly, each step is given with effort. Thoughts in my head only about one thing: if now, with one 10-kilogram backpack for two, it’s so hard, then how will we go the day after tomorrow with 20-kilogram ones ??

Icefall below the Elbrus saddle

Suddenly, your eyes start to water. My old Cebe glasses are not UV resistant? This is going to be an ambush! I take out a ski mask from the valve of the backpack, maybe it will be better with it? In fact, everything turns out to be simple - sweat mixed with sun cream got into the eyes. Finally 4800. Somewhere here should be the details of the helicopter and the long-awaited kung! We find it without problems. The door is open, no one is inside. The interior is certainly not a five-star hotel - the kung itself is half on its side, the floor is swept up by snow and ice. Of course, you won't be able to sleep well here. Note this place as a last resort.

Kung on the "medium" rocks of Lenz (4820 m)
Photo: (c) Artem Ustyugov

While there is strength and the weather is good, we decide to find a site for setting up a tent. From the windproof walls made of stones, it becomes clear that the people are standing right here. We are afraid that these walls will not save us from severe bad weather. Thirty meters below, we find a couple of places that, in appearance, should be a good shelter from a strong wind blowing, according to experienced ones, from the side of the saddle. We leave here our delivery, which was brought from below - food for three days, ice axes, a spare set of dishes, a second burner and a large cylinder of gas. Of course, it’s an ambush with dishes and a burner, I took this kit in case of contingencies when working with a brand new JetBoil (you never know!), But this American miracle of technology works like a clock, and the spare MSR WindPro, which has served me faithfully for God knows how many years, is stupid carry in a backpack. We mark the place by GPS, now the success of the ascent depends on it in the truest sense of the word!

We take a breath and start descending. Down - not up! Easy going, good mood. We admire the views and cheer those going up. For better acclimatization, we decide not to rush down, but to stay longer at the height. Under the lower rocks of Lenz we settle down for a rest. Good place, sheltered from the wind! A group of tourists going upstairs takes out a puncher from a backpack and attaches a tablet on a rock in memory of their comrades who died in this place ten years ago. Elbrus is deceptive and insidious, we must not forget about it!

Timing of the day:

• 8:00 - departure from camp 3800
• 13:15 - 13:45 - transfer to the middle rocks of Lenz, 4800 m.
• 14:00 - 14:30 - rest on the descent, tea at the lower rocks of Lenz, 4600 m.
• 16:00 - descent to camp 3800

Day 7 - 9. Time off for 3700

The next day after such a load, the planned day of rest, after which - the ascent. But from that day on, things didn't go according to plan. In the evening it began to snow, all night the tent was sausage from gusts of wind, and in the morning winter came. It became clear that if we want to carry out the planned traverse to Terskol, and even make two overnight stays - on the rocks and on the saddle - we will have to wait for the weather ...

The thick book “R. Amundsen. Taken from home” helps out. South Pole" and "R. Piri. North Pole". The most interesting diaries of unique expeditions of the beginning of the last century. We tear the book into two parts and read at the same time, Artem - one part, I - the other.

We listen to Kazak-FM radio (video)

Oleinikov's hut after a night snowfall

Three days of imprisonment in the camp at 3700 is another test. Firstly, every day at this, already quite high altitude, does not add strength. Moreover, from complete inactivity, the body begins to lose shape. In addition, food stocks are rapidly melting away. Well, in itself, doing nothing is already demoralizing!

Bad weather in the mountains, bad weather...

We are discussing the option of abandoning the traverse to the south with an overnight stay on the saddle. Maybe just "run radially to the top like everyone else?" But on reflection, we decide to go to the maximum implementation of the plan. True, for this you will have to take risks and tomorrow go out for an overnight stay on the Lenz rocks in incomprehensible weather.

A group of brave people on the traverse of the ice fields of Elbrus (strong increase!)

The plan is this - we already know the path to the drop on the Lenz rocks - we have our own track in the GPS. So we will get there in any weather. In the event of a serious deterioration in the weather, we can always go down (the camp points and the trail track are written in GPS). Well, if the weather still allows, we will spend the night on the rocks of Lenz and go out the next day to the saddle. And there it will be clear - the weather is OK - it means we will spend the night, the weather is rubbish - we immediately bring down to the south, to Terskol.

Day 10. Breakaway!

In the morning we gather again for a long time ... First we wait until the sun comes out from behind the moraine - we need it to dry the awning of the tent covered with a thin layer of either frost or ice. Then we pack our backpacks so that everything is at hand - both a rope and ice screws in case of setting up a tent in bad weather and cameras that we always want to keep at hand. As a result, we leave only at 11 o'clock! Extremely late. It is already quiet in the camp, almost no one is there, everyone is already on the route.

Having risen to a height of 4000, we notice that recent snowfalls have closed a significant number of cracks! Walking is very uncomfortable. I am glad that we are the last to go and we see traces gaping in blackness on the sides of the path. No way to step there! Rope vnyatyag, we go very carefully.

Crack zone at 4000 - 4200

The cracks have been bridged, the ropes have been removed..
Artem and I at an altitude of 4300. Photo by Alexey Kalita.

Acclimatization did its job, and despite heavy backpacks (23-25 ​​kg each), we climbed to the Lenz rocks in about the same time as four days ago light! I won’t say that it was easy (it was hard), but we climbed! Plan "A" - to spend the night in an iron kung - was covered with a copper basin, it was occupied by the guys from Stavropol, who had risen before us.

We decide to follow plan "B" and put up a tent. Right at the kung I notice a large stone, on the leeward side of which a natural niche has formed. We decide to put up a tent right in it. From the side of the summit, in 15 minutes of work with one shovel in turn (excellent active acclimatization, just like they say in the textbook!) We build a small snow wall to protect against the wind blowing from the top.

Building a windbreak

We get acquainted with our neighbors, guys from Stavropol. It turns out that yesterday they spent the night on the lower rocks of Lenz at 4600 in severe bad weather (thunderstorm, strong wind), and today they made an attempt to climb the Eastern peak of Elbrus. But due to strong wind and fatigue, we did not reach the top of some 50 meters and decided to spend the night here, at 4800, in order to make a second attempt to climb tomorrow.

After the previous overnight stay, they decided that there were no tents, only a kung and began to level the floor in this very kung! As a result, for almost three hours, at the speed of a slow motion movie, they pulled into the kung all the stones that they could find in the vicinity in order to level the floor inside. It's certainly a noble cause (subsequent climbers will probably thank them!), BUT they spent so much effort on it, it's just kapets. As a result, when we set up camp the next morning, they were still sleeping and I'm not sure that they had time to go to the top. And the second night at an altitude above 4800 - well, I don’t know, it hardly added strength to them.

I wonder if they managed to pass their route?

While Artem is busy with cooking, I manage to take some pictures. Around space. We feel like astronauts..

The North Face Mountain 25 tent is good in that you can put up only one inner tent if necessary. We decide to do so. There will be more air in the tent, and most importantly, by morning, the same condensate that added a kilo to the tent yesterday will not freeze on the tent!

In the camp on the "middle" rocks of Lenz
Photo: (c) Artem Ustyugov

At sunset, as often happens, the wind picked up, but the sky is clear, the weather should not deteriorate. We play it safe and pull on a full set of warm clothes - thick fleece pants on the legs, warm thermal underwear, a fleece and even a puff on top, a favorite made in Terskol wool hat on the head, fleece gloves on the hands. After all, this is an overnight stay at the height of the top of Mont Blanc!

Lastly, we throw in a record share of pills. Of course, at such a height you can safely do without them, but our task is different - not just to go to Elbrus from the north, but to personally test the "high-altitude first-aid kit" on our bodies for further trips to even more high mountains so that there are no surprises with an individual reaction to certain drugs. Glycine to improve cerebral circulation, mezim so that dinner "does not go sideways", sleeping pills donormil, multivitamins and pharyngosept from the throat - a complete combat kit is being used. To all this I add my “know-how” - I put ear plugs in my ears and now the wind tormenting the tent does not interfere with falling asleep :)

Timing of the day:

• 10:15 - leaving the camp at 3800
• 16:00 - camp at 4800

Day 11. Exit to the saddle of Elbrus (5380 m)

We were very lucky with the weather. After the usual post-sunset wind intensification, all was quiet. Slept normally. The morning pulse measurement showed me only 60 beats per minute, Artem's 90. This is within the normal range, which means the body is adapting. We got up not very early, at seven. First of all, we look out into the street - what is the weather like there? The temperature "outside" is only -5, but small cirrus clouds high above us are disturbing. From here to the saddle it seems like a little bit - the climb is only 500 meters. We decide not to change our plans - before lunch we go to the saddle, after that we try to go to the western summit.

Despite the overall good health, a little tormenting and almost do not want to eat. For prevention, I drink a tablet of cerucal, so as not to get sick. But in general, everything is going well, the night at 4800 passed without those very unpleasant consequences with digestion, which often accompany climbing.

We have breakfast, pack our things and leave. Ahead is the snow-covered slope of the eastern summit and single footprints up. Someone from another nearby group had already gone out light in the direction of the eastern summit. So we are not going through the virgin lands, but at least along some, but traces. True, they are of little use to me, even Artyom’s traces are not convenient for me and I still have to trace mine ..

Four hundred meters of climb were not easy, but within our power. The main thing is to go at your own pace, it is better to slow down, but stop less often. So the muscles do not cool down and the processes of "pulse" and "breathing" work more smoothly. Exactly at noon, at an altitude of 5200 meters we pass the last rocks of Lenz. Somewhere from here to the right, the path to the saddle should go. It is difficult to find traces brought by the night wind. At a small stone we make a mini halt. On the clock 12:00. We are slightly behind schedule, but it seems to be not critical.

Traverse towards saddle

Suddenly, right during the halt, the wind sharply increases and snow pellets begin to pour. We take out puffs and warm mittens. The weather deteriorates faster, visibility drops to hundreds of meters. We decide to connect with a rope. Not so much because of the cracks (although they say there is one here, though a little lower than the path), but in order not to lose each other in bad weather. From the valve of the backpack to the pocket of the puff I shift the GPS-navigator, apparently, we will look for the saddle already “by instruments”. Here it is, the same Elbus weather, which takes away, with enviable frequency, the lives of climbers who are too superficial about the Mountain and its deceptive good weather.

Due to the headwind and bad weather, the speed drops sharply, the traces disappear in a matter of minutes. We go in the direction of the coveted flag on the navigator screen, trying not to take too much up. Judging by the navigator, we are already at the right height.

Because of the wind, as I noticed a long time ago, a feeling of anxiety and anxiety rolls over. Absolutely white space all around. I want to somehow capture the moment, but what to shoot? No top, no bottom, no mountains, no sky, only a piece of rope leading to a partner!