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Title image - BAI takes you to: Mt.Elbrus
Why climb with Berg Adventures

Elbrus Expedition Dispatch

July 1, 2010 – Berg Adventures Team Reached the Top of Europe!

It is July 1st, Canada day, and I am happy to report that the entire Berg Adventures team, Paule and Linda, Tom and Bill, Mo and the guides, Wally, Karina and Vladimir reached the summit of Mount Elbrus today. We were on the top at 12:45pm.

I want to congratulate Mo, for his 5th of the Seven Summits. He is really on track now; he still has to go to Everest and Cartenz Pyramid but he had a remarkable success. We wanted to congratulate him.

The entire team did really well in very challenging conditions, the last time I spoke to you was 2 days ago and I mentioned that we got our butts kicked when we went to Pashtukov Rocks; yesterday could have been our summit day but the weather dictated otherwise. It was clearly not a summit day. We listened to a lightening and hail storm all night and yesterday we watched clouds sitting on Elbrus. We were in a complete white-out at the Barrels, we knew it was not a summit day.

Today wasn’t the greatest summit day the teams ever had but it was good enough for us; at 4am we got on the snow cat and by 4:30 we were moving and we climbed on white-out conditions through most of the day. Above the saddle, at 17,300ft, we got above the clouds but there were strong winds that we had all the way up to the summit and on the very top. That’s why I am giving this dispatch from the saddle, back at 17,300ft. We are still in our way down. The winds have subsided a bit, the team is strong and we are going to do fine. 5000 ft below us, Anastasia has her little kitchen and she will be waiting for us in a few hours when we get down where I am sure we will have the best soup we ever tasted. Congratulations to the entire team, best wishes to everybody, everyone is sending their regards from the top of Europe.

Later today…

It is 5pm and we have made it back down to our Barrel. It was exactly 13 hours since we left this morning on the snow cat.

So, big day, long day, the group is exhausted, but I can tell you that they are very satisfied and proud about their accomplishment today, climbing mount Elbrus, and I was right that Anastasia had hot soup and coke, juices waiting for us. We are all dehydrated and we needed to replenish fluids.

It is a very relaxing feeling to still be up here high on the Caucasus mountains knowing that we successfully climbed mount Elbrus and still have some time left in Russia both here in the Caucasus mountains and a couple of days when we return to Moscow.

Congratulations to the team! They did a great job today.

Climbing in the whiteout condition

Through most for the day we were climbing in whiteout conditions, it was challenging but the group move ahead strongly

It was clear when we were on the summit and we felt great.

It was clear when we were on the summit and we felt great.

Paule and Linda proudly display flag for July 1st, Canada Day.

Paule and Linda proudly display flag for July 1st, Canada Day.

Anastasia made fresh greek salad and cake for us.

I mentioned that Anastasia had soup waiting for us, but I forgot to mention the fresh greek salad and the cake that she baked for our summit success!

Mo was in heaven after his 5th seven summit ascent:  a coca cola and a piece of summit cake

Mo was in heaven after his 5th seven summit ascent: a coca cola and a piece of summit cake