Climb Mt. Elbrus with Berg Adventures – Trip Description

At Berg Adventures, our ascents of Mount Elbrus and our unique and exciting travel program through Russia is one of the adventures of which we are most proud. Wally Berg has operated the trip through St. Petersburg, with the midnight train to Moscow and on to the Caucasus mountains to climb Mount Elbrus each summer for the past 18 years.

In 2011 companies operating on Elbrus faced major challenges due to a regional closure at the access point of the South Side of Elbrus. Teams cancelled their climbs and others chose to climb the mountain's North Side which meant longer days and rougher conditions resulting in unhappy climbers and fewer summit successes. Not Berg Adventures. Thanks to our local contacts, our staff in Russia and in our office in Canada, and our longstanding ties to the local community, we were able to operate two climbing expeditions via the South Side of the mountain. We were the only company to successfully climb via the South Side that year.

We have been blessed by a cartographer's decision in the 1890s that deemed the Caucasus Mountains the north / south dividing line between Europe and Asia. Elbrus, a lovely 18,586' glaciated twin summit, lies just north of the Caucasus mountain divide and is therefore in Europe.

We leave the great cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg with assurances from Russians who live there: "that is not Europe where you are going."

And it is not. The Balkar people who are native to this area are a proud mountain people, with their own language and history. They are joined by a seasonal crowd of young Russians and Ukrainians dedicated to snowboarding, climbing and living a vigorous life in the mountains. There is also a community of Russian professional climbers and guides. The best of their generation, many of these old veterans find seasonal work and fellowship with their peers in the area.

Give BAI two weeks and we will show you a taste of two different sides of modern Russia. We will do some great mountaineering, and attempt to stand on the top of a great 5600-meter mountain, just inland from the Black Sea. We won't worry about whether Elbrus is "really" in Europe.

The Berg Adventures Advantage on Mt. Elbrus

• We offer unique, quality lodge facilities as our home base in the Baksan Valley of Kabarda – Balkar, Russia.  Year after year on our trips this is a pleasant surprise that our climbers compliment us on. Excellent rooms, meals and a warm family-style welcome await all Berg Adventures groups in the Elbrus Region. Berg Adventures always uses the South Side of the mountain. We have assured access due to our local contacts and ties to the local community.
• In St. Petersburg and Moscow we only use five-star class hotel accommodations that are walking distance from the major attractions you will want to see. In St Petersburg we stay at the Nevsky Palace, one of the best hotels in town, located on Nevsky Prospect. This allows us step out the door and be in the heart of one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Our “Night Train to Moscow” is a rewarding and memorable travel adventure in its own right. When our group arrives in Moscow we will be welcomed at the Park Hyatt at Red Square. From this fantastic location we will do a walking tour to the Kremlin and other important attractions.
• On BAI Elbrus climbs you will be led by a full and expert team of climbing guides.   Wally Berg or another top North American guide will serve as chief guide for all our scheduled Elbrus trips.  In addition we have our team of English speaking Russian guides, each of whom has worked for us on many previous climbs.  We offer a high ratio of guides to climbers on summit day.
• We carry medical oxygen, radios and satellite phones on all our Elbrus climbs.
• Your entire adventure will be shared with the folks back home with daily Internet dispatches including photos from the group taken on the scene in St. Petersburg, Moscow and on your climbs in the Caucasus.  The account of your trip will be posted on the Berg Adventures Web site, where your expedition dispatches will be archived as a record of your adventure.  In the past our dispatches have been used by family, friends and supporters to track the progress of our groups, by classrooms to learn about the wild places we visit, and by local newspapers to report stories of interest.