Elbrus Expedition Dispatch
July 6, 2011 – Arriving in the Caucasus and Acclimatization Hike
We left Moscow on a flight south to Mineralnye Vody. We entered a different world and we are now seeing a completely different side of Russia. Karina and Vladimir were waiting for us at the airport and soon we started driving to the mountains.
Here are some photos from their first full day.
Our lodge
The twin summits of Elbrus
The peaks of the Caucasus are spectacular above town.
On our first day of acclimatization we rode a gondola and then two chair lifts to just over 10,500ft/3000m.
There are a lot of surprising sights in this part of the Caucasus Mountains, including this camel who seemed to be waiting for a rider.
There are stunning peaks all around us.
Portrait of Vladimir Putin at a cafe near 10,000ft/3,050m where we stopped for tea.
The team in the Caucasus