Elbrus Expedition Dispatch

July 9, 2013 – Our Rest and Preparation Day Before the Summit

It’s 5 PM on Tuesday July 9th and I am calling you from the Barrels. Although there is a light snow fall right now, you will see from the photos that most of today was perfectly clear, with the Twin Summits in view above us. We have been noticing a weather pattern here on Elbrus; it’s been clear in the mornings with increasing clouds in the afternoon. Right now as we look up on Elbrus we can see there is considerable wind up high. We have also had warmer than usual temperatures during this year’s trip, and we have a weather report that says tomorrow is going to be the same.

We are going to get up at 2 AM, get our breakfast and then get our supplies ready for the climb, although they are basically ready to go right now. We are going to take the snow cat at 4 AM and with our crampons on already we will be brought up higher on the mountain so we can embark on our summit attempt, and I am convinced we are going to do well!

You always have to have humility and give the mountain its due when you start off for a big day like tomorrow, but I can tell this team is doing great. You can see from the photos that life is pretty good at the Barrels, getting equipment ready, rigging our harnesses and just enjoying one another’s company. This trip has been a great adventure and probably the biggest part of it has been the camaraderie’s of a great group of people from Canada, Australia, Brazil and the United States, and also our Russian friends, who are great people and have really helped us out on this trip. The big part is still ahead!