Title image - BAI takes you to: Mt.Elbrus

Elbrus Expedition Dispatch

July 17, 2016 – Preparations for our Summit Attempt

It is 5pm on Sunday afternoon. I am looking out across the majestic, steep, glaciated, very impressive Caucasus range. Les DeWitt and others on this trip have commented over and over while we’ve been up here that’s been a real surprize for this trip.

You come knowing about the high twin summit peaks of Mount Elbrus, the highest point in Europe and then you realize there is a spectacular mountain range; it is like the Alps on steroids that you didn’t even know about it. We enjoyed these views every day that we’ve been up here and tonight it is especially important, I say tonight because we are going to bed early. Leila, our cook, has prepared another wonderful dinner that we are taking early this evening because we have decided to try for the summit tomorrow.

That means, wake up 1:30 in the morning, Leila will have a full breakfast and about 3am, our snow cats will arrive and we will go high on the mountain to begin our long climb towards the summit of Mount Elbrus.

The team is in great spirits, great shape, very well acclimatized. We’ve spent much of today, in very good weather rigging our harness well, checking our ice axes and drying our gear thoroughly for the long summit climb tomorrow.

The weather is beautiful, the team is strong. I have a great feeling about our chances for success tomorrow. Stay tune and we will report to you on the way up to the summit of Mount Elbrus tomorrow. We are signing out now from the Berg Adventures team from the barrels where we are going to have a good night rest and we are excited about our climb tomorrow. Hope the weather holds and we will see how we do it.

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The Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the dividing line between Asia and Europe. Crossing the Caucasus Mountain range was an important section of the northern arm of the Silk Route