The Caucasus mountains are climbing skyward in a tectonic crumble between the seas. Among them Elbrus, the highest.
What do you need to know about Elbrus?
It is:
• 5,642m tall (18,510ft)
• Located in the western Caucasus – within the geographic Europe
• One of the seven summits (the highest mountains in each continent)
• Our challenge for the week
The taller summit (the one we went to) was first reached in 1874 by Akhia Sottaiev – a guide working for a few Englishmen and a Swiss.
One hundred and forty-three years later, as part of the guide team I found myself among the ranks of Exped Adventure. We were a ten-strong team of varied backgrounds and ages, ready for an attempt for the summit. Of course, there’s much more to be done in order to achieve such a goal and most of the things have been covered in the training day. Typical questions include the effects of altitude, the boots, crampons and the warmth of the kit that you may need.
The answers to most of th...
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