MOUNTAINEERING: Climbing to the top of Europe - Mount Elbrus, Russia

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www.doitnow.co.za | Adventure • 19


inALTITUDE:

Words by Candy Hooke Photos by various photographers

Climbing to Pashtukov Rocks

16 • DO IT NOW Magazine October | November 2012


Clim bi ng

to th e to p pe ro Eu of Mou nt Elbrus, Russ ia Despite some serious health setbacks, including being wheelchair bound for a while, nothing was going to stop me from being in the mountains again, and going for my new goal. On 22 June 2012 my team and I left for Russia on the adventure of a lifetime. We were going to climb Mount Elbrus, a dormant volcano close to the border of Russia and Georgia. At 5,642 m (18,510 feet) it’s the highest mountain in Europe and makes up one of the coveted seven summits. Logistically it’s quite tough to reach the Baksan Valley, where Elbrus is located, and after being in airports for 12 hours, flying for 16 hours and driving for a further 8 hours we finally arrived.

Mountain s have fascinate d me for as long as I can remember, instilling in me a passion and need to be amongst them. It is also through this passion that I first came across The Seven Summits; the famed seven highest mountain s on seven continents. After doing some research I realised that if I put my mind to it, I could actually conquer some of these mountain s - me, a five-foot mother of two!

Our first acclimatisation hike was to climb Mount Cheget. There is a large military presence in this area, due to it being on the border of Georgia, and we couldn’t take the chairlifts up until the soldiers with their large machine guns went ahead. In 2011 the south side of Elbrus had to be closed for climbing, as the rebels had planted bombs and caused major unrest in the area surrounding the mountain. So we were somewhat anxious to get this hike over and done with.

www.doitnow.co.za | Adventure • 17


We left for base camp early the next day, as we had heard that the chairlifts were not working on the last section, and this would mean a very severe uphill hike with extra-large duffel bags. Our guide, Yuriy, called ahead and asked a snowcat driver if he would be able to drive us up to The Barrels, our base camp at 3,800 m, but the snow was melting fast so this might not be an option by the time we arrived. Packed and ready with around 200 kg of gear between the six of us, we set off in the waiting snowcat and what followed was the second scariest experience of the trip for me. As we started ascending, the snowcat lost traction and slid down a cliff to almost land on a pile of rocks. We all had to bail out and cling on to the rocks for our dear lives. Fortunately no one was hurt, but I was taking no chances and decided to walk the rest of the way up; this beast was not ruining my climb! Reaching base camp I discovered that the ‘barrels’ are old oil barrels that have been converted into comfortable rooms, with six wooden 'bunks' per barrel. Our mess hall was an old converted container, in which our cook, Vladimir, produced hearty Russian meals and stored our water that came fresh from the mountain.

Life on the mountain at high altitude is not easy, and I was the only girl in our team. There's no time or space for shyness here, and eventually something as gross as seeing someone carry their five-litre pee bottle to the long drops becomes normal. Months of training and preparation had us all in good shape for the long and hard daily acclimatisation hikes and final summit push - that alone would be a 15-hour slog on our feet. We climbed higher and higher each day, returning to base camp at night to get our bodies fully acclimatised. The rule of thumb is to climb high and sleep low, to decrease our chances of acute mountain sickness, which is life threatening.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

1. The beast on Mount Elbrus 2. The Barrels base camp at 3,800 m 3. First acclimatisation hike to ruins of the famous Priut (hut) at 4,300 m 4. Sunrise above the clouds on Mount Elbrus.

18 • DO IT NOW Magazine October | November 2012

Weather patterns are totally unpredictable. One minute we would be climbing in glorious sunshine with views for miles, and then within three minutes the clouds would cover everything and you could hardly see your teammate in front of you! Temperatures range from around 5 to minus 15 degrees, with a strong snow storm thrown in for good measure. We were climbing in the summer season, and the massive amounts of snow falling resulted in us having to wade through snow as deep as my waist in places.


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