IMOSA
Indonesia Mountain Specialist
MT. ELBRUS 5.642 M
OVERVIEW
Elbrus is an ancient dormant volcano located in Southern Russia, near the border with Georgia. This mountain has two summits, the taller one is in the west summit and the other one is the east summit. With an elevation of 5.642 meters, the west summit has made Elbrus the tallest mountain in Europe.
Despite the short distance between the hillside to the summit (only 3,5km), the declivity of the mountain that reaches 30° and the snowy field makes the duration of climbing to the summit takes about 12-16 hours.
The snow-covered mountain, Elbrus, is popular not only among the climbers, but also the skiers. Some resorts are built on this mountain, we can even find cable cars to lift the skiers from the elevation of 2.200 meters straight to the elevation of 3.700 meters. These cable cars help us shorten the duration of our climbing program. Nevertheless, the climbers are still required to have good physical condition so that they could easily acclimatize to the altitude.
Climbing Elbrus itself doesn’t need some special techniques, but it will still be a challenge, especially for climbers from tropical countries like Indonesia. The temperature there could reach -20° C. We need special clothes and shoes to face the low temperature there. But no worries, we could rent the equipment we need around Terskol.
Another challenge to face in Elbrus beside the altitude and its low temperature, is the weather. It is very likely to change within a very short time. This is because its location that is only about 120 km from the Black Sea.
ITINERARY
Day 1&2 : flight to Moskow
Day 3 : flight to Mineralnye Vody (2 hours) – by car to Terskol (4 hours)
Day 4 : acclimatization to the Cheget summit (5.460 m), rent the equipment
We will use a car to reach the hillside of Mount Cheget, then a cable car till we almost reach the summit. Then, we will climb for about 90 minutes to the summit. There we could enjoy the magnificent landscape from the top of Mount Elbrus.
Day 5 : climbing to Mountain Hut
We will drive to Azau Station (2.200 m) then use a cable car to the Garabashi Station (3.700 m). We will continue walking through the Barrel Huts to the Mountain Hut (3.900 m). There we store our things and after a while we will go to the Diesel Hut (4.050 m) for our first acclimatization. Then we go back and overnight at the Mountain Hut.
Day 6 : acclimatize to Pastukhov Rocks (4.650 m)
The climbing to Pastukhov Rock needs about 3 hours of walking, then we will go back to Mountain Hut. In the afternoon, we will have you briefed about the plan of attacking the summit.
Day 7 : Attacking the summit of Mount Elbrus
We will start climbing at 01.00 AM. We will go to the Pastukhov Rocks to the saddle between the East Summit and the West Summit. The elevation of this saddle is 5.416 meters. Then we will head to the west summit, the tallest summit in Europe (5.642 m). The climbing to the top takes about 12-16 hours. We could also rent a Ratrak (snowcat) heading to the Pastukhov Rocks, so we could shorten till 3 hours of the duration of climbing. If we could arrive at the Mountain Hut at 13.00, then we could go back to Terskol right away. The cable cars only work till 14.00.
Day 8&9 : Extra days
Day 10 : Heading to Mineralnye Voldy and fly back to Moskow
Day11&12: City tour in Moskow
Day 13&14:Flight to Jakarta
PRICE
USD 3,400/person
Minimum 5 persons
SERVICE
INCLUDE
Accommodation in Moskow and Terskol
Land transportation in Russia
Local guide and Imosa’s
Certificate
Meals and water during climbing
City tour
EXCLUDE
Flight from Jakarta – Moskow – Mineralnye Vody and back
Russia Visa
Personal gear and clothes
Additional meals aside from climbing
Hotel in Terskol if the climbing program ends earlier than the schedule
Rent Ratrak in Elbrus
Personal assurance
Force majeur