Elbrus – part 1

elbrus1The main target of this year’s expedition was Elbrus. As I had further plans in the Georgian Caucasus mountain range I was flying to Tbilisi. I had met the remaining participants on the Warsaw Chopin Airport. After I repacked my over the limit luggage we went through customs and after 4h-flight we landed in Georgian capital at 4 am local time.

Having only 2 week’s time of Russian visas we immediately moved to the next stage of our journey. We hired a minibus on Didube bus station and travelled to Kazbegi village near Russian border where we were supposed to board a Russian bus we booked beforehand. In the afternoon we joined a long queue of vehicles at the border checkpoint. Because of political tension between Russian and Georgia this is the only major border crossing left, in addition to that it is open only from 6 am to 6 pm. Many people have to wait over a day and lorry drivers even weeks to get to the other side. Winding mountain road leads through the few km of no-mans-land between 2 checkpoints. 

 
tbilisiAs one of the last vehicles that day we are lucky to get to Russia in one day. However this is not the end of our road trip – through Vladikavkaz and Nalchik we had still over 250 km to go to our hotel in Terskol. We arrive there at around 2 am and finally after 1,5 day in transit we can get some rest.
 
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Five less experienced out of our nine people decide to climb Elbrus by a standard route. For me it is less interesting, commercialized, full of industrial noise and lacks the remoteness, magic of adventure. Therefore me, Agnieszka, Marcin and Maciek (as in the poem The Road Not Taken – see below) decided to tackle more difficult East route and also climb the twin summit.

After a late breakfast and repacking at noon burdened by our heavy backpacks we begin our in the village of Elbrus. Following glacial stream we move through green valleys, from time to time passing by grazing livestock. An evening storm forced us to break camp early. We have beautiful sunny weather in the morning. Our breakfast is interrupted by curious cows lured by the scent of our instant noodles J As we move up slowly the grass and bushes disappears and gives way to rocks.  In the evening we reach the edge of the glacier at 3700m where we put up our tents for the second night.

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With first light we cross the glacier to maximize our safety while the ice is at its strongest. Around noon we make our camp at 4200 and go for an acclimatization walk and to scout out the route.  On the fourth day we move slower – I am beginning to feel altitude. The mountain slope is devoid of fresh snow due to constant wind. It makes finding comfortable way among ice fields more difficult. At times we fall into small crevasses in the glacier – but nothing dangerous. Later on we decide to change our strategy and move more towards crumbling rocky ridge. As the day comes to an end we try to find a spot for the night. In the end at 4900m we put up our tents on an uneven rocky platform. The wind is picking up speed. We created belays (fixed points for attaching climbing rope to a rock or ice) above and below the tents and stretched the rope to strengthen and stabilize them. We intend to reach the summit on the following day. Troubled by the howling of wind and battered by flapping tent walls we go to uneasy slumber unsure what the dawn would bring.

 

DSCN0738DSCN0750DSCN0754The Road not taken

Robert Frost, 1874 – 1963

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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