MOUNT ELBRUS FROM NORTH

Standard 11-day Elbrus Tour from the North

ITINERARY

Day 1: Meeting in Mineral Vody. Transportation to Kislovodsk. Walk in the paks of the town. Dinner in a local cafe in the park.Overnight in hotel.

Day 2: Breakfast, 4x4 vehicle drive to Base camp. 4-6 hours trip by unpaved road depending on weather, crossing mountain rivers.Overnight in camping style big tents at the Base camp at 2600 m.

Day 3: Acclimatization hike. Overnight in tents at Base camp.

Day 4: Acclimatization hike. Probably taking some gear to Camp1 at 3700. Overnight in tents at Base camp.

Day 5: Move to Camp 1 (from 2600 to 3700 m, distance: about 6,5 km). Overnight in a hut at Camp 1 at 3700 m.

Day 6: Acclimatization hike to Lenz Rocks up to 4600 m, distance: about 3 km. Overnight in the hut at Camp 1.

Day 7: Easy acclimatization hike up to some altitude, depanding on current situation. Overnight in the hut at Camp 1.

Day 8: Summit day. Early start (2-4 am), walk up to the West summit, distance: about 6,5 km. Return to Camp 1. Overnight in the hut at Camp 1.

Day 9: Reserve day (or descent to Base camp).

Day 10: Retreat to Base camp. Drive back to Kislovodsk. Walk in the town. Dinner in a cafe. Overnight in hotel.

Day 11: Breakfast. Transportation to MinVody. Fly out of Mineral Vody.

DETAILS

The climb of Mt. Elbrus from the North has some difference from the standard route. It is not technically difficult same as from the South but it is in pretty distant and uninhabited area and we offer this tour only for those people who already have experience in living in tents and high altitude climbing. There are no lifts and from the base camp at 2700 meters climbers must walk with their personal gear. There are no hotels and the base camp is in tents. Camp 1 is in a hut on 3700 meters. On the summit day we start from 3700 meters. Do not ask to overnight higher - experience shows that this is the highest good point for staying in tents. Next possible camp site is at 4800 meters which is too high.

Being at the North side of Elbrus you may lost your impression that you are at the Caucasus. It is more as Peak Lenin expedition. It is so wide space and you see the great dimension of the confluence of all valleys which are the tributaries of Malka river! Baksan valley (the south side) becomes small and narrow when we compare it with this space.

Scheduled standard 11-day (10-night) Mt. Elbrus tour (MinVody - MinVody) in 2010 year:
This is one of our standard regular guaranteed departure tours. No matter if you come with a group of friends or travel alone - everybody is welcome to join the tour and it will be run for the same 'per person' price if at least one person signs up.

Standard itinerary starts from Mineralnye Vody airport and ends in Mineralnye Vody airport (MinVody).

You can either book your Moscow - Min' Vody flight tickets from us or come to MinVody independently. In this case you have to inform us about your arrival in Mineralnye Vody flight details. If you come via Moscow you can order services in Moscow from us. We offer hotel accommodations, transportation, excursions as well as domestic flight tickets Moscow-MinVody-Moscow. These services must be ordered separately.

RUSSIAN VISA

All foreign nationals are required to have entry visas to travel to the Russian Federation. Russian entry visas can be obtained at local Russian Embassy or Consulate. Proper invitation (visa support) from a specially authorized travel agency (host company) is required.

A visa to the Russian Federation is a document, permitting stay in Russia for a specific period of time. A visa lists exact entry/exit dates. You can enter/leave Russia on any date within visa period but overstay is a serious violation and in case of overstay leaving the country could be much more troublesome than entering it.

We can send visa support for more days than a period of our real service but for not more than 20 nights. If you need wider period please make real reservations in hotels through us for the extra days or address a visa company to purchase proper kind of visa. A sample of visa company: www.visatorussia.com

Requirements for foreign citizens to enter Russia (tourist visa)

- Passport: must be valid 6 months beyond intended stay
- Russian Visa: required
- Vaccination: not required

Requirements for obtaining Russian tourist visa in a Russian Consulate.

- Your original passport with at least 2 blank visa-designated pages (passport must be valid for at least 6 months after intended departure date from Russia).
- Two copies of Russian visa application form (Consulate's Questionnaire), completed and signed.
- One passport-size photo signed on the back.
- Visa support (invitation) page(s) from host company. ('Voucher' and 'Confirmation' forms)
- Consular fee (different in different countries) must be paid.

We will send you visa support (invitation) page as email attachment. That is a page with two forms: "Voucher" and "Confirmation of Hosting". You have to print it out and pass to the Consulate along with other necessary items. There will be some comments sent with visa support. Those comments will help you to fill out the Consulate application form (questionnaire). If you are going to apply for visa not in the country of your citizenship, let us know that country. Some Consulates (such as in France, Japan and some others) have their own demands for the visa support edition.

All Russian Visas should be registered upon arrival to the Russian Federation.

According to Russian law, your Russian visa must be registered within 72 hours upon your arrival (excluding weekends and official holidays).

If you stay at a hotel, the hotel will register your visa. You will be asked of your visa and passport. A small registration fee may be imposed.
If you are not staying at a hotel and travel on a tourist visa you will have to register your visa at the Passport and Visa Department of the local Police Precinct (OVIR/UVIR office).
In case you have a tour from a tourist company they will register your visa themselves.

Please note that not registering your Russian visa may lead to serious problems: detention by police, fines on departure, prevention from boarding the plane, etc. We strongly advise you to register your Russian visa to avoid possible unnecessary inconveniences. Paying a fine does not free you from registering. If you do not register within 72 hours you must pay fine before you may be registered.