MOUNT ELBRUS 11-DAYS SOUTH ROUTE (5,642 m.)

Roof of Europe... One of Seven Summits... Mt. Elbrus!

ITINERARY

Day 1: Meeting in Mineralnye Vody airport. Bus ride (4 hrs.) to a mountain hotel in the Baksan valley near the foothills of Mt. Elbrus. Overnight stay in the hotel.  There are twin and triple rooms in the hotel, with toilet and shower. Single accommodation may be available for additional cost in case there are vacant rooms in hotel or if you ordered that in advance. Your mountain guide and our English speaking representative will meet you there or at the airport. Overnight in the hotel (2300 m/7546 ft).

Day 2: Acclimatization ascent to the beautiful waterfall and observatory of the Russian Academy of sciences (3100 m./ 10170 ft)). Overnight stay in the hotel.

Day 3: Acclimatization hike to Mount Cheget (3400 m/ 11155 ft)). This is the last day before you leave the valley and after hike you can visit equipment store in order to hire something. Overnight in the hotel.

Day 4: We ride two gondolas up to the Mir Station,  and then take a chairlift to Garabashi Hut (3800 m/ 12,467 ft). Also referred to as "The Barrels", Garabashi Hut is where we stay while on the mountain. We take an acclimatization hike on the lower reaches of Mount Elbrus' glaciers and snowfields to approximately 4200 m/ 13,780 ft, to the hut Priyut 11. The barrels huts are not the highest huts but the most comfortable ones. There are electric power, light and heaters, personal beds, separate big dining room and kitchen. One of the important rules for acclimatization is: walk as high as you can but sleep as low and comfortable as it is possible. This gives you you relax and rest after hard day. Having night on high elevation in bad conditions makes climber tired without any activity and you can get up even more exhausted than you were several hours ago.

Day 5: Acclimatization hike up to 4300 m/ 14,107 ft to begin of the two parallel rocky ranges.

Day 6: Hike up to the Pastuckhov rocks and probably higher (4800 m/ 15,748 ft) .

Day 7: Relax day. We think that it is good to have a good rest before a summit day. That is why this day we will go for an acclimatization hike not higher than 4100 m (13,451 ft) and return to the huts for rest. Depending on weather and time your guide may offer to have a short snow/ ice/ rope/ self-belay technique courses.

Day 8: Summit day. Leave base camp about 3 a.m. for the climb of Elbrus' west summit, 5642 m (18,510 ft). Descend to base camp. Overnight stay in the Barrels hut. We stand up early in the morning (at about 2 a.m.) and leave The Barrels after breakfast at about 3am. The idea is to meet sunrise somewhere over the Pastuckhov rocks. It is possible to hire a snow-cat (Ratrak) for a group. This vehicle carries climbers (12 people) up to Pastuckhov rocks and saves 4 hours and a lot of energy. Generally, for an average group, it takes about 9 hours to reach the top and 5 hours to come back to The Barrels. Generally we stay at the Barrels this night. If a group returns to the Barrels before 2 p.m. we can discuss the possibility to descend to the valley and have overnight at the mountain hotel. However this will require additional payment for hotel, because this night is paid for the huts.  

Day 9: This extra day is scheduled into the itinerary in case we encounter bad weather or need additional time for acclimatization. Having this extra day has proven to dramatically improve the team's success. If we do not use this day for our summit attempt, we can spend the day relaxing, horseback riding, fishing and/or visiting the local market. Overnight in hotel.

Day 10: Another one extra day in case the two previous days the weather did not allow to make a summit attempt. In case we use this extra day we need to keep in mind that we have to descend to valley today. That will be a very hard day!

Day 11: Drive to Mineralnye Vody airport for onward flight.  

DETAILS

Undoubtedly, the best known and most alluring mountain in Russia is Elbrus (5621m/5642m), a dormant volcano, one of the "Seven Summits". The fact that it is the highest point in Europe suffices for many to go and climb it. It stands 11km north from the Main Range and exceeds its neighbors in height by 1200-2000m. The views from all sides of the summits is breathtaking: to the north it is a rolling carpet of pastures veiled by the blue haze of distance and on all other sides a sea of snowy peaks. It is said that through the clear air of autumn you can see both the Black and Caspian seas.

On our first day, we meet at Mineralnye Vody airport, we take a 4 hour bus ride to Baksan Valley, and we reach our mountain hotel. The next day, after breakfast, we walk from the hotel to Cheget. When we reach Cheget village we use ski lifts (chairs) to get as high as possible into the mountain and follow the mountain's edge to the summit of Cheget Mountain, 3600 m (11,800 feet). If the weather is good we can spend 40 minutes on the top taking pictures and sightseeing. Then back down to Cheget village again and have a lunch in a local cafe. On the way back we can visit a mineral spring (natural, with gas). We return to the hotel at about 4-5 pm. We have dinner and stay overnight there.

After breakfast we start from the mountain hotel with all necessary climbing gear. You can leave anything not required at the hotel. We set our base camp at the Barrels huts (3900 m/12800 ft). You will carry your own equipment/clothes from hotel to lifts (5 minutes) and from lifts to the huts (5 minutes). Sometimes, not often, the 3rd leg of the lift is closed and it may be that you have to walk some of the way from the lifts to the huts. This will take about 40 minutes along a good trail. That is why we recomend you carry a backpack and not a handbag with your gear. After a short rest and tea we start for a hike up to the beginning of the Pastuckhov rocks and probably higher (4200-4300 m/ 14100 ft). Depending on weather and time your guide may offer to give a short snow\ice\rope\self-belay technique demonstration. Lunch, dinner and overnight at the Barrels huts.

The barrels huts are not the highest huts but are the most comfortable ones. There is electric power, light and heaters, personal beds, a separate big dining room and a kitchen. One of the important rules for acclimatization is: walk as high as you can but sleep as low and comfortable as it is possible. This allows you to relax and rest after a hard day. Having a night on a high elevation in bad conditions will make a climber feel more exhausted when waking.

We believe it to be favourable to have a good rest before a summit day. That is why on day 4, we will go for an acclimatization hike not higher than 4300 m (14100 ft) and return to the huts for rest. Depending on the weather and the time your guide may offer to give a short snow\ice\rope\self-belay technique demonstration. Our tours do not assume any previous experience and many participants in groups are novices. Your guide will give some training only to ensure you feel more comfortable with crampons or an ice axe, but we do not expect you to use any climbing techniques when it really concerns safety. If there is any danger our guides will rope you up and make a proper belay.

Although we do not recommend strenuous hikes on this day if you want to go higher our guide can accompany you, although not higher than Pastuckhov rocks. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, overnight in the Barrels huts.

Sometimes if all people in a group are in a very good shape and have good acclimatization we can climb the top even this day. However the decision about this must be taken on the first day at Baksan Valley.

Day 8 is the summit day for Elbrus. We wake up early in the morning (at about 2am) and leave The Barrels after breakfast at about 3am. The idea is to meet the sunrise somewhere over the Pastuckhov rocks. It is possible for the group to hire a snow-cat (Ratrak) for this part of the trek. This vehicle carries climbers (12 people) up to Pastuckhov rocks, saving 2 hours and a lot of energy. Generally, for an average group, it takes about 7 hours to reach the top and 3 hours to come back to The Barrels.

Generally we stay at the Barrels for this night. If a group returns to the Barrels before 2 pm we can discuss the possibility to descend to the valley and spend the night at the mountain hotel. However this will require an additional payment for the hotel, because this night has been paid for, for the huts. After breakfast at Barrels, we descend back to the mountain hotel and have a rest day with short hikes around or shopping at the wool market. In case we do not reach the top the day before due to bad weather, we will reserve two days for the summit and return back to Baksan valley.

On our last day in Caucasus, we will drive back to Mineralnye Vody airport for the end of services.

For Moscow hotels, and international flight tickets back home, you can ask for a quote from our staff.

RUSSIAN VISA

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

A visa for the Russian Federation is a document, permitting a 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 the visa period but to overstay is a serious violation and in the case of an overstay, leaving the country could become much more troublesome than entering it.

We can send visa support for more days than the period of our main service but for not more than 20 nights. If you need a greater period please make real reservations in hotels through us for the extra days or contact a visa company to purchase the proper kind of visa. A sample of a 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 your visa support (invitation) page as an email attachment. It is a page with two forms: "Voucher" and "Confirmation of Hosting". You have to print it out and take to the Consulate along with the other necessary items. There will be some comments sent out with the visa support, these comments will help you fill out the Consulate application form (questionnaire). If you are going to apply for the visa in a country that is not of your citizenship, let us know the country as some Consulates (such as in France, Japan and 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 to provide 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 the case that you have a tour organised with 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 the fine before you are able to register.

DESTINATION GUIDE

About Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus is a mountain located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia, in the northern Iranian plateau. Read More >