Flag DataArt over Elbrus

  • Tutorial


Alexander Boriskin, a DataArt developer from Voronezh, in early May made the first ascent in his life, having conquered the highest point in Europe. Especially for his colleagues, Alexander told in detail about the journey to the top of Elbrus and shared his recommendations with those who are going to repeat his achievement.

Alexander Boriskin, Senior Developer, DataArt, Voronezh

February 2017. The main question is how to spend the May holidays. Ideas were different, but the option to stay in the city dropped immediately.

I am not a mountaineer at all, but I was interested in climbing Elbrus for a long time. This is done by many, there are commercial tours, where for the conquest of the highest point in Europe is enough general physical fitness.

Elbrus has two peaks: the eastern (5621 meters) and western (5642 meters), and several routes. Classic - from the south: there are ratracks, lifts and many alpine camps. The most famous - LeapRus shelter at a height of 3912 with a buffet, Wi-Fi and other pleasures.



Of course, I love comfort, but I see the essence of such tours in isolation from civilization and the Internet - climbing implies some kind of asceticism. Looking ahead, I will say that, having risen to an altitude of 3800 meters, I was ready to give everything, just to be in a similar shelter. But first things first: we chose a route from the north, where there are no snow leopards, no cable cars, or other attributes of a comfortable rest.

Our trip was supposed to last nine days:

Day 1. Height 2500. Camping, accommodation.
Day 2. Acclimatization on the top of Mount Surkh, 3100. Return to the base camp.
Day 3. Acclimatization on stone mushrooms, 3300. Return to base camp.
Day 4. Transfer to the camp “Teply Stan”, 3800.
Day 5. Acclimatization on the rocks of Lenz, 4600.
Day 6. Rest.
Day 7. Storm of the eastern summit, 5621.
Day 8. Reserve day of assault in case of bad weather.
Day 9. Descend down. Departure to Pyatigorsk.

This schedule can be divided into three parts: preparation for the assault, assault and descent back. The most serious stage is the first, the so-called acclimatization. Six days you gain altitude, rising higher and returning to base camp. Lifting for every 100 meters means less oxygen in the air and is accompanied by increased shortness of breath. With unsuccessful acclimatization, you can get the symptoms of altitude sickness - up to loss of coordination and sanity. If this does not begin to descend, you can bring yourself to pulmonary edema or brain and replenish the sad statistics of Elbrus. Even without this, every year it looks more and more alarming - simply because of the mass scale of the ascents.

On the first day you are taken by car from Pyatigorsk to an altitude of 2400 meters, from where you climb to 2500 to set up tents. In our case, the road was still littered with snow, we arrived only in the evening, and even in the rain, so we had to spend the night right on the spot. But not far away is the beautiful waterfall "Sultan". Morning photo:



Waking up and collecting backpacks (my weight was 32 kg), we moved to a height of 2500. Never before have I worn such heavy backpacks and thought all the way, “How to go further if I’m already breathing like a hunted horse at 100 meters ?! ”They arrived, set up tents, left their belongings and advanced to the acclimatization exit - Surkh Mountain, 3100 meters.



The next day was planned access to the stone mushrooms - to a height of 3300 meters. Given the heaviness of the backpacks, we decided to drag some of the things into the assault camp (3800 m) in advance. I took away all the unnecessary things and got a backpack weighing 25 kilograms. It

was hard to climb from 2500 to 3800: every 10 meters I had to stop breathing, so I climbed for about seven hours. On the way there were both rises up to 35 degrees, and comfortable sections, but, which is a shame, there were descents where the height had to be dropped ineptly.

The snow zone began, we put on glasses of the highest degree of protection and panama, smeared with cream - without it, after 20 minutes the lips will become like Angelina Jolie. Reaching the camp, dropped things and moved back. If it were not for this descent, I would feel quite well. But the 4-hour route finally knocked me out of the rut. I couldn’t get out of the tent that evening: fever, chills, cough ... I began to fear that the lack of acclimatization could turn into something serious. I decided that I wake up, sign the necessary documents and leave for Pyatigorsk - I will be more whole.

But the human body is an amazing thing, and the next morning it became easier. However, the desire to go to Pyatigorsk did not discourage me, although almost all my belongings, including the telephone, had already been abandoned to a height of 3,800 meters, I only had a passport and money. The instructor promised that if it became worse, he would personally take me down with things. This gave me confidence, and together we will advance to camp 3800, passing stone mushrooms on 3300 along the way.



Now it was much easier:

  • Lighter steel backpacks.
  • The descent was not back, only the rise.
  • The body has become accustomed to this height.
  • I took off the GoPro chest strap and undid the chest buckle of the backpack to breathe deeper - this is a very important moment, quite unobvious for those who are new to the mountains.

Closer to the camp began wet snowfall, and we got wet through ... It was then that I remembered about the comfortable alpine camps! By the way, we ourselves were lucky in this regard. Our camp was called “Teply Stan” - there was a stove in the central house, it was possible to warm up and dry things. Some people at this height are placed in tents. How they dry things, and indeed they can be there in a hurricane wind, is a mystery to me. Apparently, these are exceptional lovers of romance!



The next day, an acclimatization hike to the Lenz rocks, 4,600 meters, was planned. They are named in honor of the great Russian physicist Emilia Lenz - the very one whose name appears in the Joule-Lenz law on the thermal effect of electric current. In 1829, he participated in the first expedition to Elbrus under the leadership of General Emmanuel.

And on this day a strong snowstorm began - visibility was barely 10 meters. Therefore, it was decided to use it for additional rest and to leave tomorrow.

A glacier begins right from the border of the camp, which means that:

  • Need to wear a cat.
  • We must go together, because there are cracks in the glacier. The task of the ligament - if one gets into the crack, the rest should pull it out. In addition, the bundle helps keep the overall pace, and when visibility deteriorates, keeps the team together.



The crack in the glacier.

We got to the lower cliffs of Lenz - huge stone blocks that allow you to shelter from the wind and organize a break.




At this our final acclimatization exit was completed. The team felt a surge of strength and confidence. Now it was just the weather. She is very changeable on Elbrus, and in May she is often very inhospitable. But, judging by the forecast, we knowingly used the day for rest - the forecast for the reserve day, now intended for the assault, was the most favorable.

May 6 - the day of the assault - we left the camp at one in the morning. It is necessary to have time to return in the light of the sun. The predicted duration of ascent to the summit is 10 (!) Hours, approximately six to seven hours are allocated for descent. We put on a warmed outfit, headlamps and get under way.



Around sunrise, the temperature was around -15 with wind. Feels like you need to move constantly. Only very short stops, otherwise you immediately begin to freeze.

Having passed the average Lenza, they removed the strapping and went together in the light of the sun. Approximately from this height glitches begin. I was warned about them in advance, I was mentally prepared for them. I clearly remember: I see a man advancing on a cat in the snow, while the sound comes from behind me. I turn around - no one. And this is definitely not an echo effect in the mountains. The manifestations of all are different, up to conversations with inanimate objects.

Let's return to the weather - it is really very interesting on Elbrus. The sun can shine so that under this ultraviolet it is hot to go even one thermal underwear. And after 10 minutes you need to urgently wear a fliska, a windbreaker and a down jacket. After the cold and the wind with the rising of the sun, the beginning of the furnace was such that my body asked for help in thermoregulation. To remove thermal underwear from your feet, you need to get rid of cats, alpine boot covers, boots and pants. Then put everything back on again, performing all the actions on the snow slope - it’s still a story!

After the change of equipment continue to move. Suddenly, I had a lot of strength, really bursting the beginning - I felt that I was ready to run up the mountain. They say this is also the effect of altitude sickness. The guys gave me a pass, I went ahead - getting lost on the way to the top is difficult: you just need to go where it is higher. Another hour and a half, and I'm upstairs. The view from there is just beautiful:




everything reached the top, but at different times, so the joint photo, alas, did not work out. It is impossible to sit for a long time on top - the body is not used to such a height. The descent, as expected, was a long one. There was a beautiful weather, just for shooting the starry sky and time-lapse on GoPro, only the forces were not perfect. But GoPro still came in handy - at home I made just such a video cutting:



In conclusion, I would like to share some tips for the conquerors of Elbrus, who had not previously gone on mountain hikes:

  1. If you are going to Elbrus for the first (!) Time, better go in the summer and from the south. Still, our route was physically very difficult, and we were just lucky with the weather. One of the local guides said that in August everyone reached his summit, and in May it was a rarity. In particular, of the four people in his group, this time only one decided to storm the summit - I must say, I reached successfully. But in such weather, which fell to us, to turn around was unforgivable.

  2. The choice of equipment should be taken very seriously. Boots must be high-altitude, with a Gore-Tex membrane, a hard sole and ankle fixation. It is better if they fall on your foot before the hike. There should be a good down jacket, membrane windbreaker, self-dumping pants, mittens and… well, this list is quite long, it is sent in advance, and every thing in it is quite important. From the strategy “I will take a warm jacket from a friend, my father’s army backpack, my brother’s gloves” should be abandoned and professional equipment rented in Pyatigorsk. This service provides many shops. Only I would have called them in advance, asked what exactly is available.

  3. With acclimatization exits you need to go at your own pace and try to breathe deeply.

  4. You need to take out insurance covering the helicopter. Nowadays, this can be done online and is inexpensive, about 500 rubles. But you will feel calmer. On the day of our assault, a skier who broke both legs was taken from a camp for 3,800 by helicopter. It is doubly insulting that this was the first day of his ride.

  5. It is worth starting training at least one month before climbing, even if you are involved in some kind of sport. You need to regularly run for three to seven km and go to the gym to strengthen the muscles of the legs and back. Drink a course of vitamins, designed for active physical exertion.

I really enjoyed climbing. In the future I want to climb other mountains: presumably Kazbek and Belukha. They are smaller than Elbrus, but according to the Alpine classification, climbing them is more difficult. I hope this is not my last article on this topic. Vysotsky perfectly expressed, among other things, my feeling: “Only mountains can be better than mountains, on which I have not yet been.”

Also popular now: