Good Trip!!

I was wondering how you'd made out.

Don't get too disappointed. You've had a great experience and lived to tell about it.

You got down in good condition to do another mountain another day or this one on a better day.

Sorry to hear you didn't summit mate....but you're alive and able to try again one day:-)
cheer up and focus on the good aspects of the trip. you will stand on top of Europe soon enough my friend:-)

I am off to try it myself in about 5 weeks, so hopefully the weather is kind to me!

Im going to use this thread seeing that i started it ......Can anyone tell me if the barrell huts on Elbrus have mattresses of some sort or will i have to take my thermarest sleeping mat? I have seen a few pics here and there but cant tell if i would need to take my own mat.

Im off in 4 weeks so any help on this is appreciated.

cheers,
Andy

There are mattresses in the Barrel Huts and in the Diesel hut. I brought a pad but never had to use it.

Oz, they have mattresses.

joynlife, I've used them on my trip from which I just got back on the 20th. I can highly recommend them!

Joynlife- I am using them for my upcoming trip and have found them to be extremely professional (thus far) so hopefully that stays the same.

WouterB- sorry about your trip mate, better luck next time and thanks for the info. I dont think I will take it as it just takes up too much room and is a bastard to pack up especially when its freezing cold.

ps how cold was it at the barrels and huts? and summit day?????

Every day on that mountain I was either in my "icebreaker 260" (my baselayer and the lightest/coolest thing I packed) or not wearing anything at all. So it was warm enough. On our summit day though, we had temperatures of -35°C, less than 1m visibility, hail and a LOT of wind. Talk about bad luck. The days after that it only got worse as I heard. I only had cold fingers, but managed to control it by keeping my hands in my pockets.

But with less than 1m of visibility and that much wind, it wasn't safe to continue anyway. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll go back. I've been thinking about it and haven't reached a conclusion yet, but if all 7 summits are this crowded and especially polluted, I think I'll start looking for something else... .

WouterB wrote:Every day on that mountain I was either in my "icebreaker 260" (my baselayer and the lightest/coolest thing I packed) or not wearing anything at all. So it was warm enough. On our summit day though, we had temperatures of -35°C, less than 1m visibility, hail and a LOT of wind. Talk about bad luck. The days after that it only got worse as I heard. I only had cold fingers, but managed to control it by keeping my hands in my pockets.

But with less than 1m of visibility and that much wind, it wasn't safe to continue anyway. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll go back. I've been thinking about it and haven't reached a conclusion yet, but if all 7 summits are this crowded and especially polluted, I think I'll start looking for something else... .

Thanks WouterB......hey did you take walking/hiking poles? I found when using them on Kili, my hands froze because I was holding them and not moving my hands about. I think I will just take the ice axe and swap hands keeping one on the axe and one in the pocket to keep warm. what do you think????????

sjarelkwint wrote:And how are you going to arrest you? One hand arrest? Explain that to me badass!

Im quick enough!

Yeah that was obviously my other dilemma! so i think i will just have the ice axe and be ready in case i do need to self arrest..... probably a safer option hey

You do NOT need an ice axe. I used trekking poles up untill the time my hands started freezing.

If I were to ever try again, I would use Pilgrim again. Don't know if their prices are good or not, but their service was excellent. Any extra question I had whilst over there was answered on the spot. They even fixed me up with a cheap hotel and a free guide in Sochi.

I heard Aconcagua was a dump. Elbrus wasn't clean - at all. If the others are anything like Elbrus I'm not up for it.

Yeah I heard Aconcagua can be like that!.....got a friend going there in December so i will find out what its like as I want to do it next year:-), how was the toilet situation on Elbrus?

The toilet is everywhere. The smell too. Except for the places that smell like diesel. Quite a lot of those to.

oh well, something to look forward to I guess!!!! I just hope i dont get screwed around by officials and the like.

Did you leave gear behind at the hut for summit day? i/e sleeping bag or other items not needed to climb to the summit? was it safe to leave stuff lying around?

If you stay in one of the huts, the toilets are no worse than on Kilimanjaro. I suppose if you are camping you will find more crap on the mountain. On my summit day, 95% of the people were just using trekking poles for the whole route. I used an axe and one pole, which I think is a safer way to go.

One other piece of advise, if you are going to be in Russia for three or more days before traveling to Mineralye Vody, make sure you have proof of registration stamped on your landing card from where ever you stayed (or you can get it from a post office). The officials at Mineralye Vody airport when you arrive and depart, are looking for foreign climbers without proper registration. Not having proper registration will result in having to pay off the officials, possible multiple times before you can leave Russia.

Pilgrim Tours provided excellent service and even helped us sort out registration problems with the local registration office.

I don't mind ONE nasty toilet. I mind the toilet being everywhere. It's just that it's one of the most polluted mountains I've ever seen. But as I've said I'm not sure if I'll try it again.