Elbrus 5642m

ELBRUS 5642m
Our expedition to Europe's tallest mountain, Elbrus, started a week earlier, when we tried to conquer Mont Blanc in the Alps. We therefore have had a little bit of altitude acclimatization already, but a lot less than we hoped for, since our Mont Blanc attempt failed due to a snowstorm.
The first day in the Caucasian mountains, we started off driving up to the village Terskol, from where we could take the ski lift all the way up to 3800 meters, and check in at the hut "Сердце Эльбруса".
We then took a snowmobile up to 4500 meters to acclimatize. From there we had a nice walk in the sun up to 5000 meters - already on day one! We had a break by an old snow groomer half sunken/half frozen in the glacier, and played with the idea of just continuing to the summit in the afternoon. But I remember having a distinct taste of metal/iron in my mouth, and since we had not brought any food or water to speak of, and the weather suddenly changed dramatically, we headed down to the hut again. A terrible thunder storm passed and we had to run downwards - or walk as fast as we could (which is not very fast, given the oxygen levels at this altitude!). The thunder gods continued all night, and I think the hut itself was struck by lightning. The ski lifts died due to lightning strikes.
The next day we had a day off. I was really not in a good shape, with symptoms of altitude sickness, headache, no sleep, and I was not able to keep any of the food I ate. The weather, on the other hand, was nice again, with the sun shining. Altitude sickness aside, it was a good day for timelapse photography! Got a lot of shots of Elbrus with lenticular clouds on top, and a beautiful golden sunset above the clouds.
Around midnight, starting day three, we got up and prepared for the summit attempt. I remember having a small biscuit and a cup of tea for "breakfast", and packed some chocolate and a thermos with hot tea. Our mountain guide gave me a pill to ease my stomach problems. Not having any food the last 24 hours before the summit attempt was not the best start.
At night, Elbrus is a very cold place to be, so we put on most of our clothes and paid a lot of money for a snowmobile transport up to Pastukhov Rocks (4600 m). Up there, it was a lot colder, and the wind was blowing violently, so we put on all the extra clothes we got and started walking, slowly, slowly against the wind in the dark. At this altitude, you can't go any more than a step or two now and then, and there is no chance you can walk faster to get warm.
I had brought a pair of fleece gloves, with another pair of alpine gloves on top. Big mistake, I should have bought a pair of warm expedition mittens and shoes. Had a terrible frostbite all the way from where we started, both in my fingers and my feet. Lost the feeling in my fingers/toes, and had to spend a lot of energy swinging my arms to force blood into my fingers.
It was so cold and windy, that I could not stop to have a snack, take a photo or anything, when the blue hour arrived and daylight finally started to light the mountains. But it was very beautiful, I can tell you, to see the first rays of sun light the mountains around us!
We were walking in the shadow of the eastern Elbrus peak, but right after we passed the saddle between the eastern and western peaks at around 5300 meters, the first rays of sunlight reached us, and we could have our first break - after having spent hours freezing in wind and darkness. The wind was a little bit lighter, so I could take my GoPro out of my pocket for the first time. But just for a few seconds, before we continued upwards.
We were lucky with the snow conditions, passed the steepest part of the climb and had our next break at about 5500 meters. What a view! At this point, the lack of acclimatization (and food!) started to take its toll on me. Even when walking extremely slowly, I had a severe pain in my chest. It felt like my heart did not get enough oxygen and started making lactic acid just to be able to beat! I walked one step, breathed two times, walked one step, breathed three times, walked one step, breathed four times, and so on. I remember having to walk four steps to let a guy pass me on his way down. And then more or less hanging over my pole to catch my breath again like I just had completed a 100 meter run!
At roughly 5600 meters, my mountain guide served me half a cup of warm tea, and I guess that was what I needed to complete the last few meters. If Elbrus had been 50 meters taller, I'm really not sure if I could have done it!
But finally, I was at the top of Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain!
The long way down was luckily easier, but passing people that was laying on the snow half dead, reminded us about the dangers of high altitudes.
Hope you'll enjoy this short film from the Elbrus!
Music by Scott Buckley
jorntommeras

[@christianhelm4493]

Impressive Video, CONGRATULATIONS!

[@jorntommeras]

Thank you so much Christian! :-)

[@stigfloberghagenphotography]

Flotte scener 🙂👍

[@jorntommeras]

Tusen takk Stig :)