5642 m
Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano in the Caucasus Main Range, the European border with Asia in southern Russia. Mt. Elbrus has two main summits - the western summit at 18,513'/5642m and the eastern summit at 18,442'/5621m.The first ascent of the west peak was in 1829 by a Russian army team and the east in 1874 by an English team. Mont Blanc is sometimes consider the highest in Europe but Elbrus technically holds that honor. The normal climbing season is May to September. The climb is quite short by 7 Summits standards taking less than a week at most. I will be climbing from the north side using a base camp and a High Camp from where we will launch the summit bid. This side offers more of a climbing experience and is significantly less crowded. The standard route on Elbrus' south is technically easy and includes a cable car up to the 12,500' level. It is snow slope from there to the summit. Climber stay in 'huts' which are single room, rock walled building with tin roofs at 12,700' and/or the Barrel Huts, 13,600', which are, well, huge barrels. A snow-cat is reported to be available for climbers who want a ride even higher - up to 15,750. It is common to have over 100 climbers going for the summit in a single day in July.
