Summit

Report: August 1, 2006

At 11:05am (12:05am PST) Tuesday morning, we successfully summated Mt. Elbrus! At 18,430 ft. it is the highest point in Europe.
As we made our final push to the peak I followed in my fathers footsteps and we both summitted in good health and spirits. We started at 3:30am where a snow cat took us up to about 15,000ft. The cat ride was reminiscent of a WWII troop mover. We all lined up with our gear and crampons and ice axes and headlamps on 2 benches facing eachother. Then we were off to war.
The climb was challenging and it was pretty windy with consistent wind at 25 mph and gusts twice that. More details on the climb and a GPS track of our routs later. For now, we’re back at the Huts where we’ll spend the night and then return to Azau tomorrow afternoon.