Aug 2006

Just got back from the Hard Rock Cafe in Moscow. Dinner was a nice change but still wasn't quite the same taste as in america. After eating out on patio and people watching on Old Arbat Street we adjourned to the third floor which turned into a night club. Dad danced a bit with the others while I watched on while enjoying a cup of coffee. Strange roll reversal

Earlier today we excused ourselves from the bus tour of Moscows popular spots because dad really wanted to see Lennon's Tomb. We wernt prepared for the heavy rain that soaked us while we stood in line for 2 hours. I made a quick run to a nearby McDonalds for a Royale with Cheese.

Were back in room now for a few hours rest before catching our bus to the airport at 4am!

-a

Welp were in Moscow now. This mornng we took a bus from Azau to the Minerol Vody airport. We had another flattened mystery meat lunch in the back office resturant. The airline this time wasn't a Aeroflot but rather a new Siberian airline called S7. Much nicer. Very reminicent of a JetBlue. However the pilot is still the same crappy pilot. For some reason the Russians don't bother to activate the airconditioner when parked. The temperature slowly reached 100 degrees as we all used our emergency cards to fan ourselves.

After our white-knuckle flight into Moscow we were transported to the Hotel Ukraine. This place is described as Stalin Gothic. Yeah, ok.

Gonna check out Red Square at night ...

Report: August 3, 2006

Yesterday we made our way back down to the valley and the town of Azau. We spent the afternoon relaxing and catching up on sleep and wondering around the village visiting local merchant kiosks and stores. Last night I joined a bunch of others from the group for a late night at the hotel bar to celebrate.
It seems that slowly everybody is getting the “bug” and coming down with intestinal illness. Luckily, dad and I have been fine.
Today, a few of us went on a deaclimization hike up a local valley just east of us. Along the way, we had to pass through a Russian military checkpoint in the middle of the hike. Apparently, the region we were hiking is fairly close to the Georgian border. The solders were very nice and chatted us up on where we were all from.
This afternoon we had our celebration BBQ and enjoyed shaslik (we think it’s goat or lamb), beer, wine, and champagne. Tomorrow we depart for Moscow.

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.