Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A Heavy Carry


Day 8, June 10th, 2012: High Camp to Base Camp Descent

To be honest, I wasn’t so keen to carry down my 25kg of gear from High Camp to Base Camp. With Denali coming up so soon, I didn’t want to risk over-exerting of—worse—injuring myself on the descent. I struck a deal with a porter so that I only had to carry down half my gear. This was a life-saver for my knees. I was able to enjoy our last day on the mountain and soak in the beautiful high alpine flora for the last time.

The view from my tent at High Camp in the morning.


The highlight of the day was when we passed by a high alpine lake. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed this before, but there are several high altitude lakes on Elbrus.  I’m not sure if these are formed because it is a volcano or what, but they make for an unexpected and gorgeous addition to the traditional alpine scenery.

Back at Base Camp we feasted on bangers and mash (again!) for the third time in four days. Yum. I have to say that the food has been the major low point for me on this trip. And I’m not a picky eater…

Anyway, back to Kislovodsk tomorrow (and normal Russian food…yay!).

And then back at Base Camp before you know it.


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