A Family Business...

Day 9, June 11^th, 2012: Base Camp to Kislovodsk

Ugh. Logistical issues can be such a pain. Especially when people don’t speak English at all. In Russia, this is a common problem. We arrived back in Kislovodsk from Base Camp without incident but, instead of being greeted by Anastasia, the tour organizer, we were met by her mother. Apparently, Anastasia had gone on vacation to Poland. We had also been moved to a different hotel, and half of us were missing bags. After a lot of haggling in broken English, we managed to secure our stuff and settle into the new hotel. The new hotel was “nicer” which I guess in Russian means gaudier…but all in all it was a much more comfortable place to stay than base camp. I called my parents and checked in with them for the first time all expedition. They were very excited to hear from me, and had thought I hadn’t summited! This is especially ironic considering my brother David had retweeted by summit tweet two days prior…I guess Anastasia’s family isn’t the only one with communication issues!

We went out for some celebratory beers in town with our guide Yura. The Basque boys are heavy drinkers and I think they consumed approximately 15-20 liters all night. I headed back early to get some sleep ahead of my big day in Moscow tomorrow.

Alfredo sticking his head out of his tent. "Is it time to pack up yet?"

A Heavy Carry

Day 8, June 10^th, 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.

Descent to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp (February 25th)

The weather only got worse. After a terrifying night of 80+mph winds (our tent got totally shredded), we packed up our stuff quickly in the morning and began to climb down to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp. The weather had not improved at all and visibility was still low. The only thing better about today was that we were getting more and more oxygen as we descended. (It’s amazing how much of a difference 1000ft can make.) Also, going down—after 12 days of climbing up—is not easy on the toes. I think many of us will lose several toenails by the end of this expedition… We made it down to Base Camp after 4-5 hours. Everyone was exhausted yet ecstatic. An amazing dinner (and cold beers!) awaited us. I called my parents for the first time on the entire expedition and told them I summited. They were very proud! I am so happy!

Midway down the descent from the summit. I'm in red second from the front.