Welcome to Russia, July 21 Elbrus Team!

A guided climb of Elbrus or Mengi Tau (Mountain of a Thousand Mountains) is a great way for climbers of all levels to experience high altitude mountaineering in a culturally rich setting. At 18,841′ Mount Elbrus is a heavily glaciated twin-coned volcano that dominates the Caucuses Range. Due to its proximity to the Black Sea, it often seems to act as a magnet for brutal weather that streams up from the southwest.

After spending one full day exploring Moscow, we will fly to Mineralnye Vody (Mineral Water) and drive the four hours to our hotel in the Baksan Valley, at the foot of Elbrus. Based in our hotel, we will spend two days doing acclimatization hikes and exploring the Baksan Valley.  After a few days, we will take the tram up the the new a beautiful Leaprus Hut on the flank of Elbrus from where we will begin our ascent of the mountain.

An ascent of Elbrus is a physically challenging ascent involving almost 5000 feet of elevation gain.

Let’s meet the climbers!

Shawn Stephan

Gavin Light

Joseph Huang

Moore Rafik

Joseph Cuervorst

Danny Newberry

Alan Schnur

The trip will be led by long time Mountain Trip guide Jacob Schmitz, who has guided many expeditions for us around the world, especially in Alaska and the Himalaya. Our office manager Laura Duncan will also be joining on the trip to assist.