Climbing Mount Elbrus - Attempting to summit Europe's highest mountain
This is the story of my attempt to climb mount Elbrus in the Caucasus mountain chain in Russia. Standing at 5,642m mount Elbrus is not the hardest mountain to climb but that does't mean summiting isn't be challenging. So, you've climbed for a bit and you've covered some notable peaks. Perhaps you already summited Kilimanjaro, which is 200m higher than Elbrus, and now you think you're the sh*t. You know what trekking boots and crampons are, and how to deal with the long treks and altitude sickness coz you've done it at the equator where its nice and sunny and dry. You're basically Sylvester Stallone from that one movie where played a ripped climber killing bad guys. You are him - the Man. Except, you're not. Yep, that was me prior to climbing Elbrus. There are a few things you should be aware when before you go to Elbrus. First of all if you use the south route there won't be much climbing involved. Be prepared to go from 2,000m to 4,000m ...