Elbrus Ski Descent Trip Report - July 2003
by Tom Milne, Guide
Skiers: Bill Cunningham, Bill Hargreaves, John Plander, Tom Savage, Dan Stephenson, Pierre Tagliabue, and Jim and Rory Williams
Guides: Casey Henley and Tom Milne
Our trip began in Moscow, where our group gathered to kick off their bid to climb and ski Europe’s highest peak. Moscow today is a city full of contrasts: the old and the modern, the very rich and streetside vendors, onion-domed cathedrals along side soviet architecture and futuristic new buildings. Moscow highlights included taking in the Sunday night performance at the Bolshoi Theater, strolling Red Square, entering the Kremlin gates and touring the treasures and historical artifacts of the Armoury museum. Dining out on caviar, beef stroganoff and borscht in the city center at the classic Café Pushkin, as well as dining and people watching on old Arbat street and around the city center gave the climbers a feel for Moscow and her people today. Our great group of individuals came together quickly and easily as a team, and the trip was on. The strong group came from a variety of skiing and climbing backgrounds; members had variously heli-skied in Alaska, Canada and the Himalayas; climbed all of the Colorado 14’ers; climbed in Europe, Africa and Antartica. All were strong, lifelong skiers, including a young ski racer from Colorado en route to racing camp in Austria after Elbrus, and a ski coach who divides his time between North America, Europe, and Portillo Chile, depending on the season.
Leaving Moscow, a domestic flight and a bus tour brought us from Moscow to Terskol. Situated in South West Russia on the Northern Caucasus ridge, Terskol sits at the base of 18,541’ Elbrus in a steep valley marked by alpine streams and glaciated peaks. The local Balkarians are a hardy tribe who are at home in their high mountains. In Terskol the team met local guides Sasha and Albert Baydayev and Liza Pahl. Well-known in Russia as freeride experts, all three have stood on the podium in the Russian extreme snowboard championships.
The first day on the mountain was a classic bluebird day, giving the climbers their first look at the twin peaks of Elbrus and the main Caucasus ridge. A day of cat skiing helped the climbers loosen up while enjoying corn snow conditions in the sun.
The next day, the climbers broke out their uphill gear and skinned up to 14,000’, stepping up their acclimatization process and gaining better views. A 2500’ downhill over snow covered glaciers followed, then it was down to the warm valley for some shashlik (lamb shishkabob) and refreshments; après-ski “Caucasus style”. The guys enjoyed the shashlik so much, they opted for it again for dinner, this time in the ski village of Cheget. Late afternoon sun warmed the 5000’ north face of Donguz Arun towering over the valley, with the classic extreme alpine route “the Seven” in full view.
The next morning we moved our high camp onto the mountain to stage our summit attempt. Our home for the next few days was the “Barrel Camp”, run by ex Russian ski Champion Itzhaak Tilov. After lunch, the crew headed up for some runs using a snowcat and skins to above 14,000’. Soft turns in corn against the stunning backdrop of the main Caucasus Ridge had the group smiling. John Plander, who had broken his collarbone two weeks before the trip, blew us all away with his decision to bust out the snowboard and the resulting great turns!
The group settled into “barrel life”, relaxing and enjoying the view, the company of the international group of climbers there, and of course our cook Vera’s great meals.
Up early the next morning we were again greeted by blue skies. After breakfast, we began skinning towards Pastukhov rocks. Tom’s group was on an accelerated schedule, and our climb that day took us over 3000’ vertical feet, to the icy slopes leading to Pastukhov Rocks. Skinning became difficult, and many carried their skis the last few hundred feet. Resting for a moment, we took in our best views yet, as well as a taste of the biting cold winds that are often part of the ascent of the upper mountain. Skiing down the ice turned out to be a bit “spicy” for the first few hundred feet, but the slopes again turned to corn snow and the runout to the barrels. While Casey’s team continued to ski, Tom’s prepared their gear and rested up for summit day. Though we had been on the go for a number of days, the team’s successful acclimatization, as well as skill and fitness level made them ready. The weather forecast showed a two day front moving in in the next 24 hours, and this was our window. Jim and Rory Williams, previously on the longer itinerary, opted to jump on board this summit team. With their Colorado background and training, and hot to get on to Europe where Rory would be attending a ski camp coached by “The Hermannator”, they were fired up.
An early start had the team ascending the icy slopes of Pastukhov rocks at 4 a.m. Behind us, as many 50 climbers were making their way up. The weather from the barrels at midnight had not looked so promising; before leaving though the skies had cleared giving us our final green light. Now, well into the ascent, a solid lenticular cloud had formed over the twin summits; down below if was icy cold, with steady 30 mph winds. Sustained, gradual slopes took us over the rocks and onto the endless traverse leading into the saddle. As we got higher, it became windier and colder, and the view of the upper mountain promised worse conditions. The team stayed focused, and headed up as their ascent took them into the clouds. Gaining the saddle, the weather finally cleared but for the top of each summit. Clouds could be seen and heard streaming rapidly from one side of the mountain down the other. The teams roped up, as the windblown traverse to the summit plateau would not be a good place to fall. By this time the crowds on the hill had thinned out. Our group kept their spirit strong, sharing water and food and encouraging each other in the difficult conditions. Winds reached their peak with a steady 50 mph and gusts to 70 mph+, which at some points necessitated crawling and using ice axes “dagger style” to hold onto the slope. Gaining the summit plateau, views were limited. Blowing snow and ice, and flashes of light then darkness marked the way as the clouds fired over us. Approaching the summit the roar of gusts coming up the south side of the mountain set the stage for the final push. By now, all of the climbers and their gear were coated in rime ice. Normally a relief and a place to take in a magnificent 360 degree view, today the final steps to the summit put us in the middle of the storm, and seconds rather than minutes were taken there.
Jim Williams and his son Rory, who at age 14 had made a fantastic successful effort on what was his first glacier and high altitude climb, headed back down in the whiteout towards the saddle with Albert Baydayev. John Plander and Bill Hargreaves had picked up the pace out of the saddle and were on their way to the rocks. Dan, Pierre and Tom organized their gear and put on their skis to make a descent from the top. Unfortunately, this was anything but a powder run, but still satisfying and interesting in the conditions. The whiteout further spiced up the descent, with visibility as low as 10’ at some points. Though a full day, an Elbrus ascent in beautiful weather can often be pleasant and generally straightforward, but on this day it was important to not make any mistakes. Once off the route on Elbrus, it is easy to be drawn into huge crevasse fields and ice slopes, and after a difficult and strenuous ascent energy conservation was critical. Heading down from the saddle, the group held to the traverse. Unfortunately the “snow” underfoot and lack of visibility made skiing a chore and an exercise in control. Those on foot definitely had some laughs at the skiers’ expense! As we descended, the day’s new snow finally began to stick, and a few soft turns were had.
The group finally made it to the barrel camp at 4:30 pm. A full day in horrible conditions made this Tom’s hardest of 10 Elbrus summits. If our climbers hadn’t been in great shape, determined, and such a good team, we would not have made it on that day. Hat’s off to you guys, you made it happen!
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