Elbrus

July 7, 2019

ELBRUS

Door to door – 2 weeks
Route – Normal
Elevation – 5642alt

SKIING IN MY MIND

The most fun expedition ever. We joined a large group of numbers of climbers whom we didn’t know, led by Mike – the leader from CTSS, but who were looking forward to climbing with us after hearing that we had just successfully completed two consecutive major expeditions of the “7 Summits” challenge, the Everest and Denali. We had so much fun together, and I’m so happy to have met and keep my friendship with them even further.
We had just returned from Denali and our bodies were tired and we were out of steam, both from climbing the summits and the thousands of miles of traveling around continent which had turned into routine by now: checking – climbing.
We didn’t do the acclimatization like the rest, since the expedition leader himself didn’t see it fit, as we were acclimatized from our previous expedition on Denali, which had been completed less than 10 days ago, so we rested that day, and recovered.
When we set off for the mountain, and arrived at the huts, the first thing we had to do was for the women to select the huts we liked, an advantage awarded in sign of consideration and respect.
We settled in, rested and started talking about our goals, visions, missions, the mountain experience, the pleasures it brings, and definitely the challenges that go with it. I had never had so many female climbers within the group before, so this expedition became a little different from the others.
The next day was spent on acclimatization at a higher altitude, so after we had recovered enough, I decided to join my dad and the group.
This time we had a mission to accomplish! We decided to try skiing down from the summit with Dad, so I was looking forward to what still manages to give me an adrenaline rush when I think of it.
So, we took the skis and tied them to our backpacks. We arrived at the planned point for that day, and we skied down, me, Dad and Mike, while Len was on a snowboard, and we headed down to the huts. It was a test that we enjoyed so much that I was looking forward to the final day.
On July 07 we woke up early in the morning, and after the usual preparations, we started climbing. The morning was chilly, and as the sun came up the temperatures began to rise, and the sun’s rays also warmed our hearts. We were 3 groups, and as we approached the summit, everyone was excited, but I didn’t care about the summit at that point, and to be honest and modest, after Everest (May 27) and Denali (June 20), and meaning no disrespect to the mountain, this summit really looked like a summit by my town. I was only thinking about the descent, the skiing and the adventure awaiting me.
On the summit we all congratulated each other and took some photos as usual. There were climbers that had just started the 7 Summits challenge. As the others began the descent, we put on the skis. Everything was ready for the ride, the timing was perfect, and the moment of curiosity, joy, adrenaline came.
On the ride down, Dad had a crash and injured his leg, for which he had to get an operation after the expeditions. He couldn’t go on skiing, so he made the rest of the descent on foot.
It was an indescribable feeling, because I love skiing, but skiing down the highest summit of a continent gave me a lot of confidence in myself. The climb seemed easy to me, and the descent was quick. When we arrived at the huts, we took off the skis and celebrated.
We packed up, and finally after 4 months of on the road, it was time to head back to home sweet home…