Russia - Day 6 (Summit Attempt)

At 1:40am the alarms went off in preparation for the big day. Breakfast (unappetising porridge with cheese, ham and bread) was served at 2am and at 3am we all took a snowcat back to Pustukov Rocks to continue the climb to the top. Before the sun rose it was bitterly cold (well below zero) and wild chill makes it even colder so we were all layered to keep warm. I was wearing thermal pants, goretex pants, thermal top, t-shirt, fleece jacket, down jacket, gortex jacket, two pairs of socks, climbing boots and inner boots and two pairs of gloves just to remain warm while moving. If you weren't moving then you were cold!

The morning was superb with a full moon and cloudless sky. Mt Elrbus was lit by the moon and looked sensational, we didn't even need our torches to walk with it was so bright. Once the sun rose we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Caucusus Mountains to the south of Elbrus which separate Russia from Georgia (see first photo). We all moved relatively well for the first few hours with Paul showing the first signs of trouble with the altitude at about 5,100m. However we all soldiered on and by 1:30pm and nearly 9 hours of slogging a mere 3.5km through ice and snow, all four of our Australian group arrived at top of Mt Elbrus at 5,642m at the same time. Apart from Mike, the three others from our group were all suffering and feeling the effects of the altitude, cold and the effort required to reach the top. It is by far the most physically demanding thing I have ever done, though the reward of getting to the top made it all worth while. The photo is of the four Aussies (that's me on the left) and our Barrel 1 friend Mary from the US, with a light snow falling.

The tough work wasn't over and the descent to Pustyukov Rocks was still demanding and took another five hours to return. It was then a snow cat ride back to Barrels, which resulting in a heated and protracted argument with our Slovenian "friends" over payment - all snow cat rides were outside of the original climb cost. By 8pm we were 60 Euros up on the deal, which will come in very handy for our celebratory drinks on Wednesday! We all slept like logs on our wooded beds, something we hadn't been able to for the previous two nights at Barrels. The last photo is of our Barrel with its six occupants - the 4 Aussies, Dave from the UK (complete with thick Yorkshire accent) and Mary from the US.