The next day I ask Marek why he was pissed.  He says, “Because I was drinking.”  Duh, pissed for Europeans means drunk.

 

We load up all our gear and pile into the van for the 4 hours to the

We have an extra day now to do what we want and the group opts for a waterfall hike.  Marek says he’s done hiking so I offer the alternative of drinking at the market and enjoying the beautiful

We have arranged for one of the first snow cats at 4am in an effort to get up and back down to the Barrel Huts before the upper lifts close at 3pm so that we can go all the way down to the lodge.  

Midnight.  Crash.  Crackle.  Boom.  Rumble.  Flash.  An electrical storm is upon us.  A few minutes later the skies unleash a torrent of rain.  We are awakened by all the noise, except Maruis who

Today we had an easy acclimatization hike to Diesel Hut (4120m) 13,517ft.  After we do some self arrest practice.  I don’t have gloves with me, so I scrape up my knuckles pretty good.  

 

I think it

This day will be the first big acclimatization climb and a test of our fitness by Oxana.  We get up for a 7am breakfast, dump our extra bags in storage, check out of our rooms, grab our packs and go

We are off on our first acclimatization hike.  We head down from the lodge to the base of another ski resort on Cheget.  We will be taking the lifts as high as they go and then hiking up to the

This expedition on Elbrus (5,642 meters, 18,510ft) is 8 days, including a travel day on each end.  I will be joined by Marek, who I met on Kilimanjaro and other climbers.  We will be taking the