Introduction

This year's mission to Elbrus was expected to be a big challenge for us as it was the first mission that we organized ourselves. So for the first time we faced a lot of problems that one encounters when not just participate in a mission or commercial mountaineering club: to book tickets on days that will suit everyone, to find transport to get to your final destination, to find accommodation, designed to have exactly the path you follow and above all manage to work together in a country that works very differently than your own, in which almost no one speaks English.

Despite these difficulties would be encountered I finally decided, Costas, the Maroussi, Antonis and Dimitris to go to the first sending a high mountain entirely organized by us this summer. Even while we were in Greece, we understand that Russia will be the joy of European tourists. Bureaucratic procedures seemed particularly complex, with visas, registrations, vouchers etc etc. Once we have prepared all the papers and we did the necessary meetings with the escort-beer-on materials and program, we were ready for Elbrus.

Friday 1/8/08 Athens - Moscow

We leave me and Anthony from El Venizelos Moscow. Kostas and Dimitris Maroussa had left the previous day for Latvia. And because we are from the School of Vangelis there was no way we were not the last they got on the plane. As the ship last year and this year we entered last. The flight course was an hour late because a mistake had been made with the boarding passes and leading names in the end to say one by one the names of passengers to make sure that we all go through before they close the doors tightly to the airplane. During the flight we realized that we will have a serious problem with the language since neither flight attendants spoke English! Continue reading →

Monday 4/8/08 Ascent to 3200

We woke up at 7:30 and after we put the last things we had backpacks a delicious breakfast. The owner of the hotel was very good passing and showed true hospitality. Around 9 we are ready to tackle the monster of the Russian bureaucracy and make the visa registration of which must and will remain here many days.

(Morning departure)

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Thursday 7/8/08 - Day Summit

Waking up at 2 with Anthony and make breakfast. Anthony tells me that they feel quite ill and can not do much. Melt the snow to fix tea and eat something in a hurry. Costas tells us that there is visibility and wait until you improve. We fall back to our sleeping bags and wait. Around 3 only hear Bob screaming that the weather can be opened and started. With very fast and almost mechanical movements are about, we wear equipment and go to the main road Pastuckhov. Next we pass continually snowcat - latrack filled with climbers carrying up to Pastuckhov to escape the 300-400 meters altitude.

Slowly and we go to 4800 with the aim of acclimatization there. During the ascent, Anthony tells us that he feels very ill with fever and can not continue. He decides to go down the tents and go with him and Dimitris why has not dawned yet. We rendezvous with Dimitri in Pastuckhov. I join Kostas Maroussa and continue upwards. Continue reading →

Friday 8/8/08 - Pruit in Cheget (2100m)

At night my sleep was truly nightmarish. My stomach ached too much and threw up twice (the peak metheortia!) In the evening at around 1:00 greeted and Dimitris along with 2 other Russians would try to top. The scene makes more cold now that I am myself. Then look at me and I wish to go quickly to dawn and descend. Waking up at 6 and Costas with Maroussi and tell them to go down to Cheget to feel better. The Maroussa tells me that this will come down and me down while Kostas Dimitri will wait to go down together. As we gather things for the family tells us that the Russians would come down so they'll go down together. The Antrey along with another one started at 9 in the evening to camp at the top of the saddle but the terrible wind prevented them where to set up the scene and together with other effects of altitude, made ​​them turn back. Continue reading →

Sunday 10/8/08 - Pyatigorsk to Moscow

Day of departure from the Caucasus region. We'll go to the center in search of breakfast. In my attempt to ask for milk with body language that I do pantomime cow armego and selling die laughing but finally understand each other! We turn to the room where we see just the Olympics that have begun. In 12 we check out, we leave our stuff into something lockers, and go for one last walk around the city. We conclude with a beer Anthony beers to drink and I like uncool ice tea (Anthony hope the next mission together to drink beer). On the way back in the afternoon we will move from the grill of the Sun Anastasis to eat. There would tell us stories about how he came to Greece and getting a pension of 300 € EKAS by the Greek state, a sum which in Russia is very respectable when you consider that the average pension is only 50 € (!). Finally he says that in the region of Pyatigorsk Greeks are recorded around 3000. Continue reading →