Caucasus 12-23 August 2021
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Day 9. Getting acclimatised to high altitude.
We got up early (like we did every day during this trip), had a quick breakfast and went out. We planned to climb to the Pastukhov Rocks (4750 m) and then return and have some rest.
The blue line shows our track. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
The rising sun lights up our Bochki and the two summits of Mount Elbrus. The weather here changes every second: wall-to-wall sunshine can be replaced with thick cloud in a matter of minutes.
The Garabashi station. Everybody is still asleep. A cloud got stuck above Shtavleri (a mountain in Georgia).
We were slowly climbing up when we noticed a fox which crossed the road a few yards above us.
Our presence didn't bother it at all.
The clouds are crossing the border from Georgia. This is the best visibility we got in these three days. We could identify a number of famous summits.
The road gradually steepens. The building on the left is the Diesel Hut of the Priyut 11 (4050 m). The refuge Priyut 11 was destroyed in the fire some 20 years ago.
The summit is getting covered by the clouds. The snow here is white and not as slushy as at the Garabashi station.
The Diesel Hut was converted into a refuge for some 70 climbers. The foundation for the new building can be seen on the right. Above the hut is a group of tents.
The road is surrounded by snow walls. This now feels like proper winter.
A rest break in the clouds. We had regular breaks during this climb, gradually reducing the time interval between them.
There were many climbers walking up alongside us, some faster, some slower.
We are above the clouds at 4750 m. We decided not to go any further to save energy for the climb tomorrow.
We are putting on crampons for practice. It took us 4.5 hours to climb up, and about 2.5 hours to get down. The snow below 4000 m was very slushy.
Sunset.
Mount Elbrus.
