Climb Mt. Elbrus North

Honestly, what do you prefer — getting killed by lightning in mid-summer, freezing to death in a snowstorm in late September or early May, or slipping on bulletproof ice in winter? Generally, the climbing season lasts between late April and early October but summiting outside mid-May till mid-September timeframe carries extra risks. July and August are decidedly most crowded months. Aesthetically, climbing in June is best thanks to blank white slopes with unspoiled snow. Late May/early June is also the best timeframe for summit attempts with skis — note the careful choice of preposition here.

Determining if the weather conditions are right for the summit push is the competence of your Elbrus guide. The forecast is only 70% accurate at best so one of the numerous aspects of a guide’s job is to sniff the most subtle weather changes and turn around if necessary. Even though guides do care about their summit success rates, their salary remains the same regardless of whether they reach the top. Hence they are generally motivated to stay out of trouble.

Yes, unless you are in a fast & light self-contained party of experienced climbers who are very aware of their limits and the associated risks. If that is the case, why are you wasting time reading this FAQ?

The price of guided tours varies between €900 for budget offers by local companies and €5000 for tours run by USA operators with brought-in guides. It also depends on the route — climbs from the North tend to be slightly more expensive than from the South as they are longer.

Overall, the cheapest guided climb of Elbrus in 2022 should cost no less than around €900. Anything less than that is sub-standard and potentially unsafe. Do check what is included and what is not. Most often, tour organisers are trying to save by gathering big groups guided by fewer guides than the common practice of 1 guide per 3 participants on the summit day. Some companies may even offer accommodation in tents instead of cabins, which is risky at the high camps due to very strong winds. Camping at higher elevations of Elbrus should only be reserved for self-contained parties with considerable mountaineering experience and a very sturdy tent.

Extra costs associated with the climb most notably include personal gear rental and snowcats/snowmobiles, if climbing from the south. There are a dozen of rental shops in the South and only one in the North, so you may consider resorting to rental shops in the hub towns of Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk. Your guide will normally check the gear you already own and decide whether or not you need to rent. The bottom line is usually between €100 and €250 per trip. Some reference prices as of 2021, PER DAY: double insulated boots €35-40, heavy down jacket €35, crampons €20.

In the south, you can cheat by riding a snowcat or a snowmobile up to 5,100m to the beginning of the traverse in mere 20 minutes. That not only saves you a lot of effort but arguably makes your climb safer if the weather conditions deteriorate in the afternoon, and they usually do. However, if you are poorly acclimatized, e.g. due to a short itinerary, a quick ride up may get you into trouble.

A place on a snowcat must be pre-arranged on the way up and costs about €120 as of 2021. In good weather conditions, you can usually hitch-hike from the end of the traverse at circa 5,100m for half the amount. Snowmobiles ask for about the same price and are NOT recommended under normal circumstances since they turn into unguided projectiles on the way down.

For a self-contained party, accommodation on the mountain costs between €25 for a bunk in the most basic huts up to €50 for more comfortable ones, plus meals.

One of the problematic things about the internet is that negative information stays there forever while reality, believe it or not, sometimes does change for the better. Over the last decade, it has been very quiet in the area, with over 3 thousand foreign Elbrus climbers ANNUALLY before covid. Even though your country’s foreign travel advice may indicate North Caucasus as potentially unsafe, it greatly depends on the area — and the Elbrus area, in particular, is safe. The local economy relies on tourism and despite occasionally substandard service the locals are friendly towards tourists. It is important though to remain polite and respect Muslim customs. Female visitors should dress conservatively in villages.

5,642 meters above sea level is the height of Mount Elbrus — and you will see this number on numerous souvenirs and even on beer bottles! That is 18,510 feet, so Elbrus is way taller than any mountain in the continental USA and considerably taller than Mont Blanc.

Leaving aside political disputes on whether Russia is part of Europe, Elbrus is undoubtedly the highest mountain of the European continent. Geographers define it as a landmass bounded by the Caucasus Mountains to the south and the Ural mountains to the east.

The lower eastern summit of Elbrus rises to 5,621 meters which is merely 20 meters lower than the western summit! Many people are obsessed with reaching the highest peak of Europe, especially those on the 7 summits quest. If you are not among them, then going for the eastern summit is definitely more reasonable when climbing Elbrus via the north route.

The straight-up route to the eastern summit from the north camp is safer since it avoids some of the largest crevasses on the traverse, shorter and physically less demanding. It should NOT be considered ‘cheating’ since gaining 1,700 meters of elevation on a day, at such altitude, without ski lifts and snowmobiles, is not easy by any means.

The views of the jugged peaks of the Greater Caucasus range are arguably better from the eastern summit. Also, there is an enormous volcanic crater on top of the eastern summit of Elbrus! With all of the above, most of the Russian climbers ascend the eastern summit of Elbrus when climbing from the North.

Even though mountain runners can get to the top in mere 3 hours, for most climbing Elbrus will be… well, let’s say ‘memorable’.

To start with, Elbrus in the summer months is a non-technical mountain when climbed via the normal route from the South. It can be treated as a winter walk in crampons — at an extreme altitude and often in harsh weather. From the North and East it requires roping up due to crevasses. From the West it is a proper climb with some pitched sections of ice. Your guide will teach you all the necessary technical skills.

The physical difficulty or your personal exertion level, so to speak, depends on two rather independent factors: your fitness, which you ought to improve during months of training before the climb, and your acclimatization. The surest way to ‘breed more red blood cells’ and make your climb less of a sufferfest is to opt for a longer itinerary.

As a fitness criterion, you are likely ready for Elbrus if you can casually run a 10k, preferably in 1 hour or so.

For those who have already climbed Kilimanjaro, scaling Elbrus would be considerably more difficult due to fewer intermediate camps — and thus more challenging acclimatization, and severe weather.

The trip duration is 8-11 days on average. There are offers to do it in a weekend with supplemental oxygen, as well as longer 2-week trips with acclimatization trekking in spectacular areas of the Caucasus like Bezengi which make your trip more of a memorable journey and less of just ticking off the summit. Generally speaking, the longer the itinerary the better are your summit chances thanks to more gradual acclimatization.

Mount Elbrus is located entirely on the Russian side of the Caucasus range that stretches between the Black Sea and the Caspian sea. You can see many mountains on the Georgian territory from the summit of Elbrus unless you’ve found yourself inside a leaking tennis boll tumbling in a washing machine on one of those days…