Fun (& Crap) in the Caucasus

by Steve Bonowski

We're pleased to announce another successful trip to Mount Elbrus in the Russian Caucasus mountains. First, the best news; nine of thirteen CMC climbers (plus our guide Mike Shifman) made it to the top of the West Summit, Europe's highest mountain at 18,541 feet. The CMC summiteers are Kent and Cathleen Groninger (Bldr Group), John & Kris Wallack (Bldr.), Paul Wilson (Ft. Collins/Denver), Darlene Boettler, Dick Falb, Mike Miller and Rick Hahn, all from the Denver Group. A local guide working with Shifman, Pasha Shvets, also summited. Summit day was August 8, the second of a two day window of good weather. Prior to our arrival at hut 11 on the 7^th, a blizzard had enveloped the upper mountain and two climbers were lost. Only one had been found alive by the time we went down the mountain on the 9^th.

Three other Denver Group climbers; Tom Urban, Bob Becker and Amy Steele, tried the peak on the 9^th. They were forced back around 17,000' by bad weather. Unfortunately, the trip leader, this writer, never left the high hut and is now 0 - 2 in Elbrus attempts. 1994's "crevasse dive" was replaced by a most potent and bodacious G.I. attack the morning we went up the mountain with "purulent production from both ends." Other team members had similar maladies, but their timing was much better.

Before going up the mountain, the team spent two days down below trying to get acclimated. The first day featured a couple hours of crampon practice on a nearby glacier. Members went different directions on day 2, with several hiking up valley from our lodge and two trying Trapezoid Peak, a 13,000'+ snow climb also up valley.

Accommodations ranged from the sublime (for Russia) to the ridiculous, with the Hotel Moskva (a.k.a. Hotel Mosquito) in St. Petersburg somewhere in between. First the ridiculous: of course, we refer to the incredible Hut of 11 (Priut 11 in Russian) located at 13,800' below Elbrus' East Summit. The Priut must be seen in person in order to be believed. Resembling a beached aluminum whale, Priut has three floors housing up to 100 climbers; a kitchen and dining area with grease film over everything; and now, even a bar (for the 1994 HAMS climbers, the bar is just inside the main entrance on the left).

Some changes have occurred at Priut. Steve Bragg's favorite garbage heap (see article in 2/97 T & T) is now fenced off and climbers are required to pack their garbage back down to an overflowing dumpster at Azar, at the base of the aerial tram. There is a new, quarter million dollar, Austrian built snowcat that ferried our packs (and several of us) from the top of the ski lift to the Priut Hut. One thing hasn't changed; everyone's favorite high altitude outhouse and its satellite crap piles. But I do err in one regard: the top of the main pile is now closer to the holes than it was three years ago.

Some unique experiences occurred while we were at the Priut. Our first morning saw the fire at 2 AM. Two Russian climbers staying on the first floor used too much primer in their stove and managed to engulf most of their room in large flames. Fortunately, one of our CMCers was in the area; gave the alarm and the fire was put out before it went across the hall into the bar. Then, there is the specially equipped Land Rover seen on the climbing route about 1,000' above Priut. Some enterprising Russians have secured funding and are attempting to drive the vehicle to the top of the West Summit. It may take a few years, considering their progress to date. Part of a Team Reebok was seen around the vehicle in their warm up togs, tennis shoes and wet feet. But our ace reporter, Tom Urban, wasn't sure if they were involved with the Land Rover project or not.

Our sublime residence was the marble floored dacha down in the valley. Located up a side valley just past Elbrus town, we found out how the Politboro members fared during the Communist era. Modern plumbing, wood floors, the marble and excellent meals for $7 per day were highlights. Of course, one didn't know when a touched door knob would fall off. But at least the Russians are trying. Out St. Petersburg hotel, the Moskva, was an average, partially renovated Intourist hotel located by the Nevsky bridge. We just wished the Russians would discover the value of window screens.

Finally, a favorite custom of mine is to recognize some team members for various accomplishments during the trip. If you don't like your award, let me know and I'll arrange to be out of town when you come looking for me.

The "Hard Core" award is shared by Amy Steele and Tom Urban for climbing to over 17,000' on Elbrus two days in a row. The "Monster Pack" award goes to Rick Hahn. He tested things like aerial trams and elevators for us. If they didn't fall off the cables with only him aboard, we knew they were safe!

The "Motoring Mama" award went to Kris Wallack for (in her words) finally summiting one of these things, and she even (allegedly) got to the top of Elbrus with or before John! Finally, with apologies to Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Becker gets "The Killer Rocks On" award. On the 9^th, he went to 17,000' after being flat on his back sick on the 8^th.

Now that CMC is a .501( c )3 educational/charitable organization in the eyes of the I.R.S., we try to have some educational activities in most of our outings. The Elbrus Valley is home to the Balkar ethnic group, another entry in the "melting pot" of the Caucasus and we were only 150 miles from Chechnya. Fortunately, most of the shooting has ended there. Parts of the Georgian border are patrolled by the Russian Army or Interior Ministry troops to keep bandits from coming across and ripping off tourists. But we saw very little in the way of military activity actually in the Valley.

But the bulk of our educational experiences came in the "crown jewel" of Russia, St. Petersburg. The city is the old imperial capital of Russia and was Russia's "window to the West" for 300 years. Monuments, museums, churches and palaces are found almost everywhere in the city. Our group toured the Winter Palace and the Hermitage Museum before we left for the mountains. The two hour tour was regrettable in that one needs two days to really see everything. The Hermitage is home to one of the world's greatest art collections. It has more original French impressionist paintings than even the Louvre. Whole rooms are devoted to paintings of various countries and time periods. Paintings and sculptures of artists such as El Greco, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, da Vinci and Titian can be found.

The Hermitage houses memorabilia from the Romanov dynasty and centuries of Russian history. The Museum is actually a series of interconnected palaces and buildings across a square from the Czarist military headquarters. Inside, various rooms were used for a myriad of state functions during the monarchy. Gold leaf, semi-precious stones and meticulously restored statuary are everywhere.

A second highlight in town was touring St. Issac's Cathedral, with the third highest dome in the world; after Rome's St. Peter's and London's St. Paul's cathedrals. The exterior is supported by 112 columns, some still showing damage from German shelling during World War II. The inside is covered with paintings, mosaics, statues, gold leaf, semi-precious stones and marble. Although religion can now be openly practiced in post-Communist Russia, St. Issac's remains a museum.

Our final day in Russia saw us traveling outside the city to the Summer Palace located on the Gulf of Finland. Severely damaged in the War, the Palace has also been meticulously restored. There are numerous fountains on the Palace grounds, some of which are cascading fountains. Giant bronze and golf leaf statues abound. Inside, exquisite paneled rooms have been restored. Again, our tour guide provided a large amount of historical information about the monarchy, and the rise of the Communists, all of which have had a major impact on U.S. history and politics during the 20th century.

From "Thin Air", Volume 9 Number 4, September 1997. Newsletter of the High Altitude Mountaineering Section