Fresh from our 6-day mountain course in Alaska, Jamie, Kim and I (Saxon couldn't make it) headed off to the Caucuses in Russia to climb Mt Elbrus, the highest peak in all of Europe.

While not technically difficult, (normal route, PD+) at 18,510" (5,642m), it presents  a challenge purely because of the altitude.

Just getting to Mt. Elbrus is an adventure in itself. First we flew into St Petersburg and toured there for a couple of days. Then we caught the (party) night train to Moscow. From there we flew to Mineral Vody, then took a bus down to the town of Turscul where we based ourselves for our climb.

One of the nice things about this climb is that you can base yourself from "the Barrels", which at 14,000" offer a pretty civilized high camp where you can eat, sleep and acclimatize as you get ready for your summit day.

Vernon Tejas was our lead guide and Luis Benitez "Jr guide". Vern has guided the 7 summits a record 4 times and has more than 40 summits of Denali. He also has the first solo winter ascent of Denali and as well as the first solo ascent of Mt Vinson. He is famous for bringing his fiddle along on his trips. I truly believe he is the finest guide on the planet. While Luis wasn't as well known as Vern when he helped guide us on Elbrus, a few months after our climb he successfully guided the blind climber Eric Whienmayer to the summit of Everest. He has since successfully guided clients to the summit of Everest 4 years in a row--the first non-Sherpa to do so.

After the climb we descended and stayed at Yeltzin's dacha for a good rest. The party we had there was one for the ages.

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