** Elbrus Mountain climbing was realized by a two-person team consisting of Cenk Ertekin and Utku Ayrılmaz. 

** Dates of climbing; September 20 - September 30, 2002.

** On climbing, apart from the Turkish team, the Belgian, Ukrainian, and Japanese teams struggled to climb the tough mountain.

** Mount Elbrus lies within the territory of the Russian Federation. It is located in a region affiliated to the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic.

** Russian visa is sufficient to enter the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

** At the end of a 2-hour flight from Istanbul, Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic of the Russian Federation, is descending.

** Taxi prices in Nalchik are very cheap. Although there is a 4 hour road to the Baksan Valley where the climb will begin, a very convenient ferry taxi can be rented.

** Never tell the taxi driver that you will go to Elbrus. Because there is a town called Elbrus in the region. The route you will tell the taxi is Terskol Region.

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Baksan Valley And Terskol

** Ceget is the ideal town to stay in the Baksan Valley before climbing. There are very convenient hostels and hotels here. There is also no food problem.

** The back of Mount Elbrus is the land of Georgia and 50 km to the west there is the capital of Chechnya, Grozny. In other words, the Baksan Valley region is the closest Russian land to the Chechen and Georgian border.

** We heard ball sounds coming from Georgia during the climbing hour. In the Baksan Valley and Ceget Town, the Russian troops are on hold.

** Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe and attracts many mountain climbers. Every year he comes to the region to climb dozens of climbers Elbrus from various parts of the world.

** Baksan Valley is dominated by pine and coniferous trees. Glacier formations are more developed than other regions around 2000 meters. However, the glaciers in this region are slowly melting due to the global warming.

** The area is very little of the cultivated land. Only potatoes grow. Ceget and Terskol villagers make livelihoods for their livelihoods. 

** Baksan Valley people are usually speaking Russian. But their own language, Balkarca, is a language they talk to each other. Despite skiing and home to the highest mountain in Europe, almost no English is available.

** Terskol Elementary School is an educational institution with a very modern education. At 1900 meters, students are given waltz lessons.

** Baksan Valley is also one of the most famous ski resorts in Russia. The most famous skiers of Russia are here.

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Elbrus Mountain Climbing

** After one night in Ceget Village, we arrive in Azau Village in 10 minutes by taxi. Azau is the town where you can get your cable car to go up to 3700 meters.

** In the Baksan Valley, at a height of 2000 meters Azau Village, 2 cable cars, 1 ski lifts are reached at 3700 meters.

** The climb starts at the end of the 3700-meter ski lift station. On the same day, we reached the Puriut 11 Camp in 4300 meters in 1.5 hours.

** On the same day, we climbed acclimatization to the Pastukov rocks at 4700 meters and returned to Puruit 11 camp.

** The mountain has two summits. East Peak 5630, Western Peak is the main peak is 5642 meters.

** Climbing Elbrus in July and August. In September there are usually fewer climbs. Elbrus arrives early in the winter.

** Last year, 16 mountaineers, one of whom was Turkish, lost their lives. The number of deaths this year is 5.

** We started the summit climb from 4300 meters on the 23rd of September at 2.30 in the morning. We continued climbing with 12 Belgian climbers at 4800 meters.

** The route is quite long and tedious. So, before you come to Elbrus, is a must a very good condition.

** All the climbing is done with digging and crampons. Some side passages are in difficulty, which can be dangerous.

** 8 hours after the start of the climb, we reached the highest peak of Europe, the Western summit of Mount Elbrus, in an extremely windy weather. 5642 meters.

** The peak landing was quite difficult and problematic. Insufficiency of water, insomnia and high altitude oxygen impaired us very much. A very problematic landing within the hallucinations resulted in 4300 camps.

** The next day Elbrus Mountain was completely under the clouds. Most of the Ukrainian team who started climbing in the morning went back to camp before reaching the summit.

** On the same day we used cable car to reach Azau Town, then Ceget Town.

** The climb was done very quickly, according to normal standards. The climb which had to last 4 days was completed in 2 days. It is not something to recommend so fast climbing a mountain over 5000 metric tons. It is possible to reach the summit in 6 hours with good acclimatization and conditioning.

** After climbing, it is possible to work 90 degree ice climbing in the famous Kaskatas Glacier in the region.

( Map of Elbrus )