Cybercasts

Friends, family and loved ones,

The “Elbrus Presley” team took a hike today. We climbed up Cheget ridge to get a good look at our objective, Elbus, the highest mountain in Europe.

The Approach

Our Objective
We got a good look at the route and were able to identify many of the land marks on our route. We got familiar with Pressure Breathing and the Rest Step. These are important techniques to learn to be a successful big mountaineer.

The Team
We will perfect this in the days to come. Then we learn the best way to descend. Everyone did well on the way down, of course I should mention that we were motivated by the BBQ that awaited us at the bottom.

The Motivation…..BBQ.

All my best,
Vern Tejas

Hello friends, family and loved ones,

‘Twas a big day taking in the all the attractions St. Petersburg has to offer. First there was St. Isaac’s cathedral, fourth largest in the world. Then there statues and buildings galore.

The Church of the Spilt Blood never fails to impress. The noon day gun at the Fort was one of our favorites. Then it was off to explore the world famous Hermitage museum.

The art collection is one of the best.

Tomorrow we head for the hills.

All our best,
Vern and Carole

Hello friends, family and loved ones,

Welcome to Alpine Ascents’ first Mt Elbrus climb of the season.

Everyone has arrived. This evening we got to know each other during a brief orientation and then we devoured a delicious dinner. The team is raring to go despite a bit of jet lag.

Tomorrow we plan to take in the sights of this truly historic old capital city of Russia. That will cover the spectrum from a legendary fort to world class art museum, with several ornate cathedrals in between.

So please follow us on our adventure as we climb to the top of Europe in what is the largest and perhaps most diverse country on earth.

All our best,
Carole and Vern Tejas

Hi everyone,

A quick recap of the last couple of days: On summit day we woke and were ready to go for 3am. A short ride on a snowcat to our starting point, and we began trekking in some freshly fallen snow, with a light dusting continuing as we progressed. We hiked for a little under 7 hours, taking quick breaks to prevent us getting cold, and because we knew the weather was coming in and time was against us. We made the summit shortly after 10, and we were filled with exhilaration and great sense of accomplishment. We did our best to take our pictures quickly, as the worsening weather gave us a background of white, instead of a panorama. We started to descend, and the weather turned. The snow and wind picked up, and soon we were in a white out. It made for some rather “interesting” conditions to descend in. Thankfully, we all got back safe, albeit a little worse for the weather. (Willie’s new nickname is now “Rudolph”.) Door to door it was an 11.5 hour day. We were welcomed with Sacha’s revitalizing soup and a short while later had a well deserved dinner, before collapsing into our sleeping bags.

The next day we packed up our stuff and descended to Terskol via the chairlifts and funiculars. We checked into our hotel and enjoyed a highly anticipated shower (and shave for some), and regrouped for dinner, looking a little less ragged, and little more like the fine upstanding citizens we wish we were. We headed over to a restaurant in Chegget, a 10 min walk away, for a celebration dinner. Our memories are a little hazy from last night, but we do remember that a large quantity of Vodka was consumed. As for what transpired after, well, what happens in Terskol stays in Terskol.

Today was a recovery day, as we relaxed in the hotel and meandered about the area. Tomorrow we fly out to Moscow for a bit of sightseeing, before heading off in our separate ways (well we hope, anyway, considering the escalating embargo).

We’ve had a tremendously enjoyable time, and we’ve become good friends and teammates. We’ve shared a lot of laughs, and a great adventure. (And many thanks to Willie for putting up with all of us!)

Until the next ascent!

George a.k.a. Yuri Nikolaevich