Is it your dream to have a taste of mountaineering? Have you always wanted to visit the Caucasus? But perhaps you are not a professional mountaineer and do not want to climb the top of Mt. Elbrus (yet!). Then we have the trip for you! Even not climbing Mt. Elbrus, you will get the same kind of real adventure feeling while picking up important skills and experience. You will try different kinds of sports that are closely related to mountaineering: rock climbing, skiing or snowboarding, glacier techniques and mountain biking, as well as survival training. This trip is designed for adults and children and is a great solution for family summer holidays. You do not need to bring any special equipment, except trekking boots, clothing, and sunglasses. All other necessary equipment is included in our program.
Best time for this trip: May - October.
- Day 1Fly Munich - Mineralnye Vody:
- After your arrival in Mineralnye Vody we will meet you at the airport and bring you via minibus to Terskol. The ride takes about 4 hours. After dinner, you will stay overnight in our hotel.
- Day 2Trekking:
- After breakfast we will take a bus to the beautiful and rugged Adyl-Suu Valley, a side valley of the Baksan Valley, leading us straight to the Main Caucasian Range. We will trek up to «Green Meadows» Camp, located at the end of the valley in front of «four thousanders», covered with huge glaciers. Here will stay overnight in tents.
- Day 3Rock climbing:
- Following breakfast at the camp we will reverse our previous day's hike, bringing us to the site of our next activity: rock climbing. We use a location near the «Skhelda Climbing Camp», where we will «top rope» (a safe form of climbing, in which you climb protected by a belay from a rope which runs through an anchor overhead) on a variety of boulders, offering a wide range of climbs and techniques, next to a beautiful river. We will show you the basic techniques of rock climbing and do a lot of practical exercise. In the evening we drive back to Terskol and stay the night in our hotel.
- Day 4Skiing / snowboarding:
- After breakfast we will take the cable car up to the Barrel Camp (3900 m) on Mt. Elbrus. The whole day we will be skiing or snowboarding and can focus on techniques, skills, or just having fun. The night we will stay at the camp.
- Day 5Glacier techniques:
- Today we will do technical training with rope, crampons, snowshoes, ice-axe and avalanche transceivers. We will hike up to the Prijut-11. The night we will stay at the camp again.
- Day 6High altitude climbing:
- After breakfast we will ascend to the Pastukhov Rocks at 4800 m, using the glacier techniques we learned the day before. In the afternoon we will descend back to Terskol, where we will stay the night in our hotel.
- Day 7Mountain biking:
- After breakfast we will do a mountain bike tour up to 3000 m, and in the afternoon we will have some technical training on difficult terrain. In the evening we will have a dinner-party, the night you will stay in our hotel.
- Day 8Fly back home:
- In the morning you will leave for Mineralnye Vody and fly back to Moscow or Munich.