www.doitnow.co.za | Adventure • 19

S P O R T & L E I S U R E

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PET material, POM buckles, nylon webbing

Nylon fabric, PUR waterproofing, Nylon zip, Carbon fibre poles, PP clips

PMMA “glass”; PE-HD container

PC outer, PP-E inner foam insulation

Nylon fabric (some are PET); PUR soles for grip; PUR cushioning

Nylon Nylon outer, PET hollow fibre filled, nylon zipMultilayer metallised

PET and PE-LLD structure

PET fibre with breathable PTFE membrane on the inside for waterproofing; nylon hook and loop fastener (Velcro)

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PET

16 • DO IT NOW Magazine October | November 2012

inALTITUDE: Words by Candy HookePhotos by various photographers

Climbing to Pashtukov Rocks

www.doitnow.co.za | Adventure • 17

Despite some serious health setbacks, including being wheelchair bound for

a while, nothing was going to stop me from being in the mountains again, and

going for my new goal. On 22 June 2012 my team and I left for Russia on the

adventure of a lifetime. We were going to climb Mount Elbrus, a dormant volcano

close to the border of Russia and Georgia. At 5,642 m (18,510 feet) it’s the

highest mountain in Europe and makes up one of the coveted seven summits.

Logistically it’s quite tough to reach the Baksan Valley, where Elbrus is located,

and after being in airports for 12 hours, flying for 16 hours and driving for a

further 8 hours we finally arrived.

Our first acclimatisation hike was to climb Mount Cheget. There is a large military

presence in this area, due to it being on the border of Georgia, and we couldn’t

take the chairlifts up until the soldiers with their large machine guns went ahead.

In 2011 the south side of Elbrus had to be closed for climbing, as the rebels had

planted bombs and caused major unrest in the area surrounding the mountain.

So we were somewhat anxious to get this hike over and done with.

Mountains have

fascinated Me for

as long as i can

reMeMber, instilling

in Me a passion

and need to be

aMongst theM. it is

also through this

passion that i first

caMe across the

seven suMMits; the

faMed seven highest

Mountains on seven

continents. after

doing soMe research

i realised that if i

put My Mind to it,

i could actually

conquer soMe of

these Mountains

- Me, a five-foot

Mother of two!

Mount Elbrus, russia

Climbingto the topof europe

18 • DO IT NOW Magazine October | November 2012

We left for base camp early the next day, as we had heard that the chairlifts were not working on the last section, and this would mean a very severe uphill hike with extra-large duffel bags. Our guide, Yuriy, called ahead and asked a snowcat driver if he would be able to drive us up to The Barrels, our base camp at 3,800 m, but the snow was melting fast so this might not be an option by the time we arrived. Packed and ready with around 200 kg of gear between the six of us, we set off in the waiting snowcat and what followed was the second scariest experience of the trip for me. As we started ascending, the snowcat lost traction and slid down a cliff to almost land on a pile of rocks. We all had to bail out and cling on to the rocks for our dear lives. Fortunately no one was hurt, but I was taking no chances and decided to walk the rest of the way up; this beast was not ruining my climb!

Reaching base camp I discovered that the ‘barrels’ are old oil barrels that have been converted into comfortable rooms, with six wooden 'bunks' per barrel. Our mess hall was an old converted container, in which our cook, Vladimir, produced hearty Russian meals and stored our water that came fresh from the mountain.

life on the Mountain at high altitude

is not easy, and i was the only girl in

our teaM. there's no tiMe or space for

shyness here, and eventually soMething

as gross as seeing soMeone carry their

five-litre pee bottle to the long drops

becoMes norMal.

Months of training and preparation had us all in good shape for the long and hard daily acclimatisation hikes and final summit push - that alone would be a 15-hour slog on our feet.

We climbed higher and higher each day, returning to base camp at night to get our bodies fully acclimatised. The rule of thumb is to climb high and sleep low, to decrease our chances of acute mountain sickness, which is life threatening.

Weather patterns are totally unpredictable. One minute we would be climbing in glorious sunshine with views for miles, and then within three minutes the clouds would cover everything and you could hardly see your teammate in front of you! Temperatures range from around 5 to minus 15 degrees, with a strong snow storm thrown in for good measure. We were climbing in the summer season, and the massive amounts of snow falling resulted in us having to wade through snow as deep as my waist in places.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:1. The beast on Mount Elbrus 2. The Barrels base campat 3,800 m 3. First acclimatisation hike to ruins of the famous Priut (hut) at 4,300 m 4. Sunrise above theclouds on Mount Elbrus.