Elbrus(5642)

On October 18, 2025, the first-ever ascent of Elbrus's main summit by a sled dog team took place. The heroes were the dogs, who received the typical Sherpa names Mingma, Pemba, and Lhakpa, and their handlers, the Simonovs, father and son. Of course, the event organizer, Alexander Abramov, President of the 7 Summits Club, was also a key contributor. And of course, the filmmaker, cameraman Ilya Gladkikh, who later edited this wonderful film, was also a key contributor. Various dogs sometimes climb Elbrus on their own or with their owners. But this was their first experience climbing Elbrus with a sled dog team.

 The group climbed in the second half of autumn, in rather harsh conditions. The weather forecast was poor, which is typical for Elbrus. Preliminary training and acclimatization taught them a lot about organizing the ascent. However, the summit push itself brought many unexpected surprises and proved quite extreme. The group ascended by snowcat to 5,100 meters. The climb took 3.5 hours. On the descent, the group faced a real storm: a blizzard, winds up to 50 km/h, rough snow, and icy patches. But Mingma, Pemba, and Lhakpa withstood the test. As did the people.

 Should we continue this experiment? We need to think it over for now.

Open the "Film Studios" page and choose your viewing method!

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Super Dogs on Elbrus" expedition, reports from the Elbrus region:

 The Super Dogs project on Elbrus. SUMMIT!!! Today, October 18th, a historic event took place. Three Sherpa dogs, Mingma, Pemba, and Lhakpa, reached the summit of Elbrus, working as sled dogs. They pulled climbers Alexander Abramov, Viktor Simonov, and Ilya Gladkikh.

As a result, the team of three dogs and three climbers ascended from an altitude of 5,100 meters to the summit in 3.5 hours. It's interesting that these dogs pull sleds in winter, but they've never been to the mountains. So, Elbrus is their first summit as dogs. The weather was terrible. After the summit, we descended in a blizzard and 50 km/h winds.

The route was in rough firn conditions, with some ice in places. The dogs proved themselves heroes.

The 7 Summits Club President Alexander Abramov flew to Moscow for 24 hours. Our captain took part in the 7 Summits Club's 18th anniversary celebration and was back at the Elbrus Refuge this morning. The weather is excellent and sunny, but windy, and the slopes are icy. Temperatures at the summit are forecast to be -30 degrees Celsius with winds of 50 km/h. Tonight, the group will attempt to climb Elbrus on dogsleds.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Super Dogs on Elbrus" expedition, reports from the Elbrus region:

 Today, the 7 Summits Club Super Dogs team climbed to our Refuge ("National Park") on the slopes of Elbrus at an altitude of 3,800 meters. Everything was covered in snow. They were digging out the cabins. The dogs were the main attraction on the cable car.

We settled into the shelter. We were in the cabins, our Chukchi sled dogs were on the snow. Everyone was comfortable.

Today, we made a test hike with the dogs to Refuge 11. The dogs immediately started pulling up, just like they would in a sled on snow. The speed was actually twice as fast as without the dogs. They pulled even better on the snow than yesterday on the rocks at Cheget. And they're less distracted. So far, the experiment is going great.

Tomorrow we'll try to climb Pastukhov Rocks. The weather, frankly, is bad. A blizzard. But the dogs are used to it. In Chukotka, in winter, they pull sleds and sleep outside at -50 degrees. So, Elbrus is a real treat for them. It's like a resort. But they're not climbing alone...

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition from the Elbrus region:

 Today, October 14th, we made our first acclimatization ascent with dogs to the slopes of Mount Cheget. The result exceeded all expectations. All four dogs moved briskly upwards and pulled reliably. The ascent speed doubled. We reached the Ai Café in an hour and a half. The dogs are all renowned. They've been on the North Pole, but this is their first time in the mountains. Well done!

Tomorrow we're climbing to the refuge at 3,800 meters. There, we'll acclimatize the dogs and the participants for three days. The dogs have protective goggles. They don't like them much, though, and try to rip them off. I hope they get used to them.

 And there's another problem: these are running sled dogs. They pull not only up but also down. And that's dangerous. So we're getting used to each other. And we're trying to agree that the dogs will walk down together and not drag each other down. We're filming a movie.

Alexander Abramov, Viktor and Makar Simonov, Ilya Gladkikh.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition from the Elbrus region:

 Today marks the beginning of a new and unusual expedition for the 7 Summits Club to Elbrus. We will be climbing with Sherpa sled dogs. The thing is, the Chukchi sled dogs have been given Sherpa names: Mingma, Pemba, Pasang, and Lakpa. Their owner, the renowned polar explorer Viktor Simonov, believes they are ready to climb Elbrus. We are once again breaking new ground in mountaineering. The hardest part today was checking the dogs in as luggage. It took all day. We rescheduled our tickets twice, thanks to Aeroflot for being so accommodating!

The expedition stayed at the Povorot Hotel and began preparing for the Elbrus climb. The hardest part so far has been figuring out how to train the dogs to wear glasses. They're still a novelty for them. The group is scheduled to summit Elbrus in a week.

Today marks the beginning of a new and unusual expedition to Elbrus by the 7 Summits Club. We'll be climbing with Sherpa sled dogs. The Chukchi sled dogs are named after the Sherpas: Mingma, Pemba, Pasang, and Lakpa. Their owner, the famous polar explorer Viktor Simonov, believes they're ready to climb Elbrus. We're exploring a new direction in mountaineering again. The hardest part today was checking the dogs in as luggage. It took all day. We rescheduled our tickets twice, thanks to Aeroflot for being so accommodating!

 It's now 9:40 PM. We'll arrive in Mineralnye Vody at 1:30 AM. So, I'll send photos of the dogs tomorrow. For now, just our exhausted faces.

We face a second problem: finding crampons for our dogs.

Alexander Abramov, leader of the "Sherpa Dogs on Elbrus" expedition.

Greetings from Adyl-Su to everyone from the guides of the 7 Summits Club! Following our exercise regimen, we started the morning with a formation. Dmitry opened the lineup today. After that, we headed out to the slopes of Elbrus. The snow fell nonstop, accompanied by gusts of wind. We were the only ones on the slope. Apparently, there aren't many people here who enjoy being trapped in the snow!

We tramped through the snow, made our way through drifts, and demonstrated our belay skills. We checked the slope for avalanche danger. Overall, we lived up to our title of super guide, and our examination committee confirmed it.

Your super guides: Alexander Dorojukov, Evgeny Fedyunin, Dmitry Semenov, Kristina Putintseva.

Greetings from the 7 Summit Club guides from Adyl-Su! Early in the morning, we set out through the Dzhantugan alpine camp towards the Kashkatash Glacier. We showed each other how to properly cross rivers and navigate scree slopes. The higher we climbed, the more interesting and varied the terrain became, and an incredibly beautiful panorama from the glacier to the forest valley opened up before us. On the glacier, our examiners gave us very interesting tasks, so we didn't have time to get bored or freeze. We jumped into crevasses, pulled each other out…

All in all, we completed the tasks successfully, finishing everything before dusk.

 Your super guides:

Alexander Dorozhuk,

Evgeny Fedyunin,

Dmitry Semenov,

Kristina Putintseva.

Greetings from the super guides in the Adyl-Su Valley! There was a very strong thunderstorm last night that lasted all night... Luckily, the clouds began to clear in the morning, and we went to the rock module exams. We demonstrated our ascent and descent skills, organized rescue operations, and climbed various rock routes. Our examiners, strict and attentive, kept a close eye on us, and we joyfully completed all the tasks!

 Your guides:

Alexander Dorojukov, Evgeny Fedyunin, Dmitry Semenov, Kristina Putintseva.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Boris Egorov reports from the Elbrus region:

I thought I'd rest somewhere by the sea after climbing an eight-thousander, and then head back to Nepal, to Ama Dablam. But the mountains wouldn't let me go: I rushed to the Elbrus region for my guide certification. And there were new locations: the Dzhan-Tugan rock laboratory, the Kashkatash glacier, and the good old snow on Elbrus. I passed all my tests with flying colors. It's great when you love what you do!

 Greetings from the & Summits Club guides to everyone from the Elbrus region! As is customary, every five years we undergo recertification and pass exams to prove our guiding skills. Yesterday we arrived at the Adyl-Su mountaineering camp. We explored the grounds, took a walk around the area, completed formal paperwork, and met with the examiners and the certification committee.

Today we began testing our knowledge and have already successfully passed some of the exams. We'll continue tomorrow.

 Your guides:

Alexander Dorojukov, Evgeny Fedyunin, Dmitry Semenov, Kristina Putintseva.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Sergey Onufrienko reports from the Elbrus region:

Everything is calm on Elbrus! Good day to all! Our last VIP group "Vysotniki" reached the summit of Elbrus in full force at 8:30 am. The weather was a windless sunny day. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our achievement!

The 7 Summits Club Guide Alexander Dorojukov sends from Elbrus:

Greetings from Elbrus! The "Boldly with chalk" group has completed its acclimatization program. Yesterday we walked to Pastukhov Rocks, we were very lucky with the weather. Today we held training in self-arrest on the slope, which we couldn't do the day before yesterday due to bad weather. Tomorrow night we start on the mountain. Good luck to us!

The 7 Summits Club guide Sergey Onufrienko reports from Elbrus:

 Good day to all! Everything is calm on Elbrus. The 7 Summits Club group "Vysotniki" moved in a Ural Truck (the cable cars are not working) to the refuge. Then we went on the final acclimatization ascent and reached the top of Pastukhov Rocks in 3:50. We returned to the area of the Refuge of Eleven and conducted training snow and ice exercises. We worked with an ice axe, there is a lot of fresh wet snow, you can't get going on your butt. So we didn't manage to work everything out. But the group is strong, no problem. At 18:30 we returned to the hotel. All the participants are cheerful and happy. We are resting before storming the summit. Guide “Hedgehog”.

The 7 Summits Club Guide Sergey Onufrienko reports from Elbrus:

 Good day to all! Our last VIPs of the Elbrus program, called "high-altitude climbers", rushed to the "Ai" cafe in 1:30. We got wet in the rain, drank tea, and ran down. After lunch, we got dressed at the rental, and at the hotel we had classes on adjusting crampons and systems. And we also found time to walk between the pines, practice fixed ropes climbing. Everyone is cheerful and happy!

The 7 Summits Club Guide Alexander Dorojukov reports from Elbrus:

Greetings from Elbrus! The "Smelo s melom" group has begun its program of climbing Elbrus. This is our final group of the season. Today we walked along the slopes of Mount Cheget. We climbed up to the cafe "Ai". The weather is already cold, autumn is felt. According to the forecast, precipitation is promised every day. But it is what it is. Our task is to get up and down.

Tatyana Posokhin, representative of the 7 Summits Club in the USA:

Hello everyone! Day 5 of my Hungry Elbrus. The day of the ascent. The night was sleepless. The start was at 3 am. I feel great, cheerful, in anticipation!

The start of the route was a bit drawn out, we walked slowly because of the previous teams ahead, which basically gave the body time to warm up, so that it could run up later!

 The result of the hungry experiment:

You also need to take into account that I had not trained for a whole month due to illness (and I arrived on the expedition not having fully recovered yet):

- I quickly recovered from the illness: the cough and nasal congestion went away;

- the ascent itself was very easy for me;

- breathed deeply the whole way;

no altitude sickness or its symptoms;

- no headache;

- no fatigue;

- lots of energy and strength;

- no hunger;

- saturation at the very top 96;

- no clouding of consciousness either;

- climbed two peaks at once (if there had been a third peak, I would have run to it too), the journey from the East to the West took 1.5 hours, taking into account a stop for rest and changing;

- even without taking any medications or supplements, dietary supplements, vitamins, my body feels better than ever and there is no muscle pain after the climb.

It turns out that I became the first Russian and the first American woman to climb Elbrus on two peaks at once without food.

 And my main result: I overcame my altitude sickness. Those who know me, I have had enough defeats, both because of my lungs and failed ascents precisely because of altitude sickness. I have never had saturation above 86-90 at altitudes under the best of circumstances. I have done a colossal amount of work on myself, on my willpower, on all the difficulties.

But the result amazed me and brought me to new heights!

The 7 Summits Club guide Alexander Dorojukov sends from the Elbrus region:

Greetings from the Elbrus region! The 7 Summits Club group "Ne Gipsony" finished their program with a successful 100% ascent to the top of Elbrus. The weather was gorgeous, sun and calm all day. Although the nights are already cold. I would also like to congratulate our Tatyana, she went on the "hungry ascent" program and climbed two peaks. At the gala evening, all the climbers were awarded orders and diplomas. Until next time in the mountains!

Greetings from Elbrus! The 7 Summits Club guide Georgy Bushuev is on the line. It looks like an ideal end to the season. 09/05/25 went with the "Very organized group" to the Western summit of Elbrus with 9 out of 10 guests. Light frost at night, clear horizon and complete calm on the descent. Thank you all! See you in the mountains!