Elbrus climb by Classic route, 8 days. Standard-comfort service.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please plan your arrival at Mineral Vody before 1:00 PM. If you arrive much later, you should be prepared to pay 100 USD for an individual car transfer.
Night in the hut.
PAYMENT POLICY
A deposit of $300 is due at time of registration to reserve a space on the expedition.
A full payment is due 60 days prior to the expedition start date.
CANCELATION POLICY
Refunds will not be issued for cancellations made less than 60 days prior to the scheduled date.
Price includes
- All land transportation
- All meals
- Hotel Accomodation (4 nights, double occupancy)
- Accomodation in our special huts on Elbrus (4 nights)
- All group climbing gear
- All meals while trekking
- All hut fees
- Park fees, trekking permits
- Snow Cat Transport fees while ascending
- Elbrus Cable Cars
- Luggage storage while climbing
- Visa Invitation if needed
- One English speaking guide and extra guides on the summit day. Ratio 1:2 (1guide per 2 climbers)
- 7 Summits Club long sleeve shirt, fleece jacket, buff and small foldable backpack
- 7 Summits Club medal and certificate for climbing Elbrus
Price does not include
- International and domestic flights
- Moscow services
- Russian Visas
- Single room supplement (hotels only)
- Individual car transfers
- Personal gear and personal gear rentals
- Required trip insurance policy (for trip cancellation, interruption, rescue & evacuation, medical treatment, etc.)
- Personal guides for summit day
- Snow Cat service on summit day. (This must be paid in cash in Rubles, though, if need be, your guides can assist in case you only have currency. The price for a Snow Cat depends on the height and day rate. The costs will be between 5000 and 20 000 rub, which is approximately $75-300
- Services of the assistant guides on reserve day (Day 7). If the first summit attempt (Day 6) took place but was aborted, the work of the assistant guides on Day 7 should be paid in cash on the spot (except for the case of totally bad weather on Day 6)
- Any changes incurred as a result of delays beyond the control of 7 Summits Club
- Tips and gratuities
- Any changes in the program initiated by a client
Caucasus, Elbrus (5642m), Mountaineering
Trip overview
Mineralny Vody - Terskol - Elbrus (5642m) - Terskol - Mineralny Vody
Why go there?
Good advice
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- One group transfer from Mineralnye Vody Airport (MRV) to Terskol is included in the price. Please plan your arrival to Mineralny Vody before 1 PM. If you arrive much later, you should be prepared to pay 100 USD for an individual transfer.
- For the same reason plan your return flight from Mineralny Vody to Moscow (on the last day of the trip) after 6PM.
- Most countries need a visa to visit Russia, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Russia for all details. Note that most of Latin American, South African and Israeli citizens do NOT need a visa. If you do not belong to these, we will supply the invitation letter for a tourist visa. This one will be valid for 30 days only.
- Important! All the official information concerning Covid restrictions must be checked with the Russian embassy. As a private company we cannot possibly bear responsibility for any mistakes/misunderstandings in this field.
- Special price for partners- 10% off for groups. Tour leaders's discount is 50% from the site price.
- Extra transfer for 2-3 persons - $100 per car
- Extra transfer for 4-7 persons - $200 per car
- Snowmobile drive up to 5100 m - $300 per person
- SINGLE supplement $200 per person (4 nights)
- Extra guide (or assisting guide) services during the summit push:
$300 per guide using a snowmobile drive up to 5100 m
$400 per guide climbing on foot (from a hut to the summit)
Tips guidelines (important information!)
You entrust your life, health, your time and money to the guides. And the guides take this responsibility for you and for the success of the whole trip. They are doing this 24 hours.
Necessary travel papers (documents)
Passport with a valid Russian visa, immigration card, voucher from the Russian tour operator (a part of an invitation letter). See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Russia for details, we will supply the requested invitation lettter/voucher.
By air and by land
From Moscow to Mineralny Vody you will fly with a Russian air company. Normally it is "Aeroflot", but there might be alternatives. Please plan your arriving to Mineralny Vody before 12:00-1:00pm in order to join our group transfer from the airport to Terskol (departure at 2 PM latest). If you arrive much later, be ready to pay extra for individual transfer (80-100 USD).
For land transfers we have comfortable private buses or minivans. To get to our Refuge we use Elbrus Cable-way; from 3750m to 4600m/5100 on the Elbrus summitt we normally take a Snow Cat (not included in the price!).
Accommodation
A hotel in the Baksan Valley.
On Elbrus: our special huts. From 2019 we are using our new hut, which has single beds: no more dangerous and annoying bunk beds with moving neighbors, enough space for your boots, clothes and gear!
Meals
Meals included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 8.
Staff
An English speaking guide from 7 Summit Club for the whole program and extra guides for the Elbrus summit day (2-3 clients per guide); a cook at the hut.
Health and medical insurance
Health-care on the mountain is limited to the first-aid kit the guide carries. Down in the valley in case of serious health problems the local hospital and your insurance policy are to take over. Your policy must cover climbing to 6000m/20,000ft.
Weather
As on any high mountain a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures should be expected: from freezing-cold nights (down to -5/-10ºC, 20-10F), to sizzling hot afternoons if it's still and sunny (especially on the snow); from a calm blue sky to a hurricane slashing your face like a whip. The higher you go, the harsher the conditions. So, the range of your clothes and footwear must comply with any of such possibilities. For details see our gear list below.
Extra expenses
In Caucasus meals are relatively cheap: you can have a decent additional meal with meat and drinks for 8-10 USD.
Internet, phone
Wi-fi access to Internet in each room in our hotel; cell phone works in the Baksan Valley and on Elbrus up to 5000m
Possibility of renting personal equipment
Any climbing gear you can rent in our office in Terskol.
Personal gear
Heavy-weight fleece jacket
Light/medium-weight, synthetic long underwear shirt (polypropylene/capilene)
Water proof / breathable jacket with hood (Gore Tex is strongly recommended)
Long sleeve, light weight shirt for sun protection (preferably synthetic)
Down or synthetic fill jacket with hood, must fit comfortably over your fleece jacket
Fleece pants (full side zips allow ventilation)
Thermal under wear
Wind- waterproof and breathable pants with full length zips
Liner socks - 2-3 pairs
Wool or poly socks (medium-heavy thickness) - 3 pairs
Light weight trekking boots, or strong shoes
Climbing boots, plastic of leather – must be right for step-in crampons
Gaiters
Liner gloves - 2 pairs
Medium weight fleece gloves
Wool or fleece mittens
Wind-stop shell overmittens
Wool or fleece hat
Balaclava
Glacier glasses with side flaps
Extra pair of your normal glasses, or lenses
Climbing gear:
Double climbing boots
Crampons (must fit your climbing boots)
Collapsible ski poles
Down or synthetic sleeping bag good for -10ºC/-20F
Sleeping closed cell foam pad
Rucksack (40-50liters)
Harness
Prussik ropes
Karabiners with screwgate lockers - 3 items
1-1.5 liters thermos
Personal first aid kit
Head torch
Water bottle
Lip balm (spf 25+) and glacier cream (spf 40)
Pocket knife
Favorite snacks
- We work since 2005 and our company has one of the biggest record of successful climbs and expeditions all over the world
- Our guides are top-rated proffecionals doing their job with practically 100% of safety. They lead our groups on the most serious climbs of the Seven Summint programme: Everest, Denaly, Vinson and many other ones in Himalayas and Karakorum. The guides specializing on Elbrus have as many as dozens climbs in their record. Your physical shape and weather permitting, the success is practically guaranteed.
- Our main concern is safety, so on Elbrus we never have the ratio clients/guide more than three. And our guides will never venture on the ascent without a more or less good forecast.
- For our loyal clients we offer the scheme of noticeable discounts
- Last but not least: the comfort. Our services in the Base Camp under Everest are recognized as the best. Also we always try to keep a good balance between the highest possible comfort and acceptable price
- A neccesary note. From time to time we get this question from would-be clients: "Why your prices are considerably higher than those of some local companies?" They quote 700-600 and even 500USD for a climbing trip to Elbrus. The answer is simple: do-it-yourself approach will be even cheaper, just the flights and ground transport costs. But then please keep in mind that, being technically easy, soft-looking Elbrus may be cruel and merciless! Its yearly death toll is 20-30 lives, mainly young. And practically all this toll is provided by self supporting inexperienced climbers and members of those cheap local companies' large groups, sometimes led by chance guides with pretty vague climbing and guiding background.
