What a long day! We are back from spending 12 hours walking around Moscow... Most of the day was spent touring the major sites of Moscow with our guide, Ludmila. From Lenin's tomb to St. Basils cathedral (where we witnessed an incredible concert) to an out of the way traditional restaurant, we had an unforgettable day. The best part, though was speaking to Ludmila about life in Russia over the past 30 years and how it has changed so dramatically. In the end, it makes me realize that our similarities far outnumber our differences. Our time here has exceeded my expectations and destroyed a lot of my misconceptions about Russia. Moscow is a safe, cutting edge, cosmopolitan city with unlimited artistic and cultural opportunities - and, best of all, friendly people. I would advise anyone who is considering a trip here to go! Our last day in moscow will be sent touring Soviet sites in Moscow - one thing we have learned is Stalin was even stranger than reported !
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After 22 hours of traveling, we are safe and sound in our Moscow hotel, the Metropol. The hotel is beautiful - it is 115 years old, and is less than a block from Red Square. I can actually see the Kremlin from my room! Despite some rain, our initial impressions of Moscow are favourable - the city seems clean and welcoming to tourists. We are off for our first Russian meal - but first the lobby bar is calling. It hosted Lenin 100 years ago, so it should be good enough for us! Just as we are experiencing our first real look at summer weather here in Canada, we are busy packing our down parkas and long underwear for our trip to Elbrus.
Weather is usually the deciding factor on when, or even if, we reach the summit - we always have one eye on the forecast in order to time our summit bid with optimal weather conditions. As with most mountain trips, the temperature and weather conditions will vary wildly throughout our trip - Moscow is in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures reaching the low 30's (Celsius), while Mineralnye Vody is experiencing temperatures in the mid to high 30s! Once we get into the mountains, however, temperatures drop about 25 to 30 degrees, and by the time we reach the summit, temperatures should be around -10C (around -20C with the windchill). The biggest challenges will be the wind and snowfall. There has been a lot of snow this summer on Elbrus, which makes climbing much more difficult as we have to break a trail through the fresh snow. Our last day we will be roped up due to the steepness of the slope (35 degrees plus) and crevasse dangers, which makes movement even more difficult. If the wind is up and the snow is falling, the last day will be a difficult one. Many professional climbers spend thousands of dollars a climb hiring personal meteorologists to predict the weather for them. On our last climb, one of the mountaineers that climbed alongside us had done just this, and would call his "weather man" a couple times a day! We are very reliant on the forecasts provided on the internet - we call home once a day on our satellite phone and have our support staff (read: wives) check www.mountain-forecast.com. This website has proved more accurate then private meteorologists, and our guides usually wait for our reports from home before deciding how to proceed up the mountain! You can see the forecast at the various altitudes on our main page on the left. We are scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning, so this is our last post before we hit Mother Russia... Here's hoping for low winds, warm weather and no snow! Steinbachonline.com and our local radio stations did a feature on our upcoming Elbrus climb today. Click HERE to read it... Even though the headline picture misidentifies us (the picture is of our Aconcagua guides, Rodrigo and Gaspar), the article is great!
With our departure just a week away, we have been spending the last couple of evenings checking our gear and trying to justify some new purchases. This is the one Russian phrase which I have been practicing incessantly over the past few weeks... Translated, it says "I don't speak Russian".
Language will no doubt be an obstacle on our trip, as both Adam and I don't speak any Russian. I decided a couple of months ago to spend a few hours a week with a Rosetta Stone online course to at least identify the words in the Cyrillic alphabet and be able to communicate like a two year old or Igor from Young Frankenstein (take your pick). I can now say please, thank you, how much, as well as "my socks smell and need washing" - all important phrases for our trip. Our guide on the mountain speaks English, but many of our fellow climbers may not; in preparation, I have also started playing charades with my wife after work so that I will be able to communicate any issues without offending anyone. Basically, we will be depending on our guides and on the kindness of strangers to get us where we need to go. I understand Russians are generally very friendly and willing to help, and we hope to test that theory in action in a week and a half. That is the essence of travel, when you get down to it - putting yourself out of your comfort zone to experience new people, places and cultures. Here is a quote attributed to a Russian mountaineer - Водка хороша для акклиматизации |
AuthorsAdam MacDonald, David Banman and their worldwide climbing adventures! David BanmanAdam MacDonaldArchives
September 2014
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