Our group consisted of 12 people: Arletta (Dutch), Sebastian and Norman (German), Ian and Jim (South African), Chris (Canadian), Donald (Irish), Ron, Craig, Lorrain, my wife Kim, and myself (all from Colorado).
We spent Sept 11-12 seeing Moscow before flying to Min Vody on Sept 13 and then driving to the mountain lodge in Terskol. It was raining the whole drive, so we were a little worried about the weather.
On Sept 14 we climbed Cheget in brilliantly clear weather. There was some fresh snow, and this was a good way to break in my mountaineering boots. We rode the lower lift as the upper one was closed, and walked to the summit. The Cacausus are simply breathtaking, more rugged and spectaclar than any mountain range I have seen except for the Himalayas. Elbrus is the highest, but easiest peak to climb in this area. Nearby Donguzoran is very near Cheget and was compared by some of the group to the North Face of the Eiger. There were many, many rugged peaks in view from the summit, which I can't name. This was an spectacular climb indeed. Simply breath taking!
To see the trip report for the rest of the trip, including Elbrus, click here.
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Caucasus
