Ozclimb wrote:

diggitee wrote:good luck dude, i was going to do it this july but had to pull out due conflicting schedules. doing mount cook later this year instead. i will hopefully do elbrus next year instead. so let me know how you did anyway.

cheers

Hey mate, whats Cook costing you ? who wit, i wanna do it but its really expensive given its only 6-7 hours from Oz

depending on work around november, not the best time but, looking at adventure consultants as i am doing elbrus with them next year hopefully. i am thinking of swimming across to save money...lol

Yeah swim it! thats always fun.

divnamite PM me for details if you like!

I'll keep using this topic. Where is everyone planning on sleeping in Moscow? And is there a simple (in English) way to book your flight from Moscow to Mineralye Vodnye?

WouterB wrote:I'll keep using this topic. Where is everyone planning on sleeping in Moscow? And is there a simple (in English) way to book your flight from Moscow to Mineralye Vodnye?

Flights: www.edreams.com is a possibility, but it's not that cheap. Usually S7 should fly there as well, but I haven't spotted MinVody as one of their destinations you can buy online.

Try Siberia Airlines....Im flying with them from Sheremetyevo to Min Vody, not sure if their website is in English though. I land in Moscow then have to catch a taxi to the other airport then catch the connecting flight:-(

Gonna be worth it though!!!!!!!!!!!

Ozclimb wrote:Try Siberia Airlines....Im flying with them from Sheremetyevo to Min Vody, not sure if their website is in English though. I land in Moscow then have to catch a taxi to the other airport then catch the connecting flight:-(

Gonna be worth it though!!!!!!!!!!!

S7 is in fact former Siberia Airlines. The English website:

http://www.s7.ru/en/index.html

JanVanGenk wrote:

Ozclimb wrote:Try Siberia Airlines....Im flying with them from Sheremetyevo to Min Vody, not sure if their website is in English though. I land in Moscow then have to catch a taxi to the other airport then catch the connecting flight:-(

Gonna be worth it though!!!!!!!!!!!

S7 is in fact former Siberia Airlines. The English website:

http://www.s7.ru/en/index.html

They don't seem to fly to mineralye vody?

WouterB wrote:

JanVanGenk wrote:

Ozclimb wrote:Try Siberia Airlines....Im flying with them from Sheremetyevo to Min Vody, not sure if their website is in English though. I land in Moscow then have to catch a taxi to the other airport then catch the connecting flight:-(

Gonna be worth it though!!!!!!!!!!!

S7 is in fact former Siberia Airlines. The English website:

http://www.s7.ru/en/index.html

They don't seem to fly to mineralye vody?

This is exactly what I've said already: I couldn't spot the flight on their website, though it should exist. Maybe it's better to ask Pilgrim Tours about the S7 flights.

E-Dreams isn't too expensive. I'll probably book through them. Thanks anyways!

If I book one way through edreams, I'll pay € 50. That sounds pretty sweet. Also gives me the opportunity to explore... .

Anyone know if it's a possibility to travel to the Black or Caspian sea from there? I see trains go to both coasts, but have no idea how many hours, days, months this would take. Seems like an opportunity to do one of those and then make my way back by train or whatever to Moscow... .

50€ seems very cheap Actually the usual one-way fare is around 100€ ! Aeroflot, Rossiya and S7 offer flights to Moscow but there is always some problems with online booking because MRV is not listed or something... You can do it via a travel agency !

There are trains and buses from Mineralnye Vody or Nalchik (and a lot of other cities) to each side of the coast (i.e. to Sochi on the black sea and to Makhachkala on the Caspian see) It takes 7-10 hours to get from the "middle" to either of those destinations.

Cities in the Caucasus are also well connected through a system of buses and minibuses (marshrutka) so you should have no problem finding your way if you also want to do some sightseeing!

If you have questions don't hesitate !

Peter

Oz, its late over here and i dont want to read the whole topic over again. but make sure that you get a ticket to minvody before flying here! I am stuck in moscow for 4 days. its nice, but i want to go to the mountains... really really nice girls here btw

WouterB wrote:Oz, its late over here and i dont want to read the whole topic over again. but make sure that you get a ticket to minvody before flying here! I am stuck in moscow for 4 days. its nice, but i want to go to the mountains... really really nice girls here btw

Yeah already got it all organised ate! hope you r trip goes well and safe.....make sure we see the pics asap

Nice!...hope he does well.

I have emailed sjarelkwint. He can give more details as I am in a shitty litlle internet cafe.

What happened. We took our time to get acclimatized. On our summitday we were both feeling really good. No headaches, no acclimatization problems, but bad weather. VERY bad weather. A Russian guide said it would be a ok, so we followed his group up to the Pasthukov rocks. Once there a thunderstorm broke out. Lots of wind, hail and temperatures dropped to -30 degrees celcius fast. Do not know how cold it was with the wind. We decided to pick up the pace, leaving the Russian guide and his group behind us.

We reached the saddle about 2.5hours later. A couple of Russian guides was waiting there telling people to turn back. We felt great, but visibility was down to less then 1m. We continued. Loads of hail and very fierce winds. We walked up the saddle a bit, but decided it was not safe. It was very hard for me to turn back, but if I had not I think I might still be up there right now... .

When back at the barrels I immediately checked the weather for the next couple of days. It would get worse. A LOT worse. I am now quite depressed, because it is impossible for me to summit without staying longer than my visa allows me. But to summit in this weather would be suicide for me. I will have to come back to this shitty country. Pay the stupid bribes again and again urgh! I am going back to bed. Raining too badly here to do anything else.