By no means is my post attempting to offend anyone by asking this question, it is simply being asked because I dont know the truth.

I'm off to the Himalaya in October, climbing over the period of 5 weeks up to 6500m+, and I was thinking of climbing Mt Elbrus in late August or Early September as a conditioning climb as well as to get a feel of how I will perform at those altitudes as I have only climbed up 4000m before.

But some companies won't go there, others make you sign a disclaimer re: safety beforehand, and the British Gov't advise not to go there at all.

However, I'm after honest opinions of people who have been there recently, or maybe even live in the area as I believe you will be my best guide to truthful information.

If people think it isnt a safe place, does anyone else have ideas of where to get in some good snow/ice at altitude for 7-10 days at this time (not the Alps, too tempremental for such a short period of time).

Thanks!!

Andrew,

I'm heading into the Elbrus and the Caucasus region in June and have the same questions. I've heard from SP member Misha (Russian) that the area surrounding peaks like Ushba are not very safe. I understand that Ushba is on the Georgia side of the Caucasus and it is not recommended to go there anyway. I'm also aware of the current political unrest in Moscow due to the election controversy.

My climbing partners and I are about to purchase a lite package from Pilgrim Tour, apply for a Visa and about to book flights to Moscow and Mineral Vody.

I'd love to hear from others that have been in the area recently to comment.

Kevin

i am going in July. US gov. does not advise to go there, but I think they also the same for going to the Himalaya. From the research that I have done, the clear major problem is Chechnya. Now Chech. is in a different region but all the areas around, at least from a US point of view, we are not advised to go there. Now bear in mind, Russia is on patrol not only for rebels from Chech. but also from Georgia. My friend who just did Elbrus last year that the only problem they ran into was when masked russian police boarded their bus to look for illegal arms being sent from Georgia. The guy I am climbing with has been there about ten times and has had no major problems. I have that most of the folks who get into trouble, are when they are unguided trips, and end up in places they should not be. I would love to hear from other members who have been there and what has happened with them.

A couple of friends and I were in the Elbrus area this summer with our own car and did a 100% independent climb. I felt this area to be one of the safer we visited during our 4 weeks roadtrip through eastern europe and russia. The only place I didnt like was Baksan city but that might have been a personal thing? As long as you dont cross the border into Georgia to stroll around on your own there or planning to visit Chechena and Dagestan you prob. be just fine...

I’m going on 23 May and according to my information it is very safe. Just for the record I have info mostly from people studding in Moscow and from friends which been on Elbrus last 7 moth.

All you need for extra safe climb is guide or local people whom you can trust which could help you whit logistic – there is a lot of info even on Summit post page for Elbrus.

Of course i cannot guarantee you will be completely safe in this area but i 've been there many times. My wife's relatives live in this region . I saw hundreds people from foreign countries there . They all looked satisfied Terskol and Asau are entirely safe . So lodge in these places
there might be problems on your way to these places. For instance:with the local police or local people . i' ve heard about several incidents but they occured to russians. I've never had one . And as it was said before in the presence of your friends or guides the risk of such incidents is insignificant

andiy wrote:Of course i cannot guarantee you will be completely safe in this area but i 've been there many times. My wife's relatives live in this region . I saw hundreds people from foreign countries there . They all looked satisfied Terskol and Asau are entirely safe . So lodge in these places
there might be problems on your way to these places. For instance:with the local police or local people . i' ve heard about several incidents but they occured to russians. I've never had one . And as it was said before in the presence of your friends or guides the risk of such incidents is insignificant

Teskol and Azau (?s)areas are quite safe IMO. They are use to foreigners and in fact desperate for tourists' money; it's a major tourist/skiing region. I don't know about the route in between Min Vody and Azau/Teskol; we only drove through it. The worst I've encountered are the police in route looking for handout/bribe/"penalties"; have your paperwork in order and hope you have a good driver who will stand up for you.

Muddeer wrote:

andiy wrote:Of course i cannot guarantee you will be completely safe in this area but i 've been there many times. My wife's relatives live in this region . I saw hundreds people from foreign countries there . They all looked satisfied Terskol and Asau are entirely safe . So lodge in these places
there might be problems on your way to these places. For instance:with the local police or local people . i' ve heard about several incidents but they occured to russians. I've never had one . And as it was said before in the presence of your friends or guides the risk of such incidents is insignificant

Teskol and Azau (?s)areas are quite safe IMO. They are use to foreigners and in fact desperate for tourists' money; it's a major tourist/skiing region. I don't know about the route in between Min Vody and Azau/Teskol; we only drove through it. The worst I've encountered are the police in route looking for handout/bribe/"penalties"; have your paperwork in order and hope you have a good driver who will stand up for you.

Azau and terskol of course in addition to what was said . Elbrus area is dangerous no more than Himalaya . There is one dangerous thing there -drinking with the locals

I'm also interested because I'm planning a trip to Elbrus and Ushba. How much safe is go to Shkheda Valley? The valley you have to do to get to the Ushba...on the site [url]http://www.elbrus.org/maps/elbrus_dang.gif it's marked like a zone of criminals from Georgia...anyone has been there recently? How is the situation?
Thanks a lot.

Bye

I went to Elbrus last year and I'd like to share some observations that I made:
the police are very nervous in Nalchik so I would seriously advice against taking photographs of anything remotely resemblin a strategical target. In our group one was pined against the wall while trying to take a photo of a building. I was told in the local market that photographing is forbidden. At the time I couldn't understand why but after having read about Nalchik it was more obvious. A few more observations: I saw military patrols around the barrels but I figure those were just bored soldiers. Military checkpoints in and out of the Baksan valley do exist but I really don't think its something to fear. Our driver at one occasion was stopped at such checkpoint but 5 mins later we could go on. The conflict with Georgia has escalated especially since the downing of a UAV
so the situation might be a little more tense now than last year.
In my opinion it is better not to venture into border areas at this point but there are so many facts that I am unaware of which could potentially change the whole picture.
I do not advice against going to this area which I felt was very calm and peaceful despite the things I've written above however, I would advise against any provocative actions which may cause substantial amount of trouble.

Good luck to you all - have a nice and safe climb!

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MegasAlexandros wrote:I went to Elbrus last year and I'd like to share some observations that I made:
the police are very nervous in Nalchik so I would seriously advice against taking photographs of anything remotely resemblin a strategical target. In our group one was pined against the wall while trying to take a photo of a building. I was told in the local market that photographing is forbidden. At the time I couldn't understand why but after having read about Nalchik it was more obvious. A few more observations: I saw military patrols around the barrels but I figure those were just bored soldiers. Military checkpoints in and out of the Baksan valley do exist but I really don't think its something to fear. Our driver at one occasion was stopped at such checkpoint but 5 mins later we could go on. The conflict with Georgia has escalated especially since the downing of a UAV
so the situation might be a little more tense now than last year.
In my opinion it is better not to venture into border areas at this point but there are so many facts that I am unaware of which could potentially change the whole picture.
I do not advice against going to this area which I felt was very calm and peaceful despite the things I've written above however, I would advise against any provocative actions which may cause substantial amount of trouble.

Good luck to you all - have a nice and safe climb!

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Thank you so much for the reply!
Did anyone else climb Elbrus or Ushba recently?!

Cheers