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I'll be in Elbrus area for 9 days starting on 29 May. Can anyone here give me some idea of the snow conditions I can expect, in particular at lower elevations? How long will the trek up from Terskol to Barrel huts take with a heavy pack (avoiding the cable lifts)?

Also, anyone familiar with the alternate route from Terskol to Diesel huts which runs east of the main route (one that goes through the observatory and Ice Camp)? Will the crevasse danger be worse with snow? Can it be done in a (very long) day?

Lastly, can we expect to find running water at Barrel and Diesel huts that time of the year?

Thanks in advance.

I'm climbing Elbrus in July with Pilgrim Tours. You could check out their website, it should answer at least some of your questions: www.pilgrim-tours.com. Particularly the forum and F.A.Q. This site should also answer some questions: http://www.elbrus.org. Later.

-charles

i arrived about the same time last year. i dont think the conditions were typical because there was still very hard snow on the elbrus slopes, when i was expecting reasonable skiing conditions.
by djantugan the skiing conditions were excellent.

anyway, i took the gondola, but you could have probably walked 90% of the way to the top station without much on snow action.
dont know about the east route, but this way you probably could do in one long day from terskol if you are in shape.
if you are not acclimatised though, i think this would wipe you out for a couple of days.
hope that helps.

Simon