Adventure with a Purpose: Mt Elbrus expedition: Day 3 #trek4choc #trek4kidzwithcancer

We woke up this morning to some blue skies and sun. It was warmer than yesterday and things looked promising for a possible summit attempt tonight. The two climbers sharing our container had left around midnight for their summit attempt and we were wondering how things going up there.

It had been really cold last night and we were really thankful for our warm beds while we thought about all the climbing teams we had got to know on top of the mountain. We could not see the top very clearly as there still was a fairly thick cloud cover and it looked windy.

The heavy cloud cover seemed to hover at times allowing the sun to shine through exposing some blue sky then as soon as it appeared the wind would carry the cloud to swallow it all up.

You are always told that first thing in the morning when everything is frozen the loo is more bearable I have yet to find this statement true. Suzanne building up some courage before going into the pit of hell.

Rupert victorious - I survived!!!!

great shot that Mark took - between our containers

Tonight was summit night and we were all excited and a bit nervous. We had just had breakfast and filled up our water bottles and would be off to do some crampon and ice axe training. Our base camp sitting at 3800m and by now we were pretty comfortable. 3 people had tummy issues and were taking meds and changed their diet a bit to accommodate the problems. One had started to vomit and a few had headaches. All were minor. I was really blessed this time around. This was the best I had ever felt at altitude. I usually get a headache at this stage and feel a bit off. I am not sure if it was the supplements I was taking from NPL (Nutritional Performance Labs) that were the major contributor to my well-being. I was drinking their whey protein with my future life when I woke up, then later would go for breakfast, during the day I was drinking 2 bottles of water with added BCAA 10;1;1 for energy and recovery as well as later on in the afternoon after the days training I would take the whey protein only with water. At night I was taking 4 Test Charge capsules. The only small thing I had was a once off nose bleed in one of my nostrils - I was using the vicks inhaler to keep my sinuses from blocking up and think this was the culprit. I really felt good and felt I had a good chance of summiting. I was told to watch protein intake at high altitude as your body battles to digest it and it could lead to constipation. I was not going to take any with me on summit night but my body seemed to be coping well with the protein shakes and I hoped this would continue.

The weather kept on changing from looking good to bad weather setting in. Some of the guides where in deep conversation with each other. Coming out and looking up at the mountain with some concern. Those that had internet access where checking the mountain weather reports for the differently altitudes on Elbrus. It was not looking good for tonight up there. But we still had some time. We had bad weather coming from the both south and west sides.

Once we had all put on our crampons we were on our way. This was going to be a lot of fun and lots of new skills to learn.

There were lots of new techniques to master here. Practicing the self-arrest was both fun but also a little dangerous with both ends of the ice axe being sharp and I wondered how many people had stabbed themselves in the past. We were told that on one of the trips a doctor was part of the team and one of the guys nearly cut his calf muscle off. So the good doctor stitched it up with dental floss. The patient went on to summit and the wound healed without any drama. So epic!!!!

We learnt what do do if we fell head first either onto your back or your stomach. then again if you went feet first while on your back or stomach.

I am not the best when it comes to aerobics and when the class is going up, I am still going down, when everyone it going left I am still busy going right. Just when I get the hang of the sequence the exercise changes. I really suck so trying to co-ordinate the ice axe and not take a chunk out of my face or butt was initially a bit of challenge.

The changing movements of the ice axe while in motion until you are required to engage needed to be really fluid and it was time to loose that ugly duckling wobble and become a graceful swan. Okay so it did not look very graceful at all, but I did eventually get the hang of it. But because other team mates lives could depend on you having a rapid and instinctive reflexes when plunging your axe into the snow, I sat for about an hour back at camp practicing my grips and changing positions and finally got it that I was now satisfied that I could hold my own.

This is not a game as when you are all clipped in up there and everything goes to shit you need to spark. If you fall and cannot stop yourself in time you will take the rest of the team with you. If one person falls we all have to engage and assume the self-arrest position.

I had a Black Diamond ice axe, it was very light. Here is my mascot Keemo from Choc taking a photo opp with the ice axe. There are several parts to the ice axe with different functions. In the image below it breaks the parts down very nicely. There are 3 Main Components the head, the shaft and the spike. Being a rescue tech back home I like to know the history, the purpose and the names of all the bits even though I will probably forget some of the names and refer to them as thingies or thing-a-ma-bobs but I will know how to use it and that's the really important part. So this is what I discover about my new found weapon of choice.

The head of an ice axe is its single most important component and the one that has the most variation between different ice axes. The head, usually made of steel, is composed of three parts: pick, adze, and carabiner hole. Okay so the pick is obviously the long sharp end of the ice axe and it is used for swinging into hard snow (thinking James bond right now) or ice. The more technical ice climbing axes and ice tools will have a much sharper curve normally 55 to 60 degrees. The clearance or the angle of the pick's tip to the shaft can be either positive or negative, although most axes have a positive clearance which is more useful for hooking into ice. (negative or positive still eina if used incorrectly). the really cool looking bit for me is the end of the pick which has awesome serrated teeth for grabbing and holding into the snow and ice. The pick is the part of the ice axe used for self-arresting or stopping a fall on steep snow. When climbing snow or ice on mountains, the pick is carried facing forward in preparation for a self-arrest. Took me a while to master this without impaling myself.

Petzl Snow Walker Ice Axe - Photograph courtesy Petzl.

Image Google

The adze is the broad end bit of the ice axe's head that is shaped like a small shovel. It has an outer blade that is used for chopping steps in hard snow or ice and clearing platforms for belaying or bivouacking. (such a big word!!) The adze also is grasped by the hand in a self-belay mode in preparation for a self-arrest if you fall on a snow slope. When hiking with an ice axe, the adze usually faces forward. Still on the head is the carabiner hole in the head at the top of the shaft is used for clipping a carabiner to the ice axe or more often to attach part of the hand leash to the axe.

The handle bit is called the Shaft and is made of aluminum, steel, carbon fiber, or wood. Aluminum shafts are usually best since they’re light but strong. (this was the one I had so it was very light great for us girlies) Steel shafts are strong but heavy. Carbon Fiber shafts are very strong, lightweight, but also expensive. Wood shafts are rarely used now but are strong and relatively light. A straight ice axe shaft is best for general mountaineering, since they can easily plunge into snow and can be used for self-arresting and as an ice axe anchor. This was the one we all used here on Elbrus. The more curved shafts are designed to increase the power of swinging the tool into ice and are used for technical mountaineering, mixed climbing, and ice climbing. Daniel who did ice climbing had one that was not straight it had a curve in it. You can see from the photo below of his yellow ice axe. Some shafts have a rubber coating to increase hand friction and grip on the shaft. Athletic tape can also be added to the shaft or you can wear gloves with rubber palms to increase hand friction on the shaft.

The spike was a really great tool and is found on the tip of the ice axe, usually made of steel, which is able to poke and plunge into the snow and ice. This was my favorite exercise as you pulled yourself up and kicked in steps going up a steep area or embankment, you would plunge the spike in and use this to pull yourself up. really cool. The spike is used mostly to provide balance when walking across snow. Some ice climbing tools don’t have spikes to save weight. Other ice tools have a ferrule or an additional angled spike which can be used to provide stability when the pick is hooked into ice.

And finally the leash which is a webbing strap that attaches the ice axe to your wrist or to your harness so that you won't lose the axe if you let go of it, drop it, or lose it in a fall. A leash is considered mandatory in most mountaineering situations since if you lose your axe, you could lose your life.

My reasons for climbing Mt Elbrus, my inspiration and mascots.

Making sure all our double boots and inners were dry for summit night

Yvonne enjoying hot tea and biscuits

Plastic double snow boots which the crampons fit onto.

This was a big expense for me I coughed up R10 000 South African rands - half my salary but when I was on the mountain in the deep snow not once did I get cold or wet feet. Nor did I get frost bite like I did on my first Kilimanjaro trip in 2009 where I used my work steel capped safety boots due to money restraints. - don't ask stupid stupid - you can read it about it in my blog of what not to do on Kilimanjaro. So for me I was going to go without food, face cream and work several extra overtime shifts to buy these. They were the best buy I made. I purchased Boreal and they were 2 sizes bigger than my hiking boots (La Sportiva) Most of the team had Boreals so they do seem rather popular. If you are going to buy rather than hire these boots remember that these will be possibly the single most important piece of gear you will drag up onto the mountains. The boots will not only connect your most valuable tool - your feet - to the terrain but keep you protected from the elements. But which ones do you buy?. There are so many to choose from. Where do you even begin. One bit of advice is to chat to a professional mountaineer. Then the most important thing is fit and comfort. No matter how cool the brightly coloured ones may look, if they are uncomfortable don't buy them. Buy for comfort first. always. these boots vary a lot in weight, warmth, support and function. you will also need to buy ones that suite your mountaineering needs. The Boreal's I bought can be used on all the mountains I want to climb including Aconcagua and base camp Everest. So for me personally this was the best buy for my needs.

Image result for double plastic snow boots boreal

Double boots have an inner and outer boot which separate. the black.gold inner boot that you can see in my boots. It is soft with rubberized bottoms similar to my snazzy diving boots or my swift water booties. But they are much cooler. Then the big outer boot is made up of hard plastic and does not give. Yvonne taught me a really cool way to tie my boots from the top to the bottom and in that way when I walked down hill in the snow my shins did not bang against the boots. And I also loosened the top Velcro strap of the inner boot. This constant banging against the hard plastic of the boots will cause very painful bruising and can end your summit attempt. If this happens during the training sessions fix it!! Double boots are typically used in very cold areas since they are warmer and the liner can be taken out and dried in a sleeping bag at night. (I am a convert to that sleeping bag thing now - thanks to Heinrich!!) The downside to double boots is that they are heavier than single or super-gaiter boots due to the added layers. Another tip is that check if your gaiters fit over your huge boots. Mine even though they were x-L did not fit properly over the foot part of the boot but did the job. Heinrich showed me a great tip. He had taken a strip of Velcro he bought from a material/fabric shop and had sewn them in - this extended the width of the gaiters - problem solved!! thanks Heinrich!!

This was Daniels Ice axe and crampons.l

I love crampons - they are so cool once you get the hang of it and they made me feel like the real deal as the snow and ice crunched under my feet, I was the boss until I wiped out and I was reminded that I was no expert, not by a long long shot!! They are the ferocious teeth we fix onto the bottom of our snow boots and are made up of a metal plate with spikes fixed to a boot for walking on ice or rock climbing. Now as a complete rookie to all things alpine I discovered that there were actually different types of crampons (you can see this is a boys world - one is never enough got to have lots - what else could you talk about for days on end when stuck in a snow storm!!). And you get different spikes 10-12-14 points for different functions. The crampons all vary in purpose based on material from which they are made, the number of points, and the binding system that attaches the crampons to the boots. Selecting the right crampon depends on the intended use, which is broken down into three categories: light hiking and snow travel, general mountaineering and technical climbing.

Crampons are generally made from three types of materials: steel, stainless steel and aluminum.

It was really cool to see than not one of the climbers had the same set of crampons so this got me thinking again - why are there so many and what are the reasons for these differences?

Strap-on

The strap-on style binding will work with any type of boot available, including hiking boots. These will be the easiest to adjust among different types of boots and are often nice when one is planning on using over-boots at some point during a climb. The other styles of crampons will work with over-boots as well; they will just require a few more adjustments. This was the type I used and I found them really easy to get on and off once I got the hang of it. I also like the idea that I can fix them onto my La Sportiva hiking boots for future hikes in the Drakensberg during the snowfalls. The big double snow boots would not work here for the most part in the "berg". I had also got my son Jordan to help me assemble them and see how to take them off and put them back on. It was also important to check that they fitted my snow boots, it would have been a disaster if I arrived on Elbrus with the wrong size.

Hybrid

The hybrid binding requires a boot that at least has a heel welt that can be used with the plastic heel throw on the hybrid binding. This will provide a bit more of a solid connection to the boot than a strap-on crampon. My Boreals have a heel welt. So this is also a future option for me.

Step-in

Finally, there’s the full, step-in crampon. This binding option works with any boot that has both a heel and toe welt that will accommodate the metal toe bail and the heel throw. This type of binding is ideal for vertical climbing and will certainly work for mountaineering as well. It will provide the most solid contact to the boot of any binding type. Once the adjustments are made for the boot it is being paired with, this apparently is the quickest to put on and take off.

Just a reminder I am a complete rookie to alpine climbing and trekking I live in Africa go figure. Nor do I have the experience nor do I profess to be an expert therefore I can only share with you what I have learnt while making an ass of myself on the snow. I enjoy having some insight as to what I am using or what is happening to my body while I push out my physical and mental envelope. So please consult a real expert when you embark on any of your adventures.

Discussing the summit attempt tonight - but the weather was not looking too great nor were the reliable mountain weather reports. You could feel the tense mood filling up inside the camp. We were worried.

To take my mind off what I was feeling in my heart I took my camera out and took some photos. Sherrie and Gaven had brought a frizzby alolng so we played that for an hour or so each day.

That cloud was really hanging in very low and did not seem to be going anywhere in a hurry.

you can see the glaciers creating that iced cake look as it hangs over the cliffs!!

I watched with fascination as I spotted tiny ant like movement on the snow slopes below the loo. I had to enlarge the frame and saw that is was a group of climbers making their way carefully over the ice fields and between some of the crevasses.

Look at those clouds building up big Eish!!

Note that the climbers are roped in as they navigate their way over the crevases

The weather was staring to come in fast this was not good for our summit attempt tonight.

Just loved these signs!!

Watching the weather from the camp above us - they too were just as worried.

The rescue team's "office" they had 2 busy nights rescuing people off the mountain!!

Wayne keeping an eye on the building weather - he had been here before 2 years ago and the same scenario was building once again.

I was looking forward to hitching a ride later on with the snow cats. They looked epic and you are talking to a girl here who works for the fire department. So these are big red trucks and my little fire heart was happy. I had heard of all sorts of stories of how uncomfortable they are and how you get squashed as people pile in onto the make shifts chairs. the smell of diesel, well if this is the case I will be at home in my comfort zone. Have you ever stepped into a fire engine racing to a call while trying to dress for that fire call. So for me I could not wait. I had watched with total fascination over the past few days at how they work their way over the snow. The great thing was the wide tracts that they left behind for you and with that weight you could pretty much safely guarantee no crevasses were under your feet.

The cabs are optimized for use in sub-zero weather or cold conditions worsened by wind chill, with strong forced heating and a windshield designed to be kept clear of internal and external ice or condensation through means of advanced coatings, external scrapers - their windshield wipers are modified - and internal ducts blowing hot air on the surface. and that lekker diesel smell completed the picture for me.

Check out those epic metal "wheels". Really cool!The forerunners of the Snow-cat were the tracked "motors" designed by Captain Scott and his engineer Reginald Skelton for the Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-1913. How epic is that. WOW!!

I found out that these tracked motors were built by the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company in Birmingham. During the 1955-1958 Fuchs and Hillary Trans-antarctic Expedition, four modern snow-cats were used, which were produced by the Tucker Snow-Cat Corporation of Medford, Oregon. The snow-cats were modified for the purposes of the expedition.

I love this shot of all things man and all things red against the white snow and blue background. EPIC

I discovered that the name "snow-cat" originates from the 1946 trademark by Tucker Snow-Cat Corporation. In the front of this photo are the snow mobiles. The guys driving these were nuts and I thought a bit irresponsible and as they showed off their manic driving skills. A few times nearly connecting some of the other climbers while we were up on the slopes. I had heard there had been some bad accidents involving them and it was no small wonder when I watched them. But hey I was a guest in Mother Russia and I was not about to tell them what I thought and land up in some Russian jail. So I bit my tongue. We would only use them if someone had to be taken off the mountain in a hurry due to serious injury or health.

So what is this red truck - the snow-cat is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. A wow - move they certainly could. The guys drove with expert skills over really difficult and steep terrain. Snow-cats which are used for snow grooming are also called 'piste machines', 'trail groomers' (in North American English) or 'piste bashers' (in British English) because of their use in preparing ski trails ("pistes") or snowmobile trails. I would hate to have a few vodkas and try and say those names. I will stick to snow-cat. First of all every moving part on a snow-cat besides stuff like windshield wipers are powered by hydraulics. I wondered if they used the same oil we did for our hydraulic equipment we use for heavy rescue. This includes the cool bits like the tracks, the blade, raising and lowering the cab and rear deck as well as the tiller (the thingie that cats drag around on the the ski runs).

Located behind the Snow cat's diesel engine are two large hydraulic pumps that power all these things. The biggest draw of power are the tracks which consist of five rubber belts bound together by the aluminum growser bars. They roll on rubber tyres which are are driven at the rear by a large sprocket. When the cat is driving it is steered by slowing down and speeding up the tracks. You could always hear lots of reeving when they were on the move. When you want to turn right, the left track speeds up and pushes the cat right, and to turn left the right track speeds up and pushes the cat left. The driver has a gas pedal to put power to the tracks or the throttle can be locked at a chosen rpm in which case the sticks are moved back and forth for forward and reverse. Watching these guys moving up and down and past us on our practice runs totally had me in awe of their skills. I did wonder if any had rolled over. But I was about to hop on one a few hours so I pushed that thought very far back into the brain.

The A for ambulance??? I forgot to ask what that A was all about will have to find out next time!!

The tops of the mountain were slowly being engulfed by clouds and it was about time now that the climbers from last nights attempt should be coming into camp.

Soon last nights climbers started to tumble in cold, wet, exhausted and rosy cheeked. The camp became a flurry of activity as hot tea was been made. Celebrations, lots of shouting a few angry people, many happy people and our two cabin mates had made the summit. Exhausted and cold. They sat down after getting warm and dry with a cup of hot tea telling us just how tough it was. That the weather up there was hard going and glad that it was over and they could go home.

One of the female Russian guides just celebrated her 150th successful summit of Elbrus.

Okay so I did a little more digging on the internet and read some books and found that Elbrus has been the center of some very historic events. Though not a lot of information is available on the mountain, it was a focal point during World War 2 as I mentioned in a previous blog. The guides did not say much about the incidents other than some facts about how the glaciers reveal bodies of soldiers and some artillery occasionally and how the Red Army suffered to gain control over Elbrus, which had fallen into the hands of the Germans.

The Central Caucasus range extends along the South Western part of Russia. It contains some of the tallest mountains in Europe of which Elbrus is the tallest. It is a region that is rich in oil and natural resources.

a great shot of the no 7 shaped Pastukhov Rocks with climbers making their way back down some from training and acclimatization and others returning from their summit attempts.

Just to prove I was actually there. Proudly in my Choc t-shirt - take note of the cloud formation in the few seconds between the above and below frames to give you an idea of just how quickly the weather comes in. Literally in a blink of an eye.

We had lunch and had a debriefing as to what choices we had. The weather had turned for the worst up on top of the mountain and tonight looked like a suicide mission should we wish to continue. All day and most of the afternoon was spent in deep discussions with the local very experienced mountain guides. They live for months at a time up here on this mountain. They know and can read this mountain like the back of their hands. None of them were going up tonight the risk was just too big. We were bummed but for most of us we knew the risks. This is as real as it gets. Climbing mountains offers no guarantees of success or great weather conditions. This is a big mountain and is very well known for its hectic and unpredictable weather, dangerous lightening strikes which have killed climbers and we did not want to be stuck up there over 5000m where rescue attempts in bad weather and whiteouts are a no go. We had another option which was discussed as a team. we had one more small window. If we don't go tonight and spend one more day here it would not only give those with tummy troubles a chance to get stronger and the advantage of an extra day of acclimatization, but the weather looked better for an attempt tomorrow night. over the past 2 days the storm had hit us from both sides. the chances of hitting us from all three sides was less likely. We were hoping this would pass. The only problem was that we would need to start a bit earlier to get back in time before the last cable car left. We would all chip in a few extra dollars to pay for the snow cat to collect us at the pick up point on the slopes to facilitate a quicker descent to make it back to camp. We would pack everything tonight so tomorrows summit attempt would be all that we would need to focus on and worry about.

This was our water source we used it to wash hands, cups and brush teeth. We could not use this for drinking water as it was too close to the diesel snow-cats parking space!.

While we were resting and preparing for our summit attempt we could see that the weather was still showing no signs of letting up and some snow flurries had settled in. Our chances of reaching the summit would be greatly diminished as would the increased risk of loss of life or injuries like frost bite and hypothermia. You cannot sit up on that mountain for extended periods of time exposed up there on the saddle and around the summit especially in bad weather. We had made the right and safe decision not to go tonight and wait for tomorrow.

It takes 5 or 6 hours from the Priut huts to the saddle. then it takes a further 1.5 to 2 hours from the saddle to the summit. Once you start to make your way back it takes a further 3,5 or 4 hours for the descent to the Priut huts going back down along the ascent line. A long long time to struggle in bad weather. A long time to be pelted by snow and wind exposed up in the saddle. This is part of mountaineering. It starts with the challenges of saving up for the trip, buying the right equipment and getting to the foot of the mountains. It does not end there. you are now at the mercy of the mountain and of what Mother Nature decides. Is she ready to accept you or will she reject you. The weather had been great up until we arrived with many successful summits with clear blue skies and shinning sun. We were going to have nothing like that. We had to accept that we might not get a shot before our time was up. It sucks but that is why I love the mountains always there to teach you something new.

We settled in for the night with the sounds of a hectic storm and wind blowing. Lots of doors getting swung open and banging fighting against the wind. Against better judgement and with lots of concern a few climbers did leave to go on their summit attempt. The guides complained that these people were being irresponsible. Well we would wait until the morning to hear what happened. I was woken up by loud shouting and noise some time during the night but I was not not sure what time it was but I was really warm and cozy in my sleeping bag and drifted off back to sleep. unaware of the epic battles happening up on the mountain with those dumb enough to try and later a life and death struggle above 5000m waiting to unfold........

The Team Zodwa Project ™

Member: FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa)
Member: Vincent de Paul Victory Park (St Charles Catholic Church)

Photo Credits: Kim Williams Copyright

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