Who knew? Not I!
The highest mountain in Europe is not Mont Blanc in the Alps, but Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus. Mont Blanc is 15,782 ft tall. Mount Elbrus is 18,510 ft tall. It's in the southern mountain range that helps mark the border between Europe and Asia (readers of this blog know that the Ural Mountains mark the northern border of the continents).
When Slava and I were a mere 40 miles from Mount Elbrus in the town of Kislovodsk, I very much wanted to take a day trip to this site. Its permanent ice cap feeds 22 glaciers. It is said to be where Zeus chained Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. Zeus knew what he was doing. Mount Elbrus is intimidating.
I haven't been as scared in a long time as I was on Mount Elbrus. Now I happen to be a 'fraidy cat and scare easily (never taking roller coaster rides). For those who really like a thrill ride, I recommend the cable cars and chair lift on Mount Elbrus.
There is a sleek, French-built cable car system on Mount Elbrus that looks quite safe. Unfortunately it's not working. Some Russian bureaucrat decided to save money (or pocket some money) instead of providing lightning protection for the new equipment. The predictable happened and the electronics of the cable car system got fried.
Slava and I rode up the mountain on the old Soviet-era cable car system. It was built in segments between 1959 and 1976, so it's at least 34 years old. The creaking journey high above the rocky mountainside took 40 minutes, and I spent much of that time worrying that the bureaucrat who decided not to install lightning protectors on the new system was the same bureaucrat in charge of maintenance on the old system.
Riding in the enclosed cable car cabin was bad enough. The chair lift beyond that was postively petrifying. Periodically we'd pass signs that said, "In the chair, don't...." I didn't know what it was that I wasn't supposed to do (which itself was a little worrying), but it turns out that the warning in Russian was not to jump out of the chair -- a caveat of the type you see on U.S. warning labels.
Jumping or falling from the chair would mean instant death. Below us -- way, way below us -- was a field of flint sharp boulders. Mount Elbrus is an ancient volcano, covered in chunks of basalt. It looks as inhospitable to life as the moon (although I can't say for sure, not having been to the moon).
Once out of the chair lift we had to climb a bit to the snow fields. Slava bounded forth ahead of me, assuming incorrectly that I was right behind him. Eventually he came back and patiently helped me along. We were at around 14,00 ft and able to enjoy the snowfield in shirt-sleeve weather.
I was glad that I had the opportunity to see the geography of the Caucasus, in order to appreciate better the continual troubles of the area. Tribes of people are quite isolated from each other, and fertile land is preciously scarce.
Roads through the Caucasus are not good. We had a four-hour drive to get to Mount Erbrus, going through several towns and driving along winding roads. We were in a 10-passenger Toyota, sitting in the very back. The driver sped along heedlessly, and we were bouncing up and down so much I felt like I was on a galloping horse for four hours. I felt saddle sore afterwards.
For anyone who likes adventure travel, I recommend taking a trip with Slava.
The highest mountain in Europe is not Mont Blanc in the Alps, but Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus. Mont Blanc is 15,782 ft tall. Mount Elbrus is 18,510 ft tall. It's in the southern mountain range that helps mark the border between Europe and Asia (readers of this blog know that the Ural Mountains mark the northern border of the continents).
When Slava and I were a mere 40 miles from Mount Elbrus in the town of Kislovodsk, I very much wanted to take a day trip to this site. Its permanent ice cap feeds 22 glaciers. It is said to be where Zeus chained Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. Zeus knew what he was doing. Mount Elbrus is intimidating.
I haven't been as scared in a long time as I was on Mount Elbrus. Now I happen to be a 'fraidy cat and scare easily (never taking roller coaster rides). For those who really like a thrill ride, I recommend the cable cars and chair lift on Mount Elbrus.
There is a sleek, French-built cable car system on Mount Elbrus that looks quite safe. Unfortunately it's not working. Some Russian bureaucrat decided to save money (or pocket some money) instead of providing lightning protection for the new equipment. The predictable happened and the electronics of the cable car system got fried.
Slava and I rode up the mountain on the old Soviet-era cable car system. It was built in segments between 1959 and 1976, so it's at least 34 years old. The creaking journey high above the rocky mountainside took 40 minutes, and I spent much of that time worrying that the bureaucrat who decided not to install lightning protectors on the new system was the same bureaucrat in charge of maintenance on the old system.
Riding in the enclosed cable car cabin was bad enough. The chair lift beyond that was postively petrifying. Periodically we'd pass signs that said, "In the chair, don't...." I didn't know what it was that I wasn't supposed to do (which itself was a little worrying), but it turns out that the warning in Russian was not to jump out of the chair -- a caveat of the type you see on U.S. warning labels.
Jumping or falling from the chair would mean instant death. Below us -- way, way below us -- was a field of flint sharp boulders. Mount Elbrus is an ancient volcano, covered in chunks of basalt. It looks as inhospitable to life as the moon (although I can't say for sure, not having been to the moon).
Once out of the chair lift we had to climb a bit to the snow fields. Slava bounded forth ahead of me, assuming incorrectly that I was right behind him. Eventually he came back and patiently helped me along. We were at around 14,00 ft and able to enjoy the snowfield in shirt-sleeve weather.
I was glad that I had the opportunity to see the geography of the Caucasus, in order to appreciate better the continual troubles of the area. Tribes of people are quite isolated from each other, and fertile land is preciously scarce.
Roads through the Caucasus are not good. We had a four-hour drive to get to Mount Erbrus, going through several towns and driving along winding roads. We were in a 10-passenger Toyota, sitting in the very back. The driver sped along heedlessly, and we were bouncing up and down so much I felt like I was on a galloping horse for four hours. I felt saddle sore afterwards.
For anyone who likes adventure travel, I recommend taking a trip with Slava.
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