August 6, 2014
- Waterfall on the way to the Observatory. (Photo by Jonathan Schrock)
- Boat ride on the Neva River. (Photo by Jonathan Schrock)
First full day in the Valley is complete. It was spent doing their first acclimatization hike up to the Observatory. It’s about a 3000 vertical foot gain, which is about perfect. About 2 hours up. Terskol is at just over 7000 feet so that helps a lot, too. In bed now with the plan being to head up to the lower slopes of Elbrus tomorrow for a training/review day. It, of course, also provides additional acclimatization. ‘Climb high, sleep low’ is still a pretty good mantra to follow when it comes to adapting to altitude. Team will be back in the Valley again tomorrow night. All’s good, so far. Weather is a bit unsettle now but forecast show clearing early next week. May work out just fine for their summit bid.
Phil Ershler