June 17, 2016
Riding up the trams (Viki Tracey)
Aaron Mainer called in today from about 13,000 ft on Elbrus to let us know the team was well and settled into a small hut about 1.5 hours above the top of the Elbrus ski area. Folks with a little knowledge of the Elbrus climb will know that the area at the top of the highest single chair lift is called The Barrels. The old, historic Priutt (hut) used for decades was located about 1.5 hours above The Barrels. It was a large, 3-story building which burned to the ground in 1998 (I believe).
Our team will use tomorrow as another acclimatization day and go for a 2-3 hour hike up to a spot called the Pastohov Rocks. Saturday night will be again spent at the small hut and hopefully the mountain gods say yes on Sunday morning. Weather is everything now.
Phil Ershler