August 15, 2012 Phil called in this morning to report that the team arrived safely in Terskol. Today they got their hearts & lungs working with a hike up to the observatory which sits at roughly 10,000ft. The rest of the day was spent tweaking gear, fitting crampons, going over some knots and all the […]
August 14, 2012 Phil Ershler checked in late last night our time, which was early Tuesday morning in St. Petersburg. “Our day of playing tourist ended with a great visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, a boat ride through the canals of St. Petersburg and dinner together in town. It’s now Tuesday morning and we’re checked […]
August 13, 2012 Word in from Phil Ershler and the team – they’ve had picture perfect weather while touring St. Petersburg today. They’ll continue on with a visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral followed by a boat tour through the canals in the afternoon. Tomorrow they’ll depart for Terskol, where they’ll spend some time hiking and […]
August 12, 2012 Bolivia – Vernovage checked in. All continues to go well for these guys. They’re set to ascend their first objective: Pequeño Alpamayo. Peru (Machu Picchu) – Peter Anderson called in and was in a great mood! The team enjoyed another perfect day yesterday on the trail. ‘T-shirt weather” he called it. Today […]
July 20, 2012 The team is calling it a wrap. It was great having both contingent days after the summit of Elbrus to check out the Baksan Valley, hike a little more and just plain relax. Flights back to Moscow were uneventful and they had time for 2 organized tours of the city. Dinner their […]
July 18, 2012 With the entire team having reached the summit and the weather remaining great, it’s hard not to enjoy hiking around the Baksan Valley. Moscow soon. The team sends their regards. Phil Ershler
July 17, 2012 Mike shot off an email when the team got down to Terskol. One single chair ride and a couple of tram rides, followed by a short drive does the trick. All reached the summit and all are now down safely at the hotel. A 60th birthday celebration for Dennis capped off the […]
July 15, 2012 Spoke this morning with Mike Hamill. The team and he were back at the high hut after having climbed Elbrus. All team members stood on top – 100%. Great news. Windy but manageable. They’ll spend the night at the hut, clean things up in the morning and then head down to their […]
July 13, 2012 Just got off the phone with Mike Hamill and the Elbrus team. Mike’s working with our full group of climbers and Russian guides, Igor Tsaruk and Sasha Sak. It’s a good couple of hours from the hut to the Pastokov Rocks and it makes for a great acclimatization hike the day before […]
July 12, 2012 We received an email from Elbrus team leader, Mike Hamill, yesterday. Weather was nice as the team did an acclimatization hike up to an observatory located on the side of Elbrus. Today, the team heads to the Kashkotash Glacier to get in a day of training on the ice. The Kashkotash is […]
