Elbrus is a stratovolcano located on the border of the republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. He is deservedly considered the highest peak of Russia. And due to the fact that the border between Europe and Asia is ambiguous, it is often called the highest mountain peak in Europe.
Title
In Karachay-Balkar, the mountain is called “Mingi-Tau”, which approximately can be translated into Russian as “reminiscent of a thousand mountains” (a mountain of thousands). This name refers to the incredibly huge size of Elbrus, which has always been admired by the indigenous people of this region.
Some Balkarians, however, challenge this pronunciation of the name and insist that it is more correct to call it “Minge-Tau”, and this is no longer “a mountain of thousands”, but “a saddled mountain”. So Elbrus began to be called only after the first man ascended to its top in 1829. In local territories it is customary to rename mountains in honor of the one who climbed them first, therefore this theory also has the right to life. Modern Balkarians call the mountain “Elbrus-tau” and it can be translated as “the mountain around which the wind is spinning”.
In general, Elbrus has more than ten different names. And which of them appeared before the rest is quite difficult to figure out.
According to different versions, the modern name Elbrus originated either from Iranian Aytibares - “high mountain”, or from Zend (Zendy - one of the tribes of Iran) “Elburz” - “brilliant”. Nevertheless, Iran already has a mountain called Elburs, so this version may well be erroneous.
Among other names of Elbrus, one can distinguish the Turkic “Jinpadishah” - “the master of the spirits”, the Abkhaz “Orfi-tub” - “the mountain of the blessed”, the Georgian “Yal-buz” - “the snow mane”.
Height
Elbrus has not one, but two peaks. The western peak rises to 5642 meters, and the eastern - to 5621 meters. The distance between the two peaks is approximately 3000 meters.
For the first time, the height of Elbrus was determined by Russian academician Vikenty Karlovich Vishnevsky in 1813.
For comparison, the second highest peak in Europe is the crystal massif of Mont Blanc. Its height is 4810 meters. The highest peak of the world today is Everest (Chomolungma) - its height reaches 8848 meters.
Climate
The most favorable time to visit and climb Elbrus is the period from July to August, when the weather is most stable. In summer, the local temperature rarely drops below -8 degrees Celsius. But as the mountain ascends, the temperature can drop to -30 degrees. Winter in these places is quite severe, and it lasts here from October to April. Climbing the mountain in winter is almost tantamount to voluntary suicide.
The ascents
On average, climbers spend a little less than one week to climb the top of Elbrus. In our time, climbing Elbrus can be greatly facilitated. After all, it is much easier to use the cable car and immediately be at an altitude of about 3,750 meters. At this height is located the shelter "Barrels", which consists of ten six-seater insulated barrel cabins and a specially equipped kitchen. It is from this place that most of the ascent of Elbrus begins today.
If you walk up to the level of 4,100 meters, you can see the legendary hotel "Shelter of the Eleven", which is actively used by climbers around the world. This is the highest mountain hotel in the world, and it got its name after the chairman of the Caucasian Mining Society, Rudolf Leutsinger, and a group of ten schoolchildren set up their camp at this place in 1909.
The very first ascent to the eastern summit of Elbrus was made in 1829 during an expedition led by Russian General Georgy Emmanuel. The expedition was of a scientific nature and among the members of the squad were geologists, physicists, zoologists, botanists and other representatives of the scientific world. The first to the top of Elbrus was Karachai guide Kilar Khachirov. This event went down in history as the first case of the conquest of one of the greatest peaks of the planet Earth.
The western, highest peak of Elbrus was conquered only in 1874 during an expedition organized by English climbers led by Florence Grove. The first person to climb the western peak of Elbrus again became a conductor. This time they became the participant of the first expedition of 1829 - Balkarian Ahiya Sottayev.
The first person to climb both peaks of Elbrus was the Russian military topographer Andrei Vasilyevich Pastukhov. In 1890, he climbed the western summit, and six years later in 1896 - to the east. It was Shepherds who made detailed maps of the peaks of Elbrus.
To this day, Elbrus is one of the most popular peaks for climbing among climbers around the world.
Volcanic activity
During the geological studies of Elbrus, layers containing volcanic ash from two ancient eruptions were discovered. The first layer is the eruption of Elbrus itself, which dates from about 45 thousand years ago. The second layer is the eruption of the Kazbek volcano, which occurred about 40 thousand years ago. It was after the second powerful eruption that the inhabitants of the local caves (Neanderthals) left these places and went to look for more favorable conditions for life.
The last eruption of Elbrus occurred approximately in the 50s of our era, that is, about 2000 years ago.
Interesting Facts
Mount Elbrus is mentioned in the myths of ancient Greece. After all, it was to this mountain that the god Zeus chained Prometheus for giving fire to people.
During the Great Patriotic War, during the battle for the Caucasus, the German Edelweiss Mountain Division captured the Krugozor and Shelter of the Eleven mountain bases, and also installed Nazi banners on the western peak of Elbrus. German newspapers of the time were full of enthusiastic articles that fascist flags were installed on both tops, and the participants of the ascent were awarded an iron cross and a token with the inscription "Hitler's Peak", since it was in the "Hitler's Peak" that the Nazis planned to rename Elbrus.
In 1956, a group of 400 climbers simultaneously climbed a mountain in honor of the 400th anniversary of Kabardino-Balkaria.
The wooden building of the hotel “Shelter of the Eleven” burned down in 1998 due to violations of fire safety rules, but at the moment in its place the local authorities are actively building a new building.
In 1991, the Toilet of the Eleven was recognized by Outside Magazine as the worst toilet in the world. Considering that this toilet was used by thousands of mountain tourists and climbers from all over the world, and not everyone dares to remove the icy heaps of life after themselves, you can imagine what this picture looks like.
During the ascent of Elbrus, accidents constantly occur. In 2004 alone, the mountain claimed the lives of 48 climbers and extreme skiers. Elbrus belongs to the list of the most dangerous to climb the peaks of the world.
In 1997, the Russian traveler Alexander Abramov became the first person to climb to the top of Elbrus by car. This car was specially equipped and modified Land Rover.
Elbrus belongs to the list of “Seven Peaks”, in which besides it there are the following highest peaks of six parts of the world: Chomolungma in Asia, Aconcagua in South America, McKinley in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Vinson Massif in Antarctica and Punchak-Jaya in Australia and Oceania.
There are 22 glaciers on Mount Elbrus, which give rise to the sources of three rivers: the Baksan, Malka and Kuban.
From time to time, climbers located on the top of Elbrus can simultaneously see the Caspian and Black Seas. It all depends on temperature, pressure and other parameters, thanks to which the radius of the review can significantly increase.
In 2008, Elbrus was recognized as one of the seven wonders of Russia, according to a vote of "7 wonders of Russia."
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