Climbing Mt Elbrus

9-3-92 Thur

Took SAS airlines to Copenhagen. Great airline with super food service. No complaints here, they even give you socks to wear.

9-4-92 Fri

Landed in Copenhagen around 8am. Expensive, wow. Found out address of a bed and breakfast for the return trip. Got gate number for next flight also on SAS. Left at around 11:30 and stopped in Stockholm. We waited for around an hour then took off for Moscow. Seems like we eat every hour on the planes. I've had more cold meat today than more entire life. Met some guys that are on the trip with us. Got to Moscow Sheremetyevo 2 airport at around 5:30. I don't know what it was but it just felt really strange flying in here. Possibly all the brainwashing when we were kids about the country. Passport control was a breeze as was getting the luggage. It was faster than any airport that I've ever been to. Buzzed through the green "nothing to declare" line. Found the guide and group easily.

We hopped on a small bus and took a short trip around Moscow with a guy who said he was our "interpretation". I knew this would be good. Someone in the group pointed out a site and ask what it was and he replied "building". OK, things were rolling now. Glad this is a climbing trip and not an educational excursion. Pulled up to the Izmailovskaya Hotel where we were going to have dinner. Oh boy, this makes the tenth meal of the day and guess what...more cold cuts. Had some champagne which came from Azerbaijan. Not bad stuff really. Then the "interpretation" thought it would be good to get some vodka. Eight rubles a bottle on the street. (exchange is 210 rubles to 1 dollar). The meal lasted forever and this really bad bad played loud music the entire time. They kept playing the same songs over and over. We were all dead tired, staring into space. We finally finished our 4 course dinner and got in the bus. For tonight we are staying at the Zagore hostel south of town. Let just say it was sort of primitive but not really bad. I'll start here with the toilet rating system. A 10 is like home or any Scandinavian country. The Zagore was around a 5. Would have been a 6 but Stan and I had to fix it and then turn the water on to make it work. I noticed lots of smashed bugs on the wall and should have taken precautions. By the next morning the hostel was now known as the mosquito Hilton. We had to get up 3 times to put bug dope on. That helped a little but I must have swatted myself in the face a hundred times.

9-5-92 Sat

We were supposed to meet at 5:30am to catch the bus. The driver was really late and drove like crazy to get to the airport (Vnukovo) for a 8am flight. We got there and then they said it would be late perhaps at 3 or 4 this afternoon. Nothing like Aeroflot they say! We unloaded the stuff in a pile and stood around until some dude with a suit and one eye talked while another lady translated. The one eyed guy and lady decided "We will now go to breakfast". OK now we're talking. We went upstairs and guess what... more lunch meat. Some rather large women with a lab coat yelled something and we all had to leave. Down the stairs we go. The lady asked us if we had to use the toilet. Of course we said. Big mistake. Back upstairs we went to the toilet that will get perhaps in a generous mood a 3. How do old people use these things? I can't hold my nose and myself up with only 2 arms. OK enough of this, back downstairs.

We loaded the baggage into another van and the lady said, "We have decided that we will go on a tour. " No problem with that. Nobody wanted to stick around this airport. We drove back into town and on the way got some gas.(18 cents/gallon) Picked up a guide and then headed for red square where a celebration of some sort was going on. Lots of people in native costumes and bands were playing very old instruments. Even saw the mayor of Moscow. Stopped by the Arbat and looked around. You can buy anything including any military uniforms, helmets, etc. Crazy place. Next of course is lunch "which is waiting for us." I'll have to say they keep things moving around here. We went to a hotel and up to this huge restaurant that the 1950's forgot. As usual, start with tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, fish and cheese. Next is this bread thing with meat stuffing. Next course is beet soup and finally the main course of meat potatoes and carrots followed by ice cream. Too much food! I slept on the bus back to the airport.

We have been delayed again so it's back to the cafe to drink lots of pepsi's and mineral water. Finally we got the word to board. They herded us through the metal detector and X-rayed our carry on's. I forgot to say, Aeroflot only allows 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of checked luggage. Not bad if your not a climber but with us we had to pay a fine of $1/pound over the limit. Stan and I paid an extra $40. Actually it would have been more but when the guy weighed the bags I put my toe under the scale and pushed up a little. It took about 10 pounds off! We watched a total idiot try to walk through the metal detector with two very large bags that almost knocked the machine over. Then the best part, some guy brought through 3 cages of live birds. Unbelievable! They called the flight for Mineral Nyvody. One of the bird men, jumped in front of me and the lady who was running the show grabbed him and yelled loudly that he was in the wrong place. Then she started smacking the guy. We followed her (with our mouths shut) out on the tarmac and across the way to the huge plane. About 5 minutes later, the mass of people ran across the tarmac from another entrance and jumped on the plane. 350 in all I heard got on. No safety announcement or "cross check". One of the climbers seat belt buckle was missing so we tied her into the seat. How the damn thing got off the ground is beyond me. Once underway, we all fell fast asleep not even bothering to put the seat back. I woke up and these guys were selling some type of ice cream along with bottles of vodka.

The steward, I guess you could call him that, was cutting these big blocks of ice cream with a very long knife. Then I watched him hand a slice to an unsuspecting passenger with the long knife still in his hand. My heart jumped as the knife just about poked the passengers eye out. I quickly passed on the ice cream. Too dangerous! Nobody wears seat belts and they don't even bother to "remain seated until the plane comes to a full and complete stop". I noticed that all of the seats fold forward. Not too handy is you have to evacuate the plane quickly. We landed a couple hours later in Mineral N Vody. You exit the plane through the middle down a flight of stairs. Really strange coming out of the plane and walking under the wings. People were out there to greet some of the passengers and there was even a dog running around. Another guide met us there and loaded us on another small bus. Our small group of 14 climbers has around 15 to 20 guides, etc along with us. It's like a small army. While waiting for a truck to bring the baggage, we decided to visit..."the toilet". Oh boy another adventure. Lucky for us we get to use the nice Intourist facilities which I rate as an 8. The baggage somehow gets loaded and we are now driving for the next 5 hours to get to our dacha. Actually its a small chalet in Tegenekly that the cosmonauts and high ranking communist party members used to vacation in. Very nice. Arrived at around 1:30am.

9-6-92 Sun

Slept good and got going around 10am for breakfast. Today we are hiking up the nearby Yusengy valley. Left around 11 and hiked for about 2 hours. Very beautiful country. There were sheep being driven up the valley to a wide meadow by herders. We ate lunch in this meadow and took lots of photos. The Betcho Pass is located in the nearby mountains and is the site of a huge battle between the Russians and Germans in WWII. Today over the pass is trouble again but this time in Georgia. We hear from the Russians the battles are intensifying. We head on back and get back around 3. Lunch is at 3:30 or so. Same stuff over and over. I'm getting really sick of it and it's only a couple days in the country so far.

After lunch we decided to meet for another hike at 5 pm to the Narzan mineral springs. It took about an hour to get there and is a popular place among the locals. The water is very carbonated and full of iron. I tasted it but I really didn't like it. I guess this was a popular resort at one time but it's now just a place the guys go to drink vodka. We decided to walk back along the road and stopped at a village to get a closer look at a waterfall. Sorry to say but it looked as if the entire village was very inbred. Lots of retarded children and not so bright, moon-faced adults. We had to hike up some steep hills and through a herd of sheep to get close but the view was worth it. Back on the road we dodged the trucks, cars and cattle. Here they let them roam all over. How they don't get run over by the crazy drivers is beyond me. I swear they speed up when they see something on the road, i.e. humans. Back to the lodge at 8 and it time for supper. Oh boy, same stuff again. Played some strange billiard type game in the basement. It's played on a billiard table (long, very narrow pockets) but all the balls are oversize and white. You can hit any of the balls into the other to put it in the pocket. Very hard to play but the Russians play it at all times of the day and night.

9-7-92 Mon

Slept great. The beds and covers are different but kind of neat in a way. The sheet is sewn together except for a diamond cut out in the middle of one side. This is where they put the wool blanket inside. The pillows are huge and very soft. Breakfast time and surprise something really different. After the salad, we had spaghetti in warm milk colored liquid. Sort of good with lots of sugar. We are going on a hike today and hopped on the bus that will take us to Mt. Cheget. We drove to the ski lift and stood around while the operators decided what price to charge. Finally after much delay we lined up at the most ancient lift I've ever seen. Single chairs that were real scary looking. They don't even slow down or hold the chair when it comes around. Wouldn't be too bad if I didn't have a day pack with ski poles. We all put our packs on backwards and held on tight. On the way up I saw an old man cutting long grass with a scythe and I couldn't help but think of the grim reaper. The top of the lift had junk everywhere. Lots of broken bottles and aluminum skewers. I later found out that the Russians like to have kabobs while they ski. Oh that's safe?! Not!!! I took off with another girl and headed up the steep ski slope. Soon we passed everyone and headed for the boulders and rocks. We came to several false summits and finally to the top of the non-technical summit at around 11,500. We took lots of pictures of the wonderful mountains surrounding the valley including Mt. Elbrus. A little ways down we ran into one of the Russian guides who gave us holy hell for running up the mountain without a guide. We headed down to a small cafe at the top of the chairlift. We had some bread and cheese and waited for the lift to start up. Everyone regrouped and it was time to hop on again. I don't think I've ever ridden a lift down and it wasn't very fun on this one. The view was nice but I had white knuckles holding on. Getting out of these things is a trip.

We had a little time before the bus came so we did the American thing...shopping. There is a tiny little wool market near the empty ski resort and it has the best buys in Russia. Lots of hand made sweaters, hats, socks etc. I saw a couple things I liked. A big, old Russian women came down and latched onto me. She was really funny the way she was steering me away from the other merchant ladies and right into her corner of the world. I really liked a sweater that another lady had and tried to tell her that. She pulled some wool off of a sweater, grabbed a match and lit it then stuck it right under my nose. I think to prove it was real good wool. I just nodded and said, "Yup, it's real all right". I told the lady I wanted a smaller size and then she whips out another and starts to deal. A couple other sweater ladys came over and together in English they said, "How much?" while they looked at me. I laughed and said, "Hey that's what I'm supposed to say not you. " Finally the sweater I wanted appeared and I put up 4 fingers. The lady held out for 5. The sweater is beautiful and in the states would bring around $100 minimum I should export these things. The bus came and I made a note to get back to the market when I had a little more money. Lunch was served and of course it was more of the same except for the soup which was very good. We're leaving for the mountain tomorrow and the trams and lifts may not be running so I'm packing light.

 9-8-92 Tue

Left the inn at around 9:30 to catch the tram. We piled stuff into this big tram car and off we went. Wonderful view of the mountain and valley. The tram looks really old and I hope it stays together. At the top, the place is a wreak of course. Really run down and nothing looked kept at all. A few memorial to climbers on the inner walls. The second tram was not running due to an accident the week before where something broke and a car fell severely injuring people. No problem I'll walk. We hiked mainly up a primitive road that was used to build the lifts 30 years ago but did cut up lots of scree slopes. Glad I brought my ski poles because they really help. My Nike Air Mowabs left imprints in the dirt and I soon got nicknamed the Mowab monster. Lift three was working which made things nice. We filed into this really ancient single chair lift with our full packs and attempted to get on. It was harder this time because of the heavy packs and nobody to hold the chair. I was scared I was going to tip out and get smashed to bits on the rocks below. Got to the top OK though. After you jump out you have to run between the chairs to get to the side where the snowcat was. It was available to take us up to the Priut Hut but a few of us decided to walk.

My husband Stan and I and three others decided to walk the 1,200 feet up to the hut. Much better to acclimatize this way than ride. Besides it was fun in the snow and ice. It took around 45 min at a leisurely pace to get to the "big airstream trailer" in the sky. Strange looking place. It's at 13,860 feet and is rather large. It has 3 floors one of which looks closed off. The second has a kitchen-dining room at one end and the rest are rooms. We were on the third which has around 5 rooms on each end laid out in a pie shape. Each room has two beds. The rest of the floor has around 10 more rooms with 4 beds in each room. Stan and I got a room at the end because the guide told us since we are married "it's better this way." It had to be the tiniest room ever made. It had a bunk bed, desk, chair and small table. I could reach both walls with my arms stretched out. Cozy was the operative word. Stan and I moved in, one at a time. Dinner was around 8 and the food was good. Lots of cabbage soup. Off to bed where we fell fast asleep.

9-9-92Wen.

Breakfast at 10. I think it was some sort of egg, tomato, onion creation. I forgot to mention the facilities. Get ready for this. As they explained to Stan, for a "little deal" you go through a door on the third floor and out on this plank that connects the hut with a rock on the hillside. The large rock has plaques in memory of climbers who died on Elbrus. Somehow I don't think I would want everyone peeing at my memorial. I might add this is also not far from the water supply. Convenient for the guys and me because I always bring my funnel. The rookie women on the trip will never forget again because for a "big deal" its a hike. You have to go out to the first floor and down a treacherous path littered with large and small pieces of glass and iron not to mention snow and ice. Then to a platform where there is holes cut in the floor. Surrounding the holes are these outhouse looking creations. There isn't a holding area below just rocks and snow around 30 feet down. Needless to say nobody hikes in that area. Watch for the serious updrafts because it make the phrase "paper chase" a reality. On the Bartley toilet rating, this gem gets a 1/2 to a 1 depending on which hole you visit.

OK on to the mountain. We were to be ready to go at 11:30 for a hike up to the Pastukhov rocks at 15,840 feet. I put my tape player with a Lynard Skynard tape in and was jammin. Lots of slow climbers but it's always wise to acclimatize slowly especially if you have good tunes to listen to. It took around 2 hours to get to the rocks where there is of course a memorial. The weather wasn't too great and the visibility got bad on the descent. Lots of snow recently and now it was sleeting pretty hard. We made it down in about an hour then got lunch. Seems like all we do is eat here. Took a nap in preparation for tomorrows summit day. Got up for dinner to eat some porridge stuff. Looks like a storm is brewing outside. Strange thunder and lightning.

 9-10-92 Thur

Up at 3 A.M. for breakfast. Had everything ready to go and was out the door at 4:30. Of the 14 climbers on the trip only 1 stayed back because of illness. Slow pace to start out. I felt good but very cold and windy. I like a quicker pace to keep warm. We got to the rocks at around 6:30. After a short rest some of the climbers decided to call it a day. The rest of us put on crampons and soon it was time to go. I got up really fast and started to feel sick to my stomach. Everything got dim and my skin was clammy. Oh great, now what?! I sat down and tried to figure out what was going on. Stan took the camera and left with the group. I stayed for awhile a the rocks with a couple guides. One of the guides Sergey, nicknamed "the gentle bear", told me to keep remembering the music. He had seen me yesterday dancing my way up the mountain. I told them I thought I would be fine and headed up the hill. I felt much better when I got going. I held a very comfortable quick pace and in no time was up with the rest. We continued on slowly, and took much more breaks than I liked.

At around 10:30 we reached the point called the saddle which is between the west and east peak. There is a ruined hut there and we rested there waiting for the others. It was evident some didn't want to go on. Stan and I were chomping at the bit to get going. It was strange to us that the guides should even bring up the point about not going further and/or going for the lower east summit. It wasn't that much further, probably 2 hours to gain the higher west summit. We decided to leave the packs and put on a little more clothing. Stan talked one of the stronger women climber into going with us. She had really no experience on mountain and really didn't understand that she was supposed to be very tired at this point. The climb to the summit was a long, steep leg burner. Of course, Stan kicks into another gear at this point and goes into overdrive. He's feeling super and as he puts it "turbo charged". So much for the age difference. (He's 53 and I'm 34). The steep climb ended and we made a traverse around to a small section up to the summit. Before we knew it, our guide Ludmilla stopped at the top and waited for us to join arm in arm and step up together. It really was a wonderful feeling. We all yelled loudly and then got out of breath immediately. Yahoo! What a great view. The skies that were overcast below were clear up top. We had gotten lucky again. I again carried a Quincy College T-shirt, while Stan had his Indiana University flag. I also carried up a photo of a Russian wolfhound somebody in Quincy named Elbrus after the mountain. We had reached the highest peak in Europe at around 12:50pm. On the way down we saw a couple more from our group coming up. They looked really tired as we bounded by them giving them pats on the back for encouragement. We grabbed our stuff at the saddle and headed down. Our guide had gotten bad news over the radio that her father was ill in Moscow. With all the snow in the previous few days the descent was one of the nicest I can remember for my feet. Lots of plunge steps and not a lot of hard ice. Stan and I lagged behind to enjoy the mountain and we got back around 4:45. Hot tea awaited us and later supper. The summit was hard because of the long way and high altitude but was worth the effort. One of the guys thought it was much harder than Aconcagua because of the total altitude gain in one day. A couple others thought it was harder than Kilimanjaro because of the same reasons. I feel we've got a tough one out of the way. Total of the group that summated today was 7.

9-11-92 Fri

Four others of the group attempted to summit today. They left early in not to great weather. It was snowing and blowing hard again. Stan and I got up and packed to go. The snow cat was to be here at 10. We heard on the radio that the others were on there way back so we will wait for them. None of them reached the saddle because of the poor visibility. Everyone was back by 10:30 and shortly we hauled all the gear out to the snow cat. They put all the packs on the blade held on by the shoulder strap. It worked well. "All the women in the cab!" Oh boy, my first snow cat ride. Sergey ran along side the snow cat giving the driver a direction beacon of sorts. We unloaded at the top of the third lift and headed down the road. We shed clothes at the bottom of this lift and put on regular boots. Glad I had ski poles because some of the short cuts were a little treacherous in the steep scree. The first tram was running so we loaded on and started down.

The wait for the bus was short and when we got back to the inn the hot water was on just in time for showers. I stripped fast and jumped in while Stan unloaded the packs. And they say chivalry is dead. Fresh clothes and clean hair, it doesn't get any better than this. We had a feast for dinner and many bottles of champagne from Azerbaijan.

9-12-92 Sat

Breakfast was finally good. Some sort of pancake thing that was great. Why did they wait until the last couple of days to break out the good food?! We all grabbed some rain gear for our morning outing. All of us wanted to go back to the market before we left. We started walking and on the way stopped by the hotel Itkol. Into the bar we filed to buy all of there champagne and there only two bottles of Pepsi. We continued our walk and finally got to the wool market. A couple of tour buses were there so the prices were higher. I brought along some hockey cards to trade for pins. At the first shop, I showed here my cards and she didn't exactly know what they were worth. However, I saw a little boy in the stand and he begged his mom for the cards and the deal was done. His eyes lit up and he stuck his hand out. Next stop was the wool ladies. I looked around for some sweaters. At the stands furthest from the entrance were the best deals. Stan bought 7 sweaters and I bought 1 more. So much for Christmas shopping! Lots of deals made using a stick and the dirt method of communication. Most everyone bought stuff and our day packs were full.

It didn't take too long to get back to the inn where the TV was blaring. There was some epic Russian brainwashing film showing that actually was sort of interesting. Lots of singing and happy farm workers. Later on TV was this sort of "Wheel of Fortune - Let's make a Deal" show. Hilarious! People bring gifts for the host. The prizes ranged from toasters to car polish. There is only two channels in Russia. Channel 1 and channel not 1. Tonight is another special party. Shish-Kabob! The night dragged on and on with toasts. The guides gave us all aerial maps of Elbrus. We gave the guides our individual gifts.

 9-13-92 Sun

Most of the group was heading out today because of flights. We stayed on and after breakfast went on another hike. Our guides wanted to take us to the mountain rescue hut near the village of Elbrus. There was a huge map of all the peaks and beautiful photographs with the routes marked. There are some really great climbs to be found around this area. Outside there was some training facilities for the mountaineer school. A climbing wall built of wood with the most killer holds ever. Most holds were either knots that fell out of the wood or pieces of sharp steel that stuck out randomly. Some faces were overhanging and some angled. At the bottom of the walls were rather large rocks and I don't think there was any place to belay from. In a way, the area was so Russian... survival of the fittest. Let go you die. Next to the walls were some balance beam equipment and some really old weight lifting equipment. There were also a giant jungle gym to climb on. Further down the lane there was a high bar and a set of parallel bars. A volleyball court with bleachers was also in the area. The entire place looked really run down.

The guide took us further down towards the river where he showed us this 4 story device that was used to train students how to do dynamic belays. This was rather scary to stand on. It had multiple platforms that had this huge weight running on a cable through the middle. I guess the weight is lifted electronically then let go while the student tries to arrest the fall. We walked across this ancient wood bridge across a raging mountain stream to get to the climbing rocks. All the routes were marked on the rock with numbers and arrows. Broken glass abound also. I would have liked to tried some of the routes but with no protection and shoes it was futile. We walked down toward the river where some of the people saw a white bobcat like animal. We found another mineral well to the delight of the guides who drink it like holy water. Yuk. Time to head on back. We cut through some of the wooded areas which were very nice.

Got back just in time for lunch which was excellent. Now they learn what we like. The main course was a ground meat wrapped in these dough things with cream on top. Real good. We decided a sauna would be nice after lunch. The minister of health building is next door down the road. So at 5 we walked to this wonderful place. Gorgeous building. Big huge marble rooms with chandeliers. Down some stairs was the billiard room of course. I watched these guys play and in 20 minutes they never sank a ball. Now it was time for the sauna. We took hot showers first then hopped into a really hot sauna. Outside the sauna was a big pool filled with cool water where you jumped in. We then put on robes and went to a sitting room where we had watermelon and coffee. How nice! Very relaxing. Dinner was ready when we arrived back. Time to pack for the flight out.

 9-14-92 Mon.

All packed up and ready to go. Left at around 10 to drive to Nalchik. Got there a little early so we went to the market. Had some great ice cream on a stick for around 15 cents. Took a picture of 5 rams heads on the trunk of some guys car. Gross! I felt really proud of myself at the market. An older Russian lady asked me in Russian where I got the ice cream and I knew what she said and I told her where to find it. Back to the airport where we were only a little overweight on the bags. Of course, our day packs weighed 40 pounds (just kidding, but probably a good 25). Flight went OK and soon we were back in Moscow. We met up with a guide there who got us checked into the hotel OK.

Stan and I stayed in Moscow overnight then took the overnight train to St. Petersburg where we spent one night. One note on Moscow, we found a climbing shop there that sells titanium ice screws for 5 dollars. There really nice too. The shop is called the Alpindustriya Shop off of Izmailovskaya metro station.

Now that we are back I miss the people of Russia. I would love to get back and climb a 7,000 meter peak. Now that I have some good contacts its possible to go directly to them instead of using an American outfitter and cut the cost in half. I was really impressed by the people of this area and the beauty of their country.

Climbing in Russia: Mt. Elbrus Part II- the tourist part

9-14-92 Mon

We arrived back at the Izmailovskaya Hotel to meet our guide for the city. It was around 5pm and we were tired from the bus rides and flight to Moscow from Nalchik. Our guide tonight is Natalia who is a Russian climber on the womens national team. One of the climbers is staying with a family on a homestay for the night. Another climber is leaving on the train to go to St. Petersburg while Stan and I will spend the night here. We checked in the hotel and got our stuff up to the room. This is where being a climber is not always practical. Sure we're in good shape but I would love to travel light, ie, no mountain clothes, pack, ice axe etc. The room is fine and larger than I expected. We are in the B building. The hotel was built for the Olympics and is very large. Hot water and everything, wow. We drop our gear and head to the restaurant. Not a great meal but OK.

Afterwards we head to the Metro to go to the Arbat for some late shopping. It was our first time so I was really impressed. Huge station with very clean walls and floors. It was getting late so we didn't stop at any stations on the way to the Arbat. Still busy at near dusk. Some tables closing up but I did trade some hockey cards for some pins. While I was making deals, the group walked on without me knowing it. I happily put my pin in my pocket and looked around. Remember when you were a little kid and you lost your mom at the county fair. Yup, I felt just like that. No passport, no rubles, only hockey cards and a pin. It was getting dark fast so I yelled for my husband. The locals thought I was loony yelling "Dude" but I didn't care at this moment. Mom always told me to stand still and she would find me. Of course, I never did nor was I about to begin. I walked about 3 blocks and finally ran into them. Wow, I won't do that again. I promised to be a good girl and stay with the group. We walked through some department stories and then headed back to the Metro. I asked the guide about apartments, economy and inflation. Things are changing quickly and no one can keep up with the inflation rates anymore. It's really been hard on the older people. Many of the beggars are really in need of help. She said the streets used to be so clean and now with free enterprise it's dirty. I thought it looked a heap cleaner than any other large city. The maintenance on the buildings is really poor. It seems most of the building projects are never finished and are poorly constructed. One good earthquake and goodbye Moscow.

We got back to the Metro station and decided on the way back to stop at some of the more beautiful stations. A definite must on a visit to Moscow. I don't think there is a cheaper tour of the city than the 1 ruble metro. All the familiar change boxes are not in use anymore and you must go up to the window to get a token now. Of course there is a pass available for a month if needed. We stopped at the Komsomolskaya stop with the marble piers and huge chandeliers. The mosaics were wonderful. The Mayakovskaya station was really neat with the dome mosaics. Being a skydiver I took a couple photos of the parachuting mosaic. The stained glass at the Novoslobodskaya station was gorgeous and it was hard to believe it was in a metro station. Another must see is the Ploshchad Revolutsii station with all the bronze figures of the Heroes of the Revolution. We got back to the station next to the hotel and then bought some beer for the evening. Going rate for "metro beer" is around 20 cents a bottle. We got 4 and told them to keep the change. (we couldn't carry nor drink that much). It's really pretty good beer and you can't argue with the price.

9-15-92 Tue

Met the guide for the day in the hotel. She is the same lady who gave us a short city tour when our Aeroflot flight was delayed. With her was a Japanese girl who was doing another trip with the same company we hired for the Elbrus climb. She spoke very little English and a little Russian. It's going to be a fun day I can tell. The girl is very inquisitive and writes down everything. When she gets excited and starts talking fast she switches from English, to Russian, to Japanese very quickly. This happens every five minutes or so. I think our guide is going crazy trying to understand her but Stan and I are having a great time. First thing on todays agenda is another city tour. We now have the monuments memorized and when we pass by the "shortest street in Moscow" Stan announces it before the guide. She tells him he's a "very good navigator".

We head up towards the University and sparrow hill for a hill top view of the city. Below us is the stadium built for the Olympics. I thought it was curious that the huge ski jump looks like there is no place to land except in the trees. Very difficult event! Anyway after the mandatory photos we walked over to a small Russian Orthodox church. A service was in progress and the three women who sang were unbelievably good. How I wished I had a small tape recorder with me. All church music is only by a cappella voice.

We left the church and headed towards the Kremlin. We checked our day packs and started in. Small world when we ran into one of the climbers did a homestay for the night. It was good seeing a familiar face again. We entered through the Trinity Tower and headed towards Cathedral Square. The guide bought tickets for all the cathedrals that were open and first was the Cathedral of the Dormition. All the cathedrals were very beautiful and the history very interesting. Are guide seemed like she really enjoyed talking about the cathedrals and answered a ton of questions. We continued through all the cathedrals and out towards the huge cannon and bell. We finished the Kremlin tour with a museum tour.

On the way to lunch we stopped a few minutes at Red Square. I'm glad we had already seen it when the celebration was going on because we couldn't really get near anything. The gypsy's were thick and are not on my favorite people list. I did bargain again with the Mafia run "boy's pin club". The boys love cheap watches and hockey cards so I picked up some pins for no cash. These guys are really aggressive so a word of warning, bargaining with them is not for the faint at heart. I really enjoy it though when I know I don't have anything on me they can steal because they will. We left here and got lunch at a hotel that serve cafeteria style. I wanted to go to McDonald's or Pizza Hut. I know*I should eat the local food but frankly after 2 weeks I was really tired of it. Picked up some more ice cream bars and we were back on the bus ready to roll.

I wanted to visit a climbing shop I had read about in a Russian magazine so off went. It's the only shop in Russia I had heard and the prices they listed in the magazine were dirt cheap compared to America. We arrived and Stan and I quickly looked over the shop. We bought some titanium ice screws for $5 each. Through catalogs at home I saw the same ones for around $25. Some of the stuff is pretty crude. Like the ice hammer for $9. I wouldn't have trusted it. We went back to the hotel and then took the metro to the Arbat. It was Stan and my third trip so far and this time we were after some Russian McDonalds shirts we had seen earlier. Stan also wanted the "Russian leaders" matroshka dolls featuring Yeltson, Gorbachov, Brezhnev, Lenin and Stalin inside. He picked up a set for $5. The shirts we wanted featured a Russian solder with a big mac through his bayonet with the phrase "Have you been to the Moscow McDonalds yet? The guide said the character on the shirt was taken from an old party reciting poster that asked "Have you joined the red army yet?" or something to that effect. We got a couple of these for $10. Probably could have bargained more but there wasn't a lot of these to be found like some other shirts. I got more pins for cards and watches. It was really crazy all the army and navy stuff you could pick up. Young guys would say, "Would you like to be a red army general?" and show me a hat. "Only $5". Of course, only $5. You can buy literally anything on this street for $5. We got what we came for and met up with the guide and the Japanese girl who somehow negotiated some maps and postcards. Passing under the street we saw the animal market. Lots of puppies, kittens, turtles and snakes for sale. The guide said they sell for a lot of money and in this place they are registered. I would hate to see where the unregistered place is. We headed back to catch dinner before the Circus. Traffic was very bad driving out to sparrow hill where the "new circus" is now located. I guess the "old circus" is located downtown and features for wild animals. The circus we were going to is more modern. All I wanted to see were the bears. The first have of the show feature aerialist, clowns, dog tricks and of course "da bears". I really enjoyed the entire evening. The band was fantastic and the crowd was enthusiastic. The second half featured magic and illusions. I didn't think it was that great but the horse act and juggling was super. The circus was over at 10pm and it was time to head for the overnight train to St. Petersburg.

The driver knew the back way to the tracks so we didn't have to drag all our heavy climbing stuff for blocks. Soon the train arrived and the guide helped us find the right car and compartment. Damn are those things little. Of course, it looked very small inside when we tried to stuff two huge duffels and two suitcases inside. Somehow we managed to jam the duffels under the bottom bunk and the suitcases above the door. The other two people who were sharing the compartment watched in amazement at the compression of very large pieces of luggage into a small space. The train was on it's way and it was time to settle in. The conductor guy walked in and the guide said he would want 25 rubles each for the sheets and face towel. Why isn't this in the ticket price? Who knows, but I had the right amount ready when he came to the door. The other two people in the compartment were Russian women who spoke no English. Oh Boy time to whip out my handy Russian phrase book. Quickly we thumbed through the thing together and asked each other pertinent phrases of "Are you married and how many children do you have?" This got things rolling and soon we were up to occupations and hobbies. Lucky for us they had mountaineering listed and we could explain the large duffels. I half suspected they thought we were smuggling two more people on board. My head hurt from trying to translate Russian and it was getting late. We hit the hay and needless to say all were asleep very quickly.

9-16-92 Wen

A loud knock on the door woke us up. The door slid open and the conductor guy announced something in Russian. Of course, I immediately looked at our Russian counterparts and asked "What did he say?" This didn't help too much since I realized again that they spoke no English. They were really getting dressed fast and I realized we must be near St. Petersburg. I found a phrase in my book that asks "What time does the train get in the station?" "Fifteen minutes" they answered. OK, now were communicating! Stan and I got ready to depart in the rain. Luckily, when the train got to the station our next guide was standing right outside the door. How unusual his name is...Alexander (Sasha). I think everyone is named Sasha. He will now be called Sasha III to me and Stan. We were a long ways from the station itself and an extra hand was helpful with the duffels. We got into a car and stuffed the luggage in. Onward to the hotel!

We got the short city tour on the way looking through the fogged up windows. The Hotel Okhtinskaja is where we will be staying for the night. It was nice to check in at 8am so we were able to take a shower and eat breakfast. Another climber on the trip was in St. Petersburg and we ran into her at breakfast. It was great seeing her again. She got hooked up with this con-artist for a guide and was not having a great time. We were very lucky for Sasha III I think. He is very soft spoken and considerate the exact opposite of this goon Patty has. Anyway fried eggs were a welcome site. I don't even eat them at home but here they tasted great. Patty is going to the Hermitage later also so we may meet up again.

We first went on a longer city tour. I usual hate these things but it was really nice having a private guide and car. The city was rather gloomy in the fog and rain but the history was fascinating. I can't wait to read more about it. At 10:30 the Hermatage opens and we walked in. It's very beautiful and is really a day or two's worth of viewing. However, we only had until 1:15 so we quickly moved around. Sasha did a great job filling us in on the various rooms of the palace with the background history. The thousands of painting were spectacular. I was very disappointed by the conditions though. There were many people taking flash photos of all the paintings with no one stopping their actions. I told some Americans to quit but I don't think they really listened. The painting were displayed in the light of the windows which was very distracting and the lack of protection for the paintings disturbing. The paintings are showing the effects by darkening and fading. It's really not going to get any better and soon they will be ruined. We finished our tour and headed back to the hotel for lunch.

In the afternoon our driver found the much needed gas for the car and we headed South to Petrodworez or the summer palace. The apartment complexes are immense. One section is called "Texas" by the locals because it's so big. Lot's of gas lines and food lines when we drove out of the city confines. We saw much more here probably because of the lack of transportation that cites offer. The few buses that come out there are packed to the gills.

The summer palace was not crowded at all. In fact, only two other groups were there besides us. You have to put these crazy felt shoe covers on to protect the floor. I felt like a clown walking around in them. The palace was bombed and occupied by the Germans in WWII so much of it is restored. It's very beautiful and the surrounding grounds are very much worth seeing. The garden in the rear is not finished and it is unlikely that it will ever be restored now. We stopped by another interesting church in town to enjoy it's architecture. Theyre many small palaces in the region that would be interesting to look at if we just had more time. It was getting late so we headed back to the hotel.

We decided to watch a little TV and write some postcards. The hotel had stamps which is a switch from everywhere else. Instead of putting a zillion small stamps on the card like another climber had to do we only put 3 on. It was a little strange watching Tootsie in Russian. Usually only one voice does all the characters. Sort of annoying really. Dinner was at 8 and we met Patty and her jerk guide again. Her afternoon went better since she ditched the guide and contacted a friend at the University. She spoke to her friends class about America and answered lots of questions. Later that evening she was going back to Moscow on the train to visit there for a couple days. Stan and I will really miss her. We headed off to finish packing.

9-17-92 Thur.

Met the guide after breakfast. A large group (120) Americans checked into the hotel this morning. Most are older folks who are touring Moscow and St. Petersburg. The guide looked rather haggard already. Our new driver is this 70 year old A.J. Foyt incarnate. He's old but fearless. First we went to Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Only one of the cemeteries was open but luckily it was the Tikhvin cemetery where all the artist and composers are buried. We also went in the church were there was a funeral taking place. What beautiful singing! It was very moving. We drove down Nevsky Prospekt and detoured around many road construction projects. I wanted to stop by the Hermitage again so I could pick up an art book. Sasha and I went in and bought the last English version. There are lots of shortages now and printings of some books aren't being done because of material shortages.

Next we took off to visit St. Issac's Cathedral. What a spectacular place! It is now a museum and doesn't hold any services which is a shame. The good part is that as a museum it shows how the church was built through various models and drawing that are very interesting. We had tickets to view the city from the upper deck outside the dome. Lots of stairs to get up there but worth the view. Even on a rainy, cloudy day the city view is nice. Great way to get a perspective of the city. Coming out of the cathedral we were mobbed by the kids selling pins. I waved a watch at them and got some real interesting ones. On the way to the airport we stopped at a couple of more interesting places. One was the Chesna church which features artifacts from the Russian-Turkish battle over the island of Chesna. Next we drove to the memorial of the city of Leningrad under siege of the Germans. The memorial wasn't too spectacular but inside you can view film footage of the city under attack that is very interesting.

Off to the airport after that. It's a very simple system to follow to get things right. When the flight comes up on the board and the lights flash walk up to the customs place. No problems here, I just waited for the X-ray machine and she waved me on by. The terminal is very sparse on the one side but once through the passport control it gets a little better. There is a small bar and duty free shop that looks very American. Stan and I got a small pizza and a couple Pepsis for $3. 50. Everything is priced in dollars and some items are a steal. Wedgwood items are very low and if you smoke cartons of Marlboros are $14.00. I think that's a good price. I picked up a couple free Moscow times issues and an Aeroflot schedule book. Never know when you might need it. We were flying SAS so instead of hiking out to the plane we took a small bus. The plane was comfortable and soon we were off the bumpy runway.

In less than two hours we were in Copenhagen. On the way to Moscow we asked the information booth about bed and breakfast availability. We claimed our luggage and used the wonderful free carts provided by the airport. I love not having to find the correct currency to jam in these machines. We located another information booth and had the lady call the number we had. We were in luck, a room was available for two days. Everything is so expensive because of the poor exchange rate that the room is a bargain. Next someone directed us to the correct bus stop where we waited. Taxis are all Mercedes-Benz's and are kept very clean. We were only going about 3 or 4 miles but the fee would have been around $20. Ouch! The bus arrived and we showed him a map and address. No problem he said. It cost 27 DKr for both of us, which is around $5. He dropped us off and we had to walk around 4 blocks to the address. Damn I wish we didn't have these enormous duffels. Of course, the rooms are 4 floors up as usual. If we can make it 18,500' we can do it! The woman who runs the bed and breakfast is an artist and the place is wonderful. It's located walking distance from everything downtown. We settle in and then decide to take a short walk. The city is wonderful. Being a cyclist, I adore this city. All the main streets have separate bike lanes with there own turn lanes and traffic signals. Unique architecture everywhere. We checked out the now closed Tivoli. The summer amusement park closed Sept.13 for the winter. I wish we could have visited because it looks like lots of fun. Plenty of museums around the area and I've noticed at least 5 book stores on this short hike. Looks like window shopping is all we'll be doing. The prices are around 2 to 3 times what they are in the U. S.. We walked back home and relaxed.

 9-18-92 Fri.

Breakfast was great. Finally, normal food. We had hard rolls, butter, marmalade and cereal with yogurt. We left early to walk to the Royal Copenhagen factory so we could watch the china being made. It was very interesting and I now know why it cost so much. We window shopped a bit more and decided that Burger King sounded OK. The meal deal was a whopper, fries and a coke for 42 DKr. That's over $8 each. McDonalds was more expensive! We then went to the National Museum. It's just one of many great museums in Copenhagen. We took our time and enjoyed all of the exhibits. Late in the afternoon we walked to the botanical gardens and enjoyed around a million different plants. Stopped in for coffee and an apple pie at McDonalds. Ouch again! More window shopping down the pedestrian street "the Stroget". Wonderful shop and the people watching was fantastic. We found an all you can eat salad and pizza place off this same street. Great pizza and salad bar! The beer was around $6 each but the meal was very reasonable. With very full belly's we headed back home to start packing for the flight home.

 

9-19-92 Sat.

Sorry to say it's time to get home. Carried all our stuff to the bus stop an in only a short time our bus arrived and took us to the airport. Very easy check in. This airport is one of the best designed in the world. We exchanged the rest of our kroners and waited for the flight. I can't say enough good things about SAS. The food was again great and I love the selection of drinks. It's great having Baileys in your afternoon coffee! Even the movies were all right. All in all a great trip.