The staying arrangements in Moscow vary according to the kind of package you’ve opted for. In Moscow – Adventure Pulse will provide you in a comfortable 2 or 3-star hotel close the city center with breakfast on double sharing basis. In case you haven’t taken this package, you would need to make your own stay arrangements in Moscow. In Treskol (The mountain Village), accommodation is in quaint little mountain hotel with a very good bath and eating facilities. This is on double or triple sharing basis. While you are up on the mountain, we stay in the traditional Barrel Huts. This is a dormitory system where typically 5 / 6 people share a Dom. There is a separate kitchen section for meals and the toilets are usually outside the hut.

You need to be in good physical shape to climb this mountain. It’s the highest point in the continent of Europe and does demand good physical fitness and some bit of prior trekking experience. Please refer to our Physical fitness document for this trek.

One needs to fly to Moscow and then to a town called MineralVody. There are regular flights from Moscow to MineralVody with an average flight time of 2 hours. From the MineralVody airport, Adventure Pule organizes a group pick up to the base village of Elbrus. The drive from the MineralVody airport to the Treskol village is about a 3.5 hrs drive. In case you are not in MineralVody by 1 pm of that particular day, we can organize a personal vehicle for you at an extra cost to reach the Base village of Treskol.

Yes, some amount of climbing gear is required for this climb. Since we spend about 5 days on the glacier, one needs to be well equipped with some personal climbing equipment. The primary climbing equipment one needs is – Climbing boots, crampons, Ice-axe for support and a good sleeping bag. All these can be hired for a period of 5 – 6 days from the base village of Treskol. Our guide will personally come with you on day 2 and help you hire all the required equipment for the climb. We recommend budgeting for about $ 100 - $ 120 for the hiring charges of the climbing equipment. For list of other things and warm clothing to carry, please refer to our link - List of things to carry for the Elbrus climb.

Regular phone and data services work in the base village of Treskol. You can either pick up a Russian sim card from the Moscow airport or activate International roaming on your phone. While on the mountain also, the area around the mountain refuge also has network and one can make calls and use data services also. So mostly all the days on Elbrus, you can be connected with your family.

Acclimatization is the most important part of any climb and we ensure good amount of acclimatization. On day 2 of your arrival in Treskol, we spend the entire day acclimatization and also go climb the Cheget peak (3100 Mts) as part of our acclimatization plan. When we move higher up, two full days are dedicated for doing acclimatization walks and hikes before head up for the final summit Push.

While in Moscow the plan is on bed and breakfast. During the day you can explore the city and try out different restaurants. Upon your arrival in the base village in Treskol, the breakfast is included in the plan, during the day and evening you can explore some nice restaurants and café located in the mountain village. During the course of the trek and climb, all meals are included and are served in the mountain refuge dining area. These meals are usually mix of continental food like – Salads, vegetables, meat and pasta and there is no food around which is specifically meant for the Indian palate. We highly recommend carrying some snacks and packets of ready to cook meals so that one can supplement the meals with something more suitable to the Indian taste.

Regular shower facilities will be available in the hotel in Moscow and the mountain Village also. But while we are higher up on the mountain, Shower facility is not available for 4-5 days of the climbing period.

The Adventure Pulse staff and guides carry a fully equipped medical kit with necessary medicines and a Oxygen meter. As a standard practice, we check oxygen levels of all our clients twice a day and take the necessary precautions if any irregularity is found in the oxygen reading. In case the problem persists, the client is sent down with a qualified guide.

Adventure usually plans all it treks during the most favorable season on the mountain, but having said that weather is always an unpredictable factor. We usually look at weather reports before leaving for the Summit push. In case the weather is unfavorable for the Summit push, we delay it to the next day. A buffer day/s are always built in the itinerary as contingency if we get hit by unfavorable weather conditions.