Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

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Trotter
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Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by Trotter »

And specifically rented boots there? Or saw what kind of selection they had for rental?

Doing Elbrus in August, and I don't have true mountaineering boots.

I've done Orizaba, and many winter and spring climbs in my leather single wall saloman boots, but I understand they will not be accepted on Elbrus.

So my choices are buying a pair here ($400-$1000), bringing them across in luggage there and back. OR renting a pair at the base of elbrus for about $8 a day, and not having to haul them around in my luggage. Has anyone rented from the gear shops at the base of Elbrus, and how were the boot choices? Old crappy worn out stuff, or halfway decent?
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by ker0uac »

Trotter wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 1:50 pm And specifically rented boots there? Or saw what kind of selection they had for rental?

Doing Elbrus in August, and I don't have true mountaineering boots.

I've done Orizaba, and many winter and spring climbs in my leather single wall saloman boots, but I understand they will not be accepted on Elbrus.

So my choices are buying a pair here ($400-$1000), bringing them across in luggage there and back. OR renting a pair at the base of elbrus for about $8 a day, and not having to haul them around in my luggage. Has anyone rented from the gear shops at the base of Elbrus, and how were the boot choices? Old crappy worn out stuff, or halfway decent?
I have never done Mt Elbrus, but I have had to rent boots from local guide operators and outfitters in places like Kashmir and Nepal. They were often Scarpa or Asolo, never seen anything top-notch. In Kashmir, I had to turn around due to near frostbite as the inserts were just coming apart. After that, I was in Peru and brought my own boots, but continued renting crampons and axes. Like you said, hauling around gear is not fun specially if you want to do some tourism before/after.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by Scott P »

If you don't plan using your boots again, or not very often, go to somewhere like Cabelas and buy insulated hunting boots that have a stiff enough sole for crampons. That's what I did with my kids since they would outgrow boots so fast. Those boots should be more than adequate for Elbrus.
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cedica
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by cedica »

Mountaineering boots are not necessarily $400 to 1000. Mont Blanc 2019 model are $325 on Scarpa site, shipping included. It looks like most sizes are still available:
https://www.scarpa.com/mont-blanc-pro-gtx-s19
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by pvnisher »

Scott P wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:42 pm If you don't plan using your boots again, or not very often, go to somewhere like Cabelas and buy insulated hunting boots that have a stiff enough sole for crampons. That's what I did with my kids since they would outgrow boots so fast. Those boots should be more than adequate for Elbrus.
I haven't done it, but based on the route you won't be front pointing or anything where you need real technical boots. Anything warm that will be comfy and stiff enough for universal crampons should work.
Hunting, hiking, or snowshoe style boots, imo.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by desertdog »

I’ve done Elbrus. The route is basically a walk up. When I did it, the start was very very cold. One thing I took away from Elbrus is that the climb is pretty easy, but the weather can be a huge issue and shouldn’t be taken for granted. I used double boots, but had not purchased them specifically for the trip. I would be cautious on your boot choice, since it would be bad to travel all that way and have to bail because of cold feet. There are one or two rental shops shops in town. They were pretty basic. I think they rented boots though. Personally I would deal with the boots before you get there and not count on rentals. Lots of used options on eBay, geartrade, etc. if you are trying to keep it cheap.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by Klad24 »

Don't mean to steer the conversation away from boots, but I'm curious what your plan is as far as getting into Russia (assuming you don't have Russian citizenship). I was briefly considering doing Elbrus this summer as well but from what I can tell it seems like it can be a real hassle just to get into the country right now.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by Roald »

desertdog wrote: Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:49 am I’ve done Elbrus. The route is basically a walk up. When I did it, the start was very very cold. One thing I took away from Elbrus is that the climb is pretty easy, but the weather can be a huge issue and shouldn’t be taken for granted. I used double boots, but had not purchased them specifically for the trip. I would be cautious on your boot choice, since it would be bad to travel all that way and have to bail because of cold feet. There are one or two rental shops shops in town. They were pretty basic. I think they rented boots though. Personally I would deal with the boots before you get there and not count on rentals. Lots of used options on eBay, geartrade, etc. if you are trying to keep it cheap.
Did Elbrus last summer and agree with Rich on this. The slope isn't bad at all but the weather can stink and you'd hate to turn around because it was too cold and you went the cheap route on boots. I used G2 SM's and my feet were toasty the whole time. Even if overkill for Elbrus they are excellent to use for climbs above 6000m or in CO for any winter climb.
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Roald, in that one sentence you managed to demonstrate that A) you're an idiot and B) you're a hypocrite, and a perfect example of the cause of the modern-day problems in this country.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by pvnisher »

Everyone likes to bag on plastic doubles, but the fact is that they work, are super durable, warm, and can be had for pretty cheap.
So durable you can buy old shells, get a new liner, and they're essentially the same as when they came out of the box.

Yeah, kinda clunky, but people climbed very high, cold, difficult routes in them. People have done way more with super crappy equipment than I could do with the top of the line.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by cedica »

^^^Yup yup, green Koflachs are the most famous pair of boots in the mountaineering world.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by ltlFish99 »

I finally replaced my green Koflachs this March after having them 32 years.
They were also great for some laughs at the ouray ice park.
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Re: Anybody done Mt Elbrus?

Post by Scott P »

PS Trotter, what size sho do you wear?
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