On the Road to Mount Elbrus: Day One

Ikramul Hasan Shakil is Bangladesh’s Everest summiteer with the unique distinction of having conquered both the Great Himalaya Trail and the Sea to Summit challenge. He has set off on a new expedition, this time to Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, located in Russia’s Caucasus range. Sidratul Safayat Daniel brings the story of this challenging expedition in a series of dispatches.

A short 15-minute jeep ride took Shakil and his team to the cable car station from where they rode up to an altitude of 3,000 metres to Mount Cheget. As the cable car climbed, the landscape transformed gradually green slopes giving way to snow-capped peaks.

At 3,000 metres, the team left their non-essential backpacks at the lodge and set out, lighter, for a hike. The goal was to let their bodies adjust slowly to the weather what mountaineers call an ”acclimatisation hike.”