The last time I was in Russia, I was playing hockey. That was back in 1993 when I was in graduate school in Minnesota. I traveled to Saratov, Russia to play in the Valerie Kharlamov Memorial Hockey Tournament in the first year that women were invited to play. On August 26th, I’ll be traveling again to Russia but this time I will exchange my hockey stick for ice axe and pursue the summit of Mount Elbrus instead of hat tricks.

Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe and one of the “Seven Summits,” the highest peaks on all seven continents. Elbrus dominates the western Caucasus Mountains like a two-headed giant. Elbrus is an extinct volcano that is covered by an immense permanent snowcap that covers 145 square kilometers, and in some places is 400 meters thick. This ice sheet feeds over 50 glaciers.

Long ago, the mountain was known as Strobilus, meaning pine cone in Latin (the shape of the mountain’s summits). Elbrus has twin summits. The lower summit was first ascended in 1868 and the taller sibling was first climbed in 1874. The higher summit is 5642 meters high (18,506 feet). I’m climbing Elbrus in preparation for my bid on Everest during spring of 2007.

There are many routes up the mountain. The normal route is not technically difficult but presents an arduous challenge because of the high elevation and frequent strong winds. Climbing Elbrus will allow me to test out new clothing and equipment systems, see how my training is progressing, and attempt to stand on my second of the seven summits.

Please come along on my Elbrus Entrada. I will be sending updates to my webpage from Russia–please check this page often for news. We expect to summit around September 4th if weather and acclimatization allow. We have a few extra days in the schedule in case the weather is uncooperative. I return to St. John’s on September 9th.