Posted: Oct 14, 2008 06:35 pm EDT
(MountEverest.net) "I love the eighties music, don't you?" shared a bleached hair stylist kid last week while trimming a mountaineer's peppery beard. Yes they are back; Metallica, Culture Club, Depeche Mode.

During the eighties, speed ascent competitions on Elbrus (5642 meters) were part of the training program for members of the first Soviet Himalaya expeditions. "Thriller" probably blasting in Walkman headphones (more or less secretly) the young Soviets tackled Himalayan giants with their trademark determination.

Well it's not just the music that's back. Denis Urubko, Boris Korshunov, and Andrey Puchinin are only some who have participated in the new Elbrus race - now open to the entire world.

The latest edition kicked off in September and RussianClimb has compiled the following debrief:

Elbrus Speed Climb competitions IV International

The 2008 ELBRUS RACE took place September, 16, 2008, organized by TOP SPORT TRAVEL www.sklon.ru and mountaineering website www.russianclimb.com.

This year a record 34 athletes had registered for the Elbrus Race; beating in numbers the previous races (in 2005, 2006, 2007). They arrived from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bielorussia, Germany, India and Indonesia. Russian climbers came from many different regions.

This was the fourth time that the strongest athletes assembled to compete for the best results in a speed climb to the highest top in Europe. BASK outdoor gear company was main sponsor of the event, providing competitors with nice hats and down jackets.

The Elbrus Race competitions were supported by the Republic Kabardino-Balkaria (Northern Caucasus) government and sport committee. Other sponsors included Tramontana (outdoor gear shop in Saint Petersburg), Top Sport Travel, Russianclimb.com, Elba Hotel (Elbrus region), Elbrus Cabel Car Station, Bochki, S10 company, plus transfer drivers Muhud Baidaev and Olga Shuvalova.

The preps

On September 15, competitors were pre-qualified in a short race to the Pastukhov Rokcs. Race regulations stated that they had to make it in 2,5 hours which not all managed, some due to lack of acclimatization. With that, the following day 26 athletes lined up at the start for the race to Elbrus West top.

Weather forecasts mandated for the race date to be pushed back one day to September 16; which dawned nice and clear.

The Elbrus Race was under the patronage of Elbrus Rescue Service and preparations started in foul weather early that morning: at 2.30 am a high-altitude safety team led by Tatjana Timoshenko left Bochki (3708m) for Pastukhov Rocks (4200m) and in very strong winds climbed to Elbrus Col where they set up a tent and prepared hot tea for competitors.

The crew scattered over the mountain in anticipation of the start. Famous Russian mountaineering doctor and photographer George Rudenko and Alexey Lonchinsky were in place. Vladimir Milanov and Mikhail Osipov waited for climbers on Elbrus West top (5642m). Cameraman Vladimir Kochurov worked on Pastukhov Rocks. Two more cameras covered the start and the top.

The race

Thanks to the good weather and experience, all competitors descended successfully after reaching the top.

Extreme Class (Azau 2400 m - West Top 5642 m)

Four athletes started in the Extreme class, from the very bottom of Elbrus at 2400 m. For three of them - Roman Gubanov (Teberda, Caucasus), Victor Kamenskih (Lysva, Perm region) and Vladimir Kouznetsov (Samara) this was their third time in the race.

The fourth participant - Andrew Mariev (Togliatti) - was no spring chicken either: Mariev climbed Everest North Face in 2004 and K2 West Face in 2007.

The four climbers started out at 6am, a few minutes before sunrise. A long way to the top was ahead, with more than 3000 meters (10,000 ft) in altitude difference. Some hours later they all had reached the top!

Roman Gubanov (K2 Abruzzi ridge climb in 2007) was first up in a fast 4 hours and 53 minutes.
Andrew Mariev arrived second in 5 hrs 47 min.
Vladimir Kouznetsov came in third with 6 hrs 08 min.
Victor Kamenskih was close behind at 6 hrs 20 min.

Classic Class (Garabashi 3708 m - West Top 5642 m)

22 athletes started in the Classic Class from the advanced point of Garabashi (3708), cutting the altitude distance to a still significant almost 2000 meters (7000 ft) of altitude gain.

They too shot off at 6am but many didn't make the Col for the control time of 12 pm and only 13 finally made it to the West Top.

Serguey Fursov (Nevinnomyssk) won the Classic race at 2 hrs 46 min and 40 sec - only seconds after Andrew Puchinin's 2006 record of 2 hrs 46 min 09 sec! Yet while Puchinin was an experienced racer that year, Serguey was new to the game this year. It will be interesting to see if anyone can beat his result in 2009.
Yuri Klim (Ukraine) came in second at 3 hrs 15 minutes. Serguey Kolyshev (Moscow) arrived third at 3 hrs 36 min and 23 sec.

Anna Petrova (Prohladny) became the only woman to reach the summit, at 4 hrs 38 min. This was a big come back for Anna who was disqualified in 2006 after reaching the Col at 12.05 pm - a mere 5 minutes after cut-off time.

Closing

The Elbrus Race closed two days later on September 18 with prizes offered to winners by BASK, BOREAL, SIMOND, and TRAMONTANA. A special cash prize of $1000 was presented from Russianclimb.com to the Winner of Extreme class.

Boris Korshunov, 74, got a special prize from BASK. Boris completed the Classic race at 5 hrs 32 min 30 sec. His time was significant as he arrived Moscow only one day before the race and thus climbed without acclimatization.

For 2009, a third class might be set up with simpler regulations for newcomers who just want to sample the race before actually participating in it. In any case, the ELBRUS race is here to stay as an interesting test of human altitude speed climbing limits.

During the Soviet period, speed ascent competitions on Elbrus (5642 meters) were part of the training program for members of the first Soviet Himalaya expeditions (1982 -1989). The strongest USSR climbers made Elbrus races very prestigious events to attend. Bringing back the old glory, in 2005 the annual International Elbrus Race was set up.

Taking place each mid September, the race is now open to all climbers. You will climb against world-class rock stars such as Nickolay Tomjanin (Everest and Jannu north wall), Denis Urubko, Andrey Puchinin, Sergey Surmonin, Svetlana Sharipova and others.

Mount Elbrus (5642 m), located in northern Caucasus (Russia) is the highest peak in the European continent. These days, Elbrus biggest fame comes from being one of the ‘Seven Summits’.

The peak made headlines on May 11, 2006 when seven climbers were reported dead and 4 others missing. The dead climbers were part of a group of eight Russians and four Ukrainian mountaineers attempting to reach the summit to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. The group lost contact with expedition organizers at the base of the mountain.

One survivor managed to reach help despite being seriously injured and hypothermic. Rescuers found the frozen bodies of 7 climbers buried in the snow, where they were apparently attempting to dig a snow cave. Temperatures in the area had reportedly reached -50°C. According to an Italian news agency, the expedition was caught in adverse weather conditions when they were about 300 meters from the summit.

Elbrus belongs to the Caucasus (or "Kavkaz" meaning 'more than mountains'), mountain range. This mighty range links the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, and creates the natural boundary between the mountains of Russia and the southern states of Azerbaydzhani, Georgia and Armenia. Mt. Elbrus, the pinnacle of this 700-mile stretch, has long been a distinguished climbing center for the European and Russian climbing communities. Elbrus can easily be seen from most of the high passes in the area and is a traditional climb for those looking to ascend above 18,500ft.

Ancient people of the region called the mountain Strobilus and believed it to be the location where Prometheus was chained. Also called Elborus, the origin of the name is unknown.

September 12, 2007 results were:

"Extreme" class Azau (2400) - West Top (5642).
4 climbers started, 2 reached the top:

Semjon Dvornichenko (Kyrgyzstan) - 4 hours 18 minutes.
Serguey Surmonin (Russia) 6 hours 14 minutes (he run 6 hours 22 minutes last year)

"Classics" class Bochki (3700) - West Top (5642):
12 climbers started, winners were:

Roman Gubanov (Russia) 2 hours 51 min (1),
Seliverstov Serguey (Kyrguzstan) 2 hours 53 min (2),
Fursov Serguey 3 hours 14 min (3)

 EMAIL   PRINT   SHARE   TEXT