Qatalum Flag flown at the highest volcano in Europe! On Jun 10, 2014, Lilik Cahyono from IS/IT Department has flown Qatalum Flag at one of the seven summits (highest mountain of each of the seven continents), the highest volcano in Europe, Mt. Elbrus in Russia. He joined with a group of climbers from Germany, France, USA, UK and Russia. Mt. Elbrus is Europe’s highest mountain reaching an altitude of 18,510 feet (5642m). Climbing Elbrus is similar to Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest mountain) but this mountain comes with a few more risks. Kilimanjaro requires nothing more than hiking boots and normal camping equipment, but on Mt. Elbrus you will need to step it up a notch with basic mountain gear including climbing boots, crampons and an ice axe. The biggest danger of Elbrus is the weather which can be particularly nasty on this mountain. When Lilik climbed this mountain, the temperature was drop until -20C, wind speed 40km/hour and changeable weather (snow showers, windy and very poor visibility) Elbrus is considered one of the world’s most deadly peaks with a high ratio of climber deaths to climbers. Forty-eight climbers died in the Mount Elbrus area in 2004 alone! This incident may not sound like a big deal itself, but four people had died on Elbrus just days before his climb, and in the previous May, an entire group of 9 people climbing together were all killed when they fell down a steep slope on the mountain. It just seemed like death was everywhere in Elbrus. Lesson learned; unless you’re a world class mountaineer, never climb solo!, and if you get lost, never trek through unexplored terrain! The town around Elbrus was small without much that attracts the eye. Here is photo from the area where Lilik had stayed in before actually stepping onto the mountain itself. From the town itself, Lilik did several acclimatization hikes to help him prepare for the higher altitude. The town was about 7,000 feet, but he hiked high enough to find snow and some beautiful scenery. When he finally went to Elbrus itself, he actually took ski lifts from the town that dropped him off at 12,000 feet! From here, he stayed in a camp known as the barrel huts, since they are quite literally barrels that form shelter and have a nearby outhouse. The next day, after acclimatization hike, the mountain guide from Russia has offered to have a short snow\ice\rope\self-belay technique courses. He gave some training just to make the climbers feel more comfortable with crampons or ice axe. On the summit day, Lilik stood up early in the morning (at about 2am) and leave the Barrels after breakfast at about 3am. Generally, for an average climber, it takes about 7 until 10 hours to reach the top and 4 hours to come back to the Barrels. Below are several photos he took on the way to the summit, it’s more difficult to take photos at the higher altitudes because it’s extremely cold and the lack of oxygen makes everything you do that much harder. Taking a photo doesn’t take that much effort itself, but you have to consider stopping, then taking off your pack, pulling your camera out and having the group wait on you. The trek to the summit was by far the hardest thing he had ever done in his life at this point. But the most important thing is: Lilik could back safely to the barrel and return to Qatar with amazing and unforgettable experience: He has climbed one of the seven summits! The next trip Lilik plans to climbs Mt. Imja Tse in Nepal on November 2014.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 08:40:10 +0000
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