Photo: Caucasus hotel
Sep 10, 1985 At 8:00 we gathered for breakfast. A typical breakfast consisted of cottage cheese, tea, a glass of yogurt, whole wheat bread, butter, and soft white cheese. After all that the waitress brought out a plate of rice and sausages. Sometimes, instead of sausage, it was liver, ham, or a spicy ground meat.
At 9:30 the entire group went up the ski lift next to the hotel. We all walked up to the top of Cheget peak and back. It was a time to get used to the increased elevation and get some exercise. It was also a time for the Russian guides to see what kind of shape we were in. When we got back to the chair lift for the trip down, our guides forced the Russian tourists (also waiting to ride down) to allow us to cut in line.
Photo: Restaurant on Cheget
Photo: Hut on Cheget
Photo: Cheget
At 4:00 PM we had lunch. Lunch usually consisted of an appetizer such as smoked fish, cucumber salad, bread and cheese, soup, then a main dish of meat and rice or potatoes, After lunch we had a meeting with the Russian guides. Boris, an older gentleman, ran the show and Taya translated for him. Assisting was Igor, a Siberian who had studied at Stanford and had a doctorate in physics. The Russians encouraged us to first do a 7 day Svanetia trip and then try to climb Elbrus in the few remaining days. Most of the participants had come to climb Elbrus and wanted to do that first as their number one priority. In fact, I was the only one who had not come to climb Elbrus, I only wanted to hike and backpack the mountains. After a prolonged discussion most participants had decided to attempt the Elbrus climb, beginning tomorrow.
Three women from Seattle and myself wanted to do the Svanetia trip beginning the next day. The Russians were reluctant to let us go. Then one of the women, Susan, gave Igor an American book on mountaineering and promised to give him whatever paperback books they had. Igor gratefully accepted and then assigned Lonya, a tall, strong Leningrad teacher of mountaineering, to be our guide for the trip. Lonya knew little English but we were able to communicate without too much difficulty.
Map of USSR
