Caucasus. 4000m – 2009.08.07

We were at Garabashi, fresh, with our big backpacks. We decided to climb slowly, breathing slowly and deeply. 4000m in one day is a lot, maybe too much. We had some training that we hoped to be enough, but acclimatization has to be done properly every time.

After one hour, we decided to place the tents just before the slope of Priut. At about 4000m, it was quite warm, and we finished digging in the snow fast.

At that height, you can’t find any liquid water. So you have to melt a lot of snow. For a few liters, I spent an hour. Me melting, Lucian filling the pot with snow, Ileana pouring it in other bottles. Melted snow is not drinkable, so we had to pour Isostar in it: this powder contains a lot of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and are very good for recovering after intense effort. You can buy them in any Cora supermarket in Bucharest. They are very cheap, 1 Leu/sachet.

Even though Ileana felt quite bad that night, the next morning we all were fine. No altitude problems, the weather was nice, it was warm and pleasant outside. We packed everything and decided to continue climbing somewhere near Pashtukova rocks, at about 4600-4800m. There, we would have stayed 2 days, and after that, we would have tried to reach the summit.

For 100-150 Dollars, the ratrack can take you to 5200m. From there, you can ski back to Garabashi (3800) or climb the summit. We chose the hard way, on foot. It was much cheaper (no money involved) and our bodies had more time to get used to high altitude. 300 meters a day recommends the doctor, but we thought we can overpass that. In 2 day, the weather would become very bad, and we were now hurrying for the summit. But all speed comes with it’s costs…