What clothes and shoes do you need to climb Elbrus?

One of the most important aspects of safety when climbing Mount Elbrus is a correctly selected set of high-quality equipment. The main recommendations listed in this article will relate to the climbing equipment for the South or North routes, which require a minimum amount of special climbing gear - the main accent should be done on the special alpine clothing that protects from adverse weather conditions.

Regarding a set of clothes for high-altitude climbing, the following explanations should be given.

• The first - your feeling of cold at high altitude - is subjective thing which depends on the general condition of your body (lack of acclimatization, fatigue). For example, frostbite on the toes or hands in these conditions is much easier than at similar temperatures in the usual environment on the plain.


• The second - in case of any emergency (delay on the route, forced slowdown), even with a slight lack of warm clothing, there can be a serious threat even to your life. Based on these factors, maximum attention should be paid to the thorough selection of a set of quality clothes and shoes for climbing Mount Elbrus. The basic requirements for this set are a combination of light weight and high quality – on that depend not only your comfort and convenience during the ascent, but also health and safety along the route. Many travel companies offer to the participants of their climbing programs the rent of clothes and climbing shoes, however, since the requirements for that gear are very high, then you can consider a rental option only in case of absolute necessity.

The choice of shoes

Modern technologies allow manufacturers of high-quality climbing shoes to achieve excellent results in the ratio of weight / thermal insulation. The choice of shoes for alpine climbing is quite large. For summer alpine ascents at the altitude of 5000-6000, I recommend to consider the middle line of alpine climbing shoes - models of this category weigh 1.2 - 1.8 kg (pair) and provide protection from low temperatures down to -30C. In most cases, this is enough for a summer climbs of Mount Elbrus, Mount Kazbek, Mont Blanc, etc.

Some people use ultra-warm altitude climbing boots designed for climbing at the altitudes of 7000 - 8000 meters for climbing Mount Elbrus. In my opinion, this is a very expensive and impractical option. Of course, such shoes will provide 100% protection against low temperatures, however, under comfortable conditions on the approaches and during acclimatization, this footwear will be useless and inconvenient. The other extreme is the use of trekking boots, even well-insulated ones. This option is suitable for experienced tourists or climbers who understand well how to deal with the low temperatures. Trekking shoes are comfortable throughout the main part of the climbing tour, but problems are possible during the summit push.

When choosing shoes for climbing Elbrus, you should carefully select the model and size - any, the lightest discomfort or squeezing of your foot can lead to the blisters or frostbite. A perfectly selected shoe fully matches the shape of the foot, leaving enough space for using it with a pair of warm socks. At the other hand, with a tight fixation of the lacing it does not leave any space for excessive mobility of the foot.

Choice of clothes

Information on the basic set of clothes is described in detail in my article "Recommendations on the equipment for basic alpine climbing programs." In addition to that information about the basic three-layer set of clothes which perfectly suites any acclimatization program and for approaches to the route, for climbing Mount Elbrus you will need to add an additional insulated layer - a down jacket (900-1100 g ) and down trousers (500-700 g), preferably with the side zippers. To protect your hands from the cold, you should have both light fleece gloves and good dense insulated mitts.

Special climbing gears

This category includes equipment designed to provide safety and protection when climbing technically difficult routes. This category includes a large number of different devices, the set of which depends on the specifics of one particular route.

Of the special gear for climbing Mount Elbrus by classic routes from the south and north, you will need a minimum set – the trekking poles (Read the article on this subject) and crampons.

For summer ascents of Mount Elbrus, during which you do not have to deal with climbing the open ice, you should choose lightweight crampons for walking on the hard snow and firn. Unlike professional crampons for technical mountaineering, these models are relatively lightweight and can be fixed on any kind of shoes.

Having experience of more than 100 ascents of Mount Elbrus on the different routes, I can say that on the north and south routes in normal summer conditions, the use of additional climbing gear is unnecessary.

The requirements of various organizers of the Mount Elbrus tours on the use of a full set of climbing gear for summer ascents from the north and from the south are not justified by the technical features of these routes - it is just escalation of complexity in order to increase the cost of the program. Helmets, harnesses, ropes, ice axes are redundant on these routes. And with the lack of special skills of using this gear - that is just a useless excess load.

Bringing the excessive amount of gear leads to the increase in the weight of your backpack and creates additional problems when climbing. You should keep in mind that your mobility on the route is one of the important conditions for your safety climbing.

Text — Alexey Trubachev, founder of the MCS AlexClimb mountaineering and climbing school.

Other related questions:

• How much does it cost to climb Elbrus?
• How to get to the base of Elbrus from Moscow or Saint Petersburg?
• Which city is next to Elbrus? Transport logistics of the Mount Elbrus routes.
• How to prepare for the ascent of Elbrus?
• Is it possible to climb alone the highest mountain of the Caucasus and Europe - Elbrus?
• In what mountains is Elbrus located?
• At what time of the year is it better to climb Elbrus?
• How long does climbing Elbrus last?
• What is the atmospheric pressure at the top of Elbrus?
• What sights are there on Elbrus on the way to the top?