Shelter 11 on Elbrus book. "Shelter of Eleven" on Elbrus - one of the most "historical" high-altitude hotels in the world
For true fans of mountaineering in general and Mount Elbrus in particular, “Shelter of Eleven” is not just beautiful words, but a whole era in the development of domestic ascent. Shelter 11 is not only a comfortable high-mountain hotel or base that has been hosting guests and providing shelter during difficult transitions for more than half a century, but rather a key point for a Russian climber who connects his present with the Caucasus Mountains.
Grandfather of Russian mountaineering
Strange as it may seem, the notion “Shelter 11”, so significant for Russian mountaineering, is associated with a foreigner, a native of Switzerland, Rudolf Leitzinger (1843-1910). Passionate climber and fan mountain peaks, but how else could a young man born in Switzerland relate to the mountains, he was selflessly in love with the mountainous Caucasus. Perhaps it was this passion that caused him to move to Russia in 1863. Having achieved tremendous success in industrial and financial activities, already in 1888 he moved to Pyatigorsk - closer to the much-desired Elbrus. Leitzinger did as much as he could for the city: he founded a Flower Garden, laid down a tram line, gave his estate to the headquarters of the Caucasian Mountain Society, and in every possible way encouraged young people to become addicted to mountaineering.
A native of Switzerland living in tourism, Pyatigorye seemed to be similar tourist mecca. That is why Leitzinger was so actively involved in the development of the region, laying tourist trails, building huts for climbers, publishing the KGO Yearbook with articles by famous scientists and topographers.
It was a group of excursionists, consisting of eleven people, who in 1909, while climbing the path from the Azau glade to the Eastern slopes of Elbrus, laid the foundation for the future Shelter of Eleven. It is unlikely that any of the 11 climbers of that campaign suspected how symbolic their playful inscription on the stones near the broken tents would be. Leitzinger himself approved this place for future parking, he reacted equally positively to the name - "Shelter 11". It is symbolic that such an important step in the history of the development of the mountaineering movement of the Caucasus was made during the life of the "Grandfather of Russian mountaineering", as after his death in 1910 they began to call Mr. Leitzinger.
Shelter of the eleven: from a makeshift to a monumental building
In 1929, on Elbrus, at the place marked as “Shelter 11”, an iron-clad wooden booth was erected, which, however, was not enough for a large number of people who wanted to climb to the top along this route.
The symbolic inscription "Shelter of the Eleven" was also transferred to the walls of this weak-looking building. But already in 1932, the booth was replaced by a barrack that could accommodate no more than 40 tourists, with a flat roof, on which tents were placed due to the impossibility of accommodating everyone in the building itself. But the construction of a full-fledged base building for climbers began only in 1937-38, when the need for a large and roomy building became most acute.
The world-famous Shelter of Eleven was designed by renowned mountaineer, architect and airship builder Nikolai Popov. Apparently, that is why the building resembled this air transport in its shape.
It is difficult to realize what difficulties and problems the builders faced in the process of building a new base. Prior to the preparation of the site and the actual construction of the most comfortable shelter in such conditions, it was necessary to deliver explosives, geodetic instruments, and so on to the construction site. Loaded caravans of donkeys were pulled along dangerous paths only after the last tourists had left. Mid-1937 stunned the East Slope great mountain powerful explosions preparatory work, the activity of which made it possible to quickly clear the site for the future structure. Another difficulty was that it was practically impossible to deliver materials for the construction of the building along the same route, and if possible, it would take at least five years.
The researchers decided to build reliable bridges between the cracks in the glacier on the other side of the slope, where the relief was more gentle. Bulls, horses, donkeys, sledges, wagons and other means - all used to deliver the necessary materials as quickly as possible. The peculiarities of the weather made it necessary to work only at night and in the morning, when the road was frost-bound.
By the end of the autumn of 1938, a silhouette of a residential building was looming on the slope, which was equipped with both a boiler room and a diesel one. The builders themselves did not get tired of admiring the miracle of engineering thought of the great Popov, who was able to create something so great, useful and rational for future generations of climbers. The monumental first floor was built of wild stone, and the second and third, shaped like an inflated airship or a bus cabin, were a wooden frame filled with insulation boards and upholstered with galvanized iron.
Comfortable rooms for 2-8 people, lockers for personal belongings, showers, a kitchen, water supply, sewerage and heating - the built base did not resemble the first Shelter 11, but rather looked like a first-class hotel with a unique view from the window.
Orphanage Tragedy 11
Shelter 11 did not last as long as its creators planned. Having remained unharmed during the Great Patriotic War, standing abandoned until 1957, it received tourists until the tragic events of August 16, 1998. A tragic accident (according to one of the versions, a container of gasoline was placed on the fire instead of a pot of water) led to the almost complete destruction of the building due to fire.
Fortunately, no human casualties were avoided, as well as serious injuries. The climbers took the loss of things and equipment stoically, but the death of the building itself turned out to be a serious blow for many.
Safety violations are attributed to both unaccompanied Hungarians and Czech tourists with a Russian guide. However, no one has been formally charged because there is no hard evidence.
Today on Elbrus "Shelter of Eleven" does not resemble the magnificent and monumental building with which it was conceived. Ruins and charred fragments of former glory, although they protect tourist tents from a hurricane and snow, but they cannot give them their former warmth and comfort. Currently, the construction of a new hotel, the project of which vaguely resembles the modernized "Shelter", continues at a rather slow pace. Climbers in Russia and all over the world do not lose hope to see the flowering of this region again, and the new base should be the final point, which will mark loyalty to the ideals of Leizenger, Popov and hundreds of other associates of Russian and world mountaineering.
Elbrus region, part 5. "Barrels", "Shelter 11" and an attempt to climb May 27th, 2014
In the fifth part of the report, we will go higher. Overnight on "Barrels", a visit - in a terrible blizzard - to "Shelter 11", as well as an attempt to climb the summit, interrupted by the weather. In general, there is something to remember.
In the area of 3700 meters on Elbrus there are as many as three shelters - "Barrels", "Maria" and Leaprus. "Maria" - these are several trailers 50 meters higher than the barrels; Leaprus is a cool new shelter built by the Italians literally in 2013 (we saw it from afar) also just above the Barrels. But it was the Barrels that interested us, because they are part of the legend of Elbrus. Just in the 1980s, nine residential modules (change houses) TsUB-2M were thrown to a height of 3780 meters, expanded to 6 seats and made houses out of them.
You can climb to the "Barrels" by chairlift. It does not always work, we had to ride it and walk from Mir on foot.
The walking path looks like this:
By themselves, "Barrels" is a complex, which, in addition to cisterns-houses, includes various trailers, tent camps(they look very strange in the snow), technical structures scattered on a flat area on a mountain.
We spent two nights at the Barrels. We spent the first night in a trailer like this:
Inside the wagon.
Here is a view almost from our trailer to "Barrels". To the right is the canteen. The food is very tasty, we were right in full delight and joy.
Pencil-drawn portraits of all sorts of guides and climbers hang in the dining room. Particularly delivers the second portrait from the left.
Temple of extreme defecation.
The road to "Shelter 11".
On the first evening, the weather was surprisingly good, followed by a fierce, inhuman snowstorm with drifts.
View of the Bochek cafe.
The modern block cafe stands on foundations of obviously pre-war origin - from uneven stones and wooden beams. The former diesel station of 1939 was also built at Shelter 11. I did not find the origin of this foundation on the net. This photo was taken during our second stay in Barrels, it was already a snowstorm, visibility was 50 meters.
But when the weather is nice, the views are great.
We are higher than the Terskol Peak observatory we saw in the first report.
A moment of self-love.
How to take a selfie in the mountains: a quick guide from Dina B.
The second night we lived directly in the barrel. Snow at the entrance.
Separate tank.
The second temple of extreme defecation. Behind him is some kind of eternal unfinished building.
I'm at the tanks.
Inside each tank there is a vestibule and 6 beds.
When one support falls, it is left as is.
Some kind of hellish hut - someone once built, and nothing, it is operated.
On the second day, in order to acclimatize, we went to look at what was left of the legendary "Shelter 11", burned down by the motherfuckers in 1998. There was a snowstorm, visibility was so-so.
This is our guide Anton. A very cool character, climber and guide in the third generation. When Anton walks, he sings out loud (and for us, simple ones, it’s even hard to speak at such heights) all sorts of rhythmic songs, and mostly cool ones, his man. I really wanted to sing along to the songs of Oleg Medvedev, but it didn’t work out. AND e_vin , hello to you, "Corsairs" were there too.
Meanwhile, the weather worsened and visibility dropped to zero.
Kamraden became like zombies during chemical warfare.
Somewhere in the region of 4000 meters we stretched the Popular Mechanics flag.
And then they finally came to the "Shelter 11" (4130 m). Actually, the shelter itself, built in 1939, no longer exists. But the newly covered building, which was once a diesel station with him, has been preserved. Now some administration is sitting there, and you can spend the night.
Ratrak is worth it.
Another temple of extreme defecation.
You do your thing, and next to it is the abyss.
Masonry of the 1930s.
The shelter itself would be a little higher. Where the foundation built in 2001 is visible, there it was.
If anyone does not know, then "Shelter 11" looked like this - it was a very stylish thing in the style of either avant-garde or constructivism.
Top view of the former diesel station.
In 2001, they began to build a new "Shelter 11". But, as you know, this is Russia. Therefore, the money was cut and nothing but the foundation was built.
In addition to the foundation, there is a rock of memory of fallen climbers.
The plates are very different, hung at different times. Here is adjacent Memorial plaque to the defenders of the Caucasus and a plaque in memory of the instructor San Trofimov, who died on the descent in 1995.
Slightly insane people are laying out a campground near Shelter 11. No visibility, blizzard, tin. Anton happily talks about the fact that the snow cave is safer than a tent, except that a snowcat can drive through it without noticing.
From the ice growths on the rocks, you can understand the direction of the wind.
Finally, we once again photographed the PM flag against the background of the station.
On the way back to the Barrels, we found a frozen butterfly. Subsequently, we found many more of these - they are brought here updrafts, and they can no longer go down, they die here.
We go down. We meet those who go up.
On the way, I took off the classic crack-corpse collector. The glacier is melting and exposed. Fall into such a crack - and that's it, bye. To give you an idea of the scale, I’ll say that a person can fall into this crack in the middle without touching the edges. This was taken at maximum zoom.
Bottom view of the shelter (taken on another day, when it was a little clearer).
The last part of our epic is the ascent. It, frankly, did not work out, because May 9 was a fierce day when the Ministry of Emergency Situations turned everyone around to 5200 and did not let them go further. And no wonder, because during the ascent I took the most ingenious photo in my life. So, a view of Elbrus on May 9, 2014.
Camraden.
When the wind slightly blew off the blizzard and fog, something was visible for seconds. Earl is rising. It's somewhere around 5000.
Went from pole to pole, in milk. When we descended back, the landmarks from one to the other were not visible, we stretched into a chain and shouted to each other: “I see! To me!"
And this is the rise of skyrunners. They reach the top from the Azau glade in 3.5 hours - but that day they were also deployed at 5200.
Referee checkpoint. Here we rested before the descent.
In general, I studied all the surroundings and next time I will be ready. I will go in the season (July-August), no more May with its changeable weather. Because the mountains, damn it, won't let go. Gotta get up.
This is what Shelter of Eleven looked like before the fire in 1998
Now all over the world there are many unusual hotels- they are converted from old factories, lighthouses, aircraft, built from snow and ice, erected on trees or lowered under water. There are far fewer hotels that have a long and interesting story especially mountain hotels. But there are also many of them, since the history of tourism, mountaineering and skiing is long, and travelers always need the most comfortable and appropriate accommodation for the night. In this sense, the Shelter of Eleven Hotel on Elbrus is perhaps the most legendary in our country.
"Shelter" is located on the southeastern slope of Elbrus at an altitude of 4130 meters and is considered one of the highest mountain hotels in the world. Its history is long, full of events and legends.
Location of the hotel on the plan of Mount Elbrus
In 1909, one of the groups of excursionists of the Caucasian Mountain Society, founded in Pyatigorsk by the Swiss Rudolf Rudolfovich Leitzinger, consisting of 11 people, made a planned trip to Elbrus. The group set up a temporary camp at an altitude of 4130 meters. Large stones protected it from the east and north, like natural walls, and the expedition members built another protective wall. They took a small supply of paint with them to make a commemorative inscription on the top of Elbrus, and with this paint they wrote “Shelter 11” on the stones near their camp.
After 20 years, in the summer of 1929, the famous Russian climber V. A. Rakovsky built a wooden hut-booth on these rocks, upholstered it with iron and transferred the inscription “Shelter 11” to its walls.
"Shelter of Eleven" in the original version of the thirties as a barrack-type room
In 1932, a barrack for 40 people was built. Due to the lack of places, tents were sometimes set up directly on the flat roof of the building - with dense placement, exactly four “pamirs” were placed there.
In the 1937-1938 season, geodetic, explosive and construction work began on the Shelter of Eleven. As a result, in 1938, a three-story building was erected on the site of the barracks, which stood for 60 years. The new "Shelter" was erected in one season with the help of the local population - people helped to raise materials to the construction site.
The hotel building was shaped like an airship. The main building of the hotel, oval, had three floors. The first is made of wild stone, the second and third are frame type, made of wooden parts. For insulation around the entire perimeter of the building, special heat-insulating plates were laid under sheets of iron.
On the ground floor were the kitchen, shower rooms and storage rooms. On the second and third floors - living quarters. Cabin rooms were equipped with folding two-tier carriage-type shelves for 2-8 people. There were lockers for storing personal belongings and equipment. The walls and ceilings were finished with linkrusta (note: linkrust, often called Linkrusta (Lincrusta)- this is wallpaper with applied relief, which gives the impression of stucco and looks noble and expensive), and the parquet floors are varnished. Chandeliers shone from the ceiling. There was central heating, running water and sewerage. The Kremlin "turntable" was installed and a bathhouse was built, which was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War.
On the second floor, a dining room was equipped, accommodating up to 50 people. According to experts, the hotel was reminiscent of a first-class hotel in terms of comfort.
During the Second World War, the Shelter of Eleven became almost the center of hostilities. The Nazis aspired to the Caucasus. The 1st mountain rifle division "Edelweiss" was thrown to conquer Elbrus - it consisted of soldiers with extensive experience in combat operations in high mountainous regions. Many of these soldiers before the war came to the Elbrus region to study the area, stayed at the shelter, climbing to the top. And on August 17, 1942, the German mountain shooters, who penetrated the Elbrus region through the Hotyuta pass, occupied the Shelter without a single shot.
Having occupied the hotel, the German rangers climbed Elbrus and planted fascist flags there. Hitler's propaganda used this symbolic event as a demonstration of victory in the Caucasus. But the Caucasus was not conquered. Almost all the passes of the Main Caucasian ridge successfully defended the Soviet troops, not letting the enemy pass to the Black Sea.
Subsequently, Soviet troops made repeated attempts to dislodge the Germans from the Shelter. However, the terrain favorable for defense and the well-fortified positions of the German troops did not allow this. In total, about a hundred Soviet soldiers died in these battles. After the defeat of the German troops near Stalingrad, the situation on the Caucasian front changed dramatically. German troops were forced to leave the Caucasus because of the threat of encirclement.
On January 10-11, 1943, German mountain rifle units left the upper reaches of the Baksan Gorge and left Shelter 11. On February 9, 1943, a group of 20 Soviet climbers climbed to the Shelter to remove Nazi banners from the tops of Elbrus. The building of the shelter was damaged by bombs, the facade was distorted, the roof from the diesel station was demolished by an explosion. The meteorological station is destroyed. The building was partially clogged with snow, as the huntsmen broke the frames for firewood. Ammunition and weapons lay in the rocks around the shelter. Food warehouses were blown up or were flooded with kerosene. On February 13, 1943, in bad weather, the remnants of the banners established by the Germans were removed from the Western peak, and on February 17 from the Eastern.
After the war, a small museum was created on the third floor of the shelter. Numerous groups of climbers from different countries stayed at the shelter before climbing Elbrus. Alas, on August 16, 1998, the Shelter of Eleven burned down due to non-compliance with fire safety rules. In fact, "Shelter" burned to the moraine.
In 2004, a new shelter was built on the slope of Elbrus at an altitude of 4100 m - converted from a burned-out diesel "Shelter of Eleven" (Dieselhat). Those who do not fit there set up tents behind the stone walls of the burnt building.
The construction of the new "Shelter" was undertaken by a private investor and volunteers - they plan to restore the old look using new technologies. However, the construction completion date is unknown.
I've been waiting for this day for a long time. I wished that all of this had finally happened. And everything that worries me, starting with the “how can I be without a shower and fast Wi-Fi ?!” and ending with the fear of lack of air on the way - let all this happen and even fall on me with all its might. The almost boyish fearlessness and sobriety of an adult uncle made a brawl inside me. There was a draw.
We are leaving our hotel for 4 days. 4 long days in the mountains in the Caucasus, which in Moscow fly by instantly.
We received our gear the day before dinner. Perhaps the most valuable thing on a hike is double mountain boots. Without them, Elbrus is better not to try to conquer. Even in the warmest, but ordinary shoes, it will not take long to freeze your fingers. Equipment rental was in our hotel, where we stocked up with everything necessary.
The one who goes to the mountains more often had more of his own things for the trip. I had nothing but ski equipment, so I took everything to the maximum.
Sleeping bag, ice ax, trekking poles, boots, crampons, mittens. It is only in films like "Everest", which premiered this fall, climbers walk along the top without hats and wind masks.
In life, everything is much more prosaic, therefore, the warmer, the better.
After we left the hotel, our guide Sasha insisted that we definitely stop by the local emergency department for registration.
There are a lot of tourists going to Elbrus. Locals say that even if someone is missing, the Ministry of Emergency Situations is not in a hurry to look for it. Maybe they expect that the travelers will find themselves, and raise the alarm only if someone close to the authorities has disappeared))) the case is really serious. On Elbrus, many find their death. Every year someone dies here. (Then I did not know that I could see the remains of frozen people with my own eyes. (()
The village of Azau is the final point of our journey by car. Then we transfer things to the cable car. All the guys are perfectly prepared, they have mountain backpacks. I am alone, as if at the airport, with my invariable suitcase "Samsonite". You can immediately see who is a "hiker" and who is a "tourist")).
Azau - famous ski resort Kabardino-Balkaria, in winter there is an influx of skiers and snowboarders. A few years ago, a second ski lift was built in Azau. Now there is no former congestion and crush. We are climbing up the old cable car with wagons, built back in the days of the USSR.
The first cable car goes to the Stary Krugozor station at a height of 3000 meters, but we need even higher.
The second stage of the funicular lifts us another 500 meters, and we find ourselves at the Mir station.
From here, Elbrus with its two snowy peaks is already visible at a glance. But this is not the last point of our rise up.
Bikers from the "first channel" club "Night Wolves" came to honor the memory of those killed in the Great Patriotic War. I love to ride a motorcycle and do it every season from April to October. But such motorcycles ..knows where, ..knows with whom and ..knows why they remain beyond my understanding)).
From the Mir station to the "barrels" - our final stop, there are two ways to get there: on the old cable car, which operates with long breaks, or on this Ukrainian miracle of technology. This KRAZ has probably seen a lot in its lifetime. 300 rubles per person - and we are on "barrels", that is, in our camp.
Let me finally clarify and tell you what barrels are.
Once upon a time, the first camp appeared here, to which cylindrical living quarters were delivered. By the way, the BAM builders lived in the same kind of "houses". Someone once called these houses barrels. The word has become attached, and now absolutely all shelters, regardless of the form, located in the place of Gara-Bashi at an altitude of 3700 meters, are called so.
Now at this height there are already about ten different shelters, and there is even a hotel and a restaurant. True, I did not quite understand how this hotel differs from the camps. The same beds and a bathroom "like a toilet."
Having risen from the plain to a height of 3,700 meters, at first you do not feel very good. Movement becomes a little slow, I want to rest. Then you gradually get used to it.
Having settled in, we went for a walk and inspected "our new house", and the old KRAZ tirelessly continued to bring new "conquerors" to the place.
As usual, I checked the height on the altimeter, in different places of the camp the indicators were different, but on average it was just about 3700 meters.
After lunch, we were supposed to have a third acclimatization hike, this time to the "Shelter of Eleven" at a height of 4100 meters.
There are no "civilized" toilets in any camp "on barrels". But each shelter has its own restroom. I have never been in such camps, but Kolya claimed that these are very decent conditions for the mountains, they are better than in many overseas countries.
On the day of our arrival, the weather was excellent and sunny. From Gara-Bashi, a wonderful view of the observatory opened up, where they made their first acclimatization exit. Now she is far below.
Recently, the "barrels" were repainted in the Russian tricolor.
How beautiful the mountains are when there is not a cloud in the sky. It is now that I look at this photo and find on it both the saddle and the Pastukhov rocks, but on that day it was just two snowy peaks and rotraks in the foreground. After the ascent, everything was filled with meaning.
I'll tell you about our shelter - it's a small house with four bunk beds for eight beds. We were lucky and in the house we lived only with our group. True, we had to catch two Austrian grandmothers here, but they did not stay long: having conquered the summit just on the day of our arrival, they immediately hurried down.
Hello, our new "hotel" for four whole nights. Nearby is a dining house, where a hearty lunch was prepared for us, immediately after which we gathered for our third acclimatization trip.
These exits are necessary in order for the body to get used to the mountain conditions and the lack of oxygen. Each subsequent exit is higher and higher.
In the mountains, the weather is very changeable, and if in the morning there was not a cloud in the sky, then in the afternoon gray clouds covered all the beauty. Despite the possibility of rain, we continue on our way.
Kolya helped me out on mountain hikes by giving me his mountain backpack, instead of my "Chinese photo bag".
A little higher up the slope, a new "Italian" shelter was built. They say that the conditions here are the best, but we did not manage to explore this part of the space. But that’s what makes Turbine beautiful: what I didn’t see, Alexander saw what he wrote about in his note. Read it, I highly recommend it!
We walked in mountain boots with trekking poles, but without crampons. To the question - whether to put crampons on the acclimatization exit - the commander of the group Sasha answered: "If we are able to move around without crampons, then we go without crampons, because it is easier without them."
This hike was "unloading" - climbing up only 400 meters, and after an hour and a half of the way we saw the Shelter of Eleven.
In 1909, eleven climbers from Pyatigorsk set up a temporary camp here, which they called "the shelter of eleven." After it was converted into a wooden hotel, and in 1938 the highest mountain hotel in the USSR was built.
This spacious three-story building could accommodate up to 40 people at a time. It would still please climbers and " mountain tourists", if not for a tragic accident. According to some reports, in August 1998, a tourist from the Czech Republic violated fire safety requirements, which caused a fire that completely destroyed the hotel.
In general, no offense either, but for me personally, this whole banking system is x .... (I clicked on the Latin dot in the Russian register and it turned out so smoothly, but I won’t :)) Ever since the moment when she robbed us in 90-91, but to the point of tears I feel sorry for the shelter. A part of life burned down, and one that is very pleasant to remember, realizing that there is more of this NEVER and ANYWHERE will not.
This (IMHO) is hard to understand looking at this hangar from the five stars of Chamonix, but for many this is the place where you first understood what mountains, skis, a teammate or teammates are. It’s hard to understand how you can go to the toilet with a view of Itkol (through a point) at -20 C, and even a snowstorm, fastening yourself to a cable so as not to get lost or getting out of the fog, going down from the top and perceiving it as the height of civilization and receiving from this supreme pleasure.
And the banks, they burned and will burn both figuratively and in the literal sense of the word, but nothing will happen to them and will not change, unfortunately (IMHO), but there will be no shelter 11, just as there are no alpine camps and ski camps !!!
That's when we figeli from the number of people who wanted to get there, ran crosses (in summer and winter) for 15 km. for a ticket for a shift of 15 days and considered it lucky to get there during student holidays. They settled where it was possible and impossible, worked for housing and food without asking about money, and the highest happiness was to become an instructor and get to work at the base. And there was no thought of poor service and a shower across the road every 2-3 days (and sometimes the name of Karbyshev :)). And now ... of course, for money you can do a lot, and a turntable, and a snowcat, and a bathhouse with girls ... and they will put you on skis, but there will never be that atmosphere when you sit with your squad in the evening in a cramped room with a bottle of Mashuk or Smiles, a can of stew and tea - and it's not that we were younger, in my departments there were lineups from 18 to 65 at the same time, we just perceived everything, maybe more difficult, or maybe easier ... And the Baksan initiations into skiers - Tom Musinyants (father of the current director Ertsog - Misha, by the way, also a Baksan instructor) as Baksanskaya B ... - the sister of the god Baksan - it was like a calling card for us: (((
The message about the shelter for me was like the news of the death of a friend, a partner in a bunch, whom I had not seen for a long time, but lived with him will never be forgotten. I would like to remember, because the shelter was probably one of the last threads connecting with that real life, where nothing was bought or sold. Now it has broken off, and a new shelter may be built, there are many sponsors and there will be a proud inscription on it Russobank or Menatep or ..., but this will never be the shelter I was talking about.
And from the present life, there’s nothing to freak out about, if our team left a person to die on the route (I’m talking about Bashkirov) and live quietly with it, or the turntable from Tyrnyauz didn’t fly after the crashed Kirghiz (Sheinov) without prepayment, then what else can you fuck with - you’ve arrived ...
Shelter 11. Associations that come to mind with this word: mountains, skis, canvas storm suits, which were given out in the alpine camps to "participants", "... Hello, fellow participants...", Vizbor, a guitar, a stove, a funeral at the local cemetery of a girl who crashed while climbing in Tsey, night gatherings and tea from a 3-liter can, training and crosses, home-made puffs, tents and backpacks, ... and a dazzling sky above and around , around - everything is just down. We're getting old "As our children have grown up, here is a true counter to our common times..." it's getting harder for us to take a backpack... - read the original - Y. Vizbor "Breakfast with a view of Elbrus"- we, the instructors of Adyl-Su, begged this book for one night from someone from Cheget and read it at night, aloud, in turn ... And then silently dispersed - there was nothing to talk about. Everything was written by Vizbor. Those who were there then know this atmosphere inherent in any alpine camp. Adyl-Su, Alibek, Torpedo - everywhere had their own flavor, but the brotherhood of people who came there - it was everywhere.
The shelter will be rebuilt, but what was before cannot be rebuilt. We have grown old (matured - no longer suitable), our children have different values, and we ourselves sometimes seem ridiculous with our "mothballed" values. But this is our youth, our strength, our loves and our friends, victories and defeats, this is just a piece of our life, when I applied for a vacation and the boss asked "And if I don't let me go?" - I said: "then I'll resign because I'm going TO THE MOUNTAINS..." Alex - you are 200% right, and at the same time, those who came to skiing and generally in the mountains as in "a place where they drink bad vodka and cheat on their wives"(Yu. Vizbor) I can't understand you. And crises - have we survived them and devaluations, and robberies by the state of old people and miners? And what is happening now, whatever you call it, we will survive anyway. It's just that everything in the country depends on this situation - including well-being, and the possibility of a trip to the mountains for many of us. But I think that just those who were going to Chamonix (for example) will go to Cheget. Someone will not be able to buy new equipment for themselves, someone will save on food ... Everyone understands this very well, just one who has never risen at 3 o’clock in the morning from a tent at an altitude of 3500 and has not met the dawn on the ascent, does not lived in alpine camps in 8-bed rooms with beds in two tiers and a shower every 2 weeks in a neighboring house - he probably will not understand what Shelter 11 is, and why a fire in it is capable of such to respond with pain in the souls of balding and graying people.
The shelter was built, if I'm not mistaken, in 1934 or 38. When ours retreated into the war, they tried to blow it up, for some reason it didn't work. When the Germans from the famous Edelweiss group retreated, they tried to do the same and with the same result. Ours and the Germans bombed it repeatedly, but it stood as if bewitched and not a single bomb hit it, although the building nearby was bombed (Who was there saw the ruins a little lower).
All ascents to Elbrus passed through the Shelter. All those whose lives were taken by Elbrus did not pass him by either.
This one story of his made me treat him not just as an old hut, but as a kind of symbol. It is not for nothing that always, coming to the mountains, people went to the Shelter. It is not clear why? And then, why do newlyweds put flowers to the Eternal Flame.
Tradition, you know.
Now we have lost it and, it seems, forever, because not a single bank or other sponsor will fork out for such money. At least it's sad. :-(Although, for those who have never been there, this is, of course, an empty phrase. Therefore, gentlemen and ladies, although we are all damn worried about the financial crisis, let's respect what is very expensive MOST Russian skiers.
I am also extremely sorry for Shelter 11. Although I also have not very pleasant associations with it. I first got there back in 1989, as a green beginner - a climber, well, our whole group ran into - after all, the situation "You are not supposed to be here, this is only for foreigners (we are talking about the upper dining room, the one where "Breakfast with a view of Elbrus"), and you - there (This is about the lower hmm, dining room, the one where" No windows, no doors ...")"
And I was in the Caucasus this year (Terskol) by chance and after all Chamonix my impressions are the most unpleasant. I don’t know about other veterans (Zhora, ay), but if it’s not possible to go to the Alps, I personally hang my skis on a hook. (Neighborhoods of Moscow - do not count)
A few days ago I returned from the Elbrus region. Apparently, I was the last of the RASK who saw Shelter-11 alive. So I decided to write a short report.
The main purpose of the trip was to ski down Elbrus - ideally from the top, otherwise where we can go, well, just ride. However, due to the illness of two participants, they had to return after 4 days. The result - I managed to go down from the Pastukhov rocks once and once from the Shelter.
We lived in barrels at the top station of Gara-bashi (3800). The owner is Ishak, it costs 30 rubles / person a day, the conditions are normal, there is a heating element in each barrel, so it's warm. Cooked on primus.
There is catastrophically little snow this year (as the natives say). In the morning the ice is bare, after lunch below (near the upper station of Gara-bashi) everything becomes limp so that the streams run, and at the top, because of the wind, the ice continues to hold. As a result, between the Shelter and the barrels, the glacier opened up in many places, so that going down on skis sometimes had to jump through the cracks. The main trouble is that due to the strongest wind, ice sastrugi are not formed, i.e. in some places the slope is a set of ice bumps 15-20 cm high and spaced 30-50 cm apart (a kind of washboard). Managing skis on this disgrace, and even at an altitude of 4800, is quite problematic. I fell once, so much so that when I hit the slope (sorry) with my ass (thank God !!!), the feeling was such that now the brains will fly out of my ears. The result of this was a drop dead bruise (20 centimeters in diameter) and as a result problems with the sitting position for the next 3-4 days. I saw a couple more guys with skis and after the very first descent from the rocks they all said, "Fuck him!". Friends saw Czechs who brought their skis to the saddle and then descended from there with the same skis in their hands. Near the barrels, the slope turns into just puddles and I finished spewing clouds of spray to the joyful cries of foreigners "Water ski! Water ski!" So skating (if you can call it that) is quite specific.
Relations with the locals are normal, I met a man who in the film about the Elbrus region ("White Curse" is called something - I don’t remember) jumped through the Ai cafe. Hichiny, kebabs and beer are available. Ratraks are broken. Getting from Nalchik is no problem (taxi drivers lowered the price for a car from 300 to 150 rubles (for three), but still left by bus for 35 rubles). The situation is much worse on the way back. It is best to do this on weekends, when there are many tourist buses from KavMinVod, otherwise taxi drivers charge 500 rubles per car to Min Vody.
And about the Shelter... It's a pity. He was, probably, one of the symbols of the Elbrus region. We went there to warm ourselves, people played guitars, drank tea. There were a lot of people there, they even slept on the floor in the corridors. Foreigners (damn, their mother) walked in herds ... True, there was a steady smell of human excrement around the Shelter. Also specific.
Perhaps everything. Now, when everything no longer seems as bad as immediately after the descent, I think to go there again next year with the same goal, but in June-July. If you have a desire, let's join. You need a little - health (after all, you need to carry the extra 12 kg upstairs), acclimatization - we immediately climbed to 3800 and I’m still nothing (alpinism probably affects), but the mountaineers were very tormented; Well, desire, which is the main thing.
Moskovsky Komsomolets No. 184 - A (38) dated September 27.
HIGH-MOUNTAIN HOTEL "SHELTER OF ELEVEN" WILL BE RESTORED
A special commission created under the government of Kabardino-Balkaria has recently come to the conclusion that the highest mountain hotel, the Shelter of Eleven, has been restored.
This unique building was built on the slopes of Elbrus in 1939 at an altitude of 4200 meters. For many years it was the highest mountain in the world and was the only refuge on the way to the two-headed peak. However, this summer the climbers were left homeless. As a result of a safety violation during the use of stoves, the shelter caught fire. At such a height, the hotel could not be extinguished.
Now it is already known that the shelter will be built in its former form, but with the use of modern refractory materials, although it is not clear at what cost.
