Elbrus Tours

I had an excellent experience this past week on an 8-day itinerary to climb Mount Elbrus. Our lead guide, Evgeny, was extremely knowledgeable and highly experienced. My guide for the summit day, Aleksandr (Sasha), achieved his 99th summit of Elbrus while guiding me. Katerina, the manager who handles all the booking arrangements, is extremely helpful and responsive. The hotel in Terskol is shared bunking, up to 4 in a room, but I shared with one other person. The mid-altitude hotel, Cheeper Azul, can also bunk 4 to a room, which we had (unfortunately 3 men and 1 woman). There is a choice of highest-altitude hotel, and I advise careful inquiry about your choice here: the cheaper options are at the Heart of Elbrus, but I do not recommend the cheapest option which requires use of outside pit latrines that are truly awful (and exposure to the elements to get there). You can get inside rooms with en suite toilets, and this should be your minimum. There are no showers or basins. There was at least one other hotel option, but I didn’t experience it. Nonetheless, I can highly recommend Elbrus Tours if you wish to summit Elbrus!

Все было хорошо организовано спасибо

Заказывали экскурсию у турфирмы «Вершина». Комфортабельный автобус подъехал к отеле в 6:15! Цена билета 1500₽/взрослый Подъёмки (канатная дорога на Чегет и Эльбрус) = 2200₽! (отдельная дополнительная оплата). В дороге примерно 3 часа (с остановками на санитарные комнаты, кафе/перекусы). За туалет на территории кафе и в горах оплачиваете отдельно от 10-20₽/чел Копейки, да! Но туалеты грязные. Мне понравился, как вёл экскурсию наш гид Максим. Отдельный респект за это, очень интересно было. С собой также можете взять деньги на мелкие расходы: кафе (от 160₽/чел: хычин + чай), магнитики от 30-150₽/шт, сувенирные доски, тапочки и тп местная утварь). Маршрут был таким: доехали до горы Чегет (поднялись, подсмотрели спустились); едем к Эльбрусу (где часа 1,5 находились), далее в долину Нарзанов (мин 40 здесь пробуем воду, которая бьет из земли), делаем фотографии. Очень рекомендую. В отеле были около 19:30!

Hello, My partner and I successfully climbed Elbrus by the North side in Sep 19 and had an excellent time with ElbrusTours. There is always a risk taking a company that you don't know much about and limited reviews, but in this instance it really worked out well. To be honest we expected extra charges for the little extra things that they did that were not included in the schedule, like lunch in the hotel in Kislovodsk the day we arrived - but no, they were very clear and explained if there was an extra costs (like earlier taxi from the airport or returning from the mountain early) = no nasty surprises. Really appreciated that about the company. Darya who organised the administration is a Star - it sometimes takes a few days to get an email reply (she is very busy), but goes out of her way to help and make the trip an enjoyable experience. For instance, on arrival she took the group around the Kislovodsk to taste the local famous spring water, if somebody needed to find something she would take them to the shop and translate ie buying a local SIM card (not straight forward - requires passport to be registered etc), took my partner to the hairdresser and explained to the lady what my partner wanted, etc and there was never any charge for all those extra little things that are much appreciated. My partner lost her passport during the Visa application process, and Darya organised a replacement Letter of Invitation with the new details quickly, again no extra cost. Our guide, Andrea was great :-) his English is good having worked overseas as a guide, very knowledge with a good sense of humour that made it a real pleasure to spend time in the mountains with. He worked really hard to make the climb an enjoyable success for everybody, not an easy task with a group of 11 clients with a range of knowledge, ability and fitness. The guide is responsible for the safety of the group on the mountain and so before leaving Kislovodsk he checked every body’s kit individually to ensure that they had appropriate warm boots and clothing etc, and then arranged to take those that needed extra equipment to a local rental place used by most expeds (you would not find it without local knowledge). He proved good advice about equipment, what to take on the mountain etc. Once on the mountain during the acclimatisation treks covered the use of crampons, roping up and ice axe arrest, ensuring that everybody practiced the basic techniques. No issues with client / guide ratios – when on the snow we had 1 or 2 guide assistants and also most days an experienced porter who came with us most days. Whilst Elbrus from the North side is technical very easy – a long snow walk with crampons and axe, it is physically not easy – it is a long cold snow ascent of approx. 1900m at altitude (and return!). Andrea did really well I think to get more than half of the group standing on the summit, being sensible and safe about the individuals abilities and ensuring that everybody returned safely with no injuries. In summary, we had a really good experience with ElbrusTours and therefore plan to go back in 2020 and hopefully climb Peak Lenin with them. Thanks Ski

My son and I recently climbed Mt Elbrus (South Side) with Elbrus Tours and it was one of the BEST experiences I've ever had. The somewhat complicated itinerary from US to Russia was made very seamless by Elbrus Tours. (The visa process we handled on our own as is common practice, but all other logistics were handled by Elbrus Tours and the process was turnkey for us). The accommodations are excellent, the food is provided, it is authentic, delicious and plentiful. The hut at base camp is comfortable and nice; there is however, for the standard package, pretty primitive bathroom facilities, but for the few days at the base camp it is no big deal. Our guide (Victor) was excellent. He was able to communicate easliy with us in English and he clearly was very experienced (dozens of ascents of high mountains around the world). The day after our summit we did a jeep tour with him and it was an amazing day. Initially, to be honest, and I am somewhat embarrassed to say this, it was hard to trust to wire a deposit to Russia, but as I said, this company is beyond reproach, they are so professional and so accommodating. The rental gear (if needed) is super convenient to access (right on the grounds of their hotel) and it is of the highest quality, best condition, and it appeared they had all sizes covered as well. There is probably lots more really good things to say about Elbrus Tours, but in closing, I will say that I will definitely look to Elbrus Tours for our next trip, it was a great experience and I am so happy we found and used Elbrus Tours!