Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world.

Bokovoy Range · Elbrussky District · Russia · 5,642 m

Glider Grob G 103 flying in front of Mount Elbrus.

About Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano in southwestern Russia and the highest peak of the Caucasus, with twin cones reaching 5,642 m and 5,595 m. Under the commonly used Europe–Asia boundary that places the Caucasus in Europe, its 5,642 m summit is Europe's highest, and the mountain has distinct east and west summits.

Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the southern Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the western extension of Ciscaucasia, and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains.

Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano in southwestern Russia and the highest peak of the Caucasus, with twin cones reaching 5,642 m and 5,595 m. Under the commonly used Europe–Asia boundary that places the Caucasus in Europe, its 5,642 m summit is Europe's highest, and the mountain has distinct east and west summits.

Documented mountaineering milestones

  • 1829 — First recorded ascent of the lower east summit: Killar Khashirov
  • 1874 — First ascent of the higher west summit: Florence Crauford Grove, Frederick Gardiner, Horace Walker, Peter Knubel, with local guide Akhia Sottaiev leading the team
  • 1959–1976 — Cable-car system constructed in stages to approximately 3,800 m, marking a major change in access to the mountain's standard climbing area: Soviet-era builders and mountaineering authorities

Routes and approaches

The commonly used route approaches from the south via the cable-car system to about 3,800 m and then follows a relatively direct snow-and-ice ascent from its upper terminus, while NASA notes that Elbrus has a wide variety of routes.

These records are loaded from the existing route API. No route metrics are invented when the source does not provide them.

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Sources and provenance

Mountain information is factual reference only, not a current conditions or safety report.

Page reviewed .