Packed for Mt. Elbrus -

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  Moscow, Russia
Friday, June 16, 2006

Its very late here - and I have to get up at 6am to make my train to Mineralnye Vody, then another four hour car trip to the base camp at Mt. Elbrus. Thankfully everything has finally been arranged, and someone will be meeting me just outside my train carriage with a sign saying my name (in cyrillic, of course). From my limited knowledge of the trip, the first four days will be gentle/moderate hiking up trails with little snow/ice. Then day five enters the snow and more difficult hiking...while the last day or two requires crampons and a pickaxe to reach the summit. We will get instructions on using the equipment properly, I just hope it is visual enough so that I feel comfortable (since it will all be in Russian) - or that someone happens to speak English well enough to get me the info. No worries though (mom/dad/etc), if I don't feel comfortable I don't have to continue up to the top - I can always stay at camp. We'll see how things go, and I will do my best to use good judgement on the safety. In any case, the climb is not technical, and is rated for beginners...so I hope that is a good sign. Today I met with Sergey and got ahold of some warm ski type pants and a heavy ski coat...I think I am prepared now.

After meeting with Sergey I went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Art - which had some very nice paintings I enjoyed by Van Gogh, Leger, and De Witte (also had Matisse and others that I don't really prefer). Unfortunately, the painting collection was quite limited, mostly exhibiting sculptures (and many reproductions) which I find quite uninteresting. To hopefully salvage this experience I went next door the Pushkin Private Collection Museum and was pleasantly surprised to find more work by Russian artists I like at the Russian Museum of Art in St. Petersburg. Later on I went to the monestary where world-famous (at least in film studies) filmmaker Sergey Eisenstein is buried. It took some doing to find the gravesite (it is a very notable cemetery with famed Russians like writer Gogol), but finally did with some disappointed at the appearance. Unlike the typical headstones in the US, most of these in this cemetery have an actual photograph as part of the headstone. But Eisenstein's grave only had a very sinister looking etching of his profile in a quite clumsy looking, huge block of granite. In any case, I too a few photos and made my way to meet up with Natasha and her Cousin-in-law, Eugene, for a dinner. Eugene knew this little place that was essentially unmarked, down in a basement where the atmosphere was chill and the food cheap but tasty. We had a long dinner and drank lots of tea (the best tea I've had since I made it to Russia - and no mom, they don't seem to drink with milk, but often with sugar).

Now I'm home and just finished packing for Elbrus. I did a load of laundry last night (they have these strange little machines that take hours to do a small load and then you hang dry), the first since I got to Russia...and I needed it. Anyway - nothing new today really...I'm very tired from walking some 12 hours a day around Moscow and look forward to the long train ride. Hopefully I will see some new landscape and get some good rest before my 8 day camping trip (I never get much sleep when camping). I have many thoughts right now, but its late, and I feel numb - so I will not say anything too serious in my exhausted state as it will surely ending up sounding somber or depressing.

I am well. Just need some rest. I'm not homesick yet, though I do look forward to seeing you all again soon. Be back here by the 26th with only four days remaining in Russia.

Best,

Spencer