Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • The Great Outdoors

Russia By Smartphone: Misleading Beta in an Unfamiliar Land

  • December 3, 2019
  • Ben Osborne
Total
20
Shares
20
0
0
0
0
0
Total
20
Shares
Share 20
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

words & photos:: Ben Osborne

Google Earth, a few emails, a single 15-minute Skype session, and we were assured that we would be safe and that the riding would be epic. Pack the bags, we’re going to Russia to ski in the Caucasus Mountains near Mount Elbrus, a far-off corner of the country near the border with Georgia.
It’s a funny thing, technology—it can make you feel so comforted like you know it all.

We exchanged a few emails with a contact on the ground in Russia, combed through an internet database of historical climate and snowfall data, and a watched few YouTube videos—surely this was enough to reassure our mothers that everything would be all right for a group of ski bums in their mid-20s travelling to a distant land. “Don’t worry,” we proclaimed, “we got this!”

Single-chair solitude in the former Soviet Union.

But as we dug deeper (after the tickets were booked) the techno-comforts of instant access to information revealed a different perspective—a grave travel advisory from the Government of Canada warned, “Avoid all travel—Kabardino-Balkaria (including the Mount Elbrus region). Exercise a high degree of caution due to crime and the threat from terrorism.”

 

The terrain looked like a lovechild of the Alps (rocky peaks, high alpine seracs and icefalls) and the Coast Mountains (manageable couloirs and steep faces) that with the right snow conditions would have provided some of the best lines our lives.

 

We checked back in with our source in Whistler—Keith Reid had skied the area before to help train local mountain guides, one of whom he would eventually connect us with named Vitaly Stegno. Reid was our only real connection to the area, and a short ride with him up the Blackcomb T-bar was all we got. As former president of the ACMG and a celebrity mountain guide in Canada, Reid is a busy man. His smirk reassured us that our trip wasn’t a death wish, but his demeanour suggested we were in for an interesting experience. “Stay with Vitaly”, he told us. “And it’s gonna be f*ckin’ weird—get ready.”

We looped back to Google Earth one more time, scanning for recognizable terrain features and potential lines to make sure it was really worth it. We combed the internet for videos of riding in the area—there wasn’t much to be found. We spotted a few colouirs and zones we wanted to ride, but it looked a bit dry. We stayed positive: “Probably just a low snow year.”

 

Jordy Norris and some (nearly) Siberian huskies.

Emails kept arriving from our guide. “This is a freeride paradise… you have to come. It will be so epic. Have you completed your visa application yet?”

We shrugged our shoulders, forked over $500 to secure travel visas, and we were off. In the age of over-saturated ski media, the idea to travel to Russia was born of a feeling that could most closely be related to spite. I had been to Japan and I knew the recipe: land in Tokyo, hit the Robot Bar, head to the mountains crammed into a van, and smash powder (and sake). It’s the best riding experience you could ever ask for, but we wanted something less packaged, less commodified, and less familiar. 

And so, we were off, realizing almost immediately after stumbling off the plane in Moscow that Google Translate was our new best friend (we had missed one key piece of information in our web searches: almost nobody in Russia speaks English).

We arrived at Elbrus to find it hadn’t snowed in weeks, the wind had blown hard, and there wasn’t going to be much riding. However, our local guide Vitaly hadn’t lied. The terrain looked like a lovechild of the Alps (rocky peaks, high alpine seracs and icefalls) and the Coast Mountains (manageable couloirs and steep faces) that with the right snow conditions would have provided some of the best lines our lives.

Jordy Norris looks out on the demilitarized zone on near the Georgian Border.

That dire travel advisory, on the other hand, turned out to be the most misleading beta of all. We were consistently stopped in town—not to be hassled, but instead welcomed, asked where we were from, and usually invited to enjoy some combination of local meat, onions and dill. These were hearty mountain people working to survive and feed their families. No one seemed interested in telling us their politics, even if we could have understood what they said.

We left Elbrus appreciating a wild and unexplored place and peeved at our bad luck with snow. 

However, weather sites predicted a storm coming to Sochi, home of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, so we headed west toward a more familiar snowpack. The trusty online forecast called for six centimetres a day right through the rest of our trip. And according to the translated online press, we could expect crowds at Russia’s most popular ski resort where Putin himself had just finished his annual vacation. 

Our driver offered us pears and cigarettes the first time we got in his cab, and despite the language barrier we were best buds from then on.

Once again, technology was misleading. It snowed 1.5 metres in three days, the crowds were non-existent and the locals were just as friendly as the ones we’d left behind—so much for a cold, unwelcoming culture. 

I came to Russia because I wanted to do something different—to find adventure in a less-travelled place. While internet research and contact with a local guide helped draw me in, I also learned the push and pull of the information superhighway is not always to be trusted. For all our clicking and hunkering over screens beforehand, it was word of mouth that guided us through the countryside and culture of this incredible nation. When you take a dive into an unfamiliar place, the returns are never guaranteed—but the adventure always seems to give back. Mother Russia welcomed us with open arms, and beyond the word of mouth, our persistent “research” proved to be futile—the experience was the only truth on a trip into the unknown. —ML

 

Total
20
Shares
Share 20
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • Features

Yellowstone to Yukon: A New Model of Mountain Conservation

  • December 1, 2019
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
Next Article
  • Features
  • Skiing
  • The Great Outdoors

The Man Who Turned Used Gear Into a Career

  • December 11, 2019
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 16, 2022
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • The Great Outdoors

Blower Pow and Disappearing Pants

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 26, 2022
View Post
  • In This Issue
  • The Great Outdoors

ML Launches Mushroom Life

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 1, 2022
View Post
  • Leslie Anthony
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play
  • The Great Outdoors

Spring at Sun Peaks

  • Sarah Bulford
  • March 8, 2022
View Post
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • The Great Outdoors

New Normal at Tremblant

  • Sarah Bulford
  • February 24, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • The Great Outdoors

Backcountry Skier John Baldwin Headlines VIMFF’s 2022 Best of British Columbia Night

  • Sarah Bulford
  • February 22, 2022
View Post
  • FALL GEAR
  • SPRING GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • The Great Outdoors
  • WINTER GEAR

The Legend of San Poncho

  • Editor
  • December 9, 2021
735990496 1280x720
View Post
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Island of Plenty

  • Sarah Bulford
  • July 2, 2021

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Featured Posts
  • Jason-Hardrath-Journey-to-100-standing-peak 1
    Friday Flick: Journey to 100
    • May 20, 2022
  • 2
    Friday Flick: Waterproofing 101
    • May 13, 2022
  • Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait 3
    Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury
    • May 17, 2022
  • River-crossing-Cambria-Icefield-ABBY-COOPER 4
    Kwhlixhoosa’anskw: A River Runs Through
    • May 19, 2022
  • Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration 5
    Requiem for a Relic
    • May 16, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR
    • May 16, 2022
  • Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised
    Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi
    • May 13, 2022
  • Nick-Gottlieb-Pereval-Dzhuku-pass
    Touching the Mountains of Heaven
    • May 12, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK 💥 This past March, speed mountaineer Benedikt Böhm @benediktboehm rocked a five-hour sea-to-summit expedition up Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Starting at sea level on his road bike at the village of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth, he climbed up to an altitude of 2.414 metres. #linkinbio to watch the film!
I had no idea what to expect from this trip, neither from bikepacking, a fancy term for cycle touring and a sport I’d never done before, nor from Kyrgyzstan, a country most people cannot find on a map. Carl, who I’d only just met recently after moving to Canada—I’d flagged him down after backcountry skiing after seeing his Montana license plate—had invited me on this trip while on a mountain bike ride. I said no. A few weeks later I figured, “Why not?”
The @rab.equipment  dynamic Cirrus Flex is a soft, lightweight hybrid synthetic insulation for mountain-friendly layering. Keeping you warm and perfectly suited to journey in the mountains. #TheMountainPeople #WeAreRab
"@normhann and I lashed paddleboards to the roof of his truck and headed north along the Island Highway, towards Telegraph Cove. Norm had invited me to tag along on a commercial paddleboard group he would be guiding in the Broughton Archipelago. Despite a long history of SUP expeditions, I harboured some reservations."
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.