Elbrus (Kabard. - Oshhomaho, Karachay-Balkar - Mingitau) - a mountain range of Greater Caucasus. Elbrus’s peak is the highest point in Europe and Russia. It is a cone of an extinct volcano folded mainly of andesite on a high pedestal of granite and crystalline schists. The last eruption was in 50 AD ± 50 years. The west summit (elevation 5642 m) and the east one (5621 m) are separated with a deep col (5325 m). Elbrus is covered with a cap of firn snow and ice on the sides of which 54 glaciers go down (the largest ones are B. Azau, Irik, Terskol). The square of modern glaciation is 134.5 km2.
The east summit of Mount Elbrus was first ascended in 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, a Karachayguide, the west in 1874 by an English expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and A. Sottaev, a Balkar guide.
Photo: Ilya Melnikov