The sun continues to beat hard on their backs, even as the two try to steady their sweaty hands on the ropes and rappel down the 30-feet drop of a cliff at Ammuguda. The mountaineers know well that Hyderabad’s hot sun will not be a worry when they attempt to scale Europe’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus, at approximately 5,642 metres above sea level this June.

The mountaineers are more concerned about being in perfect physical condition before attempting the gruelling climb to Mt. Elbrus, a feat being attempted for the first time by adventurers in Hyderabad.

Ali Razvi (40), well-known for his climbing prowess in Hyderabad, and Ranjan Sood’s (55) preparation routine is taxing.

It involves a minimum of 10 kilometres of brisk walk, a 200-step steep climb at Ammuguda and fine tuning their climbing skills on the natural rock formations at various rock sites in Hyderabad. “It is not just physical fitness. We have to be mentally fit too. We are trying our best to get ready for the climb,” says Mr. Razvi, who on previous occasions has scaled the Himalayan mountain Kala Patthar twice (5,500 metres) and has led a group of mountaineers to the Everest Base Camp.

Mt. Elbrus, considered to be the highest point in Europe, is geographically the dividing line between Europe and Asia. The inactive volcano is part of the seven summits, a well-known mountaineering objective in which mountaineers dream of scaling the highest peaks in the seven continents of the world.

“It’s a challenging climb because we have to trek from 8,200 feet to 18,510 feet in thick snow. The route that we have decided on is not easy. It has lots of snow, high winds and difficulties associated with high elevation. There have been several failed attempts in the past but we are not thinking about it,” says Mr. Razvi.

CIRCUITOUS ROUTE

The route chosen for the 15-day expedition is circuitous. “We start on May 31 and fly to Moscow from Delhi and then reach an airport called Mineralnye Vody in Russia. This is 250 kilometres away from Mt. Elbrus. Here, we will join an international team of climbers and attempt the climb,” they explain.

TECHNICAL CLIMB

The mountaineers are busy fine-tuning their gears such as harness, carabiner, ropes, crampons, snow boots, ice axe etc. for the technical climb.

In addition, both are also working on the mental aspect of the climb. “We need will power for the attempt. The climb will test our endurance and, hopefully, we will be able to scale Mt. Elbrus by the middle of June,” says Ranjan Sood.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News / by M. Sai Gopal / Hyderabad, April 22nd, 2012