Russia
1 / 29Mt. Elbrus ski resort is in the North Caucasus Federal District. It offers 23 km of pistes for skiing and snowboarding. Six lifts transport guests.
Trail information
The resort lies on the southern flank of Elbrus in Kabardino-Balkaria, starting from the Azau meadow at 2,350 metres. A cable car climbs to the Gara-Bashi station at 3,847 m, the highest lift in Europe. There are no pistes above that, though snowcats will carry you a few hundred metres higher. The skiing is on glacier, there is no forest at all, and the altitude holds the season into early June. The summit itself, at 5,642 m, remains the highest point in Europe and the main objective for climbers here.
Maps
Lifts
- 4Gondola lifts
- 1Chairlifts
- 1T-bars and platters
- 1Magic carpets
Video
Contacts and opening hours
What visitors say about the resort
The praise is for the altitude and the long season: skiing lasts longer here than anywhere else in Russia, and reviewers name late January to early March as the best window for the pistes. The newer gondola out of Azau moves quickly and on ordinary days there is barely any waiting. The view from the top stations is called the main reason to come, as is the snowcat ride above the Mir station.
Dependence on the weather draws criticism: if wind closes the cable car there is literally nothing to do down in the clearing, and on holidays the queues eat hours. The old aerial tramway takes twice as long as the gondola, and the open metal seats higher up startle anyone expecting cabins. Rocks and ice surface on the runs. Everyday details annoy too: toilets on the mountain are paid, the free ones below have long lines, cafe prices are called inflated, and cars are kept away from the base.
An editorial summary of public reviews on specialist sites. This is not a visitor review: we retell what is written about the resort most often, both praise and criticism.
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