Russia

Far from the pre-Olympic hype of Krasnaya Polyana lies the ‘other’ Russian snowboarding destination: Mt Elbrus. The highest mountain in Europe, it is home to a different dialect and religion than the rest of Russia and boasts a deep history of mountaineering and was a site of conflict during the Second World War. Dan Milner and crew visit the Russian south and encounter shashlik kebabs, Russian swimsuits and Vlad the Rad.

The creaking doesn’t start until the tram is a hundred feet out of its dock, by which time it’s too late to escape...too late to regain control of our destiny. Stuffed with garish one-pieces, the battered, rusting cabin emits a shudder as if resigned to one more journey, its reluctance voiced through the groaning of cables and pulley-wheels.

The decrepit tram was installed in 1959 and, by its appearance, hasn’t seen much maintenance since; the doors don’t close completely, some of the windows are cracked, and to my left a pane of glass is completely missing. Riding Russia’s Mount Elbrus, it seems, is no weekend in Vail—even our accompanying Moscovite named Aloyna is nervous. Either we’re in trouble, or the sidewalk-café culture of Moscow is a far cry from the mules and Muslim Minarets of the Elbrus region...Subscribe to see the entire piece.