In 2021 – after countless 2,000-, 3,000-, and 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps – I decided that I wanted to climb Mount Elbrus 5642 m in Russia, Mount Kazbek 5054 m in Georgia, and Mount Ararat 5137 m in Turkey during a single trek, accompanied by my Siberian husky, Kira. Many people were worried for me, many laughed at me, and many didn’t understand why. But nothing deterred me. Accompanied by two friends and my dad, we set off by car. We covered more than 7,000 kilometers by car over three weeks, traveling through five countries. The car broke down several times, and unfortunately, we couldn’t make it into Russia because of the coronavirus. But we managed to climb Kazbek and Ararat.
On Kazbek, there were many glacial crevasses, bad weather (we could barely see anything on the day of the summit climb), and a section where rockfalls were frequent. I was very proud of Kira, who walked at 5,000 meters as if she were at sea level. We carried our 30-kilogram backpacks ourselves.
Lots of people mistook my dog for a wolf (they don’t see many Huskies around there), but the people were very kind, and I was able to bring her into every lodging. There was fog at the summit of Ararat, too; unfortunately, we couldn’t see anything from there either. There’s a law there that says you’re not allowed to go on your own—you must be accompanied by a local guide.
You always have some concerns when traveling with a dog, but everyone loved her everywhere we went. So in 2021, Kira climbed two peaks over 5,000 meters with me. I was more than proud and happy.
Link for the movie Ararat:
Kazbek:
