Mt Elbrus 18,510ft

Mt Elbrus 2016

Its been a long time in the making and we finally did it! We stood on top of Europe! The travel was insane, The views were amazing, The Russian community is awesome! Mt Elbrus stands at 18,510ft on the west summit and was a long crawl to get there. Edgar and myself were sitting in the Huts reviewing the weather and decided that day 1 was going to be the best day to summit with clear weather. Everyone in the camp thought we were crazy to try an 18,000 foot summit with minimal acclimatization! What people did not realize is that we have been climbing and training for weeks prior at 14,000+ elevation and were well prepeared! we quickly organized our gear and went straight to bed to prepare for a midnight start. Mt Elbrus is not a technical mountain but we never under estimate any climb and always respect the hills in front of us. With 6,000ft of gain and topping out at 18,510ft we knew it would be a long night to get to the summit! Midnight came and headlights were on! Boom we were standing on a cold summit just 8hrs after we left. We were truly Blessed! Each mountain holds a new adventure and amazing experience. Mt Elbrus did not let us down. Thanks to all that supported Bicksler7 on this mountain.

Despite having Crohns and Diabetes and Losing My Mother just 1 month before climbing Mt Elbrus, We still made it happen! I thank god every day for my Health. I would also like to thank my New Wife Allison for being there for me and understanding all the hard work I had to put into this project!

Thank you Edar Parra of Lonely Summits for taking on this project with me. It was great to stand on another Summit with you! We will be going back to Mt Mckinley in June 2017 together! I dedicated this summit to my Mother!!

RIP Joan Bicksler #Nevergiveup! #Ihatecancer #CureCrohnsanddiabetes