GUIDING IS INCLUDED
The guide is not an optional extra in any programme option
Programme leadership and guiding are included in all three published programme options. On the planned summit attempt, the operating limit is no more than three participants per guide. The limit supports control; it does not create a summit guarantee.
Observe the group
The leader sees actual pace and recovery during the valley acclimatisation days.
Check the system
Boots, crampons, layers, headlamp and the rest of the mandatory equipment are checked before summit night.
Summit-day limit
No more than three participants are assigned to one guide on the planned summit attempt.
Turnaround authority
The guide can stop an individual or the subgroup because of weather, route, timing or condition.
What the guide does before summit day
- Leads acclimatisation outings and observes the group’s sustainable pace
- Checks mandatory equipment and boot-crampon compatibility
- Receives information about relevant limitations and how each participant is feeling
- Explains communication, movement order and turnaround rules
- Helps divide a large group into working subgroups
What the guide monitors on summit day
- Pace and turnaround times
- Weather, wind and visibility
- Snow, ice and route condition
- Participant condition and coordination
- Whether the subgroup can descend safely within the operating plan
Why 1:3 applies to the planned summit attempt
A straightforward acclimatisation walk can use a larger operational group under the programme leader. Summit night combines darkness, altitude, cold, fatigue and harder decisions. The public 1:3 limit is therefore tied to the planned summit attempt. It is a manageability rule, not a promise that every participant will continue together.
How much does a guide on Mount Elbrus cost?
Guiding is already included in the current USD 710, USD 775 and USD 820 programme prices. There is no hidden line for adding the main programme guide. These prices cover the complete nine-day group programme; they are not a quote for hiring a private guide for summit day only. The full breakdown, including what sits outside the programme price, is on the cost page.
USD is the primary international programme price; EUR is a reference. Both are fixed published amounts, not a live currency conversion: this website converts nothing automatically and takes no payment. The reference exchange rate used to publish these prices was checked on 29 August 2026. The written offer fixes the payable amount, currency and payment method before payment.
Can I book summit-day guiding only?
We do not publicly sell a summit-only shortcut without our acclimatisation programme. A separate private request would require an individual check of preparation, route, documents, insurance, guide availability and price. Sending an enquiry does not appoint a guide.
When is the guide’s name published?
A published profile can show the name, confirmable qualification, experience, languages, specialisation and working dates. It appears only after a person is assigned to specific dates and the required documents have been checked. We do not publish placeholder names, invented biographies or unconfirmed availability.
The guide manages an attempt, not a guaranteed summit
Payment, motivation or an optional snowcat cannot override a turnaround decision. A guide’s most important obligation is to manage the subgroup’s safe movement and return.
Operator and regulatory basis
The programme is operated and contracted by OOO Gorny Gid, RTO 024541. The operator requires each guide to hold the documents applicable to this work. The current Russian legal framework includes Federal Law No. 143-FZ of 22 June 2024, which amends the Russian tourism law governing excursion guides, guide-interpreters and instructor-guides; this page does not replace the official register or an individual document check.
This page was reviewed on 26 August 2026 and should be rechecked by 15 April 2027.
POSSIBLE GUIDE TEAM
The team behind the programme
These are the instructor-guides who make up the Elbrus Tours guide team. Anyone shown here can be part of a departure team; nobody on this list is thereby assigned to your specific date.
Roman Demenko
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01365728.
- Experience: Guiding since 2009; more than 200 ascents of Elbrus.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, alpine skiing and snowboarding, first aid.
Aleksandr Eliseev
Master of Sport in mountaineering, instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01386435.
- Experience: Guiding since 2012; over 200 ascents of Elbrus.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, high-altitude and technical ascents, first aid.
Vladimir Khrabovchenko
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01451458.
- Experience: Leading ascents of Elbrus and Kazbek since 2000.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, avalanche training, ski-touring programmes, first aid.
Nadezhda Ermakova
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01368276.
- Experience: More than 130 ascents of Elbrus, over 120 of them as guide.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, working with participants with disabilities, first aid.
Dmitry Pasechnik
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01374125.
- Experience: More than 350 ascents of Elbrus, around 180 as lead guide.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, ski touring, snowboarding, first aid.
Mikhail Vorushilin
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/04399848; class 2 rescuer.
- Experience: Guiding since 1999.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, mountaineering, rescue training.
Valeriya Guzarevich
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/04942179.
- Experience: Certified trekking and hiking instructor-guide.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, trekking, mountain-rescue and first-aid training.
Alina Giniyatullina
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01451427.
- Experience: Certified snowboard instructor (category B) and ski instructor (category C).
- Specialisation: Elbrus, alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Sergey Belyaev
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01451426.
- Experience: More than 25 years in the mountains; Candidate Master of Sport in mountain tourism.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, mountain tourism and mountaineering.
Elena Rudakova
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01451719.
- Experience: Lead guide for south-side Elbrus ascent programmes.
- Specialisation: Elbrus (south side), group leadership and route management.
Pavel Chernov
Mountain-tourism and mountaineering instructor-guide, state registry No. B011-00161-77/01386445.
- Experience: Guiding since 2015; completed first-aid training.
- Specialisation: Elbrus, mountain tourism and mountaineering.
Appearing here means a person is part of the possible guide team, not that they are assigned to any specific departure. The office confirms in writing the actual guide team assigned to your dates before the group sets out on the mountain route.