Mount Elbrus Trek, Russia | The Bucket List Company

Why spend your summer in bathers on the beach when you could don your thermals, pick up your axe and trudge uphill for days on end?

Because, Mount Elbrus.

The tallest peak in Europe and one of the Seven Summits, we reckon Mount Elbrus doesn’t quite get the press it deserves.

Maybe it’s Russia’s unflattering political stereotypes or the mountain’s below-freezing temperatures that put travellers off.

But politics and bikinis aside, the people and peaks in this interesting and beautiful country really ought to be experienced first-hand. And if you’re on a mission to become a true mountaineer? Elbrus needs a spot on your Bucket List.

Only question is, are you ready to rope up and open your eyes to the breath-taking beauty that lies within Russia’s borders?

So you never saw yourself going to Russia.

Let Elbrus be the mountain to change your mind. There’s no room for stereotypes at the top of Elbrus and, if you want to one day call yourself a Seven-Summiteer, this peak will set you firmly on your way.

Ideal as the next step after Kilimanjaro (Africa’s contribution to the Seven Summits) and the perfect warm-up for Aconcagua (South America’s version), climbing Elbrus will teach you everything you need to know about crampons, ice axes and digging down inside yourself for the courage you probably don’t realise exists just yet.

You know you’re getting into serious mountaineering when you rope up, and that’s exactly what’s ahead of you on your thrilling climb to the top of Mount Elbrus.

The tallest peak in Europe will both exhilarate you and inspire you to continue on your quest to conquer the Seven Summits, as you build up your winter mountain experience and deepen your love for climbing.

You’ll be at the top of Everest before you know it.

But what makes Elbrus so good, aside from the fact that it’s clearly a whopper, at 5642m tall? Despite its formidable stature, this amazing mountain can be climbed by most – so long as you’re committed to the challenge.

Along your way to the summit, Elbrus will treat you to deep colds, a certain lack of oxygen and, potentially, borderline exhaustion. It’s just great. And the staggering views along the way and the sheer joy you’ll experience when you conquer the summit? They’ll more than recompense your travail.

Stunning vistas across glaciers and crevasses await you in the Lower Caucasus Range. And since the slopes aren’t too steep, you’ll be able to make the most of the majestic scenery all around you, letting it spur you on as you home in on the summit.

When you get there? You’ll stand proud and tall above a serene sea of cloud knowing that you’ve just achieved something sensational. It’s pretty high up there, you know.