Ian Gough reflects upon Mount Elbrus expedition

One week ago, former Wales international Ian Gough was preparing to summit Europe’s highest peak, but now the Ospreys lock is back on solid ground.
 
Throughout the expedition in aid of Hire a Hero Gough made the point of the unpredictable nature of mountain climbing, and it was this unpredictability that ultimately scuppered the team’s attempts to scale Mount Elbrus.
 
“Unfortunately we couldn’t do it, we had a summit attempt setting off at 1am and unfortunately the weather closed in,” explained the 64-cap second-row.

“It was perfect the day before, which gives you a respect for mountain climbing and how quickly the weather can change.”
 
“We were keeping up to date with the weather, that was our chance to summit and the weather got worse, we were actually in white-out conditions.”
 
Although naturally disappointment exists within the team, made up of both civilian and military personnel, Gough admits that spirits remain high and much has been learnt from the trip.
 
“It’s actually very good,” Gough explains, “the banter is actually very close. I actually learnt a new language, all the military speak.”
 
“Crazy” was the response made by the Ospreys lock when asked to describe the expedition, lasting a total of 15 days.
 
“The first big hurdle was getting three vehicles right the way across Europe, through the Ukraine border and over the Ukrainian roads, which I think have been left back in the 50’s, and through Russia.”
 
“Then we had to get across the mountain pathways, which were nothing short of hair raising, scary, that’s the only way I can describe them, the sheer drops we had to face just to get to base camp. Then the small task of trying to climb Europe’s highest mountain.”
 
While many attempt to climb one of the seven summits, which includes Elbrus and Kilimanjaro, the team’s effort to do so unsupported was unlike many others.
 
“That was one of the tough things,” explained Gough, “I know a lot of expeditions, Kilimanjaro and what have you have porters and Sherpas who take your kit for you and set it all up but we actually to drag all the kit ourselves and were facing pretty heavy backpacks for the climb.”
 
“It was five hours just to the first high base camp, it was a tough couple of days getting up there and then you had to deal with the altitude which was another spanner in the works.”