Having finished all my training and completed all my packing the time for Mount Elbrus had finally arrived.  No matter how much preparation I do I am always worried that it isn’t enough!

As is always the case when I leave on a trip the rain was hammering down as I made my way to Halewood train station.  At least the train was on time, which meant that I didn’t get completely soaked.

After a short trip to Liverpool Lime Street, and an hour waiting on the platform, I was on the train bound for London.  I’ve always enjoyed the train ride to London – it’s like the calm before the ‘tube to Heathrow’ storm!  True to form I arrived at London Euston in rush hour and made myself unpopular with all the commuters with my luggage.  Two huge bags totalling 30Kgs in a confined space is guaranteed to make anyone unpopular.

Eventually that ordeal was over and I had arrived at Heathrow.  I’ve never been to Terminal 2 at Heathrow before, which was far smaller than the others I’d been through – and significantly quieter.  Where had everyone I upset on the tube gone?

Having checked in, with my luggage coming in at 0.1Kg under the weight limit (thanks to the scales at home!) I went through security and waited to board my flight.  After a few hone calls and a couple of chapters of my book (Touching The Void by Joe Simpson) I was ready to board my overnight flight to Moscow.  I’ve enjoyed flying with Aeroflot before as the staff ensure there is never a dull moment on board.

The flight did indeed prove to be eventful.  At one point the staff even started pushing and shoving each other around as an argument exploded.

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