Unfortunately my sunburn meant that I didn’t sleep very well beyond 05:30.  The sunburn looked terrible but it was beginning to improve.

I met up with Ron and Ryan for breakfast at 09:00 and spent some time reliving the highlights of the summit party.  I had my summit certificate, my T-shirt (which is given to all summiteers) and my photos of the expedition – I was a happy man!  So were Ron and Ryan…

The main plan for today was to go for a walk, with an observatory or a waterfall the likeliest destinations.  Just after 10:30 I said my goodbyes to Ryan (who was flying back to London this afternoon) and headed off down the Baksan Valley with Ron and Vincent.  Vincent was also still suffering with sunburn and Ron still had frozen toes.  Needless to say the walk was at a gentle pace!

As we walked we passed two cannons aimed at the Georgian border.  This was a stark reminder that we were in what is very much still a war zone.  The weather started to turn a little cold and wet so we changed our plans and headed for Cheget to see what we could find.  Just after midday we wandered into Cheget and found a restaurant that would cook anything you brought along.  Without hesitation we hired ourselves some fishing rods!  After only 20 minutes we had caught enough trout for our lunch.

After a few minutes we were eating our catch and enjoying the scenery around us.  Although the weather was still wet we could see most of the way along the Baksan Valley.  We spent two hours at the restaurant enjoying our final day of the trip.

Before long it was time to head back to our lodge.  With our bus scheduled for Mineralnye Vody Airport due early next morning we needed to pack our equipment.  Given that my equipment was scattered all over my room (in an attempt to dry it) this would prove to be a lengthy task!

With the trip coming to a finish I spent some time reflecting on the experiences of the last week.  I had made some new friends from all over Europe and had worked with them as part of a team that had conquered Elbrus.

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