“In the second half of July I had an opportunity to join an expedition, which aimed at climbing Elbrus” said Krzysztof. “We travelled by train to Moscow and then, on a plane to Mineralnye Vody, from where by hired minibuses, we got to Baksan Valley at the foot of Elbrus.” The region they went through isn’t safe. One day after their arrival to Mineralnye Vody Chechenyan guerilla kidnapped a car with people and threatened that they would kill hostages if their wishes hadn’t been fulfilled. Eventually one terrorist was killed and the hostages were set free. After one day acclimatization in a picturesque side valley in Baksan they got to Terskol, from where an ascent on Elbrus started. Most of the participants went on foot but Krzysztof and a few other people due to their lugage rode up by a cable railway to the level of 3500 m and then by a chairlift to the base camp Botchki, where two big barrels are turned into a shelter. Because all the places were taken they pitched their tents nearby. The same day Krzysztof decided to go up to Prijut shelter situated at 4200m. This shelter burnt in August 1998 due to the burner explosion, what reained was only debris. A bit lower another, smaller shelter was built. You can cook there or sleep on a bunk. Now it’s a base camp for those who aim at ascending the summit. “After two hours of ascending” says Krzysztof „I brought to Prijut a part of my equipment, which I left there and went back to the barrels. My whole luggage, in two backpacks, was 35 kg heavy and consisted of a paraglide with a harness and helmet, bivouac equipment (foam pad, sleeping bag), climbing equipment (clothes, crampons, headlamp, telescopic sticks) and food. The paraglide itself, although the lightest possible, adjusted to the flights from high summits was over 10 kg heavy.” On 1st August everybody moved to Prijut, where they pitched a camp. As the weather was good Krzysztof took his gear to Pastuchov’s rocks (4800m) and left it there hoping that maybe the next day he would be able to fly on his paraglide. Unfortunately the weather went really bad the next day, strong wind from the west was blowing and there was no chance not only to fly but also to climb the summit. Few people set off in the night to reach the summit but they decided to go back at the height of 5000m. In the evening the wind calmed down. On 3rd August, after midnight two Polish groups set off for the summit. One of them returned at the Pastuchov’s Rocks and the other continued their ascent. “On this day I decided not to climb the summit as I knew that there were no chances for the flight.” Said Krzysztof. “The wind was very strong, the snow was falling, and the clouds were at the height of 4500. Having seen what the weather is like, I went to the place where my paraglide was left. I took my bag with the paraglide from under the snow and went up about 400m to meet the group that went to the summit. They were very tired due to the weather conditions, strong wind, blizzards and fog. Together we descended to Prijut. I took also my parachute with me.” Next day the visibility on the western peak was good but there was a lot of snow blown by the strong wind. That’s why Krzysztof and a few other people decided to set off in the morning, at nine, a bit late, as to get to the summit you need 7-8 hours. One of his friends helped him to transport the paraglide. All of them ascended the summit at about 5pm. First it seemed that the wind wasn’t strong but after a while a big cloud appeared and it started to snow, the wind became stronger and the visibility got worse. Everybody started descending. Krzysztof and the team leader stayed for 2 more hours waiting for the weather to get better. Although the visibility improved, the wind was blowing from the wrong side – Krzysztof would have a rocky crest in front of him while starting. He tried to fix the paraglide and start but it was too difficult in the deep snow. As they weren’t successfull they decided to go back to Prijut. They got there at 10 pm. On 5th August the weather was better but Krzysztof had to get rest. Next day was his last day in this region. There was a problem, He wondered if anyone would like to go with him to the summit. Those who were on the summit were descending and those who didn’t ascend it, didn’t want to try. 18 year old Adam Bielecki helped him to transport the paraglide and to start. They set off in the night, at 2 am. In the morning they reached the pass where they waited for two hours because the wind was too strong. “We measured its speed. It was about 12-14 mps. In these conditions there was no chance to take off” says Krzysztof. We were sitting on the summit waiting that maybe the wind would get weaker. Because nothing changed we descended to the pass between the peaks. The wind there was weaker so, near the trail, at the height of 5450 m, we opened the paraglide. Adam had to take off his crampons so as not to make a hole in my paraglide. I also took the crampons off and put them into the bag. I started at the first attemptI flew 30 metres up and flew to the south, towards Prijut. The flight wasn’t smooth, the wind was shaking the paraglide. I landed on the snow near the path above Prijut. The flight took several minutes. It was my last chance as this day we finished our mountain action. Dudzinski’s expedition was possible thanks to the sponsoring of JMP from Szaflary and PZU Nowy Targ.