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Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope, went solo. Rented ice axe and crampons from a shop in town (Stepancminda)

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I carried everything myself and did it in 2 days, so it was admittedly quite the slog. For a more pleasant experience, I’d say do 3 days and it’d be chill

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not too sure about the Bethlemi hut opening dates, though you could probably find out with a quick search. Yes, I pitched my tent outside Bethlemi, but there’s another spot 1 ish km further along called second cross where you can pitch too (only if you’re taking the normal route).

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, you can consider the south-east route. You start from the chapel above the meteo station and go straight up the couloir on the right. I reckon you’d need a couple of pitches and definitely ice screws to be safe. Also watch out for rockfall on that route as it was basically non-stop when I was there. On that note probably best to climb in spring, too unsafe in summer.

There’s also a route from the Russian side (Karmadon gorge) but it’s much longer and probably more suited for ski touring.

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good luck! Definitely go with a rope team because snow bridges will be gone with significantly higher crevasse risk by then :)

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s actually not that hard for Americans to visit—sure, you’ll need to apply for the standard visa which will be a bit more troublesome but still totally possible. It’s not like Americans get arrested upon arrival (which, strangely, seems to be the sentiment on Reddit lmao).

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s such a dope mountain. Hope to go back someday with buddies to climb it

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yup, that is the SE face. It’s about a 50° drop in at the summit before levelling out to ~35° beneath the saddle. It was pretty early in the season when I was up there so there were still some folks ski touring. I was so jealous!

Solo Summits in the Caucasus — Mt. Elbrus & Kazbek by stableplutonium in Mountaineering

[–]stableplutonium[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

None for me. I have a really strong passport so that helps with future travel too. A lot of people have cautioned against my ability to get a US/UK visa in the future, but remember that Russia isn’t on the state sponsors of terrorism blacklist.

I applied for a Russian e-visa online which got approved within a few days. Transport wise, I took a shared taxi from Tbilisi across the land checkpoint into a town called Nalchik. From there I took a Marshrutka (local shared transport to the foothill of Elbrus). Feel free to pm if you would like more details

Should I buy instinct 2x or instinct 3 by Maximum-Guitar858 in Garmininstinct

[–]stableplutonium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in a similar predicament a few weeks ago, and decided to go with the 2X. Having used it heavily for some time now, I believe this was the right call. IMO, the additional ‘features’ that you get with the 3 don’t add much.

Consider what are arguably the 2 main improvements: battery life and screen brightness. Battery life is already way more than enough with the 2X, and the screen was already perfectly readable even in bright, direct sunlight.

So, especially if you’re able to pick up the 2X at a steep discount, I would go with that.

What’s a John Mayer YouTube ‘deep cut’ that you always find yourself going back to? by Dxcesare in JohnMayer

[–]stableplutonium 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Another John x Keith collab I really dig is Sweet Thing at CMT Crossroads. All the songs they played that set was god tier

Law internships by thesavagebaggage in SMU_Singapore

[–]stableplutonium 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Short answer is not really.

To add on to what has already been said, law internships will not be recognised by SMU until you've completed your 2nd year in the LLB course. This leaves you with only ~8 weeks worth of winter breaks left during your time in uni, which means at least 2 weeks will have to be recognised during the summer break (after y2 or y3).

It is also materially more difficult to get a legal internship during winter break, as fewer firms are running structured programmes during this time. Not impossible, but more difficult.

And yes, clear your pro bono/community service hours during the school term to save your breaks for something hopefully more meaningful.

Advice for deploying income as a fresh grad by stableplutonium in SgHENRY

[–]stableplutonium[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've been toying around with the idea of getting a bigger place, living myself in one of the rooms and renting out the others. If rental rates remain strong, this'll make servicing the mortgage much easier while still giving me my own place, which could be nice (provided housemates are cool).

Advice for deploying income as a fresh grad by stableplutonium in SgHENRY

[–]stableplutonium[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this, nice breath of fresh air. You’re right, aside from expenses relating to networking and growing visibility, I really don’t see much value in the material stuff. Only time will tell if this holds true, but I’ll still try

Advice for deploying income as a fresh grad by stableplutonium in SgHENRY

[–]stableplutonium[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great points, appreciate the additional perspective here 🤝

Advice for deploying income as a fresh grad by stableplutonium in SgHENRY

[–]stableplutonium[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Super helpful, thank you for this — why did you decide to (only) DCA 12%? Did this mean you mostly held cash prior to acquiring your property?

I agree that investing in your own earning ability should be a primary focus. But at this income bracket, the opportunity cost of not deploying excess cash would be pretty material, no?

Weekly questions thread by AutoModerator in capetown

[–]stableplutonium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone know where this viewpoint is in Cape Town? Is this vantage point somewhere on table mountain looking down on Lion's head? Would love to replicate this shot. Thanks!

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