Last Day of No Punishment

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

The Team continues to burn the candle at both ends and had a busy day of sightseeing in St Petersburg. We saw so many things today that I didn’t even have time to take photos! But suffice it to say that we saw the highlights of the city, including a tour of The Hermitage art museum.

Tonight we had a final group dinner and regaled each other with stories of the last two weeks.

I had a great time climbing and traveling with Team Climb & Punishment and want to thank each member of the Team for giving me the opportunity to share the climb, and a bit of Russia, with them.

Paca! (Bye!),

Carole Tejas

Climb & No Punishment in St Pete

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

The Team relocated to St Petersburg today and immediately took a liking to the European feel of this beautiful city.

To avoid a riot and possible mutiny, we arranged to have dinner at a craft brewery and American style hamburger place. No beets. Very little dill.

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The Team seemed to enjoy dinner, as evidenced by the smiling faces below.

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Tonight we’re going to try to do a boat cruise on the canals and rivers that wind their way throughout town. We’ll continue our sightseeing tomorrow, with a land-based tour of the city.

Thanks for following!

Carole

Climb & Punishment Enjoys

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

The streak of good weather continues! After breakfast this morning, many of us headed out for a trail ride through the forest. The wild blueberries and strawberries on the sides of the trail are just starting to ripen— yum.

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Riding worked up an appetite and so the Team met for lunch in Narzan, a local spot known for its mineral water and outdoor restaurants. We enjoyed very freshly caught trout….

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And grilled shashlik…

We took one last opportunity to shop for sheepskin rug souvenirs and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

Tomorrow we are up early to head to the airport for our flight to St Petersburg. We’re excited to see Russia’s second largest city!

Thanks for following,

Carole

Climb & No Punishment Celebrates

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

We woke up this morning, packed up our gear and took the gondola down from the mountain to our hotel in Terskol. Eagerly awaited showers ensued.

We relaxed, napped and did some shopping.

This one?

Or this one?

We regrouped for a celebratory dinner in nearby Cheget. Let’s just say…there was a party.

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We had some great local food and thanked our Russian guides for a job well done.

Tomorrow we’re planning to ride some horses, do some fishing and celebrate some more.

Thanks for following!

Carole

Name Change: Climb & No Punishment

Comrades, Family & Loved Ones,

Three words: 100% On Top! We’ve just returned to our hut after all of us stood on top of Europe earlier this morning. The Team did an incredible job — really impressive climbing technique, great personal care and very few bad jokes. We climbed safely and efficiently and We Looked Great Doing It. Perfect weather (really perfect) didn’t hurt.

Here is a pic from the summit;

Views were incredible!
We’re now peeling off our climbing gear and getting ready to have lunch and rehydrate. I suspect that the celebration will start any minute.

Tomorrow, we’re going to descend to the valley and spend two nights at our hotel in Terskol relaxing and celebrating.

Thanks for following!

Carole Tejas