Climbing the highest European and Russian mountain with a large format camera

[mamanton]

Climbing Elbrus (5621 metres) with a 13x18cm (5x7'') Walker Titan XL camera in September 2018. Also with a Hasselblad and Leica. Only black and white - only hardrock!

https://youtu.be/3egw2ASKr8E

Please click on English subtitles on Youtube.


https://youtu.be/3egw2ASKr8E

Enjoy!

[Tin Can]

Very interesting. Nice video.

See you later!

[tgtaylor]

Great video mamanton!

Can't believe that you guys humped Elbrus with canned food but when you are young you can do stuff like that. Nowadays it's all freeze-dried for me and even that is too heavy!

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

Looks fun. Wish I was young again too!

[mamanton]

Thanks! See you!

[mamanton]

Haha, true. Ultralight tent and backpack, and ultraheavy food ;))

[mamanton]

Lot’s of fun! One guy in our team was 58 years old. Was the fastest one ;)

[Hal Incandenza]

Good luck! I bet these folks would like to go with you:

184447
(Summit of Mont Blanc)

[fotopfw]

Loved the video! Great to take that 5x7" to the top. Wonderful results!

[mamanton]

Good luck! I bet these folks would like to go with you:

184447
(Summit of Mont Blanc)

Mont Blanc is not so high, but the idea is great! I like when the people are living with a passion of something!

[mamanton]

Loved the video! Great to take that 5x7" to the top. Wonderful results!

Thanks! I’m in a process of darkroom printing now, and preparing a small black and white exhibition.

[Drew Wiley]

I remember when one of my friends decided to "test" one of those same flimsy tents in a mountain storm. Instead, it tested him! I brought a Bibler tent and was perfectly cozy. The next time we went in the mountains together, he was carrying a Bibler too. That other thing landed in the trashcan.

[mamanton]

I remember when one of my friends decided to "test" one of those same flimsy tents in a mountain storm. Instead, it tested him! I brought a Bibler tent and was perfectly cozy. The next time we went in the mountains together, he was carrying a Bibler too. That other thing landed in the trashcan.

I really like and can totally recommend a new gear made from Dyneema Cuben Fiber. Tents, backpacks...
My Zpacks backpack for the large format camera weight only 600gr, instead of 3kg - f64 backpack. And Zpacks is much more comfortable.

http://zpacks.com

https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com

[Drew Wiley]

Interesting. But those packs are way too small for my needs. And tent fabrics which might work in cold dry snow seem to fail miserably in damp snow, not to mention the hurricane-force winds I've been in, in the mtns. I do use lightwt tents for certain things. Just about every kind of gear out there has been tested early on by someone I knew, or even was with when they were the official guinea pig for a prototype. Lots and lots of comical stories. But I never use camera packs per se - just wrap the view camera in bubble wrap then in my goosedown jacket, then into my regular backpacking packs.

[Jac@stafford.net]

For horrible weather and wind, a frame Bivy inside an arctic tent. Mummy bag, reflective survival blanket underneath. Oh, and sleep naked.

[Drew Wiley]

Been there, done that (everything except sleeping naked in the mountains); not a good idea. Silvery "survival blankets" equal miserable condensation. Bivy sacks and "coffins" don't have a steep profile to shed rain or heavy snow. I once had one develop two solid inches of freezing ice rime atop it; then it literally shattered! The only thing that kept me alive was that later in the night it started snowing heavily - deep powder snow, which is actually quite insulating, at least compared to rain and sleet. Yes indeed, Jac, after that experience I did indeed buy an arctic quality tent! But no, no Bivy inside of it. I gave my replacement bivy sack to my nepew when he went to climb Mt Edith Cavell in the Canadian Rockies and had to spend a night sitting on a ledge. And that's how Bivy sacks are actually meant to be used - vertically. Ah, mummy bags - they leave my shoulders cramped, but it comes with the territory. I have a Goretex covered one. Real nice because it dries out fast if it gets wet out or collects frost - not that it's any good in a serious rain - a tent is still needed for that, but otherwise a luxury that makes getting back on the trail in the morning a lot faster. What on earth do you use for a winter tent below your palm trees there in balmy Minnesota?

[mamanton]

Hi everybody!

Here is my story about climbing with a large format camera posted in ILFORD MAGAZINE!

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/elbrus-two-peaks-climbing-13x18cm-large-format-camera/

[Tin Can]

Good story and images!

[Roger Thoms]

Yes, enjoyed the article, thanks for posting.

Roger

[Leszek Vogt]

I think the initial shot of the mountain is really well done....nice contrast. No doubt it will print nicely.

Les

[germansaram]

Thanks for posting this, I found it very interesting! :)