Mt. Elbrus, Ascent, and New Year Millennium Celebration. During the New Year, a team from Moscow led by Maxim Shakirov and comprising Juri Saveliev, and Sergey Larin, together with Igor Cheresku (leader of Shkhelda Emergency Rescue service), greeted the new millennium on the West Summit (5642m) of Elbrus in strong winds, heavy snowfall and temperatures below -30°C. The team made a video of the last millennium sunset as seen from the saddle of Elbrus (5300m) and the new millennium sunrise as seen from the East Summit (5621m). The video and digital images were transmitted from the saddle via special cellular phone and were broadcast by all the central TV channels of Russia.

Vladimir Shataev and Vladimir Kopylov, Russian Mountaineering Federation