Prielbrusye National Park Prielbrusye National Park Prielbrusye National Park () (also, Prielbrus'e, in English, "Mt. Elbrus") is centered on Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe at 5,632 meters above sea level. The relative isolation of steep gorges has led to high levels of endemism and biodiversity. The park is in the central Caucasus Mountains, one of 22 national parks in the Caucasus of different nationalities, covering 1.8% of the region. The park is situated in Elbrussky District and Zolsky District, in the southwestern corner of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic of Russia. Prielbrusye National Park is located on the peaks and north slope of
Mount Elbrus The Soviet Union encouraged ascents of Elbrus, and in 1956 it was climbed "en masse" by 400 mountaineers to mark the 400th anniversary of the incorporation of Kabardino-Balkaria, the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic where Elbrus was located. From 1959 through 1976, a cable car system was built in stages that can take visitors as high as . There are a wide variety of routes up the mountain, but the normal route, which is free of crevasses, continues more or less straight up the slope from the end of the cable car system. During the summer, it is not uncommon for