Mount Elbrus Russia. The name "Elbrus" is a metathesis of "Alborz", which is also the name of a long mountain range in northern Iran. It is derived from Avestan "Harā Bərəzaitī", which is a legendary mountain in Iranian mythology. "Harā Bərəzaitī" reflects Proto-Iranian *"Harā Bṛzatī", which was reformed into Middle Persian as "Harborz", and into Modern Persian as "Alborz". "Bṛzatī" is the feminine form of the adjective *"bṛzant" ("high"), the reconstructed ancestor of Modern Ossetian "bærzond" ("high", "peak"), Modern Persian "barz" ("high"), "berāzande" ("elegant"), and "boland" ("high", "tall"), and Modern Kurdish "barz" ("high"). "Harā" may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from
Mount Elbrus the two summits but collapsed after only a few years. Its remains can still be seen. In 1939, the Soviet Intourist travel agency built yet another structure a little above the "Priyut 11" site at 4,200 metres, covered in aluminium siding. It was meant to accommodate western tourists, who were encouraged to climb Mount Elbrus in commercial, guided tours at the time to bring in foreign currency. Not much later, this hut was converted into a mountain barracks, serving as a base, first for Soviet and later German troops in the Battle of the Caucasus of World War II. On