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 longer ascent "Kiukurtliu Route" starts from below the cable-way Mir station and heads west over glacier slopes towards the Khotiutau pass. The ascent of Elbrus from the south takes about 6–9 hours, with a total height difference of between the Barrels Huts and the west summit of Elbrus. From Terskol village one can walk to the first elevation, Azau (). A cable car service is available from Azau to the normal starting location for the Elbrus climb, known as Barrels Hut or Garabashi Station (). The next destination – the Diesel Hut at – is located south from the Barrels