Three-thousander France, Austria, and Italy have many hundreds of Alpine peaks over 3,000 metres. Germany's Zugspitze, at , just falls below the line, whilst Slovenia's Triglav is well under it. Liechtenstein, despite being the only country lying entirely within the Alps, has no 3,000ers on its territory. Apart from the Alps, the dominant range in Europe – if one excludes the Caucasus, which otherwise, in Mount Elbrus (5,642 m), would have the highest mountain in the continent – only the following ranges have three-thousanders: Musala at 2,925 m, the highest mountain in southern Europe (i.e. excluding the Iberian Peninsula), does not
Mount Elbrus 100 people to be attempting the summit via this route each day. Winter ascents are rare, and are usually undertaken only by very experienced climbers. Elbrus is notorious for its brutal winter weather, and summit attempts are few and far between. The climb is not technically difficult, but it is physically arduous because of the elevations and the frequent strong winds. The average annual death toll on Elbrus is 15–30, primarily due to "many unorganized and poorly equipped" attempts to summit the mountain. Since 1986, Elbrus has been incorporated into Prielbrusye National Park, one of the Protected areas of Russia.