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
Elbrus climbing routes Elbrus climbing routes There exist a number of climbing routes used to reach the summit of the Mount Elbrus. The "Normal Route" is the easiest, safest and fastest on account of the cable car and chairlift system which operates from about 9am till 3pm. Starting for the summit at about 2am from the Diesel Hut should allow just enough time to get back down to the chairlift if movement is efficient. In bad weather the chairlift section may be closed, also note the chairlift ride is 15-minutes long and can be very cold. The majority of groups take the cable