Mount Ushba: The Irresistible Climb

Andranik Miribyan was stranded high up on Mt. Ushba, a peak in the Caucasus Mountains of Northern Georgia. Perched precariously on a ledge 150 meters below the summit, he had dug a small flat space, no more than 50 cm wide, on which to sleep. His tent poles were wedged in the snow above him, acting as lighting rods to protect him from the electric storm, and he was wrapped in his sleeping bag and tent to keep out the frostbite.