I have long wanted to go to the mountains. Friends advised me to begin with the Elbrus (5600 m). This year I finally found the time for it, but before I considered all the pros and cons and got myself fixed up it was August. I started calling Minsk tourist clubs looking for groups and it turned out that all those who wanted to climb the Elbrus already did it in June and July – in August it is cold, snowy and windy, so no one is willing to ascend it. There was another factor which was very important. The Caucasus region is now a very troubled place with constant counter-terrorist operations, that is why a visit would require going through numerous formalities and would be simply dangerous. Then I thought of the Mont Blanc (4810 m) which, according to reviews, had nearly the same complexity and height. As it turned out, not quite the same.