The descent of Elbrus takes about 3-6 hours. While returning from the Elbrus summit, the most common mistake that climbers make and that often proves fatal is heading low and down too early after their half-traverse below the saddle, especially under conditions of low visibility in stormy weather. On descent after the saddle, instead of going down the slope too early, one should stay high up on the slopes of the east peak, otherwise the route will become very steep and feature dangerous crevasses and falls.