Ascent of Trekking Club team to Kazbek peak 5033m

At the end of the season-2019, my team and I realized an old dream - we made a trip to Georgia: the main goal was to climb Kazbek peak from the south. But we also left a couple of weeks for subsequent trips around the country :)

The period chosen for the climb was not the best one (end of October - beginning of November). Usually at this time, winter processes already begin on the mountain, and the shelter on the moraine of the glacier, from where all ascents are made, does not work. But we were lucky with the weather and infrastructure.

On October 23, we arrived in the village of Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), where we stayed in a cozy guest house. We prepared equipment and food, booked places by phone at the Bethlemi Hut (former weather station) at an altitude of 3653m, and hired a horse to carry our loads onto the glacier.

On the 24th, the owner of the guest house gave us a lift to the Gergeti Monastery (2200m), from where the trail begins - the approach to the summit. Here we handed over our loads to the horse driver, and moved towards the shelter with small backpacks. In the backpacks we had the necessary things, a snack, tea, a first aid kit, high-altitude boots for the case of bad weather and deep snow.

The trail is very comfortable: first it goes to the Sabertse pass, and then, traversing the slope, it comes to the Gergeti glacier. After 5 hours of smooth trekking, we reached the shelter (a large concrete building with living rooms and a wardroom).

On the 25th we decided to walk up the moraine, explore the route and acclimatize a bit. However, didn't reached the glacier itself: due to rockfalls we decided not to risk before the ascent. But after lunch, we walked to a small monastery above the shelter - it is an interesting spherical metal building on stretch marks.

On October 26th, having left at 5:30 in the morning from the shelter, we reached the summit at 11:30. The condition of the trail along the route was excellent. Only on the summit dome the snow on the track was blown out and looked partially like naked ice, so we walked roped. We went down to the base camp by three o'clock in the afternoon - there a festive dinner was waiting for us, followed by collecting things and going down.

Author - Asya Burambayeva