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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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42.67587°N / 44.51368°E |
Route Type:
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Basic Snow/Glacier Climb |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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Mostly walk up |
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Approach
From Tbilisi by car or regular bus to Kazbegi village (150 km). There is one not bad hotel in this village and many possibilities for renting a room. Other way is to camp somewhere near the old monastery (1,5-2 hours from the village). The place is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
From the monastery a long day walking by a clearly visible trek to the former meteostation which now works as mountain hut. The place is relatively comfortable and cheap.
Route Description
From Meteostation hut walk up by the glacier moraine to the upper flat glacier plateau. Early start is highly recommended. A lot of crevices closed by snow - it is necessary to go roped.
On the Plateau turn to the right and walk up to the Second step of the Glacier.
Then there are two variants of the route. First one is to turn to the right again and climb the West (Lower) Summit of Kazbek directly up and then descent to the Saddle.
The other is to turn around the West Summit and climb the Saddle from the North. The second variant is more convenient for descent because it does not require climbing the West Summit again.
From the Saddle walk up directly to the Main Summit of Kazbek, by the narrow not steep snow/ice coulior (100 m., 40 deg.), from which you get to the snow summit dome. Fifty meters more snow walking and you are here, right on the Summit.
Normally, weather changes after sunrise and to the midday it can be quite bothering. Keep you GPS ready for use. To get lost on the glacier on the descent means quite serious trouble.
Average time of climbing this route is 6-8 hours depending on you physical condition and the weather.
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Essential Gear
Crampons, rope, two-three ice screws, ice axes, ski poles.
Miscellaneous Info
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