West Caucasus

"...It is the sort of place where thoughtless atheism is easily undermined by a doubt that all this could be made just by Nature playing dice - so creatively measured and balanced are all the ele-ments of that beauty. Hardly any other part of the Caucasus can boast so gracefully shaped granite pyramids and towers with small, lace-like glaciers hanging over green, lavishly wooded valleys, crystal clear streams and more than a hundred small lakes, enlivening scree cirques with the reflected sky and snow."

"Trekking in the Caucasus"

The fax from Amsterdam was long and exciting. A guy from KNAV (Royal Dutch Alpine Club) was asking if I could guide their group on a 13 days' trek over six passes from the West Caucasus to Elbrus. He had used my book to make up the route. Surprisingly, the draft of a long trek in unfamiliar mountains in a foreign country, made by this tenant of a barge-house in Amsterdam (and an experienced climber at that), was not bad at all, with only minor mis-takes. It goes without saying I said "yes". By then I was a bit tired of Terskol village, of shuttling up and down the overcrowded classic and the sugges-tion meant a good diversion. The comfortable side of it was it was going to be on the backpacking basis. I had only to guide, not to carry 30-35kg. Still, it was going to be a hard job with fairly tricky logistics to avoid heavy packs (we never had more than 16-18kg).

The trek was fantastic, we made it, the group was happy (even the bad weather on Elbrus we were going to climb, and could not, was not a big disappoint-ment), and the next year there came another team from KNAV.

So, a trek you are unlikely to find in any cata-logues. It takes 13 days, begins in the westernmost part of the mountaineering Caucasus (i.e. consid-ered to be alpine and high enough for interesting climbs and high level walks) and goes over six passes, via the mountain resort called Dombay, to the Baksan valley. It is divided into two stages: Arkhyz village - Dombay (a fairly civilised mountain resort), 5 days, and Dombay - Terskol (the village at the foot of Elbrus), 7 days with a rest day in Dombay. The route goes east, along the Main Range, across seven valleys, totally unpopulated except border guards and shepherds, yet there are reasonably good paths all the way. The scenery is rich and varied: from the softer, greener western part to the high, stark, grassy plateaux of Elbrus' northern side. Syltran lake, the largest in the Central Caucasus, is passed, we camp on its shore.

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrival in Moscow. Accommodation in private flats or in a tourist class hotel.

2. We fly ( in "Ilyushin 86") to Mineralny Vody (2hr), go in a bus to the town of Cherkessk, from where the guide posts to Dombay the food for the second stage, and further to Arkhyz, a rural vil-lage in the Arkhyz valley (1600m). (4-5hr). Depending on the time of arrival we either camp or stay overnight in cottages of some tourist base.

3. We leave the village, walk on a forest road, find the path leading to the first pass, Ozerny (2500m) and follow it to the grassy plateau under the saddle. 6-7hr. Camp at 2300m.

4. In the morning we walk for about 1,5hr to the saddle (fine views back to west), descend to the next valley, Marukh, and walk up along the river on the rough road to the border guards post. 6-7hr. Camp at 2400m.

5. Follow the same path, cross the river by a bridge and walk to the head of the valley. The spectacular black sheer walls of Marukhbashi (3780m) are in the south. We take the steeper path going left to the Khalega pass (3000m), cross it and go down into the Aksaut valley, where camp on a meadow in the forest (2200m). 7-8hr.

6. Walk down on the path for half an hour, find the bridge and walk on a rough road of the right bank up to the border guards post. The two graceful dark pyramids of Karakaya (3890m) and Aksaut (3910m) peaks are one of the best views in the West Caucasus. From the post we take the road zigzagging up to the left, follow it for about two hours, gaining height fast, change for a path, almost level, and come to a campsite under the third pass, Alibek (3165m). Camp on a meadow at 2600m.

7. Follow the path to the upper scree cirque, cross a minor snow field and come to the rocky saddle. The descent is a steepish (25-30*) small scree, levelling out soon. There follows a path winding among boulders and rhododendrons. We come to a forest road and walk down for about an hour to come to the spacious, richly wooded Dombay Glade in the amphitheatre of shapely granite peaks. Overnight in a tourist class hotel (double rooms with private facilities).

8. Rest day.

9. Early in the morning we take a bus, drive for 2 hr to the village of Khurzuk, further east along the Main Range, and try to get to as high as possible on the very rough road in the wooded Ullukhur-zuk valley, leading to the next pass, Balkbashi (3690m). Then we walk (5-6hr) on the road to the high campsite (2900m) under the pass. The huge ice-and-rock mass of Elbrus closes the head of the valley. Camp.

10. Probably a longish day. In 3-4hr we come to the saddle. The vast glaciers of the northern slopes of Elbrus open up. We go down, cross the bare, flat Ulluchiran glacier and camp in the cosy "pocket" behind its right bank moraine. 8-9hr. Camp at 2900m.

11. An easy day without gaining and losing much height and taking in the outstanding scenery of the northern face of Elbrus. A minor stream is crossed by stepping-stones or waded. Camp at 2900m in a small cirque. 4-5hr.

12. Crossing the ancient overgrown volcanic mo-raines we walk leisurely to the next campsite under the vast Djikaugenkez ice field. Another shallow stream is waded. 4-5hr. Camp at 3100m.

13. Today we cross the ice field as flat as a ta-ble, without crevasses (the towering white cones of Elbrus are to our right), and climb to the high saddle of the next pass, Djikaugenkez (3520m). It is the only one, out of the six, graded "2" (the Russian grading system for passes has 6 grades). The ascent slope is exactly the same as the de-scending one of the Alibek pass: a steepish (25-30*) small scree (100-120m) . Taken in ascent it presents even less difficulty. From the saddle we walk down, in 20 min get to a tractor road (made by geologists), come to the deserted mine with a lot of rusty iron, follow the road in the treeless Kyrtyk valley, come to the mouth of the river leading to the next pass and camp on the grass at about 2600m.

14. In 4-5hr the path brings us to the Syltran pass (3250m), a very good vantage point. The high peaks of the Main Range are seen from the saddle. De-scent to the lake takes an hour. Camp on the shore at 3000m.

15. Descent to the metalled road in the Baksan val-ley takes about 4hr. The lower part, where the path goes in the tall pine forest across steep slopes, is exceptionally scenic. Down in Verkhny Baksan village we take a bus and go to our hotel higher up in the valley (tourist class, double rooms with facilities).

16. Bus drive to Mineralny Vody Airport (4hr) and fly to Moscow. Private flat accommodation or hotel.

17. Sightseeing day. The Kremlin, Red Square, Novodevishy Convent etc.. Lunch in the city, party in the evening.

18. Flight home from Sheremetyevo Airport.