Svanetia report. Trekking in Svaneti - report

Unfortunately, there is very little information about May trips to Georgia, and the vast majority of them are from cyclists. We went, now I understand why - it’s just that no one goes there in May, it’s just the off-season - and there is still a lot of snow, and it’s already bad, and it’s constantly raining, in general, we need to prepare for hardships and hardships, and not for sunny Svaneti. Although more experienced comrades warned me about sleet, rain and off-season, I estimated the scale completely wrong.

To prepare for the trip, we managed to find one story about the May campaign in Georgia (Prikazbeche) -https://www.risk.ru/blog/202027

Also used Mikhail Golubev's reporthttp://mountain.ru/article/article_display1.php?article_id=6876 (and a more artistic version of it:https://www.risk.ru/blog/203143 ) and consulted with experienced colleagues =)
Thank you Sergey Morenko!

Day 1 (April 29). Mestia and Chvabiani

Work - taxi - airport - Kutaisi. Oh, those wonderful times when there were direct flights from Kharkov to Georgia!

Three of us flew from Kharkov - me and a couple of colleagues (Galya and Andrey), and in Kutaisi our Kiev friends (another Andrey and Nikita) who had arrived a few hours earlier and our wonderful driver Georgy, who refueled with a couple of redbulls before a long night road, were already waiting for us.

As the most motion sick person, I sat in the front seat, although it didn’t work out the first time - the car turned out to be right-hand drive. We left the airport around 2 am local time. We reached Zugdidi in an hour and a half, late at night, when the city was watching its most vivid dreams with the lights turned off. And around 4 am, with the guys in the back seats snoring, they were already driving along the serpentine to Mestia. I remember the amazingly starry, already real mountain sky at one of the turns and the echoing tunnels with a ringing drop familiar from the last trip. Dawn found us not far from Mestia, illuminating the alluring snow-covered ridges.

We were in Mestia somewhere between 6 and 7 in the morning, and the Georgians, sleeping sweetly at that time, left no chance to eat hot khachapuri, khinkali and other chinandali.

The situation was corrected by the traditionally incorrectly chosen direction at the start, because of which we walked along the Mestiachala River to the Mestiachal airport, where I suspected something was wrong - 4 years ago we walked past it to the Lekhzyr cross and the Chalaat glacier, and still looked at the GPS. We also had breakfast on the river bank, weighed and repacked our backpacks and moved back to the center of the village. By the time we returned, the first khachapurno-khinkal establishments had just opened, they sold us delicious and very salty khachapur, hot tea and energy to go further in exchange for an hour and a half and a little lari.

View of Mestia from the airport

So it turned out that actually we went on the route around 11 am. Moreover, if I looked at the GPS while still in the car - a significant part of the road could be driven - there is an excellent concrete road from Mestia. But maybe it's for the best - it was a great acclimatization day, with a very slow and low climb, a good road, still quite heavy backpacks and great views.

Ushba from the concrete road

I was surprised that Ushba is perfectly visible from the concrete road along the Mulkhura River (or Maklkra, the maps did not agree among themselves). It seems that last time there was such a fog that nothing could be seen further than the neighbor.

Group on a concrete road

By 4 p.m. we reached the village of Chvabiani. On one side of the road there is a huge pasture, on the other - a few houses. We asked the owner of the last house where we could stay - he offered his yard without hesitation for some 10 GEL per person. We decided to look around first, we are tourists, it seems not good to start a hike from a paid parking lot. We walked through the pasture - it blows mercilessly there, at the far end - a cliff, below a river dirty after the rains. And it also blows. And in general, 10 GEL is not such a big amount. And so we returned to the last home :)

The next question for that evening was what to do next. It was obvious that it was not the month of May. Well, that is, according to the calendar May, but according to the sensations - the end of February or the beginning of March, and it is not clear in what condition the trail is. So we decided to walk a little further and have a look. We walked along the path that crosses the nearest ridge and descends to Adishi (our goal for the next couple of days). Up to about 1500-1600 m you can walk relatively normally, although there are patches of wet snow. From 1700, large snowfields of very wet snow begin, into which you fall, like into a feather bed. In a wet, cold feather bed. And in the areas where the trail goes along the ravine - the ravine is clogged to the top with wet snow. Plus, sunny Svaneti justifies its name from the first hours and drizzles us with rain. In short, it is possible to pass, but it is long, painful and unsafe. During these couple of hours I fell 5 times, got wet, got dirty and was very imbued with the difference between the season and the off-season in the mountains.

Views from the trail Chvabiani - Adishi

But at home in the camp, very hot and very cheesy soup, seagulls, a soft warm sleeping bag and other amenities were already waiting for us.

According to the results of evening reconnaissance, the only way available to us to get to Adishi was the road. Therefore, in the morning we boiled tea for all thermoses (the position of the honorary boiler was held by Galya by a wide margin during the entire trip), cut as much as possible with vegetable gardens and went almost to the top of the serpentine. This serpentine has advanced 5 kilometers uphill in 4 years (Google measured all 6 km there), and continues to be built very actively. In general, such active development is very pleasing in Georgia, it is pleasant to come to the country in a few years and observe how the infrastructure is developing.

Concrete road near the pass towards Adishi

View from the pass

Under the constant light rain (sunny Svaneti once again lives up to its name), we went to the Ushguli pass, ate a pass chocolate bar and moved down. In general, the pass here is very conditional, the entire ascent is on a concrete road with Kamaz trucks, the descent is on a good primer. Further, all the roads are only unpaved, but relatively passable, at the end of spring they are cleaned with a bulldozer from winter landslides (we just caught this time), and an ordinary gazelle moves along them quite normally. We managed to cut several turns of the serpentine along a path that turned up well, the sun just came out, around the flowers, green grass - sweetness and pleasantness, you can feel the spring right. We went to the confluence of Adishchala and Enguri, and I almost took the guys up along the Enguri. It's good that after the first tentative fail on a hike, I begin to check the map and GPS more often. Then we courageously trampled about 10 km along the road along Adishchala to Adishi. The ascent is rather boring, brightened up only by a beautiful river and sometimes rocky outcrops. On this day, I really wanted to reach the place of the ford, where most of the groups cross Adishchala and go to the beginning of the ascent to the lane. Chkhunderi. We reached the village in about 3 hours, with breaks to fumble around in backpacks and anoint ourselves with sunscreen (it was washed off by rain and had to be smeared often).

Road near the Adishchala River (near the confluence with the Enguri)

The village turned out to be quite small, many houses were abandoned, there were traditional cowsheds in the yards. Despite this, there are signs of guesthouses on two houses. In the village a hefty alabai followed us, very downtrodden and intimidated, and we spent almost an hour to drive him away. As a result, water and fire worked, they spent almost a cylinder of gas, poured out a couple of bottles of water, but the dog still returned to the village. In general, animals in the villages are treated quite well, it was the only dog ​​in such a terrible state that we came across, and the psychological state of the animal was especially terrible - obviously they only communicate with it with a scream and a stick. Now I think that maybe it was not worth making so much effort to drive him away - he would have left. On the other hand, we would have nothing to feed him, and we didn’t want to pick up extra lichen.

Path to the ford above Adishi

After all these adventures, it was already getting dark, but the first adequate parking spot came across at that very ford. The place is really great and I'm really glad we got there. Ahead there is a great view of the Lardaad glacier (or Laard, again the cards differ in the readings), you can drink tea and admire, in the best traditions of mountain hiking. The slope near the tents is southern, almost snowless, the river is nearby, but in a depression, and the ridge separating the Adishchalu and Inguri rivers is visible behind. It also became clear there that our chances of crossing were practically zero - the river was partially covered with a snow bridge of incomprehensible thickness, the size of the river itself under the bridge was also incomprehensible, the snow was wet and did not hold very well. The opposite slope, on which one would have to climb, is completely covered with snow, there are traces of avalanches in the couloirs. We decided to spend the night and look at it again in the morning.

Avalanche trail in front of the camp

Evening photos

Day 3 (May 1). A day at the glacier

In the morning it became obvious that our original plans with the given composition of the group and equipment were completely unrealistic and we had to admit our complete unpreparedness for these conditions. Having spread the maps, it was decided that in the remaining days it would be quite possible to walk through the nearby valleys and see almost everything that was planned, but from a different angle. The current day was made a day for the sake of borscht and the desire to take a closer look at the glacier.

After breakfast we set out to the glacier. Almost immediately we went along the orographically right side of the valley - we did not want to climb into the snowy mud near the river. Because of this, we were separated from the tongue of the glacier by a pocket of moraine, along which a stream flowed. Actually, therefore, it was not possible to approach the glacier itself - the pocket of the moraine is clogged with snow, the moraine itself is very free-flowing and also in snow up to the waist or more. The comb is narrow, loose, uncomfortable. Galya and Andrey decided to try to walk along the ridge, they promised to return in 30-40 minutes. The rest just climbed higher up the slope, to admire the glacier from the side. After 2 hours, when I found all the phones of the rescuers, thought over the organization of transportation and first aid, communication with the insurance company and other nuances - the gulens appeared on the same crest. They took pictures there. Well, at least while we were waiting for them there was no heavy rain, and sometimes the sun even showed up.

View to the left of the place where we expected the guys. Visible Laard Glacier (Lardaad) and right-bank moraine

View to the right from the same spot

The rest of the day we took pictures, admired the landscapes, cooked borscht and shivered from the cold (I). The severity and beauty of the May Caucasus are simply off scale. You sit on one and a half thousand, and the views around - as if there are all four. Ice, snow, glaciers and torrents, avalanches and rocky slopes. At sunset, the snow-covered opposite slope was flooded with viscous, like pink syrup, sun rays, painted in warm caramel shades, as if it were not May at all, but real summer and warmth. It looked great with hot borscht and even hotter tea!

More evening photos

Day 4 (May 2). Ushguli.

We got up early, there was a big transition ahead - it was planned to return to the confluence of Adishchala and Enguri and walk along the Enguri to the village of Khalde, thus rounding the ridge and getting into the desired valley in a roundabout way. Near Adishi we met two Poles with snowshoes. It turned out that they had already been here a couple of days ago and also realized that they couldn’t get through with their feet, so they returned to Mestia and rented snowshoes for the next attempt.

Well, we, like smart climbers, decided to go around the mountain.

In Adishi, a familiar alabai was waiting for us, it’s good that this time the owner was nearby and held him so that he would not follow us. Accompanied by variable sun-rain, we cheerfully (as far as possible with breaks for poking around) went down to the confluence, and we were just about to sit down to rest and gather our thoughts, when a gazelle stopped near us. The driver said “Ushguli?” - “Ushguli!” we answered and for a hundred lari we saved the day of the transition, having reached the center of the village in an hour (and stomping there is 25 km, and all with a decent climb, although the views are very good).

Ushguli

Thus, we had a spare day, which it was decided to spend in the Enguri valley.

By the time we arrived, the constant Svaneti rain was in full swing, making it a hundred times more difficult to overcome the khachapur-tea obstacles in the village. Only the steel will and the hysteria of the leader saved us from spending the night in the guesthouse and the soul.

We had lunch on a hillock near the church, on which a crossed-out woman in pants is drawn. There was a proposal to remove them and still go to the church, but something told me that the logic of programmers and monks in this matter might not converge. So the men went for water.

For an overnight stay, we tried to simply find a flat place as far as possible from the village. The road goes along the Enguri, either clinging to the riverbed, or moving away from it. Probably in the summer the climb here is easy and boring. Now the road is blocked by large snowfields, often snow bridges, with paths trodden by cows. True, not everything that is good for a cow is good for a tourist. It was quite normal for cows to walk in the snow, then wade along the river and further through the swamp. Well, think about it, the hooves will get dirty. And we didn't want to go there.

The only suitable place for spending the night turned out to be pebbly shoals in a place where the river is divided into several branches. Everything above was in the snow and not very even. We chose a relatively flat area higher from the water and settled there. Galya and Andrei found an old bonfire on the sidelines and burned something all evening, the rest, like lazy and not wanting to waste their time, sat near the burner.

Unfortunately, the glacier was not visible from this place of overnight stay, only slopes gently curving towards Shkhara and the Karetta pass.

View from the accommodation

Day 5 (May 3). Lazy day (I have a lazy one)

The solar-Svaneti shower poured all night, by 10 o’clock it subsided a little and we crawled out under the tent. Part of the group went to Ushguli for khachapuri and soda, the rest lay under an awning, played board games and cooked porridge. Wet groups of tourists wandered past in the incessant rain towards the Shkhara glacier, all without backpacks. On the way back, they invariably wandered into the winding paths of the cows and found themselves on the shallows between two large branches of the Enguri, from where they then wade out or walked back to the place where the sleeves become smaller. We have already begun to place bets on which of the groups will realize when they are lost and help them as much as possible. There were surprisingly many non-Russian speaking groups. We helped one of them cross the river and started talking. It turned out that it was the French, and on my “Mont Blanc… Matterhorn… of course” they said that there are a lot of people and everything is too habitable, but here is real wildlife. They offered us cheese for their help. I imagined a dorblu with parmesan and enthusiastically agreed. We were given a piece of terribly salty Georgian cheese and went to the guesthouse to enjoy the wild nature.

Comrades, inspired by the khachapur tour, rested and ran to the glacier, promising to return in an hour and a half. They returned two later, already in the dark, they said that everything was beautiful there and we had to go. But we had a great rest day with all-inclusive in the form of rain and porridge with sprats.

In the evening we even saw the stars. Not for long, but what's the difference, the stars in Svaneti are rare guests.

Day 6 (May 4). Shkhara and Kaal community

Early in the morning we, inspired by the stories of the guys, moved to Shkhara. The trail all the time goes along the orographically right bank of the river, gradually deepening into crooked forests and covered with snow. Making our way along other people's tracks, and when they ended - over stones or snow, we got out to the moraine of Shkhara and along it came to the very edge of the tongue of the glacier, we even managed to scratch it with the toe of our boot. The glacier is very strongly melted, only a small cracked piece is visible. To the left (orographically) the path to Namkuami Lake is clearly visible, but everything is covered with a thick layer of snow and it is obvious that even if we get to the lake, we still won’t see water. It rained heavily from the surrounding slopes, so we didn’t linger much. Back in their tracks, they quickly ran down, and, remembering the sad experience of yesterday's groups, clung to the left edge of the valley and bypassed the confusion of the Enguri branches. The entire radial took about 3 hours.

On the way to the Shkhara glacier

Shkhara Glacier

We ate in the camp, quickly threw everything into backpacks until it got very wet (the rain never stopped) and moved to Ushguli. Taxi drivers hid from the rain, but for a hundred lari, of course, they agreed to give us a lift. Moreover, the car was brought by a very, very young guy, whom Andrei from Kiev looked at with great apprehension. It turned out that he believes that you can only drive with older drivers - since the driver was able to live to a ripe old age on these roads and with their driving style - this is definitely a very experienced and accurate person.

Fortunately, an experienced Svan, whom Andrey considered trustworthy, drove us to the place. He dropped us off in a cozy clearing in the Kaal community, near the turn to the Zaresho-Khalde glacier, showed us the spring and wished us a good evening. It was the warmest and greenest night on the hike, with a toad in a spring and a fire.

Day 7 (May 5). Zaresho Khalde

In the morning we called George, explained where we needed to be picked up (thanks to the kindest family from the roadside guesthouse for allowing us to use their phone) and ran upstairs to the Zaresho-Khalde glacier - the third one that we should have seen on the route. Housing is only near the road, above only a few pens for cows. The road is obviously little used and it is gradually being destroyed. We passed several abandoned houses - it seems that there used to be a village here. And in the community itself, there are many abandoned houses near the road. Along the way, we walked around and climbed several snowfields of different sizes, went to look at the geyser on the slope (which, as expected, turned out to be a damaged water pipe), admired the waterfalls on the steep slopes of the river, waited out the rain and at the same time had lunch under an awning and found a group of abandoned shepherd's houses. It was decided that these houses were good and that we should spend the night in them. Our trinity threw things into the house that seemed to be the cleanest and ran away to look at the glacier, while Galya and Andrey remained to equip life in the warmest house (with a stove).

On the way to the Zaresho-Khalde glacier

On the way to the glacier, I diligently avoided all wet or steep places, and in the end we climbed very high up the slope, winding on the cow trails, and came to the glacier well above its tongue. The descent was very steep, it was wet and snowy below, a stormy river flowed from under the tongue of the glacier, and the glacier itself, in the best Svanetian (or Svanetian?) traditions, was covered with dense clouds. But such a wild, harsh and deserted beauty met us only here. Sitting in ringing silence, hearing only the muffled sound of the river below and the rustle of the wind somewhere above - this is exactly what is so lacking in the usual daily bustle.

View towards the shepherd's houses

View towards the glacier

We returned to our houses at dusk. The guys already had complete comfort - a melted stove, a cleaned house, warmth and food. We set up the middle of the tent in the neighboring house, closed the door with an awning so that it would not blow and also felt great.

Day 8 and 9 (May 6 and 7) transfer to Batumi and a day in Batumi.

The morning started with an epic fail. The alarm clock set in the evening worked, of course, but according to Ukrainian time, which is an hour less than Georgian time. As a result, the hour planned for a walk to the Chkhunderi pass, we slept peacefully. We decided to run to the pass, ran up in the most direct and shortest way, and as always it turned out that this is the place from where we can see the place where we need to. The pass take-off and the circus in front of it were covered with a thick layer of our favorite wet snow, time was running out, so we did not go to the pass itself. But on the snow we saw traces of snowshoes, apparently the Poles we met successfully crossed to this side.

View from the place of spending the night in the shepherd's houses

The house where we spent the night

We had a quick breakfast downstairs, admiring the view of the Main Caucasian Range (perhaps for the first time in a week we saw it without fog), threw our things into our backpacks and ran to the road. We went down as expected quickly, the weather on the last day decided to please us with the sun, the road was familiar and pleasant, and below the end of the active part of the hike beckoned.

George has been waiting for our appearance for a couple of hours, clutching his head and saying “Poor car!” told how he drove 10 km on a terrible dirt road, loaded us and backpacks and our move to Batumi began.

Just those same 10 km on the dirt road were the calmest, here you can’t accelerate more than 20 km / h. In Mestia, we stopped at a new museum of the history of the region, looked at old coins and equipment, basked in the sun and drove on. This move was probably the most extreme part of the whole trip. I am sure that overtaking on an oncoming lane at a speed of 150 km / h in a right-hand drive car is much more extreme than spending the night in the mountains in the rain and snow.

Unfortunately, we did not find the reservoir on the Enguri in its most beautiful form. The water was let down, the rest was muddy and completely unlike the sky-blue sea that we found on our last visit.

We arrived in Batumi quite late, around 10 pm. We settled in an apartment that Georgy found for us (it seems that we could find it much cheaper ourselves, but we had neither the desire nor the opportunity, and we did not book anything in advance). The main thing is that there was hot water and a working washing machine. Clean and beautiful, we went for a walk around the city and looked for something to eat. But alas, in May Batumi, either very expensive and very pretentious restaurants work at night, or nothing. With great difficulty we found a more or less acceptable cafe, had dinner, walked around the city and went to sleep.

The next morning, Galya and Andrey ran away to the market at some very early hour, and we slowly and sadly resurrected, drank coffee and wandered off to get acquainted with the city. I don’t like resort towns at all, and resort towns in May in the rain are a very sad sight. The cable car ride and the huge, long and well-groomed embankment brightened up the impressions.

Embankment in Batumi

A life hack for those who want to eat in a real Georgian cafe with the most authentic cuisine: you have to go in the direction opposite to the sea until people start stopping you and asking what you are looking for. Then they need to be asked where they go to eat if they don’t cook at home. Most will say that such cases do not happen, but still they will advise something. So we ended up in “Tavaduri” at the intersection of Pushkin and Lermontov streets (I don’t know if the same names will remain there). There is more than enough color there - food to choose from is fatty, salty, cilantro or all at once; Russian is poorly understood, and English is even worse, but it was cheap, plentiful and extremely tasty. So we went there for dinner.

Day 9 and 10 (May 8 and 9) Batumi Botanical Garden and Kutaisi

In the morning, with all the backpacks, we went to the botanical garden. They didn’t get into the minibus, they rarely go, so they allowed the taxi drivers to drag them to their lair and take them to the park.

Batumi Botanical Garden is a beautiful, huge park, with many landscape areas, themed gardens, beautiful views of the sea and Batumi, quiet and peaceful, with an excellent large beach. We walked there all day and walked around a third at best. In the botanical garden you can stay with a tent for the night, it costs 15 GEL. Not much cheaper than a hostel (or not cheaper at all), but the opportunity to take a longer walk in the garden, sit by the quiet sea without a noisy city behind you more than pays for the price of an overnight stay. In addition, in the morning, an electric train goes to Kutaisi directly from the botanical garden.

Bamboo grove in the botanical garden

observation deck

Japanese garden

The security and other employees of the botanical garden, like all the Georgians we met, were very friendly and sympathetic - they looked after our backpacks all day, suggested where everything was and other little things. And when we tried to buy wine from them in the evening, they refused to sell it, only to treat it. True, they clearly have more experience in treating than we do, we gave up quickly and ingloriously, and in the morning one of the participants said, “God forbid you ever hear this alaverdi again!”

Therefore, the next hike is planned with the departure from the mountains immediately to the airport =)

In the morning we loaded ourselves into an electric train to Kutaisi. There is an electronic ticket seller. You throw a coin of 2 lari at him - he issues a ticket. Then the conductor came and said that the ticket costs 1 lari, and it was necessary to press something so that the ticket came out after the first lari. He said that it was written there on the screen. Surely it was, but in Georgian!

After 4 hours, we unloaded already in Kutaisi, having a little rest after Alaverda. The guard of the railway station was imbued with the situation and agreed to keep our backpacks until the evening for a moderate fee.

Kutaisi is nice and familiar: the Bagrati temple with the Borjomi mountains on the horizon, figs on the streets, unfortunately still green, Rioni, stormy and muddy, completely unlike the clear mountain river that I saw 4 years ago. The locals said that this reservoir is being drained somewhere, but usually the river is still clean.

Rioni

We went around the whole city a couple of times in a circle, found a small local botanical garden, the entrance to which is 20 times more expensive for visitors than for locals, admired the views from the old churches, drank coffee in different places and left for the airport, back to Kharkov working days.

Beautiful Svaneti, or Caucasian adventures!

Only mountains can be better than mountains,
Which have not yet been.

The Caucasus was my old dream, but it seemed so far away, unattainable and quite difficult to climb. Tourist club Route helped dispel all my fears and doubts, and organized an excellent conference.
We were preparing for the hike. The Caucasus is not light Crimea or the Carpathians. You need to prepare for it both mentally and physically. A few weeks before the trip, the instructor sent us all the introductory information and recommendations for physical preparation, thanks to which our trip went perfectly and without incident.
So, a plane ticket to Tbilisi is bought, a backpack is packed, legs are pumped up - you can go hiking. Our group met at the airport in Kyiv, we distributed our camp equipment and set off for Georgia.

In the capital of Georgia, more guys joined us, and together we headed towards Svaneti. Arriving by train from Tbilisi to the town of Zugdidi, we needed to get to the mountain village of Mestia by rented transport, from where our hike was supposed to begin.
Our driver was a resident of Svaneti Soso. Acquaintance with him added additional flavor and fun to the trip. He told us about Georgia, all together we listened and sang Georgian songs. That was great!

On the way from Zugdidi to Mestia, Soso gave us a short tour of the local hydroelectric power station. Its power and size impressed everyone.

Having reached Mestia by a beautiful mountain road, we had a rest from the move, walked around the city, visited the museum and felt real Georgian hospitality. Georgian cuisine and wine are real masterpieces. They will not leave anyone indifferent, and it is necessary to try them with local residents.

After sleeping and leaving some unnecessary things, early in the morning we went to the mountains. Gorgeous mountain landscapes, mineral rivers, climbing to a height of more than 3,000 meters, fording, gatherings by the fire, a sea of ​​​​impressions and vivid emotions awaited us.

Separately, I want to note our trips to the glaciers. It is simply impossible to convey in words the feelings that their power and fabulous appearance caused. This must be seen in person. Next to such peaks comes an understanding of how insignificant and small everything is. Office work and everyday life suck us in so much that we stop feeling the feeling of freedom, lightness and beauty. Mountains help to throw off all the burden of worries and completely dissolve in nature.

Having descended from the mountains and taking some of the things left earlier, we went to the sea, to sunny Batumi. The sea has become a great relaxation after the mountains. We bathed, rested, rode the cable car, saw all the sights of modern Batumi and went back to Tbilisi.

In recent years, hiking in Svaneti has become extremely popular. It seems that everyone has already come here to see the Caucasus and Georgia. At the same time, while preparing for the trip, we could not find a detailed and complete description of it, points with water, places to spend the night, etc.

Having overcome 100 kilometers of fascinating panoramas, we learned everything that is needed for the successful passage of this route. Here we will provide information for those who want to go on an independent hike in Svaneti. After all, it is not difficult at all, and excellent markings are drawn along the entire trail as a bonus.

In this article, we tried to pay attention to useful information, and our impressions can be read in the text, which was written directly from the mountains.

Mestia - Zhabeshi

Although the route actually starts from Mestia, the markings were already found behind the settlement, having traveled a kilometer. In Mestia, we stayed at the "Manoni" guesthouse - it's very close from there. You can navigate to this guesthouse, there are maps.

By the way, about how to get to Mestia itself, it is written

From "Manoni" you need to keep heading for the airport. We walked for about 10 minutes and found a lapel near the police station - there we turned right. At the first major turn to the left, we turned again. The road quickly turned into dirt. Here we met the first mark in this campaign and, soon, the first column with pointers.

Near the start the route is well marked. In some places, the marks are lost, but, due to the limited choice of directions, it is difficult to get lost. Before a sharp rise there is a column with pointers. It's hard to see him. Look closely to the right hand up.

Passing through the bushes, we climbed out onto a wide trodden path. A little more and we reached the first pass. From here you have a magnificent view of the Svan settlement and mountains. It is convenient to make a halt here. We were lucky to see how everything is buried in clouds.

After the pass, the quality of the road deteriorated significantly. The rain aggravated the situation, and we had to move through liquid viscous mud. Places - exactly for one person, there are a lot of tourists and a certain queue is formed. In general, not the coolest part of the hike.

Along the way, we met a patch of pine, where they waited out a fierce rain. From here there is also a beautiful panorama of Svaneti. Landscapes are more rural than mountainous, but extremely pretty. Serenity is felt in every smooth bend of the relief.

On the track nearby there was a place for spending the night with water. Although it was only 3 o'clock in the afternoon, we were going to stop there because of the annoying rain.

Unfortunately, the stream dried up and the place was full of cows. These animals love to feast on the tents of unlucky tourists. I had to keep going. And the markers eventually descended from the hillock onto the concrete road. For some reason we decided to go straight, as it turned out, towards the village. It turned out to be funny, because the rest of the tourists went to the track, and we were finally able to enjoy a little wildness of the adventure.

Before the village, there was no normal trampling. We went straight through the fence. For unknown reasons, the marks were inside the village too. They took us to the same road, just a little further along the route. The village here is interesting, also with turrets, surprisingly not abandoned. Didn't regret dropping by.

When we got on the road, we realized: the river went down to the road with us. There was a flood. It seems that they didn’t think of directing the flow of water through the pipe, and it just crossed the highway. The cars didn't move, they floated. We, fortunately, were able to cross the river upstream and remained dry.

Almost immediately, the river must be crossed again. Here it is already more serious, and it just didn’t work out to put it on top of the concrete, so they built a normal bridge. Hooray!

After the bridge, the road goes up, and our route stretches along the riverbed. At first we were glad that we were leaving the roadway. As it turned out, I still had a chance to walk next to the cars, but up to my ears in shit. Dejected. The first passing car stopped. A blue-eyed Georgian (probably a Svan) offered to give us a lift, then offered chacha, then marijuana, then go to visit him. The four of us squeezed into the back seat and agreed to only the first offer.

So right away, at the very beginning of the campaign in Svaneti, we got acquainted with the hospitality of the Georgians (in fact, even earlier, on the way to Mestia). We are very lucky. If not for this nice man, we would have walked another 5 kilometers in the rain and without any pleasure. Here, perhaps, the most unpleasant section on the route.

They themselves did not understand how they ended up in Zhabeshi. There are guesthouses and shops. But the coolest thing is a huge pasture with cows and pigs. Animals are just darkness, and everywhere is juicy light green grass.

While driving in the car, the rain stopped and life finally improved. We climbed a hump outside the village and set up camp. Nearby flows the "iron" stream. The water here is incredibly tasty and carbonated. Nothing like this has ever been tried before.

When the clouds dispersed, they finally saw the mountains. Now it has become clear that these are not mountains like the Carpathians: rocky and harsh, from there it blows cool and even something mystical.

Zhabeshi — Adishi

From our overnight stay Ushba was visible. We were glad that the beauty of the Caucasus is somewhere nearby. But alas, the route immediately turned into a forest, along which we sadly climbed to the pass. It seemed that we were no longer in the Caucasus, but somewhere in the Carpathian village. We were accompanied by birches and horses - they are hired by tourists who are too lazy to walk and carry their bodies with backpacks.

Little by little we passed through the forest and came to a pass. What we saw was disappointing: it turns out that the trail led us to the ski lifts and the road. Markings are missing in this area. Experimentally, we found out that along the road you need to go a little up and turn right. Then you need to go a little along the dirt road, looking out for the path on the right hand. We were lucky to spot a marker on the trail.

The marking was resumed, and it was possible to continue safely towards Adishi. It took less than two hours to reach the village. There are many guesthouses that offer shelter and dinner. It’s a pity that they don’t offer dinner without shelter, and there doesn’t seem to be a shop in Adishi.

Therefore, we passed by the houses and began to cook our own food. There was almost no firewood, as the number of tourists clearly exceeds the number of trees. Used a torch. It’s definitely worth taking it on a trip to Svaneti.

By the way, we stopped for the night in the ruins of the house. The walls protected from the cows who wanted to chew on our tent in the morning.

Adishi - glacier - Chkhutnieri pass

Tourists near Adishi advised us to walk a little more to the river in the evening and stop on the shore. The fact is that the river flows out of the glacier, which freezes a little at night and melts during the day, from which the river significantly changes its depth and swiftness. It probably should have done so. But we never listen to anyone, which is why at noon we found ourselves on the banks of a wide cold stream.

When we read reports on the trip to Svaneti on the Internet, we thought that it would definitely not be a problem for us to cross to the other side. After all, tourists are often so gentle, not like us :) In fact, when they came closer, self-confidence diminished. It immediately became clear that it would be impossible to cross in any random place: the current is very strong, and the cold reduces the muscles.

After half an hour of searching, we found the point of bifurcation of the channel into wide and relatively small rivers. The transition took the same amount of time. I had to carry things separately, and then drag the girls. We crossed the river 5 times in total.

Svans offer transportation on horseback for 5 GEL per person. In principle, the service is relevant. But we did not regret our decision, as it turned out to be a fun adventure.

Although it was worth spending the night here and leaving early in the morning. You will find a good overnight place after crossing a small river, that is, between two channels. But it must be cold to sleep here, because the glacier is very close.

The glacier itself was seen in all its glory when we climbed a little to the Chkhutnieri pass. For the first time in my life we ​​met with such a huge accumulation of ice and snow. Impressive!

You can walk to the pass from the river in an hour and a half. The trail is sharp. Good views open from here, very quickly the glacier and the village remain far below.

You can stop for the night by descending from the pass. Directly below it are a couple of abandoned houses. We stopped at one of them. A stream flows nearby, but there is not enough firewood.

In the evening, we did not even suspect that there were huge rocky mountains on the horizon. Waking up and leaving the house, we were dumbfounded with delight!

Chkhutnieri Pass - Iprali - Ushguli

Iprali seems to have a couple of locals. They can spend the night and eat. But these people were not particularly hospitable towards us.

At the exit from Iprali there is a branch of the route to Mami. We were heading for Ushguli, and continued along the road. They walked along it for a whole day until they reached the goal. There was nothing interesting about that day. Those tourists who drive up by transport are right (the locals offer, they didn’t ask the price).

We liked Ushguli more than other villages. Svans really live here, the economy is large and well-groomed. People were just collecting hay for hundreds of cows running around. Everything is very colorful and cute.

You can spend the night in the guesthouse. Or you can, like us: cross the river (through the village) and set up camp on a small hill. A brook runs there, though the cows shit in it. To get normal water, you have to go upstream.

In the Ushguli community, you can spend a day or two with pleasure. Almost every house has a cafe with local dishes. People seemed to us positive, smiling. In addition to food, they offer to visit a small museum, to visit inside the tower. But the whole point is in the atmosphere: such a feeling in Ushguli, as if moved to the Middle Ages. The place is clearly worth a visit. This is one of the most-most in the campaign in Svaneti.

From here, private minibuses go to civilization. It is easy to negotiate with any driver and leave. And for lovers of wilder travels, there is a continuation of the route along the Svaneti ridge.

Hiking route: Mestia - Zhabeshi - Adishi - per. Chkhutnieri - Iprali - Ushguli
Number of nights: 3-5
Good places to stay overnight: above Zhabeshi, after Adishi, near the glacial river, abandoned houses after Chkhutnieri, above Ushguli
Water on route: above Zhabeshi (there are ordinary and iron streams), after the ski lifts, before and after Adishi, after Chkhutnieri and up to Ushguli a few

Trekking in Svaneti on Google Maps.

Finally, I came to Georgia at the invitation of my old friends, people like me (without towers, not from here, sunny and happy) people who are forever in love with the mountains and.

What can I say now, here in Adjara? Any mountain trip in Georgia, if it is organized correctly - and "Trip Georgia" tries to do it this way - it's not just an event in your life, no. As a result, it is a transformation of everything that you knew and saw before in your life. This is the starting point. From you - familiar, as you have been seeing yourself for many years, to you - the real one.

A six-day hike in Georgia, the Adjara region is my feeling.

I did not notice the mileage and climb (usually), did not pay attention to warm tropical showers and cold overnight stays, did not worry about the passage of steep slopes and rocks; I walked on snowy "tongues" - in July! - and recognized this land and these mountains with his feet, step by step. I have seen a lot - the Crimea, the Urals, Turkey, Cyprus. Comparisons are not appropriate here: a multi-day hiking tour in Georgia, as it is, is different from everything that you could see (and imagine!) Before, believe me. Gentle sun and fog of clouds on the peaks, flowering of rhododendrons in the alpine meadows of Adjara, bear footprints very close to your tent, long hikes along mountain ranges, swimming in hidden lakes (2300m above sea level), communication with local residents - shepherds, beekeepers, hunters (the distance of 30 km between them is “neighbors”)… What is it? Perhaps I can not express it in one word. Delight? Astonishment? Perplexity? Charm? Words are not enough, no! It just needs to be seen...

Most of all, I was struck by the communication with the local residents of Georgia in the Adjara region.

They live at high altitudes, over 2000 m, in incredible wooden huts, called "nomads", from May to September. They drive out cattle and take apiaries to alpine meadows, earn for the season, and that's how they live. None of them speak Russian. But the concept of "guest" is sacred to them. We just went to buy bread. No, it turns out that's not possible! In a huge plank "nomad camp", on the second floor, above the cowshed, a table of national Georgian dishes was laid for us: fresh, fresh from the oven, shoti bread, matsoni, Adzharian cheese, kaymagi, lobio, tomatoes, greens and fiery chacha. Most importantly, we understood each other. And drank a couple of glasses for friendship. For unity. For this land and its guests...

Now I am already at home, in Batumi. And you know what I've learned in recent days? , as they are, is a reality that is absolutely parallel to us. There you see all things as they are. There you find yourself - just the way you are. What has always been. In fact.

Abbreviations

LP - local obstacle (pass, peak, traverse, a bunch of passes),

1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B - k.t. LP,

1A* (and other st.c. with *) - in the declared route, the possibility of exceeding the st.s. half a category (for example, 1A * - maybe 1B),

Glad. - radially

USD - valley,

L. - glacier,

Versh. - top,

p / n - the first passage (pass),

settlement - village,

per. - pass,

lake - lake,

gr., deg. - degrees,

1.2 - mileage coefficient compared to that measured on the map, taking into account the mountainous terrain,

dh - height change,

N-GU - experience of participating in a mountain hike N s.s.,

N-GR - experience in managing a mountain hike N candidate,

Tr. - herbaceous

Os. - talus,

Sk. - rocky

sn. - snow,

ld. - ice,

m / c - route book,

hands - supervisor.

Overview of the route on the ridge

Overview of the route on the topographic map

Route thread:

Sat. Zhabeshi - dol. Zanner - l. Zanner - trans. Semi (2A, 3769) - l. Kitlod - dol. Twiber - l. Iret - trans. Bashil (1B, 3442) - l. Lekzyr - dol. Mestiachala - l. Chalaat - trans. Gul 1st (1B, 3321) + trans. Gulichala Upper (1B, 3300) - USD. Gulichala - sat down. Mazeri - radially: [dol. Dolra - dol. Kvish - l. Sev. Kvish - trans. Seven (not reaching 1 pitch) (2A glad., 4080 m)] - sat down. Mazeri

Deviations from the planned route, reasons

1. Not made a radial exit from l. Zanner towards Tetnuld.

2. A radial exit to the Ushba glacier was not made.

3. Not passed lane. Dolra-Hevay (1B*).

More details about deviations from the route will be discussed in the technical description.

Passed local obstacles

Route schedule

date	Route	km, x1.2	Rope wok	Heights	+ dh
	Skid casting in dollars. Tviber from the villages. Zhabeshi
	Ascent to the Zanner Valley
	Traverse of the left side of the Zanner Valley
	Exit to the tongue of the Zanner glacier (lower)
	Rise to l. Zanner (Upper)
	Per. Semi (2A, 3769) - top. Whalelod overnight stays
	Descent into the dollar whalelod
	A small rise in the dollar. twiber
	Brod r. Twiber - the mouth of the river. Zer - radially behind the cast into the lower reaches of the Twiber			2400-2500-2000-2500-2400
	L. Twiber - l. Iret
	Per. Bashil (1B, 3442) - l. Lekzyr - lvl. "Lekzyr Cross"
	Descent along the valley Mestiachala to the mouth of the river. Murquam
	Brod r. Murkvam - dol. Chalaat - l. Chalaat
	per. Gul 1st (1B, 3321) + trans. Gulichala Upper (1B, 3300) - USD. Gulichala
	Descent to the village. Mazeri, analysis of the cast
	Climbing the dollar Dolra before confluence with Kvish
	USD Dolra to foreheads - ford of Dolra sleeves - return to merge with Kvish
	Climbing l. Sev. Quish
	Radial exit to the lane. Seven (not reaching one rope to the saddle)
	Descent to the confluence of Dolra and Kvish
	Descent to the village. Mazeri
	Total:	146	1 9		9050	9250

The results of the route traveled

Duration - 20 days

LP 1B - 2 pcs.

LP 2A - 2 pcs.

Total mileage - 146 km

Climb + drop altitude - 18.3 km

Maximum height - 4100 m

The average height of the overnight stay is 2520 m

Participants of the campaign

		Year birth	Experience	Job title on a hike
	Golubev Michael Vladimirovich		5GU, 4GR, 2GR-winter	Supervisor, outfitter
	Alexandrovna		inflexible intention	Zawpit in the mountains
	Voronenko Dmitriy Viktorovich		4GU, 2GR, 2GU-winter
	Komissarov Leonidovich			Remmaster
	Sergeevich			Financier, zavpit on ideology

Check-in, check-out, passes, gas, transfer

The path from Russia to Svaneti can be divided into several parts, which allows groups to find the best options for themselves, based on price / travel time / comfort.

General view of the route - Vladikavkaz - Checkpoint "Upper Lars" - Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) - Tbilisi - Zugdidi - Svaneti (Mestia).

Vladikavkaz is the capital of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, the starting point on the way to Georgia.

Located in Vladikavkaz

Bus station (43° 3"30.16" 44°38"35.56") (hereinafter, the coordinates are taken from the Google Earth program). For tourists traveling to Georgia, it is not relevant, since flights are only within the Russian Federation.

Beslan Airport ( 43°12"11.01" 44°36"18.83"). It is located about 25 km from Vladikavkaz.

Railway station ( 43° 2"15.85" 44°41"17.70"). Located directly in the city.

The square in front of the railway station is the gathering place for all taxi drivers. If you have not ordered transport in advance, then you should go to them. Transport can be ordered in advance from Ruslan Dzodziev: [email protected]

When tourists appear on the square, taxi drivers immediately flock from all sides. They start shouting over each other, almost forcibly pushing your things into their cars, etc. Therefore, it is better to enter into a dialogue with some one driver, step aside with him and calmly discuss all issues. You can be provided with both cars (with installed luggage carriers) and minibuses. We chose the following option - for 5 people + 5 backpacks + 6 bags of groceries - we took 2 cars. Transfer to Tbilisi cost 8000 rubles.

Do not be surprised if you are told that after crossing the border you will need to transfer to other cars. This is a common practice among local taxi drivers - on the way to the border, they call up their Tbilisi colleagues and find out which of them is going towards Russia. "Our" taxi driver helps to cross the border, then takes you until the meeting with the Georgian colleague, where the exchange of tourists takes place :-). “Our” picks up those who go to Russia, “their” taxi driver picks you up and takes you to the final destination. Nobody will take any extra money from you. Apparently, Georgian taxi drivers do not really like to cross our border, and therefore they carry out such an exchange.

When ordering transport, you can choose two end points -

1. The maximum option - you go by taxi to Tbilisi (41 ° 42 "34.55" 44 ° 47 "34.89") with all the desired stops - narzans, admire Kazbek, Cross Pass, tunnels, observation platforms, reservoir, etc.

2. A less expensive option is by taxi to Stepantsminda (42°39"26.43" 44°38"45.00") (former urban-type settlement of Kazbegi) (34 km from Vladikavkaz to the border + 14 km to Stepantsminda). Further

a) an “ordinary” minibus (Ford Transit class cars) for 10 lari (200 rubles) travels non-stop to Tbilisi.

b) a “tourist” minibus (Ford Transit class cars) for 15 lari (300 rubles) goes to Tbilisi, but at the same time it will make several stops in “tourist” places.

There will be no problems with the placement of backpacks - minibus drivers are accustomed to tourists, so they will help arrange everything in the minibus. Minibuses run without a schedule, as they fill up.

If you choose the option with minibuses, then the lari can be bought both from taxi drivers in Vladikavkaz and in Stepantsminda.

Checkpoint "Upper Lars". Russia is separated from Georgia by the Upper Lars checkpoint (42°46"2.52" 44°37"55.94"). It is located 34 km from the railway station of Vladikavkaz. Checkpoint automobile! That is, you can cross it only by transport. If you “hitchhike”, then you will have to ask someone to get into the car to cross the border. In the summer, transport passes are carried out from 6 am to 10 pm. At the same time, the queue from the Russian side is growing exponentially with every morning hour. That's why it is extremely important to leave Vladikavkaz as soon as possible in the morning and get to the checkpoint. Also, the success of a fast passage depends on the skill of the taxi driver carrying you. So, for example, from the moment we drove up to the tail of the queue at the checkpoint, to the immediate approach to the checkpoint gate, about an hour passed. At the same time, if our taxi driver did not ask every second car to move and let pass, they would have spent 3 hours.

It should be noted that, both at the entrances to the border and after crossing it, there is no “civilization”, therefore it is better to take care of water, a snack, a toilet (there is a toilet at the checkpoint) in advance.

If your group gathers in Vladikavkaz throughout the day and on the same day you do not have time to cross the border, then you can stay at the Kadgaron Hotel (the red building to the right of the railway station). As of August 2012 triple room (one room, three beds, no air conditioning, desk, TV, refrigerator, toilet and shower) 3500 rubles/room. Double (filling too) 1900 r/room. The price includes breakfast (buffet, quite edible and varied). On the ground floor of the hotel there is a mini market, there is a shop opposite and on the station square. The next building is the railway police department. If possible, ask for a room with windows facing the courtyard, and not the street, as drivers flying by in cars make a lot of noise at night.

So, after crossing the Russian part of the border, you will arrive at the Georgian checkpoint. There are no queues here, the maximum delay is 5-7 minutes, a photo for memory for the Georgian police and wishes for a “pleasant vacation”.

After Stepantsminda, the road begins to climb to the Krestovy pass (more than 2300 m). Before the pass and after it, the road is broken - the roadway is being repaired, new tunnels are being laid, and the sides of the road are being strengthened. The site is very slow and dusty. The distance is 15-20 kilometers, but in time it can take at least an hour. After Gudauri (42°28"38.77" 44°28"27.18") the road is already very good, it goes down the valley in long serpentines and then after 130 km leads to the capital of Georgia - Tbilisi.

If you are going by taxi, then you will be brought directly to the Tbilisi railway station. If you are traveling by minibus, then it comes to the bus station near the metro station Didube (41°44"58.36" 44°46"44.72"). The railway station can be reached either by metro or by bus.

ADVICE Since further movement from Tbilisi is possible only at night (see below), it is recommended to spend the current day exploring the sights along the way to Tbilisi. It's better than spending half a day at the Tbilisi railway station at +40*. (the air conditioner is working inside the station, but they couldn’t pack food in backpacks and throws inside the station, I had to park on the street)

ABOUT METRO . Metro, it is also in Tbilisi metro :-). The city has two branches, more than 20 stations. The fare is 50 tetri (10 rubles), plus an electronic card 2 lari (40 rubles).

Tbilisi railway station( 41°43"14.64" 44°47"55.79"). A large modern building, which includes the railway station itself and a large shopping complex. On the territory of the complex there is a large supermarket (1st floor), a currency exchange office (1st floor), a railway ticket office (3rd floor), a food court (4th floor). Well, the most important thing that you will need upon arrival in Tbilisi is a toilet :-). Look for signs on the 1st floor (near the exchanger) and 4th (in the food court area). On the third floor, near the cash registers behind the benches, there are working sockets, you can charge your equipment. Toilets are paid, 0.5-1 lari (10-20 rubles), so take care of small money.

Further movement from Tbilisi towards Svaneti is possible in several ways.

1. Airplane. Small modern Canadian planes are ready to take you in a couple of hours to the heart of Svaneti - Mestia. The airport is located near Tbilisi. However, we rejected the aircraft version for the following reasons.

Planes fly to Mestia several times a week, but not every day. (that is, it is necessary to adjust the timing of the campaign in advance for the departure of the aircraft).

The plane takes off at 12 noon, which means you either need to arrive in Tbilisi the day before, stay in a guesthouse, lose part of the day and only fly out the next day. Or on the day of arrival in Vladikavkaz, stay there for the night in a hotel, the next day try to cross the border at 6-7 in the morning and try not to be late for the plane. In general, despite the obvious advantages of flying by plane, the options are not very convenient.

It is forbidden to transport gas on the plane, and it is not for sale in Mestia. This argument finally influenced our decision to abandon the aircraft.

2. By bus to Zugdidi (42°30"36.60" 41°51"37.07"). About 300 km across half the country and the major cities of Gori and Kutaisi. Eurotour type buses are one- and two-story. Unfortunately, nothing was known about their schedule and starting point from Tbilisi.

3. By hired transport to Zugdidi, or to Svaneti. The most expensive option, since in Georgia gasoline costs about 44-46 rubles per liter. Accordingly, a considerable amount will be asked for a transfer of 300 km. There were five of us - we could not fit in one passenger car, and hiring a whole minibus for five turned out to be very expensive.

4. Personal vehicles. The most successful option in terms of time costs - no need to waste time waiting for a train, searching for cars, etc. If it is also good to stock up on gasoline in Russia, then a small company is the best option. The absence of traffic cops on the roads of Georgia is especially pleasing. This option was chosen by a group of Baumans of 4 people. From Moscow to Svaneti and back by car. Several tourist groups from Ukraine rented a bus that took them directly from Kyiv to Mestia.

5. Train. This is the method chosen by 99% of tourists traveling to Svaneti. Therefore, do not be surprised to meet Czechs, Finns, Israelis, Germans, etc. on the train. and so on.

By train, everyone travels to Zugdidi - this is the closest and largest transport hub, located relatively close to Svaneti.

Train timetables and prices can be found at railway.ge. You can also buy tickets in advance with a plastic card.

There is a night train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi with a departure at 23:00 and an arrival at 7:00 in the morning. The train has a compartment and a reserved seat, but all tickets are sold out in advance. For tourists there are a couple of seated cars. Large quite comfortable chairs, in two rows of two pieces. Above the chairs are wide shelves for backpacks. Of the minuses - there are no air conditioners and at 40 * heat during the day, the hot air cools for a long time. Only by two o'clock in the morning it was possible not to wipe off the sweat :-). For a more "comfortable" journey, it is recommended to take an inflatable pillow under the neck, earplugs, a blindfold for sleeping on the eyes and some kind of fleece to lean on the window. Such a train costs 14 lari (280 rubles) per person.

Zugdidi. At the station in the morning, the train has already met a dozen taxi drivers with transport for every taste. Most people choose minibuses equipped with top racks for backpacks. The cost of moving is 15 lari (300 rubles). It is about 120 km from Zugdidi to Mestia. Of these, the first 20 pass through the plain, then the road goes above the Inguri reservoir and then begins the "almost eternal and endless" climb up and up. Starting from a height of 100m.a.s.l. from Zugdidi you will finish at an altitude of 1400m.a.s.l.

On the way, you can ask the driver to stop at a roadside cafe and have breakfast.

We can report the following phone numbers from the business card we were given in Zugdidi:

Flight Zugdidi-Mestia, Ford Transit, daily at 8:00, 12:00, 16:00, 15 GEL, +995 599 91 55 71, +995 593 91 04 37.

ADVICE. For most tourists, Mestia is the end point, but if your group starts not from Mestia, but from some nearby communities (for example, from Mazeri to pass under Ushba, or from Zhabesh to climb the glaciers of the Tsanner valley), then it is better to agree with the same to drop you by the driver than to look for new transport on the spot. So, having paid a small amount, we made a transfer to Mazeri, and then, taking the rest of the tourists to Mestia, drove another 15 km along the valley to the extreme community of Zhabeshi, from where our route began.

This is such a difficult and varied path that needs to be done in order to get to Svaneti.

Here is the schedule for our group.

Zero day. Departure from Moscow by evening train to Vladikavkaz

First day. Day on the train.

Second day.

9.30 arrival in Vladikavkaz

9.30-11.00 Gathering of the group, raid on the store, communication with taxi drivers, delivery of extra things to the taxi driver home.

11.00 departure from Vladikavkaz.

14.00 both customs behind.

14.00-17.00. "exchange of tourists" (see above), stop at narzan, road to Tbilisi.

17.30-23.00 unloaded on the railway, waiting for the train, formation of transfers.

The third day.

8.00 arrival in Zugdidi

9.00 start towards Mestia

14.00 stop in a cafe, delivery of a drop off, travel from Mestia to Zhabeshi. Finish.

It is obvious that on the third day there is no point in going somewhere - behind a hard night on the train, a long journey and fatigue.

There is a bank in Mestia where you can exchange rubles for lari.

The way back is built as follows.

1. Transfer from Svaneti to Zugdidi. Minibuses run constantly from Mestia. It should be noted that if you finish in any other place, then it is very problematic to find transport immediately on the spot to Zugdidi. At best, they will agree to take you to Mestia for an amount of at least 100 lari (2000 rubles). In this case, the distance will be 15-20 km. Therefore, either finish closer to Mestia, or negotiate with transport in advance.

2. The train from Zugdidi to Tbilisi leaves at 22:00 or 23:00. An alternative would be buses leaving an hour later from the station square. The driver promised air conditioning and a view of the night cities of Georgia. Bus ticket 15 lari, train ticket 14 lari.

Taxi Tbilisi-Vladikavkaz. Most likely, even on the way "there" the driver will offer to meet you. Feel free to agree and ask for a discount. Most likely he will agree - he will already have a guaranteed order.

Minibus Tbilisi-Kazbegi. Minibuses run from Didube bus station (see above). The main thing here is to choose a simple minibus, and not a “tourist” one (see above), since the task is to get to Kazbegi with a minimum number of stops. In Kazbegi, you can either hire a taxi or arrange a meeting in advance.

REMEMBER. Russian customs in the opposite direction is a huge lottery! And, since you will arrive at it after lunch, there is a possibility of huge queues and many hours of waiting.

Useful phone numbers: Tbilisi-Vladikavkaz, Gogi, Mercedes E-class car or Niva: (+995) 599 93 31 20, 568 93 31 20. It will also help organize transfers on other types of vehicles.

Rezo from Mazeri, brother of a border guard, Ford Transit minibus, 150 GEL from Mazeri to Zugdidi: +995 599 568 185.

Minibus Ford Transit, 150 GEL from Mazeri to Zugdidi, Shalva. They traveled with him from Mazeri to Zugdidi. The phone number has not been preserved, but you can ask Rezo +995 599 568 185.

Opel Vectra wagon - Tbilisi - Kazbegi - Vladikavkaz: +995 591 708 180, Bezhani

Additional information on Georgia, Svaneti, transport, accommodation, etc. you can get from the following posts:

Border passes were issued on the spot in Mestia, at the headquarters behind the airport. The procedure is quick - copying passports and a map with a route thread, writing out a pass in Georgian and wishing you a good trip. In principle, it is advisable to check in at the outposts at the entrances to the gorges. In our case, it is in Zhabeshi and in Mazeri. We checked out in Zhabesh, but in Mazeri we didn’t notice the outpost, we didn’t check in, but it turned out to be useless to anyone.

Gas cylinders were ordered in Vladikavkaz from Ruslan Dzodziev, his email. mail above. Ruslan also provided the contacts of the driver who drove us to Stepantsminda.

Firm Lile-tour (easy to find on the Internet).

Phone number of Avgan Naveriani from Zhabesh: +995 599 30 13 36

Technical description of local obstacles

Two throws - in the Twiber valley and in the villages. Mazeri - the hike was divided into 3 approximately equal stages of 6-7 days. In Mazeri, they left a transfer at the house of Zakriy Kvitsiani +995 595 70 25 88. His house is not in Mazeri itself, but 2-3 km down the valley.

The technical description is divided into 3 stages of the trip, and each stage is divided into a description of a separate LP. Cards are given one for each of the stages. Time is given in pure running time (CHW), river banks - orographically, unless otherwise indicated.

STAGE 1

Map of the 1st stage of the hike

Per. Semi (2A, 3769)

So, in the late afternoon we set up tents near the house of Avgan Naveriani in the village. Zhabesh. In the remaining time, we bring the transfer to the Twiber Valley, as long as there is enough time. From Naveriani's house we go down to the Mulkhura river, through which there is a bridge a little below its formation by the Twiber and Tsanner rivers. Mulhura impresses with its power of a dark gray raging stream! After the bridge, from a lonely abandoned house up to Twiber along its right bank, a good path goes traversing 5-50 m above the riverbed. In areas of impenetrable thickets, it is literally cut through where the clamps are - marked with tours and paint, how to get around them. The trail is very beautiful: behind every new bend or exit from a section of the forest there is something new, and on the right along the way in a narrow canyon littered with huge boulders, the mighty Twiber roars furiously, spraying into foamy sprays.

After a relatively steep ascent, the trail leads to the first estuarine step, where the forest becomes higher, you can walk through it, but the undergrowth consists of a carpet of rhododendrons and azaleas. The path here is no longer cut, but trodden - it is more difficult to go. We pass an arch of stone blocks leaning on each other (one of them has a commemorative plaque, there are platforms, but the water is only in muddy Twiber). Behind the arch, somewhere in the forest in a pile of stones away from the path, we hide the cast. It's hard to say the exact location. We return to Zhabeshy on the way up.

The day before, Avgan Naveriani was asked in as much detail as possible how to get to the Tsanner glacier. The general meaning is “first according to that [op. right], then this bank. And a ladder was mentioned. On the map, neither he nor his son could indicate exactly where to go. The same information that to go first along the right, then the left bank was given by the border guards in Zhabeshy. (it’s better to register with them - they will rewrite the passports and the route thread).

It also became known that the path described in the old description was always along op. right bank up to the glacier, no - rocky cliffs.

Departure at 9.30. On a dirt road in 10 minutes we reach the bridge over the Tsanner above its confluence with the Twiber. Here is the mill mentioned in the old description (Photo 1).

We cross the Zanner to the right bank. There is a good trail there. But soon it becomes quite weak, often lost. When thickets of crooked forests with rhododendron began, it is completely lost. Apparently, in this place it is necessary to look for it higher up the slope. We are trying to walk along the water, but there are steep earthen clamps. On one very steep earthen slope, I had to throw a rope for gymnastic insurance. Through the impassable jungle, with great difficulty and for considerable time, we again go out onto the path - a narrow corridor in the thickets. The path leads to a different source and a bridge. Behind the bridge is a logging road leading down to Zhabeshy. That's where she had to go.

From Zhabesh to the bridge the total time is 2 hours. On the opposite bank it would be 3 times faster ...

But which side is next? The path continues on the right, the logging road goes up on the left. It is clear that such roads usually lead to a dead end, but there was an instruction to go first along one coast, then the other. There is no passage along the right bank to the glacier, and it is not clear whether there will be another bridge. The river is uncrossable. Perhaps there will be a branch of the path from the road ... We follow it along the left side of the valley, gaining a lot of height. Indeed, we find a semblance of a branch - a traverse of an easily passable coniferous forest. But the path is lost. However, the slope is acceptable as long as there are no thickets. Having already gone far enough from the bridge, we run into gullies, bypassing which is much higher up the slope. It would be necessary to return here, but it's so insulting :). Having bypassed the steep slopes from above, we go diagonally down, still hoping to find a path. In some places, something like a wide path overgrown with middle-aged forest, along which it is impossible to walk - constantly bypassing the bushes from above or below. Further on the path of the traverse of the slope there is a wide beam, we also cross it with a traverse, with a drop in height. Its far slope is made of soft earth, abundantly sprinkled with coniferous needles and dry branches, steepness up to 40 degrees, length 100 meters. But there is no undergrowth. Climbing up the slope, we come out to large moss-covered boulders on a gentle slope. Walking is much easier. Bypassing the thickets of crooked forests, along the stony, grassy slopes we run into impenetrable thickets, which still need to be passed. With great difficulty and the calculation of the last for this day, we finally make our way to the first water after lunch - a large stream, which is marked on the map of the kilometer to the north-north-west of the mark 3360.2. Descent to the stream along a very steep grassy slope of 20 m.

The time is about 19 hours (about 2 km and 7.5 hours total time from the bridge), and, given the nature of the slope of the left side of the Zanner, it is not known how long to go to the next stream. We decide to look for a place for tents, which are not found at + - 100 m in height along the stream - it flows everywhere with a slope of 15-25 degrees. To the river Zanner meters 200 heights. Under one tent, we level a small area (Photo 2a) next to another place, where partly under a huge stone it turned out to level the area where you can stretch the awning (Photo 2b). A fun start to the hike, but everyone enjoyed it :)

Sometimes it rains in the evening and at night.

Immediately from the place of spending the night at the "first" stream, we climb into pitch, indescribable, impassable jungle from crooked forests with rhododendron-azalea undergrowth on a slope with a steepness of 20-25, in some places 30 degrees. We climb resolutely, as if into a fire to escape from a fire :). There is no way to get around - below the clamps of the river, at the top the thickets lead to the rocks. It takes about 5 minutes to overcome one bush. Often, overcoming is possible either by grabbing a bush and a pendulum (the legs do not rest on the rhododendron), or by throwing off - putting on a backpack. With fierce fury, with heavy backpacks, drenched in sweat, growling and shouting :), we are fighting for many hours with this lovely Zanneri forest. To move forward, we use any clearing, even if you need to gain and drop tens of meters in height. When it gets a little better with impassability, we see a high rocky clamp ahead (the base of the buttress), we go around the clamp from above through the only, apparently, passage (thickets are better, but still difficult to pass). Then you have to go down to the right and down (in one place on a steep dangerous slope of 40 m of rappel). On the shelf under some long wall we go beyond the buttress. The further part of the valley opens: nothing good.

The thickets ended, coniferous forest, rare bushes, but the slope became very steep. We lose height by 35-40 degrees. grassy-scree shelves, bypassing rocky outcrops, to a slightly sloping clearing not high above the river. From above, the meadow seems like a heavenly oasis, but in fact it is overgrown with some 2-meter flowers, hogweed burdock, it’s good at least not with nettles. Ahead again is the pressure, this time conglomerate-grassy. We gain height through the kurums, overgrown with burdocks, then traverse a more or less suitable forest. Having rested against the terrible thickets, we break down and to the right to the river. You can see a gently sloping (!) place with a stream (!!) (we didn’t drink in the morning), it seems that we are about to be there, but, coming out of the thicket, we see a steep conglomerate slope under our feet. The steps are not cut, to get around - only through the thickets (not an option). We throw a rope, we go down just on two hands. From the rope along the river, through 20 m of live scree, overgrown with tall grass (each stone is alive), we go to the scree with a stream. Paradise (relatively) place! We make tea and snacks.

We walk along the coast along the living stones overgrown with grass. Ahead, the path is blocked by a steep rock that goes into the roaring terrible Zanner. Seen from above. Fortunately, we find a rocky bed of a dry stream. On it we quickly gain height to the rocks, under them we traverse and descend through a passable stunted forest. We run into a break. A rappel of 5 m on steep rocks, then a flattening slope. Pulling from a tree. Then we go around a small rocky outcrop and find ourselves at the "second" stream from the map.

The time is 19:00, and what lies ahead, and whether there will be more water, is not clear. We level for a long time on the inclined slope of the site, put up a tent (Photo 3) and an awning for the residents of the second tent. We study the map and the navigator - we covered 400 meters in a straight line in a day!

From the place of spending the night, a view of the deep narrow bubbling Zanner canyon opens up:

As we will understand later, it is in the area of ​​​​this canyon, somewhere where we have not seen, that there is the very “staircase” that Avgan spoke of. It connects the path of the right bank and the left bank from the moment when the left becomes normally passable.

On the flat ram's foreheads we climb to a flattening - the gentle top of a rocky cape, around which the canyon makes a bend. Bridge (stairs) is not observed. The canyon looks intimidating and crossing over it would certainly be an exciting adventure. Stone turks appear for a short time. We go around the rocky belt from above, then we go down to the scree and gentle lamb foreheads. Tours appear again, we follow them. There are no thickets, the mood is fighting. Even in some places the remains of a trail and a freshly minted trail. As we will find out later, the Baumans passed the day before us. On a weak path we come to the confluence of the Zanner and Nageb. There are places for tents, the water is only lighter than the Zanner, Nageb. There are also places on the opposite bank of the Nageb. This is where the lower Zanner canyon ends and the upper canyon begins a little higher (Photo 5, below). From the place of spending the night 1.5 hours.

Through the Nageb there was a bridge of 4 not the best kind of logs. Water fills them a little, raw. The first one crosses a tree with insurance, fastens a 45 m rope also on a tree (there was no tree closer along the axis of the bridge). The latter takes off with insurance from the target shore.

Photo 4. Crossing the Nageb River

A little further along the right bank of the Tsanner is a magnificent narzan. The traces of the past group from the narzan go sharply upwards of 10 m along a steep grassy slope and enter the "normal" forest, in comparison with what was the previous two days. The tracks are hardly noticeable, but the general direction is obvious - the traverse of the left side of the Zanner, bypassing its main rocky pressure point (a river in the canyon) and bypassing individual rocky ledges.

Having gained height, the "path" was lost in a wooded slope with a steepness of 20-25 degrees, thinned out by frequent medium-scree channels of dry and simply streams. The upper canyon of Zanner opens (Photo 5):

As you can see in this photo, there really is no passage on the starboard side (just a rocky cliff), and it is doubtful that there could be one at all. The ram foreheads of the left side look much simpler, but nevertheless it is not clear how passable.

We approach the first massif of rocks, along them we climb along the stream along a steep scree slope to the border of the conglomerate and steep rocks. It turned out to be possible to walk along this border (like a couloir), they even found traces of yesterday's (as it turned out later) predecessors. As indicated in Photo 5, we cross over 4 ridges formed in a conglomerate of a lateral moraine washed by streams. Each ridge had its own characteristics and ways of overcoming, which it makes no sense to describe, because. over time, a lot can change here, because. the moraine is gradually eroded. The moraine consists of an uncemented conglomerate, the steps are generally easy to form. But you need to go with caution - in some places fly far.

After the moraine scallops, the traverse of the steep tr. slope we approach the second array of foreheads. We focus on tours of stones. The path is also indicated in Photo 5, runs in an intricate "maze" along shelves and crevices, everywhere on foot, frequent tours. Without them, it would take much longer to find the road - with a lot of reconnaissance. So we took the easiest route. As a result, we come to a wide, gently sloping shelf. The exit point is marked with a stone, on which a white bag is put on (it may decay in the future). As a reference for the descent - a small puddle 2x2 m in a monolithic rock is located 20 m in distance above the place where you need to start descending.

An inclined ledge, partially overgrown with trees, covered with medium and large scree, leads to an inflection point where you can put up tents, but there is no water. According to the results of the reconnaissance, further traverse of the left side is meaningless, you need to go down a steep scree slope (250 m high, 25-30 degrees, rocky) to the tongue of the Zanner glacier (lower, or Oish) (Photo 6). The place is dark and majestic. Due to the rapid retreat of the glacier, there is little vegetation, fresh heaps of talus everywhere.

It started to rain at the bend. We're going to look for a place to bivouac. As indicated in Photo 7, there are flat areas slightly below the glacier, but clear water is far away, and it looks somehow dangerous due to overhanging rocks and steep screes above.

We find a sandy platform on the moraine-covered tongue of the glacier, level it and set up a camp. Water in clear streams on the glacier.

Finally, we are in a plantless zone, the hike begins :).

Rain at night and in the morning. After waiting for its end, we leave at 11.30.

On the surface moraine of the right side of the lower Tsanner glacier, then on even ice in 1.5 hours we reach the turn of the glacier to the right to Tetnuld, where the Oish glacier is already (Photo 8).

We turn to the moraines to the left along the glacier, where there are platforms with water. We had breakfast a long time ago, we make a snack with tea. There is a tent on the grounds. Soon its inhabitants also approached - Muscovites, mainly from MSTU. They plan to traverse Gestola-Tetnuld. The author of the report hopes they will contact him.

From the sites we go first along the perennial gray snowfield in the direction of the l. Tsanner (upper) past a powerful waterfall (Photo 9):

Then, along a section of steep live scree, we climb a slightly more gentle tr.-was. slope, and we rise to the left along the course between the river and steep cliffs, bypassing the rock outcrops. It starts to rain heavily.

An increasingly steep talus mobile slope leads to rocks (foreheads). In them you need to find a passage along the shelves and grassy corridors. The length of the section is about 50 m. On the right, a steep scree slope leads to steep rocks, on the left - to the canyon of a powerful stream. Approaching the ice covered with mud, opposite the waterfall (Photo 10), we find a wide, slightly inclined place, where we hastily put up an awning and wait out, wet, rain. From overnight stays at the turn of the glacier 1 h 20 min. Fortunately, the rain ends in half an hour. We level the ground and set up camp. Gradually the sky clears up and freezes.

When it got dark, the moon came out, illuminating Tetnuld - an unforgettable sight!

Beautiful weather! Tetnuld sparkles with streams of icefalls!

As shown in Photo 13, we go around the end of the Zanner Glacier along the moraines, which are steep in places, and come out onto flat ice (Photo 14). 50 minutes from the accommodation.

The GKH opens and the way forward.

On a flat, slightly inclined open glacier, bypassing a few cracks that cannot be jumped over, we approach the turn to the lane. Seven (Photo 15). 2 hours from exit to flat ice. The pass is not yet visible.

On a scattering of stones we make a snack and tea, and continue to climb. A non-steep, but strongly broken take-off (cats, long detours of faults) leads to an ice plateau, the ice is still open. The lane opens. Semi (Photo 16).

Approaching the closed ice, we communicate. A sloping firn take-off leads to a flattening gentle “pull”. In Photo 16, the distances are hidden, in fact, the tie is quite long. Semi Pass is a wide horizontal crossing of the Zanner and Kitlod glaciers. If there is a tour, then it is high above the saddle in scree, where we did not want to climb. From the place of lunch 2 hours (as mentioned earlier - FHV, unless otherwise indicated).

Descent from the lane Seven per l. Kitlod first goes westward along the GKH along a gentle snowy slope (Photo 17). Close to the GKH should not be approached - there are rockfalls. True, the stones quickly stop in the muddy snow.

Along the way, we admire an unknown beautiful peak of at least 3800 m in the watershed of Keithlod and Zanner (Photo 18).

Passing under the slopes of the GKH to the west along a wide sloping snow shelf (Photo 19), leaving powerful faults on the left, we turn in a wide arc to the left, also under the rocks we go out onto even open ice, where we untie ourselves, and go to the visible Upper Kitlod camps (Photo 20 ). About 1.5 hours from the pass.

In fact, as it turned out later, we did not get to the overnight stays themselves (sites with walls and a small amount of garbage), and they were not very good, and there was no water. And where we stopped (Photo 20) there are spacious perfectly even glades made of hardened soft non-staining clay, and clear water nearby. The place is great! The height is 3250 m. The Kitlod Glacier is impressive - we have a vast ice field 2x3 km in front of us. Because of this, of course, it is not hot at night, but the views are worth it.

We leave at 9 am. We traverse the movable scree slope of the right side of the valley above the glacier to the “real” Upper Keithlod camps. Lots of leveled areas with walls, but no water, no views like we had. Perhaps there is less wind in bad weather. Apparently, over time, this place for some reason lost its water. The former mass attendance is also confirmed by commemorative plaques on the stones about the dead. From these overnight stays, a very severely broken icefall from edge to edge opens up to the left along the way, and the path of descent around it along a steep scree to relatively flat ice below it (Photo 21).

It took 30-40 minutes to descend from the place of overnight stay to the foot of the icefall. In the opposite direction, given the nature of the slope, it will take 2-3 times more time.

Coming to a flat (relatively) section of the glacier, inspired by the quick exit to Twiber, we cheerfully walk along the right side of the glacier not far from the rocks, easily bypassing numerous cracks, without crampons. Near the rocks, the glacier is heavily covered with mud and stones (Photo 22), but further from the rocks there are many cracks that are impassable on foot, so you have to walk along the rocks.

And now, 20 minutes after leaving the scree onto the ice, we run into an ice-stone "mess" with ice faults. On the right, along the course, there are steep smooth rocks, on the left - the second, small, icefall. This is the same rantkluft from the already old description of the Semi Pass in the book “Chegem, Twiber, Bezengi”. You have to put on crampons, systems, full ice equipment. It makes no sense to describe specific sections, because. The ice situation changes every year. As a result, 3 ropes of the railing were hung (of which the last 2 were in the rain - Svaneti ... :-)) all 7 Boers taken with them "just in case" were used :). Partially, the places for hanging the railings are shown in the following 3 pictures:

Photo 24

Photo 25

After the 3rd pitch, we finally come out again to the flat ice covered with mud and scree. From it we go out onto clear ice away from the rocky starboard side. Soon the steepness of the ice allows you to remove crampons. The lower step of the icefall is bypassed. 3 hours were spent on the railing alone - the photo does not convey many nuances of wandering, in fact, in an icefall. Everyone got wet and hungry - we make tea and a snack under an awning on the stones (Photo 26). On Photo 26 - a general view of the descent from the V.Kitlodsky overnight stays to the place of lunch. The plateau between the two steps of the icefall disappears.

As far as we have seen, in this place, which, apparently, is the middle of the Keithlod camps, there is no place to put up tents. Apparently, reconnaissance is needed, and there are sites somewhere, but we saw medium and large scree everywhere.

Along a scattering of large stones to the right of the glacier, bypassing the steep ram foreheads on the right, we exit to the tr.-os. slope steepness 10-15 degrees. (Photo 27), which breaks off below the conglomerate to the glacier. We traverse the gentle slope above the conglomerate to a large impassable ravine with a stream. We go down to the left of the ravine, we go out to a very steep scree area, partly with a conglomerate. In front of the glacier, the slope flattens out, and it becomes possible to cross the ravine about 20 meters in height above the ice. The exit to the ice itself is difficult. We continue to traverse the very mobile medium scree slope on the right side of the valley (Photo 28), gaining some height to bypass the conglomerate slope. The end of the glacier opens with lakes, which we bypass on the right with a traverse of a steep living scree (Photo 29).

Below the lakes, the Kitlod river goes for a short while under the stones. On the left bank we make a halt. We see that below there is a powerful snow bridge (obviously many years old). Therefore, after a halt, we go a little to the left bank (the right one is a steep scree that goes into the water), then we cross the snow bridge to the right bank, where the valley expands. We are looking for a place to spend the night, because. it is already 19:00. Gradually, the scree turns into a grassy slope, patches of crooked forests appear. Having reached the spring streams, we find places for tents on the pebbles of the old riverbed, where we set up camp. From the place of lunch 3 hours total time.

Further to us to the Twiber glacier, down the Kitlod and to the right along the way. From the place of spending the night on the right bank of Keithlod (the red triangle in Photo 30), we go first along the coast, but we run into the "Zanner" windbreak. You have to go around it much higher along the scree:

From the scree we descend to the flat bottom of the already Tviberskaya valley, covered with medium and large scree with relatively rare trees. Glacier Tot opened (Photo 31):

The Twiber Glacier has receded a lot compared to the map. Closer to his tongue, there are many places for tents on the pebbles and there are clear streams. We set up camp and part of the group try to go for a drop, which, as described at the beginning of the report, is located on the right bank of the Twiber in its lower reaches. Twiber itself is impossible to go even in the morning. We see that the river flows out of the grotto of the Twiber glacier and we decide to cross the river along the glacier. However, it turns out that there is also a second grotto, from which a powerful stream also flows. And it is impossible to get around it - 30-degree dirty ice rises above the left bank, about 100 m long, over which stones of the surface cover hang, ready to fly at any moment, i.e. hanging a railing there is a stone hazard.

We do reconnaissance along the left bank, but we do not find the bridge. In the meantime, there is more and more water, and it is too late to make a mounted crossing. Therefore, we spend the night on the left bank of the Twiber and plan the crossing early in the morning the next day. At lunch we ate the last meal of the 1st stage, and for dinner there is one Snickers for everyone and a handful of nuts and tea. For breakfast - tea :).

In the morning we make a hanging crossing over the stream from the left grotto (Photo 33) on two high stones. The stream from the right grotto, part of the group fords at the spill site into two streams, part of the group bypasses through the glacier. We gather together on the banks of the Zer River, the right tributary of the Twiber. At the confluence there are places for tents, and there is a weak spring near the bank of the Twiber. We set up a camp, and as part of the group we go for a drop into the lower reaches of the Twiber.

In the morning we cross the Zer River without any problems, although the flow is also quite serious. After 500 meters we find a narzan spring, a shelter made of stones under an overhanging stone, traces of a fire, some firewood. And most importantly - the marking of the trail, namely, its upper end. This means that a marked route has been broken through here (marking in the form of white and yellow stripes).

Following the markings, partly along the real path, we go first along the coast, then we climb, bypassing the clamp, then we go down a little and again gain a significant height, bypassing the tract "Gate of Georgia" - a canyon, squeezed on the left by steep rocks and on the right by rocks of a huge sheep's forehead (Photo 34 ).

After the forehead, the path descends, bypassing the forest, along steep screes and leads out into tall grass, sometimes getting lost. There are places to spend the night, clean water (just when the trail gets lost). It is very important to find her again, because. the underlying forest is impassable without a path. She first traverses the forest horizontally, then gains height along it and leads to the ruins of a stone house. From here it descends high above the river canyon (there are areas with clear water) either through meadows or through crooked forests and leads back to the river. We find our pick-up, scatter it on backpacks and return to the camp along the ascent path.

The trail is very tiring. Both up and down, you have to gain height, then dump it. Therefore, the total rise or drop in height from Zhabesh to the Zer River is significantly greater than the difference in height between these points, and this must be taken into account when planning the passage of this valley.

The trail is well described on the website http://www.svanetitrekking.ge/rus/tviberi_info.htm