Climbing to Kazbegi mountain Georgia

We arrive in Tbilisi and immediately go to the guesthouse, leave our things, and go for a walk. We have to spend the first three days in the capital because, on the 3rd day of the trip, we will take the second PCR test at the Sinevo clinic.

During the first days of the trip, we will have time to learn about Georgian hospitality and understand why we want to come back to Georgia many times. We know a delicious restaurant in the city that serves the most delicious khinkali in the world. You can also walk around the city endlessly, there are a lot of sights and exciting places. And the nightlife in the town is something special. Once we went to a rock club, who would have thought we would hang out there so much. Time in Tbilisi will pass quickly, and we will go to the mountains on the fourth day.

We will have an early breakfast and move along the old military road to the village of Stepantsminda before starting the route. We will have several stops at the most beautiful viewpoints on the way. By the way, they sell very cool wool socks there. No trekking socks can compare to them, so we highly recommend buying them. Upon arrival in Stepantsmida, we take an offroad car and drive to the beginning of the route - the Gergeti Church. The Gergeti Church is a very symbolic and religiously important place, so we think that since we are already here, we should go in and stand in the church for a while. From the church, we will cross to the green fields. This is the first camp at an altitude of 3000 meters, where we will set up tents and spend the night. The next day, we will cross the first glacier.

We wake up in the dark, have breakfast, pack our things, and head to the second camp. It is worth leaving as early as possible because, at this time, many climbers are based on the mountain. In order to find a good place for a tent, you should come to the weather station before lunch. On the same day, we will cross the first glacier, so it will be enough to wear crampons to avoid slippery conditions.

From the very beginning of the track, we will see the weather station. It is somewhat similar to our observatory on Mount Pip Ivan, but of course, it is about twice as big. After arriving at the camp, we set up our tents and rested, and in the afternoon, we will have time for a photo shoot because the campsite will offer insanely beautiful views of the mountains around us.

Today is going to be a busy day. First, we have to move to the next camp, from which we will make the ascent—the final camp. There are two places for camping under the mountain: white crosses and black crosses, which climbers call so-called because of the crosses there. The altitude will be 3940 meters, so acclimatization before the trip will be just right.

We will train to climb in bundles for the rest of the day. You will understand how comfortable you move in rope team pair and the best pace. We will practice hacking and setting up a station. This is the base of mountaineering, so remembering how to do it correctly is worth remembering. It will be difficult but interesting if you have no mountaineering experience because you have to start somewhere, and Kazbek is the best mountain for beginners.

Yesterday, we learned a little bit about climbing in rope team pairs, which is very good, but now we need to understand how your body feels at altitude. We make a trial hike to the 4500-meter pass and descend to the camp. Even though we will have training and trial climbs, it doesn't stop us from enjoying the mountains. We have incredible views of the snow-capped giants. Perhaps you have only seen such mountains in movies before, but now you are here, trying to climb a mountain with a height of 5054 meters, so you should be proud of yourself. The preparation days are not easy, but what is difficult in training is easy in climbing. Today it is very important to have a good rest and sleep, although it will be difficult to fall asleep that night, the excitement and adrenaline will overwhelm you. We have a secret: if we can't sleep, we drink chamomile tea. It works perfectly.

If the weather window shifts, the ascent may take place today, but this is only if all the following days are impossible for climbing.

This day has come, and we are going to the top of Mount Kazbek at 5054m. We wake up very early, at 2:00 am, and have a nutritious breakfast, but we don't get too full. We will have energy bars with us to replenish our strength when needed. At 3:00, we will be on the route; it will still be dark so that we will walk with flashlights for the first 3 hours. The climbing time is calculated in such a way that by 11:00, we would be at the top; it is important because during the day, the snow begins to melt gradually, and the trail turns into mush, which slows down the progress.

The organizational part was explained, and the technical part was worked out yesterday. Only the top is ahead, and we will climb it. The last time we did the climb, a dog followed one of the groups to the top, so you can imagine the climb is not as difficult as you might think.

At the top of the mountain, we will spread the flag of Ukraine. It has already become a tradition, and the smile on your face at this moment will forever remain in our photos. Congratulations - you have done it! We won't stay on the top for long. We will admire the views, take photos, and visit our camp. Also, today, we will move our camp to the weather station to spend the night at a lower altitude. We will open a bottle of Georgian wine in the evening and celebrate the successful ascent.

Finally, we can sleep in, and today, we will take our time. We have breakfast, look at the beautiful scenery of the Caucasus Mountains, say goodbye to Kazbek, pack up the camp, and start to descend to the Gergeti church; on the way, we can appreciate the grandeur of the canyon that runs near the mountain and promise ourselves that we will return to this place. Near the Gergeti church, we will be waiting for a transport to take us to the village of Stepantsminda. In the village, we will go to a local cafe for lunch; after so many days at altitude, Georgian dishes will taste like never before. On the same day, we will be transferred to Tbilisi, where we will spend the night, and the next day, we will go to the sea in Batumi.

The hot sea and the beautiful city of Batumi. On this trip, we will experience everything that Georgia is famous for. After climbing, you especially want to relax and rest, so we had to organize the final two days on the Black Sea coast. Everyone will have a free program, and everyone can plan their time as they want, but we can tell you if you don't know what to do. There are several cool places in Batumi. The first one is a cable car that goes over the entire city. You have to go there at night to see the city in the light of night lights. The second special place is Ahmed's shawarma, which is very tasty. Of course, we will also walk in the parks, go on a yacht, and go to the zoo. In short, there is plenty to do.

Yes, this is the last day of the trip. Today, we have a flight home. We will fly from Batumi; there are flights to both Kyiv and Lviv. We don't want to say goodbye to you, so upon arrival in Ukraine, we will meet somewhere in a Georgian cafe and remember what a great adventure we had. And for sure, we will agree on the next adventure together.

Important! Before crossing the border with Georgia, you need to take a PCR test within 72 hours and have a confirmation of a negative test translated into English. Also, on the third day, you need to take a second test on Georgian territory. You also need to fill out a special questionnaire on the website https://stopcov.ge/en/Protocol. The questionnaire will be reviewed within 10 days. These rules are mandatory!

ATTENTION! The organizers reserve the right to change the program due to weather, team health, or other circumstances!