7 DAY INTRODUCTORY COURSE TO SKI TOURING ON MOUNT KAZBEGI

Ski-touring is the key to discovering all the secrets of the Caucasus mountains. With the right equipment and skills, no peak, hidden valley or remote mountain pass is out of reach!

Our 6-day course will provide a thorough grounding in the skills needed for ski touring in a high mountain environment. It is ideal preparation for multi-day ski tours such as climbing Mt. Kazbek or crossing the famous Chaukhi Massive range.

You will learn essential ski touring techniques such as how to fix skins and crampons for skis, how to travel uphill, and how to perform kick turns, essential for traversing on steeper terrain.

We will stay three nights in Altihut 3014, a newly built mountain hut at 3014 meters on Mt. Kazbegi – no ski touring experience is complete without a pre-dawn start high in the mountains, watching the sunrise. We will be based in the 5-star luxury boutique Rooms hotel in Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) village.

The agenda will also cover the complementary mountain craft skills you will need whether ski touring in the Caucasus or any other high mountain range, such as avalanche awareness and (possibly crevasse rescue).

On this course, you will ski some of the most famous Jvari pass classic ski tours such as Bidara and Deda Ena. Gudauri and Jvari Pass are renowned for their excellent ski touring terrain and you've got a good chance of encountering typical Alpine wildlife such as Caucasian tur or the famous but secretive chamois.

This tour is ideal for the intermediate skier who wants to widen their knowledge of off-piste skiing and ski touring, opening up new possibilities for more challenging ski tours. There is also the opportunity to heli-ski for those feeling adventurous at the end of the tour.

Welcome Meeting in Rooms Hotel Kazbegi

You will meet with your group and guide in your luxury hotel overlooking Mount Kazbegi the day before the tour starts for a chat and to discuss plans for the upcoming week. At this point, we can check that you have everything you need and answer any questions you might have.

This is simply an example of a typical ski touring course - your week will very likely differ from what is listed below depending on weather and snow conditions. Your guide will plan your course according to your level and fitness and give you the best possible experience of ski touring in Georgia.

DAY 1:

You will start the day with a couple of warm-up runs to check out everyone’s skiing ability and run
through the basics of mountain safety and avalanche awareness at the famous ski area of Gudauri.
From the top of the lift station, you will have your first introduction to off-piste skiing. Your guide will
assess the ability of everyone in the group and teach you all the correct techniques for using the ski
touring equipment. We will finish our day with an easy tour to Chrdili Mountain. before descending you
can enjoy the views over Gudauri, Lomisi range, and Khada valley.

• Difficulty *
  
• Overnight Gudauri
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 2:

We head for the Jvari pass and begin our tour to Mt. Bidara at 3000m with an available 650
vertical meters of ascent. On the way up, we work on the skills and tactics for moving in steep terrain
as well as basic avalanche awareness skills. On the top, we can enjoy a small stop and tea with
stunning views over the Gudauri resort and Caucasus valleys followed by an incredible descent of 1000 m right back to the hotel door.

• 3.5 hours Difficulty **
  
• Overnight in Gudauri
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 3:

We start the day with a 15-minute transfer from our hotel to the foot of Mt. Dedaena standing at
3449m and climb to a plateau at 3000m where we are met by stunning 360 views over the Caucasus.
After a briefing and explanation of the route, we head down this superb descent of 1000m back to our
waiting vehicle. After our magnificent descent, we head in the direction of Stephantsminda the main
town of the Khevi province and the center of the Kazbegi Municipality.

• 1000 vertical meters
• 6 hours
• Difficulty ***
  
• Overnight in Stepantsminda
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 4:

This is where your newly acquired ski touring skills come into their own - skinning up to a remote
refuge and spending the night in the mountains, with an early rise the following morning to experience
Deep powder off-piste skiing before the rest of the world wakes up. From the point where snow
clearance ends on the road from Sepantsminda to the famous Gergeti Trinity church it is about an 8 km uphill skin to the newly built “AltiHut” at 3000 masl at the foot of one of the most prominent mountains in the great Caucasus mt Kazbeg, (5033 m). This is the first tour when you will be required to do
multiple transitions from skinning to skiing. 1000 vertical meters, 8km skin Difficulty ****
Overnight at AltiHut (AltiHut is a mountain cabin situated above the village of Gergeti and lies at the foot of Mt Kazbeg From the hut you can enjoy the views of Mt. Kazbeg, Mt Kuro(4071m), mt Shani
(4’451m) and to Chaukhi Massive mountains (known as the Georgian Dolomites)).

• 1000 vertical meters
• 6 hours
• Difficulty ****
  
• Overnight in AltiHut
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 5:

After a wonderful Breakfast at AltiHut, we head direction north-west and skin up the east face of the mount. Ortsveri stands at 4222 m next to Mt. Kazbeg. By this point, you should be feeling
confident both in your ski touring skills and your mountain experience. After climbing 700 m (at this
high altitude the 700m is much more demanding than 1000m in lower elevations) There are any
number of options in this sublime ski touring area to find good turns and first runs through softly
curving snowfields that lead right back to the cabin door.

• 700 vertical meters
• 6 hours
• Difficulty ****
  
• Overnight in AltiHut
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 6:

Our final ski touring day will be a fantastic adventure far from the crowds found in lift-served areas.
We start skinning from AltiHut heading towards Mt Kazbeg, First we cross the Gergeti
glacier and aim to reach the former Soviet meteo station (3700 msl) that serves as a refugee for
mountaineers attempting to summit Mt. Kazbeg. After a short break, we continue on the path leading to
the summit, a famous and frequently used path in the summer months but rarely seeing humans in the
winter period, until we reach the black cross at around 4000msl. Here we turn back and enjoy decent
back to the cabin where we can relax with a few beers recounting the week's highlights.

• 1000 vertical meters
• 6 hours
• Difficulty *****
  
• Overnight in Altihut
  
• B, L, D included

DAY 7:

After a sumptuous breakfast, we ski down from AltiHut down to Stepantsminda to our waiting vehicles
in the valley below and transfer back to Tbilisi

INCLUDED:

• Accommodation at a mountain hut
•  All meals throughout the tour
•  Local, professional, English & Russian-speaking ski guides (max skier-to-guide ratio 5:1)
•  4×4 return transfer from Tbilisi, Gudauri, or Stepantsminda

NOT INCLUDED:

• Flights to and from Georgia
•  Travel insurance / overseas medical insurance to cover emergencies (optional)
•  Snacks, drinks, alcohol, and personal expenses
•  Equipment rental or purchase if you did not bring required items (Mogzauri+ can provide all rental equipment for this tour).
•  Tips for your guides (optional)

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