Kazbek - a classic mountain of the Caucasus

Yana Vinetskaya, exclusively to VK

Mount Kazbek ("Bashlam" in the Ingush language, "Chyrysty Tsupp" or "Tseristy Tsub" in the writing of the last century in Ossetian, "Mkinvartsveri" in Georgian) rises to 5033 meters above sea level, but it takes only the sixth place among the giants of the Caucasus. Conceding to Elbrus and Dykh Tau, Kazbek is undeniably grandiose and majestic in its beauty. "There's a special kind of greatness “, a famous mountaineer, explorer, President of the Royal Geographical Society Douglas Freshfield wrote, “in the sloping curves of the huge white domes, filling all the holes in the opposite range, suddenly looming before the eyes of the viewer. Kazbek is a single classic mountain". Members of the London Mountaineering Club Douglas Freshfield and Adolphus Moore are the first official conquerors of Mount Kazbek, although many memories and sources indicate that some of the locals went up to the top before.

For centuries, the Highlanders thought Kazbek a holy place, a place of eternal residence of God, due to which the mountain was unruly. At the beginning of the last century, the Highlanders began to tell travelers that on top of the mountain, in an inaccessible monastery, there are many sacred objects. The desire to find a treasure trove was one of the main reasons which prompted many people to try to climb to the top. Kazbek is one of the main symbols of the Caucasus sung in the literature of the peoples of the Caucasus and the Russian writers and poets: "Like a wise old man, petrified and silent for centuries, and his snow-white hair, wrinkled and downed in one mass, flows down with thin streams... Kazbek is glorious as the lord of the world can be glorious. "

Exploring the mountain began in the second half of the XIX century, and in 1912 the pioneer climber Maria Preobrazhenskaya installed on top of Kazbek a meteorological box, which sent signals to the Tbilisi Physical Observatory. The workers of Observatory faced unexpected challenges: tourists repeatedly tried to open the box and check the status of the equipment. Scientists have published advertisements in newspapers and called outsiders "in order to avoid misunderstandings and unfortunate consequences for science" not to touch or attempt to get inside the box. Thus, the employees of Observatory reported that they would be very grateful to excursionists for any information on outdoor box state – whether it stands vertically or not, whether it is covered with snow and icy, etc. Observatory also gratefully accepted the weather data on the top of Mount Kazbek from personal instruments of the tourists and their private observations.

The guide by Grigory Moskvich urged to take the wires out of the local people, in particular the whole Bezurtanov family. One of the first conquerors of the top is just one of them, so the knowledge of the surrounding mountains and trails is accumulated and passed on from generation to generation. At the beginning of XX century the fee for the work of the conductor to the top of Mount Kazbek was 15 rubles per one tourist, and 20 rubles for 2-3. A group of more than three tourists needed two conductors that doubled the price. Before climbing the guide advised "to take a Caucasian cloak or a warm coat, wine and provisions, as on the glacier there is no lodge and you cannot get it." It should be noted that the Caucasian burka generally was one of the most important items of equipment when traveling through the Caucasus, as it provided protection not only from the cold, but the rain and wind. And during a stop the traveler could lie down on it.

For those who did not venture to make the ascent to the summit, a simpler but no less exciting route was offered – the climb on horseback before the Gergeti glacier. The Gergeti glacier, located near the village of Kazbegi, according to Gregory Moskvich, surpassed even the famous Devdorak glacier. "The mass of ice, cracked, rolling down, seems to be frozen on the ground, and under it there is a loud noise of an invisible river. On the side of the rocks there is a brook undermining the shore. Stones rattle pouring from under your feet. When the sky is clean, in front of you there is a wide gray-haired top of Kazbek”, the guide says. The road to the glacier was along the river valley, which offers a wonderful view of Mount Kazbek, and then on the steep mountain slopes with a very miserable vegetation. A steep climb is stretched out for a couple of kilometers, but you can ride a horse almost up to the glacier, the author of the guide encourages the timid traveler. Horse round trip took about 4-5 hours and "is quite rewarding for time lost."