Mountaineering Exped Georgian Caucasus

At least, not by Georgians. They call their country Sakartvelo. The origins of the country’s name in English are obscure. One theory points to the Middle Ages when Christian crusaders swept through the region on their way to the Holy Land. At that time, it was part of the Persian Empire and the people here were known as “Gurj”. They were also devotees of St George. Theory has it that the crusaders made the connection and named the country Georgia. These days, there’s no mistaking the link to St George. A golden statue of the saint slaying a dragon dominates Tbilisi’s central square. He is also Georgia’s patron saint and the national flag featuring his red cross on a white background is everywhere.

Go to any flea market in Georgia and you’re likely to stumble across a moustachioed face looking out at you amid the bric-a-brac. Sixty years after his death there’s still a market for portraits of Joseph Stalin, the Georgian-born ruler of the former Soviet Union. As Georgia’s most famous son, attitudes here towards “Uncle Joe” are complicated. After independence, many Stalin statues were torn down but now some are returning to town squares. Some older Georgians revere him as a strong leader, who defeated Hitler, and are proud that tiny Georgia produced someone who had such an impact on world history. But more often he’s viewed as a tyrant responsible for brutal purges of his own people.

What’s the highest mountain range in Europe? The Alps? Wrong. It is the Caucasus Mountains marking the border between Georgia and Russia. While the highest peak is in Russia, Georgia lays claim to the second highest, Shkara, which at 5,193m (17,040 ft) beats Mont Blanc by nearly 400m (1,312 ft). These dramatic mountains, with their terrifying hairpin roads and hidden villages cut off at winter, are the stuff of legend. In Greek mythology they were one of the pillars holding up the world. And it was here that Zeus tied up Prometheus, to have his liver eaten by eagles.

Although we recommend that you bring as much of your own familiar kit with you, it is possible for us to provide you with what you need. Please let us know what you require and we can sort this out for you.
For further guidance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, we’d be happy to help.

Technical equipment (all available for hire)

• Touring skis with touring bindings
• Touring ski boots
• Ski poles (preferably telescopic)
• Skins
• Ski crampons
• Crampons *
• Avalanche transceiver *
• Snow shovel *
• Probe *

* provided

Clothing

• Lightweight baselayer tops/shirts
• Flexible trousers or leggings
• Thermal underwear
• Fleece
• Lightweight waterproof jacket
• Lightweight waterproof trousers
• Warm hat
• Warm gloves
• Walking/ski socks
• Sun hat/peaked cap
• Sunglasses
• Goggles

Other useful items

• 40-60 litre rucksack (with side straps for skis)
• Ski strap (for attaching skis together to carry on a rucksack)
• Head torch and batteries
• Sun block and lip balm (minimum factor 25)
• Personal first aid kit (plasters, blister kit, pain killers)
• Water bottle and/or thermos flask
• Penknife
• Change of clothing for evenings in the refuges
• Sheet sleeping bag liner
• Swimming costume (if you would like to try out the sauna and swimming pool at Marco Polo)

Optional items

• Camera
• Paperback book
• Maps
• Ear plugs
• Favourite snacks – cereal bars, dried fruit/nuts, chocolate etc.

Most visitors do not need a visa to enter Georgia. For a list of 94 countries whose citizens may enter Georgia without a Visa please see link:

http://georgia.travel/en/visa-information#sthash.QmQbqY1H.dpuf

A guest is a gift from God, goes the saying in Georgia. So foreign visitors are plied with food and drink – an enjoyable experience, if not always good for the waistline. But “a toast!” is the phrase dreaded by any visitor with a busy work day ahead. Out comes a bottle of Chacha, the lethal Georgian schnapps, or a large plastic bottle of homemade wine. Both must be downed in large shots. Excuses that you have to drive back six hours along twisting mountain roads won’t be accepted. Instead, you’ll be offered a bed for the night, and be propelled into a full-scale traditional feast.

The leafy boulevards of the Georgian capital Tbilisi look like Paris, and the English-speaking young hipsters wouldn’t look out of place in Berlin. But take a look at a map and you’ll find the former Soviet republic 1,000km (600 miles) east of the Bosphorus, marooned in Asia. One definition of Europe marks the Caucasus Mountains as its border, putting Georgia firmly in Asia. Other definitions place the whole Caucasus region, including Georgia, in Europe which is where most Georgians feel it belongs. Head into the countryside however, where farmers scratch out a subsistence living, and it’s a different story. If this is Europe, it can sometimes feel more like 19th-Century Sicily than the modern-day EU.

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