The descent from the trough to the Chach gorge takes an hour. The descent from the bivouac to the village of Gvileti takes 2–2.5 hours. From here, it is possible to return to the city of Ordzhonikidze by car in 1.5 hours.
Equipment recommended for a group of 4 people
- Main ropes 30 m — 2 pieces.
- Rock hooks — 10 pieces.
- Group carabiners — 7 pieces.
- Hammers — 2 pieces.
Description of the ascent route to South Kaidzhany from the South
1B - P - A cat. diff.
Day 1. The route of the 1st day and the ascent to the trough of the Kaidzhany glacier completely coincides with the previous description. The bivouac location is in front of the "gates" of the Chach gorge.
Day 2. Departure no later than 5:00. They go up the slope, leaving the mentioned couloir on the left. After the grassy slopes, they climb up the scree, climb onto the hill of the ancient terminal moraine of the glacier, and enter the glacier cirque.
From the trough of the Kaidzhany glacier, the massif of the South peak, dissected by a hanging valley, is clearly visible. It is necessary to turn west and overcome the loose and steep 150-meter mouth step of the hanging valley. Following the valley (deep snow), they reach its upper reaches and ascend a wide snowy slope (increasingly steep), narrowing into a forked couloir, with a steepness of up to 45° in the upper part. Movement along the slope and couloir is in rope teams. Falling stones are possible from above! Adhering to the rock massif that forks the couloir, they bypass it on the right, reaching its "roof" with piton protection.
From the ridge, they exit left-up along the snowy slope, which becomes more gentle and leads to the South slope of the South peak. The 200-meter-long slope — snowy with rocky outcrops — leads to the summit ridge. Along the wide, destroyed ridge, they continue for another 100 meters to the east to the highest point of the massif.
The descent is made along the ascent route and takes about 3 hours to the bivouac in the gorge, and another 2.5 hours to the village of Gvileti.
From the village of Gvileti — departure to the city of Ordzhonikidze.
Equipment recommended for a group of 4 people:
- Main rope 30 m — 2 pieces.
- Rock hooks — 4 pieces.
- Group carabiners — 3 pieces.
- Hammer — 1 piece.
The descriptions were compiled by
R. Proskuryakov.
Five photographs are attached to the description.
Route to South Kaidzhany from the south.
Photo by R. Proskuryakov.
