South Kaidzhany (3916 m)

Peak of the Kazbek Highland Region

The peak South Kaidzhany is located between the peaks North Kaidzhany and Peak "3850 m" of the Eastern Lateral Ridge, north of the Kazbek massif. The peak has been visited repeatedly since 1947 by mountaineering groups from Ordzhonikidze. Most popular routes:

• Via the Northeast Ridge
• From the south, from the Chach gorge Below is a description of both routes:
• Description of the ascent route to South Kaidzhany via the Northeast Ridge
• 1B-P-A-cat. diff. Day 1. From Ordzhonikidze, the group arrives by car in 1 hour to the village of Gvileti, from where they ascend on a wide pack trail for 1 hour to the confluence of the Amali and Chach-khi rivers.

Traverse of Midadgrabin-Khokh (4040 m) – Tep-Khokh (3926 m) peaks, 4–6 cat. diff. (approximately). The Midadgrabin glacier area is adjacent to the Kazbek high-altitude area (to the west) and is located in the eastern part of the Central Caucasus. The highest peak in the area (and North Ossetia) is Jimarai-Khokh (4778 m). The massifs of Midadgrabin-Khokh (4040 m) and Tep-Khokh (3926 m) peaks are part of the ridge that bounds the Midadgrabin plateau from the south and branches off from Jimarai-Khokh to the west. Relief features:

• To the north, the ridge drops sharply with steep icy slopes and rocky walls.
• To the south, it drops with rocky walls. The rocks that make up the massifs of these peaks are extremely unstable, and the ridge between them is heavily destroyed and very sharp with steep drops. The traverse was first completed in September 1956 by the "Lokomotiv" group led by L. Tsypkin. It was traversed for the second time also by the "Lokomotiv" group in the same year. Classification of participants:

48

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

Ascent to the summit of Ortsveri (4220 m) via the North Face, category 3B. The Kazbek high-altitude region closes the eastern part of the Central section of the Greater Caucasus. The most significant peaks in the region are Jimarai-Khokh, Maili-Khokh, Spartak Peak, and Kazbek, forming a mountain chain from west to east, creating the Lateral Ridge of the Greater Caucasus, which is located north of the Main Ridge and significantly surpasses it in terms of absolute altitude. The Orctveri summit is located directly south of Kazbek (5048 m) on the southeastern spur of Spartak Peak. The Orctveri massif (4220 m), like the surrounding massifs, is composed of Kazbek effusives of the andesite type and possibly represents a remnant of a tertiary volcano crater, with the northern edge being the Kazbek summit cone. Between the Kazbek and Orctveri massifs lies the Gergeti Glacier (also known as the Ortsveri Glacier), which feeds the Chkheri River, which flows into the Terek River near the village of Kazbegi. The glacier flows along the base of the North Face of Orctveri, from which smaller hanging glaciers flow, one of which descends from the Ortsveri pass, located northwest of Orctveri on the ridge connecting it to Spartak Peak.

Route Description

Ascent to the unnamed peak (in North Ossetia, it is referred to as пик Орджоникидзевской железной дороги, or Ordzhonikidze Railway Peak) via the north-northeast ridge, category П-Б difficulty (4005 m) The peak is located in the watershed ridge (between the Genal-don and Чач-хи river basins), connecting the Казбекское плато (Kazbek plateau) to the south with пик Иристон (Iriston peak) and further to Чач-хох (Chach-khokh) to the north. The peak was first ascended in May 1952 by a group from the Ordzhonikidze Road Council "Lokomotiv" led by Yu. Polyakov, who traversed Кайджаны (Kaidzhana) - Чач-хох (Chach-khokh) - Майли-хох (Maili-khokh). As a standalone objective, the peak was first conquered on September 12, 1965, by a group of 9 climbers from the North Ossetian Council of the "Spartak" Sports Society, led by G. Eputaev and V. Kozlovsky (both 2nd sports category). The ascent was made from the Чачское ущелье (Chachskoye gorge) with an exit onto the north-northeast ridge of the peak. Day 1. The group drives by car to сел. Гвилети (Gvileti village), from where it takes no more than 1 hour on foot to reach the confluence of the Көбахи (Kobakhi) and Чач-хи (Chach-khi) rivers. After crossing the Көбахи river at the confluence and overcoming a steep ascent, they follow a trail into the right (Чачское, Chachskoye) gorge. Overcoming the "бараньи лбы ворот" ("ram's foreheads gates") via one of the shelves, they proceed up a grassy slope to a group of trees, where a trail begins. The trail leads into a wide couloir, crosses a stream, and then sharply turns right under the cliffs, following which it widens and leads to a shoulder forming the first "gates" of the gorge.

65. Severnaia via the Eastern ridge

The route is a combined one by A. Meshcheryakov, category 3A, fig. 88, 89, 101, 102. Length 700–800 m, duration 7–9 hours. From Vladikavkaz (group of 2–8 people), take a bus for 1.5–2 hours to the village of Kharisdzhin. From the village, walk 1.5–2 km upstream along the gorge road to the right tributary of Fiagdon - the Tsadzhiau River. Cross the river and turn right, ascending via a serpentine trail on the left bank until the gorge turns left to the south. Here, cross the Tsadzhiau River and follow the trail of an old overgrown road on the right bank to approach a mountain lake. The base camp is located on the lake's shore. The journey from the road takes 2.5–3 hours, and from the village of Kharisdzhin - 3–4 hours. From the lake, follow the wide, even bottom of the gorge to reach the terminal moraine of the Tsadzhiau Glacier. From here, there are two options to ascend to the Eastern shoulder of the Eastern ridge of Severnaia peak. First option:

• Turn right on the moraine and ascend via scree and easy, crumbling rocks on the right slope to the Southeast buttress of the Eastern ridge.
• Turn right here and ascend via easy, crumbling rocks and scree on the Southeast buttress to the Eastern shoulder of the Eastern ridge. Second option:
• Proceed along the right moraine upstream through the gorge for several hundred meters, approaching an overhanging rock on the right. A base camp is possible under this rock. The journey from the lake takes 1.5–2 hours.
• From the rock, ascend upstream through the gorge and, bypassing the base of the Southeast buttress of the Eastern ridge, turn right.

80. Tepli Main via Southwest by the couloir of the West ridge

The route is combined A. Zyuzina, cat. 3B, fig. 88, 89, 109, 115, 117. Length 700–900 m, time 9–12 h. From Vladikavkaz (group of 2–8 people):

• Take the cable car to the village of Nar.
• Ascend along the dirt road through the Lyia-don river gorge to the village of Liia.
• Continue along the trail, pass the mineral spring, and follow along the left bank of the Lyadon river to a green meadow with a mineral spring. From here:
• Ascend via the moraines to the right onto the Southwestern Tepi Glacier.
• Set up the initial bivouac on the moraine of the glacier or near a small lakelet under the slopes of Komlagat peak.

Description of the route condition to the summit of Shau-khokh (4636 m) via the eastern ridge, category 2B complexity. The nature of the route as of September 2015:

• snow-ice
• rock sections do not present technical difficulties.

Approaches

Get to the village of Verkhniy Koni, register at the border outpost (the summit is located in the border area, to make ascents you need to obtain a permit to enter the border zone in the established form, it's better to do this in advance), then go up to the village of Tmenikau, 2 km further up the gorge — there's a border post, this is the farthest point you can reach by car. From the border post:

• A gentle, wide trail (formerly a geological road) goes up the Genaldon gorge
• The trail leads to the warm mineral springs in front of the tongue of the Maili glacier
• This is where the base camp for ascents to Mt. Kazbek from the north is located
• There are places for tents and water

Ascent Passport

I. Ascent class — Combined 2. Ascent area — East Caucasus, Shavana ridge 3. Peak, its height, route — p. Kichchechkort, 4133 m, via North-Eastern buttress of Eastern ridge. 4. Route characteristics: a) height difference — 900 m. b) route length — 1500 m. c) average steepness of the route — 50° 5. Pitons hammered for belay (I.T.O.): — rock — 14

Ascent Log

I. Ascent class — Rock climbing 2. Ascent area — East Caucasus, Shavana ridge 3. Peak, its height, route — Salgi peak, 3961 m, via the North ridge 4. Route characteristics: a) height difference — 700 m. b) route length — 1800 m. c) average steepness of the route — 45–50° 5. Number of pitons used for protection (I.T.O.): - rock pitons

Fig. 25

1. Ascent to Sofrudju peak (3785 m) — cat. d. 1B (fig. 25)

From Dombayskaya polyana cross the bridge over the Alibek river and follow the trail to the stream descending from the large Belalakay couloir. Cross the stream to the snowfield and ascend it for 300–350 m. Then turn left into the Sofrudju couloir (danger of rockfall!) and ascend it to a large overhanging rock. Continue straight up the steep section to the trail and follow it to Medvezhya (Med­ve­zh­'ya) polyana. From Medvezhya polyana ascend 300–350 m up the eastern slope of Belalakay through the snow — exit to the Sofrudju bivouac. From Dombayskaya polyana — 5–6 hours.