Mkinvartsveri | Kazbek (5054 m)
First Ski Descents and the Road of Dreams
February 2019. It is a stormy winter day at 3000 m in the Georgian Caucasus. A dog looks at me as if he knows me, as if I have been here before. In the background, Mkinvartsveri (5054 m) rises, the sun shining on the upper slopes of the southeast face. Somewhere up there, my fascination with the Caucasus started. First, with an image of these slopes in my father's geology book, my fingers tracing lines up and down snowy slopes and ice faces; later, standing with skis at the drop-in to my dream line—the SE face direct, or “3B”. The pursuit of skiing this and other lines on this beautiful peak would lead me back to Georgia year after year. However, it was not just about the mountains. It was the unique mix of mountains, culture, immense hospitality, and the chaotic, charming, and vibrant Tbilisi transitioning into a modern future.
In 2008, I skied the SE face direct (50°+) with Andi Riesner and several other new steep routes. In May 2013, I returned to Mkinvartsveri one more time to climb and ski the last unskied line. Trevor Hunt, a Canadian steep skiing legend, and I ascended the rarely climbed Japharidze ridge and N-NE face to the summit in less than three days. Together with Georgian climbers a few weeks before us, we are the first people to climb this route in over 50 years – and the first to ski it. This descent was the fourth steep line I skied in the course of seven years. A full article can be found at ︎Mountain Life.
In 2017, I returned to the area with three Ukrainian friends, climbing Mkinvartsveri`s neighbour peak Maili Khok (4600 m). Some refer to the route along its ridge and onwards as the "Road of Dreams". It was a memorable climb during a time when the mountains of the Caucasus seemed to have no borders. Little did we know about what would follow and how plans and dreams would vanish because of decisions made by men.
Today, I live part-time in Georgia. The image of Mkinvartsveri from February 2019 hangs in my living room in Norway. The print was a present from my wife, whom I had met in Georgia. We got married a few months after I took the image.
