Expedition to Mount Kazbek: Prelude
From the point when I started to write this sentence, it is a story without any certain ending. You don’t know how it is going to end, I don’t know how it is going to end, in a matter of a fact, nobody does. I can hardly foresee the future beyond the day I attempt to climb Mount Kazbek.
The forecast of the weather on the peak is very pessimistic, we might not even get an opening to try ascending the mountain.
We have supplies for 7 days, it is going to take at least 2 days to get to the base camp, one day for acclimatization, one day to ascend to the peak and another one to get down. Are we going to be back at Stepantsminda (nearest town to the mountain) in 5 days, I doubt that. It looks more like we are going to spend 4 days at the base camp, waiting for an opportunity, and after that, we will have to head down.
Maybe, I’m pessimistic, but with current forecast, this is how I feel it would end. Note, that you might experience quite a change of my mood during these series because I try to write everything more or less in a real-time. Today I’m very tired, I hardly had any sleep. Had to be at the Vilnius Airport at 5 Am and I rarely get any sleep before journey like this. The boarding was tense as well, everything was late, don’t like rushing during trips like this. I don’t want to be forced into making mistakes.
The past
Let me tell you a little secret, before this journey I was really scared, but when it started, everything faded away. You might wonder what was that I am afraid of? It is really easy to explain. This is my second attempt to get on the top of Mount Kazbek. Exactly two years ago, I did the same trip, so I basically repeating it.
Expedition to Mount Kazbek 2016
Back then I made to the plateau at ~4,300 m. elevation out of 5,047 m. in total. I made it to the last day when we attempted climbing the peak, but I quit. Ironically, the day before that was the only day when I thought that I could actually make it. The trip was harsh and not to even mention that back then I was in a terrible physical shape.
Turkey coup d’etat 2016
The flight to Tbilisi went through Ataturk Airport in Istambul, though we had only 2 hours before changing the plane, it was the exact hours when the coup d’etat started. Obviously, all of the flights were canceled and most of the personnel fled the airport. Though nothing really happened in our sector of the airport, it was stressful enough to hit my mindset hard. Every massive panic attack of the people surrounding me, which occurred due to shootings outside, or jets flying above our heads, or a bad joke, or god knows what made my heart tremble really hard. That day I really thought that I’m going to die so I had to embrace it.
Ataturk Airport had a terrorist attack just two weeks before the coup and these conditions were perfect for another one. After one day of waiting in the airport, all I wanted was to get back home, but without a doubt, we moved forward.
Damaged mentally, with already having accepted my death, I had to climb the highest mountain I’ve ever seen. The task was no joke. 18 km distance might seem small, but 3,300 m ascent with a 20 kg on your back with a lack of oxygen is a tough challenge. Let me remind you that I was in a terrible shape and the trip destroyed my back and knees.
Storm
Just on a second day of climbing a heavy storm hit, which apparently killed someone who at that time was trying to ascend the peak. At that time, I was seriously scared, it seemed impossible to climb that mountain.
Debris landslide
On the fifth day of the expedition, during an acclimatization trip, a debris landslide almost hit me and my friend. In a matter of fact, we were saved only by a big rock, behind which we were standing at that time. The landslide was immensely beautiful from that close but very dangerous. It took me some time to understand what, actually, really just happened. At that time, I was already affected by the mountain sickness and my coordination was far from being perfect.
Rescue operation
The same day we had an opportunity to observe a rescue operation. Luckily, nobody got hurt but seeing the faces of the people who went down to ask for a help left a mark anyway.
Mountain sickness
The next day ascended to the plateau of Mount Kazbek at ~ 4,300 m. A problem with mountain sickness is that during a night, it hits you way harder. The reason for that being very simple, when a person sleeps, his/her breathing gets slower which reduces the amount of your oxygen intake.
Despite all the horrors of the mountain sickness, the amazing thing about it is that it shows, how we – humans are adapted only to a thin layer of the biosphere. This is what mountains do, makes you feel weak. Everybody is nobody in the front of them. One quickly understands that fighting their own shadow in a shadow of a mountain might be simply irrelevant. Memento Mori.
The night at 4,300 m height was the most terrible I’ve ever had, the symptoms of the mountain sickness got stronger and stronger. I’ve even had to swallow my own vomit to prevent the temperature inside of a tent from dropping. It was -14 °C outside, there was no escape from it, so I quit. I took strong painkillers which fade only 24 hours later, and they got me asleep in 15 minutes. I didn’t want to continue the journey without really feeling my own body.
Conclusions
All of this, combined with the danger of falling into a crevasse (a crack on the glacier), made me understand that climbing the mountain once you set your foot on a glacier, is absolutely no joke.
When I finally, climbed down from Gergeti glacier, it was hard for me to believe that I get to live further, and it haunted me for a quite some time. All of this probably leaves you with an impression that I’m a coward, but what I shared here was my deepest fears and thoughts. I fought and tried to remain calm until the last second I could.
The reasoning behind the return
Now, you might wonder, why I returned? First, the route to the peak of Mount Kazbek doesn’t require as many technical skills and is a good place for training. For my friend, it was the first trip to a mountain as big as Mount Kazbek, so it was a good opportunity for him to learn. Sadly, his father’s sickness got worse just before the journey and he decided to stay with him.
This left me with only one reason. Fighting demons of the past is no easy task, but it is something one must do in order to move on. That is exactly what I came here for, I want to move one, I want to feel alive again. Finishing the toughest journey, I’ve ever had, looks like the shortest way to achieve my goal.
The present
Mu current pessimism proves that I still feel like I’m incapable of doing that, but I have no doubt, that when I get more sleep and start walking, it is going to be hard to stop me. If I’ll see an opening, I’ll pursue my goal at any price.
The future
I told you at the beginning of this story that only time will show how it is going to end. Maybe… Hopefully, it will have a happy ending. Maybe, nobody will ever read this.
Expedition to Mount Kazbek: Day 1
After a landing, looks like the journey is accelerating really fast. One of my colleagues was sitting next to a Lithuanian and befriended him, he was a part of a group in a class meeting journey around Sakartvelo (Georgia). They were headed to Borjomi and told us that they could lift us. Their driver, a local Georgian, met us with lots of wine and food. To those who don’t know, Georgians are famous for their hospitality and this action is a very common one. Based on their traditions, it is an honor to have a guest.
On the road, we were sharing a cold Lithuanian beer and some good funny old stories. With an increasing mood, it starts to feel like a vacation and the mode slowly switches to here and now.
Somewhere in between Kutaisi and Tbilisi, not too far from Borjomi, our roads had to separate. The driver stopped at something what looked like a parking lot which apparently was a bus station as well. He convinced a minibus driver, headed towards the capital of Sakartvelo, to pick us up with our big backpacks. The road didn’t take too long as I quickly fell asleep. At the central station which was our last stop we took a taxi to our hotel. It costed us almost as much as getting from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, we tried to lover the price, but the driver didn’t want to negotiate.
The subtleties of the Georgian way of doing things struck us again when we tried to find our hotel, which is more like a guest house. The taxi driver didn’t know how to find the spot, so we started asking in streets and soon after it seemed like half of the neighbourhood tried to solve our problem. The story continued after we finally found the place, the host met us with a smile and kind words, but for some reason, her husband drove us to another place to a grandpa where we stayed for a half day.
We paid the same price for the accommodation, but after doing that, we were asked to cancel our booking, to open it up on the internet. Soon we were fed and treated with a bottle of home-made wine.
After eating and taking a shower to wash all of the day’s sweat (it is really hot for Lithuanian standards), we set out to the city of Tbilisi. Streets were interesting, people varied from trying to trick us, by telling that they are working for non-profit organizations and were asking for some money, to random people coming to us and offering us guidance. After being told that you shouldn’t pay more than 5 Gel for a taxi getting around in the center (local currency with exchange rate around 2.85 to 1€), we caught one to get us to Tbilisi funicular with which we got up to Mtatsminda park on the roof of the city.
Mtatsminda park
In Mtatsminda park you can find plenty of attractions, from observation circle to anything you can imagine you can find in an amusement park, including free Wi-Fi and self-promoting free energy drinks. Water quality as in any mountainous region is super good and drinks tend to be really tasty and refreshing.
We stopped at one of many restaurants with an amazing panorama over night’s Tbilisi for a beer, but as you can imagine there is plenty of people and we had no time to wait for a slow service. Instead, we got a cab and grabbed a beer near our guest house to close the day with cheers. As much as it was interesting and fun to spend time in Tbilisi, we had to go to sleep. We must wake up in the middle of the night and go to pick up the fourth member of our crew from Tbilisi Airport.
We found a driver for a trip in the middle of the street during an evening and made a deal for 150 GEL, Tbilisi – Tbilisi Airport – Stepantsminda, but that is the story of tomorrow.
To be continued on next Monday, 07.30
This article is a part of the bigger series of my trip to Georgia 2018, Summer. Follow me for an entry on every Monday.
Author: Mantas Ališauskas
Photography: Mantas Ališauskas 2016 & 2018, Jonas Kryžanauskas 2016
Design: Mantas Ališauskas
Website: http://www.ctdots.eu
oh an amazing adventure just reading it makes me want to do something exiting too :D
Believe me, I want to go back as well, though I got back 2 days ago:D
The hospitality seem to be great and the people there also seem friendly and helpful.
I don't think I would stay on top of a mountain. I like the luxuries of a warm bed.
I haven't travel much from Europe, but the Georgian people are the most friendly I've ever met. One can communicate in English with younger generations and in Russian with older ones:) As for mountains, I understand. Lack of comfort is pretty annoying, especially at lower temperatures when it is even hard to clean your self with water:)
Your post was well written and gave information and insight on the people and culture. That was nice to see
Well, it is not as easy for those people to talk for themselves. Many are still disconnected from the world. Even though there was I few things I really dislike, but I want to give all the praise to them for their big hearts:) I have a lot prepared for future posts about the Georgian culture:)
I look forward to seeing them. I find it very interesting and informative
Glad to hear! Should post it next week on Monday:)
A very interesting experience. This line says it all too well.
It is the same in every aspect of everyday life.
Otherwise this is a very interesting experience....personally i have never really climbed a Mountain, may be a few hills here and there as a kid, but all the same, i am not very comfortable with heights! So i can imagine it is no joking errand. Making a second attempt makes it no easier!
And i can see an even more electric experience is next coming. I will follow along.
This is an original post, written to depth. I am going to feature it in the next Xposed Curator's Rebound #33. You may find details about it Xposed Curator's Rebound
My hope is to bring your quality work here the exposure it deserves, and with it, hopefully some additional rewards.
Congratulations, and best wishes.
Thank you for choosing me, I just got back from the trip and made this post. I'll check more in depth of what you do after I get some sleep. Always looking forward finding more quality content creators.
Matlobat didi! (thank you very much in Georgian)
It is okay, you have a good sleep. And check in on this initiative when you can. Otherwise the pleasure is mine to be associated with such quality work as this.
I checked it out, I really like an idea as featuring doesn't seem to be working as well as everyone wishes. I'll be sure to follow you and your project. :)
True, this idea was born after i realized the traditional 'Feature Post' was at best, benefiting whoever made it, rather than those featured.
And i though giving the incentive such as i give in this initiative, where all stakeholders in deed benefit, would have curators come in and indeed support those featured.
So far to be honest with you, about 80% success rate has been achieved. Last week alone, in 5 Feature posts i made, 4 of them had at least one promoted posts curied. You can read that report here https://steemit.com/mirrors/@mirrors/xposed-curator-s-rebound-weekly-report-1
I can't say it is because i featured them, but neither can one say otherwise with certainty. At any rate, i am proud that those i promote in deed get traffic redirected to their posts and with it, the deserved rewards.
The weekly report i made yesterday details the success rate so far achieved, and it is impressive. Several wonderful members have since been supportive. And to them is much of the success so far owed.
I am hoping, and working to grow this initiative into something really BIG. And any support is welcome.
Thanks for your kind words. And encouragement.
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=ctdots
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=expedition-to-mount-kazbek-prelude-and-day-1
Want to have your post on the map too?
More of Georgia/Sakartvelo needs to be on this map. A hidden gem of hospitality and natural beauty .
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
Thanks! joined your community on discord and will try to help out other authors as well:)
Great story!
I was on Kazbegi summit 2 days ago. This was my 3-rd attempt. This is a serious mountain...
And thanks! :)
Nice:) congrats, how many times out of those three attempts did you succeed? It is a serious mountain, just you don't need as much technical skills, theoretically you can walk it up.
This time was my first summit. 5 years ago I had to turn back from saddle, 100 meters before summit due to bad weather. 3 years ago I escorted my team-mate down, who had altitude sickness. This time we used different route and summited on 8-th day, so we had very good acclimatization. Technicaly easy, that's right, but if anything goes wrong, then some skills can save a life.
Yeah, I totally agree, all technicalities are still important for safety, it is a dangerous mountain. When I was climbing, there was no snowing for several days, so I saw a lot of crevasses.
A bit unlucky, but congrats on your summit. Altitude sickness kills me at night, I had to stop last time on the saddle, but this time we just climbed from betlemi hut and nights are not as harsh on me there at night:) thought the climb was hard from there, but we did reach the peak. Which route did you use?
We jumped out from marshutka some 20-30 km-s before Stepantsminda and trekked along another valley from south side. After crossing a mountain pass near Ortsveri peak, we reached to Gergeti glacier and settled our camp to 4300m on regular route.
Wow, I never heard of this route, sounds interesting, I want to try out it as well:D from your own experience, how was the views? Is this route more beautiful?
I was in Svaneti, climbing on Tetnuldi, so didn't visit Steemit for a while. I'll be back at home next week, I'll try to make some map scetch or I can give cordinates of our campsites, then it's easy to improvise the route.
All people in our group enjoyed this journey. We descended on classic route and everybody thought, we made a good decision :)
Wow, well done travel post! Very moody photographs, wish to be a part of such expedition some day. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you:) it's a bit sad that the last time I didn't have a good camera, so the quality is not as good. Well, there must be learning expeditions done by the alpine clubs probably in every country:)
Photos have their nice mood thanks to that :). I am sure that mountaineering in Norway stays in really high level and if I only had time and money I could start doing this...but for now, money and time is something never enough ;)
Well yeah, it can be really expensive. While the trip itself can be cheap, but buying gear takes a lot:) I still rent or borrow some of my stuff.
About the photos I agree. I wanted ti to look from the past, and bad quality, probably, helps as well:))
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Interesting read. Personally, I have not climbed any mountain, just hills. One needs not only physical strength, but mental strength to brave the slopes. Take care!
Thank you, I keep telling my friend that physical strength is just a small part of climbing mountains, because a lot of people wants to go, but a few really understands what that means. :)
wow, such an interesting blog.. and entering into a new terriotory is always scary, but once its there, then thr is no place for fear! waiting for the next part..:)
Thank you. This very personal stuff I shared here, but I believe that everyone needs to search for a strength to fight what they are afraid of the most. Returning there took a lot from me, but I grew even more:)
Heya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in our Daily Travel Digest!
Thank you! Glad to be back on it:)
outstanding moments for you.
Thanks :)
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Sure, if publishing one post a day is spam then you're the mother of spam.
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We use "your" precious tag now because you flag every single post of ours.
We know you don't like competitors, troll kid.
( hilarious, just one example. And do you still stop your service for bad wifi when it rains kid? ROFL )
PS. In reply to the new accusations of the cyber bully (@resteem.bot / @flauschi / many other accounts) :
gaottantacinque owns only gasaeightyfive, the other accounts belong to biz partners
The automated reply is only on his comments, see link below for the reasons
He claims tags that existed even before he joined. We use 1 of "his" tags a day as retaliation for the reasons explained below:
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(or just see comments below)
PS. By the way.. since you mention them.. F R E E R E S T E E M S on those accounts! : D
Guys, visit my daily posts if you like. Support me against this cyber bully / spammer / scammer that downvotes me every day reducing my repo growth.
Thanks : )
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Oh beautiful photos and amazing writing:). I remember travelling in Georgia, doing quite a similar route. Such a beautiful country! Good luck with your travels xxx