18th - 1st day in second trip

It is probably worth mentioning the plan I originally put up on the blog is not being followed now. The reason for this is that one of the acclimatization walks was up to a summit which would require us to cross the border to Georgia during the ascent. And that is not the most popular thing to do these days.

We left the hotel in the morning around 0900 and were dropped off half an hour later where we began our ascent. We started going up along a steep gravel road, and after app. 400 meters we ended up in a valley which was a mix of ordinary grassy paths and actual rocks that had to be climbed over/across. We had a couple of much needed 10 minute breaks along the way but otherwise we were just moving along.

We had lunch around 1330, overlooking the valley we had walked up through. I had ended in the back together with a second guy as we were going slower than the rest of the group. Not a big problem, it felt comfortable going at our own pace instead of having to keep up with the rest that were walking slightly faster than we felt like. We had one behind us, though, who didn’t arrive at our place for lunch until the rest had continued. We found out later that he at that point had given up and had our assistant guide escort him back. At that point we had ascended app. 1200 meters.

After lunch there was plenty more rock climbing, but a couple of hours later we arrived at our camp site (“my” group which now consisted of me and two others arrived 10-15 minutes after the main group). This gave us in total a 7-ish hour walk, as opposed to the estimated 8-10 hours. So even if we have been slow, we still have kept up a good pace compared to the original estimates.

Since arrival we have set up camp and just relaxing. We can look up on the glacier we are walking tomorrow before coming back here. We are at app. 3200 meters and the walk up the glacier will be a 700 meter ascent.

We have a guy in the group who only has one leg, name is Lars. It is massively impressive seeing him going along – there is nothing that seems to worry him, and that says quite a lot considering the conditions here. When navigating glaciers he puts on spikes on his crutches and the head of an ice axe is mounted on one of them.

It is horrifically windy here right now – I am glad I can sit in our tent and not have to care. The sun is still shining so when the wind doesn’t find the one angle that lets it inside the tent it is comfortably warm.

[added later in the night]

It feels like the wind has gotten stronger – but it also seems as if there are more pauses, too. When the sun set far enough to leave our camping site in the shade of the mountains it suddenly got quite cold. But seeing distant mountains still covered in sun it is a beautiful sight.

At the end of the lake at the camp in the direction from where we came there is a small range of hills, creating almost a vertical wall on the other side. It’s almost hypnotizing seeing clouds get blown straight up before being dispersed slowly in the wind, making constant unique shapes and figures. Seeing a big dense grey wall of clouds coming up is intimidating until it slowly disperses in the air.

Looking down through the valley where we came from.

And looking up at where we were going.

The camp beautifully placed below mountains and glaciers next to a lake. 

The view from where we came.