First Ascent of Fisht Western Face in the Caucasus

You’ve got to have respect for Russain mounaineers. In Europe and North-America, they get too little attention. I just read on the English pages of mountain.ru (great site, by the way, full of priceless information) that a team of five ascended the 560 m wall of Fisht’s Western Face straight on the fall line. The conditions were incredibly crappy for them, but the tough, Prussian-style schooling paid off: they were able to ascend despite the poor conditions – despite hardly even being able to reach BC in the snowy and ici days of the Caucasian February.

Check out the dispatches here and lament over what it must have been like to climb this baby in early March:

Georgia Adventure Travel – What’s Up in Tbilisi These Days?

OK, this is the first real blogpost on this blog, fellas. These days, I can’t help thinking about one of my favorite cities on the planet I’ve visited so far: Tbilisi, [TAG-TEC]Georgia[/TAG-TEC]. I had made the trip about a year ago, looking to summit – just a 3 hour “hold on to your asses” busride from the capital.

Tbilisi took me totally unexpected with its culture, art scene and the atmosphere in general. You’ll be surprised at the number of modern art galleries you’ll find downtown with really awesome works. And the post on Sheila’s blog highlighted the sulphur underground baths – a really cool experience, even for someone coming from Budapest. Which is probably the world capital for not only porn, but yes, BATHS.

You would probably have trouble flying into Tbilisi nowadays, as Putin and his clan bombed – among other places – the airport. But life is back to normal now, or so the news inform.

A word of caution: if traveling to the Caucasus, forget the 2004 Lonely Planet book. If you’ve bought it already, use it to heat your stove. It’s totally outdated. They’re working on a new edition – this Austrian dude we met in Kazbegi (the village under the mighty Kazbek) even stayed with one of the authors at a hostel. But that edition isn’t out yet. If you’re looking for a good guidebook for the region, try a Bradt Guide.

Oh, the food is awesome – try some Khinkhali and rinse it with local Vodka!