Threading the Needle
Tom Grant and co. sought to carve out a bold first ski descent in the eastern Caucasus, chasing a fine line between ice and rock - and between beauty and consequence. Reaching Tebulosmta was a challenge in itself, and the mountain made it clear it would only give up an opportunity in exchange for patience, precision, and poise.
At the end of a long season of skiing and guiding in the Alps the change of pace of an expedition and the lure of remote, unknown terrain was enticing. Teaming up with Aaron Rolph and Bine Zalohar, two close friends who I'd previously been on an expedition to Pakistan with, I knew we shared a vision for exploratory skiing.
The Georgian Caucasus was a logical place to combine these desires and experience something completely non-routine in a new country. While the western Caucasus has hosted foreign ski expeditions over the years, we could find very little information on the eastern part of the range. Through Bine's methodical research, we discovered that Georgia's 7th highest peak, Tebulosmta (also the highest in Chechnya due to the shared border intersecting the mountain), appeared not to have been skied.
At 4,493m, Tebulosmta dominates the surrounding region and has a prominence of over 2,000m. It also appeared to have a 1000m north face with a logical direct line from the summit and a sustained, steep top face. Armed with the dream of freeriding north-facing powder on a pristine 1000m face, we set off on our adventure.
Getting to the end of the valley where we could begin to approach the mountain presented a substantial logistical hurdle in itself. The remote farming hamlet of Khone, the closest outpost of any form of civilization to Tebulosmta, is cut off for most of the winter and spring by road. After renting a 1990s Toyota Sequoia, our trusty companion for the journey, we headed into the mountains.
The north face of Tebulosmta rose before us and, to our disappointment, had been ravaged by strong winds which stripped the snow down to bare glacial ice. We soon spotted an attractive looking ski line, though, which weaved serpent-like between ice and rock for over 1,000m vertical. Pitching our tent directly on the border ridge, we hastily cut snow blocks to protect us from the strong winds. Looking down into Chechnya, we saw nothing but endless wilderness.
After waiting out some more windy, unsettled weather, we bootpacked up the mountain's right flank. We summited Tebulosmta without too much difficulty, then turned our attention to reaching the start of our line. Deciding that downclimbing was the safer option than skiing an unknown section of ridge on sight, it was with some relief when we clicked into our skis and successfully completed our first turns.
The line unfolded into a logical and aesthetic descent, the snow quality being better than we expected. Dancing between blue ice and shale rock, the tension felt up till now soon dissipated as we relaxed into the skiing. We enjoyed a near endless descent on spring snow to the bottom of the snowline and then made the final hike on foot back into Khone, where the baffled locals — who had never seen skiers there before — greeted us with a feast.
A mini expedition shared with two close friends to a remote peak, perhaps previously untouched by skiers yet within easy reach of western Europe, it added fuel to my motivation for future exploratory trips to new ranges.
Tom Grant is a member of the Jöttnar Pro Team.
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