Caucasus 12-23 August 2021
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Day 3. The Islamchat pass.
This was the hardest day for the children so far, the weather was wet and windy, and the total vertical climb was quite significant (700 m). In addition, we had to climb over a fairly steep ridge before descending to the river Karakaya-su. Everything went according to plan and camped by the Dzhikaugenkez glacier. This is an amazing snow-free glacier, with virtually no crevasses, it is ideal for trips with children.
The blue line shows our track. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
The drizzle started early in the morning, so we had to don our rain gear.
We started climbing towards the Islamchat pass. There was no path but route funding was obvious.
The clouds were following us.
The rain got stronger and the wind picked up, so we put on another warm layer.
Crossing the pass in this weather was a tough task for the little ones. But now it's all in the past, and we are cooking lunch on the other side of the pass.
A pre-lunch nap.
This ridge separates us from the Karakaya-su valley. It looked very scary from afar, but in reality it was a steep scree but well within our capabilities. The girls are leading the climb.
The bosses are pleased with the team progress.
A break on the ridge. We are exploring the options for descent.
Rising clouds in the valley we have just escaped from.
Mount Elbrus is hiding in the clouds again, but we can clearly see the Dzhikaugenkez glacier and the Kalitsky peak.
The descent was not steep at all and much more enjoyable than the climb on the ridge. We got down in 15 min or so.
The last break of the day. This huge boulder was big enough for the whole team to sit on.
The glacier is surrounded by long moraines.
A great spot for a camp by the Karakaya-su river. A little spring nearby serves as a source of clean water. Someone built stone walls around their tents here, and we just had to upgrade them a little bit.
We are quite high in the mountains, the altitude is 3237 m. But we did not get cold, it rained all night, and the clouds kept us warm.
