Kazbek from the Gergeti Glacier

Assemble in Stepantsminda, 1,740 m, under the Gergeti Trinity Church. Passports logged, permits for the border zone confirmed. Full kit audit in the guesthouse yard: axes, screws, glacier rig per person. Weather window reviewed against the eight-day plan. Early night — the file opens tomorrow.

Up past the Gergeti church and along the moraine track above the Chkheri river. Loads heavy; pace metered at 300 m per hour. Camp established on the grass shelf below the Sabertse ridge at 2,950 m. First views of the Gergeti Glacier tongue. All members eating well — noted.

Cross the Gergeti Glacier roped in two teams of two — 1:2 ratio holds throughout. The old Soviet meteorological station appears out of the mist like a filing cabinet left on a mountain. Bunks claimed at 3,653 m. Crevasse rescue drill repeated on the ice below the hut before dinner.

Climb high, sleep low. Ascend the plateau toward the chapel rocks and cache a light load at 4,200 m. Two hours breathing at altitude, pulse oximetry logged for each member. Descend to the Bethlemi Hut for the night. Snow consolidating well; freeze line holding overnight. Summit plan set.

Scheduled rest at 3,653 m. Sleep in, hydrate, sort rack. Ice screws re-racked by length, prusiks re-tied, headtorch batteries swapped as a set. Afternoon walk to the glacier edge to keep legs honest. Forecast check at 18:00: clear, wind 20 km/h on the summit dome. Green light.

Away at 02:00 under headtorch. Plateau crossing, then the 35° summit slope on crampons, roped throughout. On top of Kazbek at 5,054 m by 09:40 — Caucasus in every direction, Elbrus a white note on the horizon. Careful descent in softening snow. Back at the hut by 14:00. Logged.

Down the glacier in the cold of the morning, last roped section of the file. Retrieve the moraine cache and descend to the grass shelf at 2,950 m. Boots off by 15:00. Ropes flaked and inspected for core shots — none found. The mountain behind us stays out all evening.

Final leg past the Gergeti church, downhill all the way to Stepantsminda at 1,740 m. Gear returned against the manifest, certificates of ascent signed by the guide. E-02 closed: eight days, one summit at PD, all members down safe. Supra dinner in town — the archive allows one toast.