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Bodorku

4,233 m

Georgia, Russia

Also known as ბოდორკყ, Бодорку / ბოდორკყ, +1

ბოდორკყ · Бодорку / ბოდორკყ · Бодорку

Elevation
4,233 m
Prominence
650 m
Difficulty
5/10
Easy alpine
Best Season
Jul–Aug
Routes
1

  • AdvisoryReported 18 Sep 2026

    The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all travel to Russia; the Georgian approach is unaffected, but climbers must not descend to the Russian side.

    gov.uk

Routes

1
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Approximate line — not for navigation

An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.

Why? 8 check notes
  • danger scan: Lychat glacier → Bodorku saddle: straight line 1482 m (limit 200 m)
  • danger scan: Lychat glacier → Bodorku saddle: sustained 61° > 40° on a straight line
  • 100% approximate geometry
  • ascent 3145 m vs net gain 2592 m (+21%)
  • low confidence 0.35
  • Zhabeshi → Tviberi glacier: dem (snap_failed, 15.6 km)
  • Tviberi glacier → Lychat glacier: glacier (snap_failed, 0.7 km)
  • Lychat glacier → Bodorku saddle: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 40° between the endpoints, 1.5 km)
AlpinePDGlacierNormal route

Sources differ: 2A (Russian), Bodorku East (main summit) from the south-west by the couloir and west ridge, combined; V. Ivanov's party, 12 July 1940 (Soviet guide 'Gory Svanetii', route 150; caucasalp.narod.ru (classifier 1.150/2.236)) · 1B (Russian), Bodorku West by the same couloir and its east ridge (V. Merkl's party, 3 June 1929) ('Gory Svanetii', route 151)

The easiest route to the main (east) summit of Bodorku, on the Main Caucasus Ridge between upper Chegem and Svaneti, climbed from the Georgian side: up the Tviberi valley and glacier to the Lychat bivouac, then a broad ice-snow couloir to the saddle between the two summits and a short corniced ridge. Two to three hours from the bivouac.

Elevation Profile

approximate line
1,0002,0003,0004,0005,0000 km51015Bodorku saddle
Distance
≈ 18.7 km
one way
Ascent
≈ +3,145 m
−558 m lost on the way up
High Point
4,233 m
Time Up
≈ 13h 56m
DIN 33466
Time Down
≈ 10h 29m
DIN 33466 · same way back

Bodorku is a small two-summit massif on the Main Caucasus Ridge between the Tviber pass to the south-east and the Lychat pass to the west. Ascents of Main Ridge summits from Kabardino-Balkaria are prohibited, so the route is approached from Upper Svaneti. From Zhabeshi (Mulakhi community, east of Mestia) the Soviet guide follows a road about 8 km up the Tviberi valley to the former Tviber tourist base, then the path on the right side of the Tviberi gorge and the Tviberi glacier; pass the south spur of Kulak (hidden crevasses) to the Lychat bivouac platforms on the moraine below the south ridge of Lychat. The guide gives no time for this approach; allow a long day or two from Zhabeshi. From the platforms keep to the left side of the Lychat glacier (hidden crevasses) to the foot of a broad snowy couloir coming down from the saddle between the two summits. Cross the bergschrund by a snow bridge and climb the gentle, broad ice-snow couloir to the saddle (avalanche risk, cornice). Turn right and climb the steep, sharp, broken and snowy step of the west ridge (cornices, belay) to a shoulder, then follow the gentle, easy snowy ridge to the main (east) summit, 2–3 hours from the bivouac. From the saddle the west summit is reached by easy broken rock (1B, 3–4 hours from the platforms), and the two can be combined as a 2A traverse. Descend the same way.

Start

Zhabeshi1,641 m

  • Marshrutka Zugdidi or Kutaisi–Mestia, then taxi east to Zhabeshi

Waypoints

  1. Trailhead:
    Zhabeshi1,641 m

    Mulakhi community, about 20 km east of Mestia

  2. Feature:
    Tviberi valley2,032 m

    Road and path up the valley to the site of the former Tviber tourist base (not on route line)

  3. Feature:
    Tviberi glacier3,584 m

    Hidden crevasses where it passes the south spur of Kulak

  4. Feature:
    Lychat glacier3,382 m
  5. Col:
    Bodorku saddle3,890 m

    Between the west and main summits, reached by a broad ice-snow couloir

  6. Summit:
    Bodorku4,233 m

Key Passages

  • Tviberi glacier below the south spur of Kulak
  • Bergschrund at the foot of the couloir
  • Ice-snow couloir to the saddle (avalanche risk)
  • Steep corniced step on the west ridge

Equipment

0/7 packed
Technical
Glacier
Safety
Hut & Camping
Other

Downloads

Route confidence 35%

Overview

Bodorku is a small two-summit massif of 4,233 m on the Main Caucasus Ridge at the head of the Bashil (Chegem) valley, on the Georgia–Russia border. From the Georgian side its main summit is a straightforward 2A glacier climb, but the approach through the Tviberi valley is long and little visited.

Bodorku stands on the Main Caucasus Ridge between Tikhtengen and Bashil, with the Tviber pass to the south-east and the Lychat pass to the west. North of the ridge its slopes feed the eastern branch of the Bashil glacier and the Kulak glacier in Kabardino-Balkaria; to the south lie the small Lychat glacier and the long Tviberi glacier of Upper Svaneti. A spur runs north from the west summit over Peak Bauman and Chattau.

The two summits, west (about 4,188 m) and main or east (4,233–4,237 m), are linked by a snowy saddle reached from the south by a broad couloir; the guide grades the main summit 2A and the west summit 1B. Soviet climbers also approached from the Russian side over the Tviber, Lychat and Bodorku passes, but under the Kabardino-Balkaria border rules ascents of Main Ridge summits from Russia are now prohibited.

The Georgian approach is remote: no huts, a long valley walk from Zhabeshi and crevassed glaciers, rewarded by a rarely climbed 4,000 m summit.

Climbing Notes

Technically one of the easier 4,000 m summits on the Main Ridge (alpine PD), suitable for parties with glacier and crevasse-rescue skills and experience of steep snow. The challenge is logistics: plan three to four days from Zhabeshi, with one or two days up the Tviberi valley and glacier to the Lychat bivouac, a short summit day and the walk out. Acclimatise first in Upper Svaneti. Carry a satellite messenger and leave your plan with someone in Mestia.

History

V. Merkl's party (with F. Bechtold) climbed the west summit by the south couloir on 3 June 1929; V. Semenovsky's party climbed its west ridge on 8 August 1929. V. Ivanov's party climbed the main (east) summit from the south and traversed between the summits on 12 July 1940.

Season

Best Jul–Aug
  1. January: Not advisable
  2. February: Not advisable
  3. March: Not advisable
  4. April: Not advisable
  5. May: Not advisable
  6. June: Possible
  7. July: Best (best window)
  8. August: Best (best window)
  9. September: Good
  10. October: Not advisable
  11. November: Not advisable
  12. December: Not advisable
Jan
Winter
Feb
Winter
Mar
Winter
Apr
Avalanche season
May
Deep snow
Jun
Snowy couloir; avalanche risk after storms
Jul
Main season
Aug
Main season; crevasses more open
Sep
Stable weather, icier couloir
Oct
Early winter
Nov
Winter
Dec
Winter

Access & Permits

Rules
  • The summit is on the Georgia–Russia border and there is no legal crossing of the Main Caucasus Ridge here. Approach and descend on the Georgian side; do not cross the Tviber, Lychat or Bodorku passes into Russia.
  • From the Russian (Chegem) side, the 2017 Kabardino-Balkaria register of routes in the border zone lists both Bodorku summits among Main Caucasus Ridge peaks whose ascent is prohibited.
  • The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Russia
Getting There

Mestia (Upper Svaneti, Georgia)

Mestia (Queen Tamar, domestic flights) or Kutaisi (KUT)

  • Marshrutka from Zugdidi or Kutaisi to Mestia, then taxi or 4WD east to Zhabeshi
  • From Zhabeshi on foot (or by 4WD where the track allows) up the Tviberi valley to the glacier

Hazards

  • Glacier
  • Crevasses
  • Rockfall
  • Altitude
  • Avalanche
  • Exposure
  • Weather
  • Cornices
  • Remoteness