Chegembashi
4,330 m
Russia
Also known as Чегембаши, ЧегемAlso known as
Чегембаши · Чегем
- Elevation
- 4,330 m
- Prominence
- 791 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 because of the war in Ukraine; its ability to help British nationals is very limited, particularly in the North Caucasus.
gov.ukRegulationReported 24 Mar 2025
From March 2025 the Kabardino-Balkaria Border Directorate lists the Bashil and Chegem camps as excluded from the border zone; a border-zone pass is still required in the 5 km strip along the Georgian border.
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Routes
1Sources differ: 2B (Russian), east ridge, combined; V. Kutovoy's party, 5 August 1936 (Adyrsu ridge route guide (caucasalp.narod.ru), route 67; alpinist.biz classifier) · 3A (Russian), west ridge from the Donkin pass (Thal's party, 24 August 1912), the usual descent being the ice-snow couloirs to the Chegem glacier (caucasalp.narod.ru, route 66)
The easiest route on Chegem (Chegembashi), on the Adyrsu ridge above the Bashil branch of the Chegem valley: from the Bashil tourist base up the Maly Chegem valley to a moraine bivouac by the Chegem glacier, then onto its upper plateau, a bergschrund and ice-snow slope to the east-ridge saddle, a broken rock step and a corniced snow ridge over two gendarmes.
About 54% of this line is approximate (no mapped trail; drawn from the terrain). Check it against a map before relying on it.
Why? 6 check notes
- danger scan: Maly Chegem confluence → Chegem saddle: DEM line 1028 m off the straight axis
- 54% approximate geometry
- low confidence 0.4
- Maly Chegem confluence → Chegem saddle: dem (snap_failed, 5.3 km)
- Chegem saddle → Chegem: dem (snap_failed, 1.1 km)
- unresolved waypoints: Chegem glacier moraine bivouac
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 11.9 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +2,524 m
- −272 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,330 m
- Time Up
- 10h 27m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 7h 27m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Chegem rises on the Adyrsu ridge south-east of Djailyk, between the Djailyk glacier to the north and the Chegem glacier, which feeds the Maly Chegem stream and the Bashil river. From the Bashil tourist base follow the left-bank path of the Bashil to the Maly Chegem, its left tributary. Turn right and climb steep easy rock and ice-polished slabs on the left bank of the Maly Chegem onto the left-bank moraine of the Chegem glacier; follow the moraine, pass the icefall on the right and reach the bivouac platforms at the top of the right-bank moraine. The guide gives no time for this approach; allow most of a day. From the bivouac go up onto the upper plateau of the glacier and turn right. Cross the bergschrund by a snow bridge and climb an ice-snow slope (avalanche risk, belay) to the corniced saddle on the east ridge. Turn left along the gentle ice-snow saddle to the foot of the summit rise, climb its broken, snowy, mostly easy rock with short walls of moderate difficulty onto the summit ridge, then follow the gentle corniced ice-snow east ridge over two gendarmes, taken direct, to the summit: 5–7 hours from the bivouac. Descend the same way.
Start
Bashil tourist base2,078 m
- Bus or taxi from Nalchik up the Chegem valley; no public transport to the Bashil tourist base at the road end
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Bashil tourist base2,078 m
Head of the Chegem–Bashil road; excluded from the border zone since 2025
- Feature: Maly Chegem confluence2,362 m
Leave the Bashil path and climb the left bank of the Maly Chegem
- Col: Chegem saddle3,903 m
Probably the east-ridge saddle reached from the upper plateau; identification ours
- Summit: Chegem4,330 m
Key Passages
- Ice-polished slabs on the left bank of the Maly Chegem
- Chegem glacier icefall bypass
- Bergschrund and avalanche-prone slope to the east-ridge saddle
- Broken rock summit rise with short walls
- Corniced east ridge with two gendarmes
Equipment
0/6 packedDownloads
Route confidence 40%Overview
Chegem (Chegembashi) is a glaciated summit of about 4,330 m on the Adyrsu ridge, between Djailyk and the head of the Bashil valley in upper Chegem, Kabardino-Balkaria. Its easiest line is a Russian 2B mixed ridge from the Chegem glacier, a two-day climb from the Bashil tourist base.
Chegem stands on the Adyrsu ridge, the spur that divides the Baksan side valleys from the Bashil branch of the Chegem valley, about 1.5 km south-east of Djailyk. Its north-east rib and avalanche-prone slopes overlook the Djailyk glacier, and the Chegem glacier lies under its eastern side, draining through the Maly Chegem to the Bashil; to the west a saw-toothed ridge with several gendarmes connects it with Kichkidar and the Donkin pass.
Four routes are classified: the 2B east ridge from the Chegem glacier, the long 3A west ridge from the Donkin pass, and two 5B and 6A lines on the north-east rib. The east ridge is a short glacier and mixed climb with a bergschrund, an avalanche-prone slope, a broken rock step and a corniced crest.
The summit is about 8 km from the Georgian border, outside the 5 km border strip; the Bashil base was excluded from the border zone in 2025.
Climbing Notes
A good first 4,000 m mixed route for climbers with Russian 2A experience: glacier travel, a bergschrund, a steep snow slope and easy-to-moderate loose rock, with cornices on the ridge. Avoid the slope to the saddle after fresh snow. Plan two days from the Bashil base plus a reserve day; register with the EMERCOM rescue service before setting out and carry your passport.
History
The earliest classified route is the west ridge, climbed on 24 August 1912 by a party led by Thal (given as 'Таль' in Russian); we could not confirm it as the first ascent. V. Kutovoy's party climbed the east ridge on 5 August 1936, and V. Forostyan's and D. Laskovy's parties made 5B routes on the north-east rib in 1977 and 1978.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter
- Apr
- Avalanche season
- May
- Deep snow
- Jun
- Snowy; avalanche risk on the slope to the saddle
- Jul
- Main season
- Aug
- Main season
- Sep
- Stable weather, icier slope, shorter days
- Oct
- Early winter
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Border-zone rules (FSB Border Directorate, Kabardino-Balkaria)Optional
Since March 2025 the Bashil and Chegem bases are excluded from the border zone. A pass is required only inside the 5 km strip along the Georgian border, which Chegem lies outside; carry your passport and check locally.
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- Rules
- Do not continue onto the Main Caucasus Ridge: ascents of its summits and presence within 100 m of the state border are prohibited from Kabardino-Balkaria
- The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Russia
- Getting There
Chegem (town) or Nalchik
Nalchik (NAL) or Mineralnye Vody (MRV)
- By road from Nalchik via Chegem and the Chegem gorge (waterfalls) past Elt-Tyubyu and Bulungu to the Bashil tourist base at the road end in the Bashil valley
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Altitude
- Avalanche
- Exposure
- Weather
- Cornices