Chilik-Pervyi

Arrange a vehicle from Arkhyz to the mouth of the Rechepsta valley; it is about 20 km of dusty road that is not worth walking. From there, walk up the Rechepsta valley: the path leaves the end of the road, climbs through forest and over meadows above a stream below the Pkhiya pass, then follows the Rechepsta to a shepherds' hut, crossing to the left bank. Above, it rises gently towards the Atsgara pass; about 0.5 km before that saddle a trail doubles back to the Chilik pass (2,890 m, 1A), a gentle grass-and-scree saddle with a final 30 m of rock. Guidebook times are 3–4 hours down from the pass to the road, so allow most of a day up. The descent on the far side to Chilik lake (2,370 m, two lakes joined by a channel) takes about 1.5 hours on a well-trodden path past two upper cirque lakes and a waterfall. There is a sheltered bivouac terrace beyond the lake on the left bank of the Chilik. The Kyzylchuk pass (rated 1B; 3,046 m in OSM) lies on the Chilik ridge east of the lake, immediately south-west of the summit, and links the Chilik valley with the Kyzylchuk and Kyafar valleys to the east. Standard trekking lines from Chilik lake usually take the neighbouring Kynkhara pass (1A) instead. From the pass, the summit is only about 200 m higher along the ridge. We found no description of this final section; expect scree and broken rock and choose the line on the spot. Alternatively, the Kyzylchuk pass can be approached from the east via Kyafar lake and the Kyzylchuk valley, a popular trekking area. Descend the same way.