Deavgai

Deavgai is the highest point of the Gelmets-Akhty (Kyabyaktepe) ridge, which runs between the Samur ridge and the main Caucasus watershed in Rutul district. Its north side is a near-vertical wall of black shale with buttresses; the south side carries snow and cornices above a steep drop. The only recent first-hand account (takliono.ru, August 2022) starts in Rutul: a track leads south up the Lalaan gorge for the first couple of kilometres, then a path continues through forest past two cattle farms to the confluence of the Lalaan's headwaters at about 2,030 m, roughly 10 km and 700 m of ascent from Rutul (about 3 hours with a light pack). Herders use a koshara at about 2,350 m above the western tributary, where that author stayed two nights. On summit day the author climbed north to the Lekyrga ridge, followed it north-west towards Shididoglob (3,907 m, very rocky and not a good link to Deavgai), and at about 3,500 m traversed west onto Deavgai. He descended the south slope, then east to the stream bed and down it, which was about 15 minutes quicker than the ridge. No technical difficulties or times are given for this day. The classic mountaineering route described in K. Akhmedkhanov's Dagestan guidebook (graded 1B) comes from the west, from the hamlet of Borch (2,120 m) in the upper Akhtychay valley: a path climbs past the Deavgaika stream onto a grassy spur, then hard scree up to 50° and easy but steep rock to the Tsimirtsy Pass (3,633 m, 1B), which carries deep snow and north-facing cornices. From the pass the crest runs east over peak 3,770 m and five gendarmes to the lowest point of the ridge, then rock outcrops bypassed on the right with fixed ropes and ice pitons, and three steep steps along the edge of snowy rock and snow-ice cornices to the concave summit. Borch lies close to the Azerbaijani border and a border post, so that approach needs particular care with permits.