Djailik

4,424 m

Russia

Also known as Джайлыкбаши, Джайлык, +1

Джайлыкбаши · Джайлык · Гора Джайлыкбаши

Elevation: 4,424 m
Prominence: 926 m
Difficulty: 6/10; Alpine climb
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.uk
RegulationReported 24 Mar 2025
From March 2025 the Kabardino-Balkaria Border Directorate lists the Ullu-Tau and Djailyk camps as excluded from the border zone and the Donkin and Golubev passes as places for which only a passport is needed; a border-zone pass is still required in the 5 km strip along the Georgian border.
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Routes

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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: Donkin pass → Djailyk: straight line 443 m (limit 200 m)
danger scan: Donkin pass → Djailyk: straight line 443 m above the last hut/bivouac
danger scan: Donkin pass → Djailyk: sustained 53° > 45° on a straight line
last routed vertex 443 m from the summit (closed by straight)
Middle Kichkidar bivouac → Upper Kichkidar bivouac: dem (snap_failed, 1.9 km)
Upper Kichkidar bivouac → Donkin pass: glacier (snap_failed, 1.4 km)
Donkin pass → Djailyk: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: DEM path 1465 m > 1.8× straight 443 m + slack, 0.4 km)
unresolved waypoints: South-east slope

AlpineAD+MixedNormal route

Sources differ: 3B (Russian), south-east slope, combined; B. Simagin's party, 2 August 1936 (Adyrsu ridge route guide (caucasalp.narod.ru), route 72; alpinist.biz classifier) · 3B (Russian), central couloir (K. Egger, M. Mischer, 14 August 1914) is the other route of this grade (caucasalp.narod.ru route table, route 79)

The easiest classified route on Djailyk, the highest summit of the Adyrsu ridge between the Adyr-Su and Chegem valleys: from the Djailyk camp up the Kullumkol valley and the Yunom glacier to a bivouac on the Donkin pass, then a traverse under the east face of the south ridge, a ledge system, a 120–150 m ice-snow slope and short rock walls to the top. Two days.

Elevation Profile

approximate line

Distance: ≈ 10.5 km; one way
Ascent: ≈ +2,232 m; −104 m lost on the way up
High Point: 4,424 m
Time Up: ≈ 8h 58m; DIN 33466
Time Down: ≈ 6h 07m; DIN 33466 · same way back

Djailyk (Djailik) has no easy route; the easiest classified lines are Russian 3B. The usual start is the Djailyk or Ullu-Tau alpine camp in the Adyr-Su valley. Cross the Kullumkol river by the bridge above the Djailyk camp and follow the right-bank path up the Kullumkol valley to the terminal moraine of the Yunom glacier and the Lower Kichkidar bivouac (2 hours). Continue over scree and moraine to the Middle Kichkidar bivouac at the end of the left-bank moraine (1 hour), then onto the north branch of the Yunom glacier and up loose easy rock to the Upper Kichkidar bivouac on the ridge below the Kupol gendarme (1 hour). From there keep to the right side of the West Yunom glacier (hidden crevasses) round the west slopes of Kichkidar, and climb a steep ice-snow slope and a couloir to the northern saddle of the Donkin pass (about 4,073 m). The Kabardino-Balkaria border register gives 6–8 hours from the Ullu-Tau camp to the pass. Bivouac in a snow hollow or on the rock island. From the northern (south-ridge) saddle descend 30–40 m east on ice-snow, then traverse 180–200 m left along snowy rock ledges or steep ice-snow below the east face of the south ridge. Pass a first couloir with black rocks and climb 30–40 m of easy to moderate snowy rock on the left side of the second couloir to the shoulder of a short buttress. Go left up easy rock to a ledge and follow it 150–180 m up and left beneath the overhanging south-east walls (piton belays), then scree to the south-east ice-snow slope. Climb its right side 120–150 m (avalanche and stone-fall risk), then 25–30 m of steep snowy rock in a gully and a 30 m wall with a crack to a platform; easy rock leads to the summit, 5–6 hours from the bivouac. Descend the same way to the Donkin pass and the Yunom glacier. The pass can also be reached from the Chegem side, from the Bashil tourist base up the Djailyk valley and through the Djailyk icefall below avalanche-prone slopes of Chegem peak to the southern saddle (10–12 hours).

Start

Djailyk alpine camp2,296 m

Bus or taxi from Nalchik or Mineralnye Vody to the Baksan valley (Verkhny Baksan), then taxi up the Adyr-Su road to the Djailyk or Ullu-Tau camp

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Djailyk alpine camp → Donkin pass	10.0	1,849	97	7h 37m
2	Donkin pass → Djailyk	0.4	384	7	1h 21m

Waypoints

Trailhead:
Djailyk alpine camp2,296 m
Adyr-Su valley; road from Upper Baksan; excluded from the border zone since 2025
Bivouac:
Lower Kichkidar bivouac2,974 m
Terminal moraine of the Yunom glacier, 2 h
Bivouac:
Middle Kichkidar bivouac3,210 m
End of the left-bank moraine of the Yunom glacier
Bivouac:
Upper Kichkidar bivouac3,742 m
Scree platforms below the Kupol gendarme between Yunomkara and Kichkidar
Col:
Donkin pass4,045 m
Start bivouac on the northern saddle
Summit:
Djailyk4,424 m

Key Passages

Couloir to the northern saddle of the Donkin pass
180–200 m traverse below the east face of the south ridge
Ledge system under the overhanging south-east walls
120–150 m south-east ice-snow slope
30 m wall with a crack below the summit

Equipment

0/7 packed

Technical

Two 50 m ropesbelayed traverse, walls and abseils on descentRequired
Rock pitons, a few nuts and cams, slingspiton belays on the ledge traverse and the final wallsRequired
Ice screwssouth-east ice-snow slope and the couloir to the Donkin passRequired
Crampons and ice axe (second tool useful)Required

Glacier

Harness, helmet and crevasse-rescue kithidden crevasses on the West Yunom glacierRequired

Hut & Camping

Tent, stove and sleeping bagsbivouac on the Donkin pass at about 4,070 mRequired

Other

Passportborder checkpoints in the Adyr-Su valleyRequired

Downloads

Route confidence 50%

Overview

Djailyk (Djailik) is the highest summit of the Adyrsu ridge, the spur between the Adyr-Su valley near Elbrus and the Chegem valley, with a famous north face above the Adyr-Su camps. Every route is Russian 3B or harder; the usual line is a two-day mixed climb from the Donkin pass.

Djailyk rises on the Adyrsu ridge, which branches north from the Main Caucasus Ridge at Sarykol and divides the Baksan side valleys (Adyr-Su, Kullumkol) from the Bashil branch of the Chegem valley. From the summit the Tyutyu spur runs north-west and the Adyrsu ridge continues north over Kenchat; the Donkin pass separates it from Kichkidar and Yunomkara to the south-west. Its glaciers drain to both sides: the West Djailyk and Yunom glaciers to Adyr-Su, the Djailyk glacier east to Bashil.

Djailyk is a climbers' mountain, one of the classic objectives of the Adyr-Su camps. Of the twenty classified routes, the easiest are two 3B lines (the south-east slope from the Donkin pass and the central couloir); the rest are 4A to 5B ridges and walls, including the 5A–5B north face and west rib routes. The mountain stands about 7 km north of the Georgian border, outside the 5 km border strip, and the Donkin pass is on the list of places for which only a passport is needed.

Expect a high bivouac at about 4,070 m on the pass, loose and snowy rock, a steep ice-snow slope and stone fall in warm conditions.

Climbing Notes

For parties with experience of Russian 3A–3B (alpine AD) routes: belayed traverses on snowy ledges, a 120–150 m ice-snow slope and short walls with piton protection, with glacier travel on the approach. Acclimatise on easier Adyr-Su peaks such as Kichkidar (2A) or Yunomkara (2B) before. Plan two days, plus a day's reserve: camp to Donkin pass, then summit and down. Russian citizens and foreign climbers should check current border-zone rules with the Ullu-Tau or Djailyk camp before going; register the route with the EMERCOM rescue service. Going with a guide or a camp instructor is recommended.

History

The classified routes in the Soviet guide begin with the central couloir climbed by K. Egger and M. Mischer on 14 August 1914; we could not confirm whether this was the first ascent. B. Simagin's party climbed the south-east slope on 2 August 1936, and I. Yukhin's parties the east and north-east ridges in 1937. Harder Soviet routes followed on the west rib (V. Ruzhevsky, 1964), the north face (M. Suponitsky, 1968) and the south ridge 'Monk' (1967), up to 5B lines in the 1970s.

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: Early season; snowy ledges and avalanche risk
Jul: Main season at the Adyr-Su camps
Aug: Main season; more stone fall as snow melts
Sep: Stable weather, icier slopes, 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 Ullu-Tau and Djailyk camps are excluded from the border zone and the Donkin pass is listed among places where only a passport is needed. A border-zone pass is still required inside the 5 km strip along the Georgian border (processing up to 15 working days for Russian citizens and up to 30 for foreigners). Djailyk lies outside that strip, but check locally.
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Hut Booking

Accommodation at the Ullu-Tau or Djailyk alpine camps; contact the camps directly

Rules

Carry your passport; there are border checkpoints in the Adyr-Su valley
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

Tyrnyauz (Kabardino-Balkaria)

Nalchik (NAL) or Mineralnye Vody (MRV)

By road from Nalchik or Mineralnye Vody up the Baksan valley; at Verkhny Baksan turn into the Adyr-Su valley (vehicle lift and border checkpoint) to the Djailyk and Ullu-Tau camps
From the Chegem side: road up the Chegem valley to the Bashil tourist base, then on foot up the Djailyk valley

Hazards

Glacier
Crevasses
Rockfall
Altitude
Avalanche
Exposure
Weather
Cornices