Mount Dzhimara
4,780 m
Georgia, Russia
Also known as Džimara, Djimara, +4Also known as
Džimara · Djimara · ჯიმარა · Джимарайы хох · Джимара · Dzjimara
- Elevation
- 4,780 m
- Prominence
- 877 m
- Difficulty
- 6/10
- Alpine climb
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Approximate 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? 6 check notes
- the line does not follow 'Suatisi', the route's namesake (174 m away): mislabelled
- 92% approximate geometry
- low confidence 0.35
- Abano → Mount Dzhimara: dem (snap_failed, 17.0 km)
- unresolved waypoints: Upper Suatisi valley camp, Central Suatisi glacier, Jimarai Pass
- waypoints not on the route line: Suatisi (205 m off the trail)
Sources differ: 3A (Russian) for the Jimarai Pass approach; the first-ascent route is also classed 3A (Ponomarev & Bednov, 'Tepli, Dzhimarai, Kazbek' (1985); travelask.ru)
The Georgian-side line to the second-highest summit of the Khokh Range: walk up the Truso and Suatisi valleys (border permit required), climb a Suatisi glacier to the 4,365 m top on the ridge south-west of the summit, and follow a sharp, corniced snow-and-rock ridge north over the Jimarai Pass to the firn summit. Steep ice to 40–50°.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 18.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,711 m
- −92 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,780 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 11h 32m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 8h 02m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Kobi on the Georgian Military Road, a dirt road runs up the Truso valley past Kvemo Okrokana and Ketrisi to Abano and the Zakagori ruins, where the Suatisi valley branches north. Since 2019 Caucasus-Trekking has described the valley as a permit-only border area with checkpoints at the Terek–Suatisi confluence. Above the hamlet of Suatisi the path, damaged by landslides in 2018, continues to campsites at about 2,700 m in front of the Ulchandzarau-khokh rock, about 11.6 km and 700 m of ascent from Ketrisi. The mountain sheds the Western and Central Suatisi glaciers to the south, separated by a long south ridge. The 1985 Soviet guide by Ponomarev and Bednov describes the ridge between Suatisi peak and Dzhimara as the Jimarai Pass (3A, about 4,365 m, ice). The Suatisi Pass (3A, 4,020 m) side involves a 600 m snow-ice slope at 40–45° with berg-schrunds and serac fall. The more logical Georgian approach climbs from the head of the Central Suatisi glacier: a snow-ice slope up to 50° near the top, cut by a large bergschrund, leads to the sharp ridge about 60 m from the 4,365 m top. From there a sharp, corniced snow ridge with rock steps, very steep on the Midagrabin (north-west) side, runs north to the summit firn. This is our reconstruction from pass descriptions; we found no account of the summit climb from this side. Plan a high camp on the moraines below the Central Suatisi glacier and start very early because of serac and rock fall. Descend the same way. The summit is on the Georgia–Russia border; do not descend to the north.
Start
Ketrisi2,157 m
- Marshrutka Tbilisi–Stepantsminda to Kobi, then walk the Truso valley to Ketrisi (about 10 km) or hire a jeep from Stepantsminda (from about 70–80 GEL, 2019 price)
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Ketrisi2,157 m
Reachable by 4WD from Kobi or on foot (about 10 km)
- Waypoint: Abano2,169 m
Small monasteries, water
- Waypoint: Suatisi2,318 m
Seasonal hamlet; 2018 landslide damage on the trail (not on route line)
- Summit: Mount Dzhimara4,780 m
Key Passages
- Landslide section near Suatisi hamlet
- Bergschrund and 50° snow-ice slope from the Central Suatisi glacier
- Corniced ridge from the Jimarai Pass to the summit
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 35%Overview
At 4,780 m the highest point of the Khokh Range after Kazbek's massif, a firn-capped peak 9 km west of Kazbek on the Georgia–North Ossetia border. A serious glacier climb on steep ice and corniced ridges, approached from Georgia through the restricted Truso and Suatisi valleys.
Dzhimara (Jimara, Dzhimarai-khokh in Ossetian) is the second-highest summit of the Khokh Range, the lateral ridge that runs west from Kazbek between the Truso valley in Georgia and the Genaldon and Dargavs valleys in North Ossetia. The Russia–Georgia border runs over the summit. Firn fields cover the top, and four glaciers flow from it: the Midagrabin to the west, the Kolka to the north, and the Western and Central Suatisi to the south. The upper rock is soft sandstone and shale; lower down the massif exposes young Pliocene granodiorite.
Despite standing only 9 km from Kazbek, it sees a fraction of the traffic. There is no hut, no marked approach and no simple route: the Russian Mountaineering Federation lists four routes from 3A to 4B, and the southern passes leading to its ridge are graded 3A with ice slopes up to 50°.
The Kolka glacier on the north side is notorious: on 20 September 2002 it surged out of its cirque and sent an ice and mud flow down the Genaldon valley in North Ossetia, killing at least 125 people. The Georgian approach is on the other side of the mountain, through valleys close to the South Ossetian occupation line.
Climbing Notes
This is a climb for experienced alpinists who are comfortable leading on 45–50° ice, crossing bergschrunds and moving along corniced ridges, and who can handle crevasse rescue without outside help. Acclimatise first, for example on the Kazbek plateau or on Suatisi-area passes. Allow five to seven days from Stepantsminda: one day to the upper Suatisi valley, one to a high camp below the Central Suatisi glacier, a summit day and spare days for weather. Arrange the Border Police permit in advance (online application or at the Kazbegi border post). A local IFMGA guide or a team with Caucasus experience is strongly recommended; the route sees very few ascents.
History
The first ascent is credited to Gottfried Merzbacher in 1891. A. Pastukhov carried out survey and meteorological work in the Khokh Range in 1889 and made the first height measurements of Dzhimara from the Maili glacier. Later Soviet parties added the north-ridge buttress (Yu. Levkovsky, 3B), the west rib (A. Kalmykov, 4A) and a traverse of the massif (L. Tsybkin, 4B).
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; Truso valley snowbound
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter
- Apr
- Avalanche-prone valleys
- May
- Deep snow; high rivers
- Jun
- Good snow cover on ice slopes, but hidden crevasses and high rivers
- Jul
- Best period
- Aug
- Best period; more bare ice and rock fall late in the month
- Sep
- Stable weather, icy slopes
- Oct
- Early winter
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Border Police entry permit (Truso and Suatisi valleys)Required
The Truso valley is a border region close to South Ossetia and the summit is on the Russian border. A permit is needed beyond Zakagori: apply by email with a participant list, passport scans, route map and arrival date, at the Border Police in Tbilisi (12 Kandelaki St.), or (since 2019) at the Border Police at the Georgian–Russian border post near Kazbegi (about 45 minutes). Permits are checked at the Terek–Suatisi confluence.
bpg.gov.ge
- Rules
- The upper Truso valley borders Russian-occupied South Ossetia. On 30 September 2018 Russian border guards detained five Georgian hikers in the gorge. Keep to the Suatisi valley and never approach occupation-line markers.
- The summit is on the Georgia–Russia border; the North Ossetian side is not accessible from Georgia. Do not descend to the Midagrabin or Kolka glaciers.
- Getting There
Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)
Tbilisi (TBS)
- Marshrutka Tbilisi (Didube)–Stepantsminda, get off at Kobi
- Kobi–Ketrisi along the Truso valley on foot (about 10 km) or by jeep from Stepantsminda
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Altitude
- Avalanche
- Exposure
- Weather
- Cornices
- River crossing
- Remoteness