Mount Zekara
3,828 m
Russia
Also known as Zekara, ზეკარა, +2Also known as
Zekara · ზეკარა · Зикъарайы хох · Зекара
- Elevation
- 3,828 m
- Prominence
- 824 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- 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? 8 check notes
- danger scan: Закка → Гинат: straight line 5253 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Закка → Гинат: sustained 43° > 40° on a straight line
- 28% straight-line fallback
- 100% approximate geometry
- ascent 2724 m vs net gain 2094 m (+30%)
- low confidence 0.34
- Нар → Закка: dem (snap_failed, 6.2 km)
- Закка → Гинат: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 40° between the endpoints, 5.3 km)
Sources differ: 1B (Russian pass grade) for the Oni pass, about 3,300–3,400 m (poxod.ru guidebook 'Kavkaz. Ot Sbaiskogo perevala do Mamisonskogo')
A glacier approach from the North Ossetian side: from Nar on the Transcaucasian highway up the Zakka and Ginat valleys to a moraine bivouac on the Zekara glacier (5–7 hours), then across the glacier and up snow, broken rock and scree to the Oni pass on the main ridge, and north up the short south ridge to the summit. Border-zone pass required.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 19.1 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,724 m
- −630 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,828 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 12h 43m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 9h 56m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the village of Nar, off the Transcaucasian highway (TransKAM) above Zaramag, walk up the Zakka gorge to the first bridge. Without crossing it, follow the path on the right bank of the Zakka and then up the Ginat valley past the ruins of abandoned villages to the moraines below the East Zekara glacier. Pass this glacier and the east buttress of Zekara on the left along the moraines to reach the Zekara glacier, and climb it up and right towards the Oni pass. The usual bivouac is on the glacier's moraine, 5–7 hours from Nar. From the bivouac cross moraines and the glacier to below the Oni pass and climb an ice and snow slope, easy broken rock and a 300–350 m scree slope to the saddle (Russian grade 1B), 1–1.5 hours from the glacier tongue. The pass is on the Main Caucasus Range and the border with South Ossetia. From the saddle the south ridge rises about 500 m to the summit, roughly 1 km to the north. No modern description of the ridge was found; the 1935 first ascent was made from the north-east and the 1948 Georgian parties climbed from the south and north-west, by unrecorded routes. Expect loose sedimentary rock (mostly sandstone) and old snow. Descend the same way.
Start
Нар1,734 m
- No public transport to Nar was found; go by car or taxi from Vladikavkaz via Alagir and the Transcaucasian highway.
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Нар1,734 m
Village on the Transcaucasian highway; road access from Alagir via Zaramag
- Feature: Закка1,854 m
Follow the right bank from the first bridge
- Feature: Гинат2,236 m
Ginat valley with ruined villages
- Col: Они3,444 m
Oni pass, 1B; OSM gives 3,300 m, the guidebook 3,400 m
- Summit: Зекара3,828 m
Key Passages
- Moraines around the East Zekara glacier and east buttress
- Ice and snow slope and 300–350 m of scree to the Oni pass
- South ridge from the Oni pass to the summit
Equipment
0/8 packedDownloads
Route confidence 34%Overview
Zekara (3,828 m) is a glaciated sandstone peak just north of the Main Caucasus Range on the North Ossetia–South Ossetia border, above the Ginat and Zrug valleys near Nar. It is a remote, seldom-documented glacier ascent in the border zone.
Zekara stands at the junction of the Main Caucasus Range and a long northern spur (the Ginat spur) in the Dvaleti section of the range, in the Alagir district of North Ossetia. The main ridge, here the line between North Ossetia and Russian-occupied South Ossetia (Georgia), passes about 1 km to the south at the Oni pass. The mountain is built mostly of sandstone and other sedimentary rocks. With the snowline at about 3,500 m, glaciation is modest: the Zekara glacier feeds the Ginat, the West and South-west Zekara glaciers drain to the Dzhochiara on the southern side, and a small North-east Zekara glacier feeds the Zrug.
Along with Khalatsa (3,938 m) to the west it is one of the highest summits between the Mamison and Roki passes. The name comes from the Georgian zekari, 'upper gate', shared with the nearby Zekari pass (3,184 m), an old crossing to Kudaro in South Ossetia.
The usual North Ossetian approach is from Nar, the birthplace of the poet Kosta Khetagurov, up the Zakka and Ginat valleys to the Zekara glacier, and over the Oni pass (Russian 1B) onto the south ridge. Few accounts of ascents exist; South Ossetian climbers climb it for ceremonial flag-raisings.
Climbing Notes
Plan two to three days from Nar: one long day (5–7 hours) with full packs to a moraine bivouac on the Zekara glacier, a summit day over the glacier and the Oni pass, and a reserve day. You need glacier travel and crevasse-rescue skills, crampons and an ice axe, and comfort on loose rock and scree; the final ridge is not described in any source we found, so allow time to find the line. Acclimatisation is a minor issue at 3,800 m, but a night or two at 2,000–3,000 m beforehand helps.
The upper valleys of the Alagir district are in the Russian border zone: apply in advance for a border-zone pass from the North Ossetian border detachment (FSB), carry your original passport, and do not cross the main ridge into South Ossetia. Best conditions are in the second half of July and August.
History
The first recorded ascent was on 16 September 1935, from the north-east, by A. Metreveli, K. Gassiev, G. Kakoev, A. Sanakoev, S. Stokoev and A. Tskhurbaev. In 1948 a Georgian expedition from Java made two more ascents: on 12 August from the south (K. Astakhishvili, T. Akhmeteli) and on 17 August from the north-west (M. Utmelidze, M. Mindiashvili, P. Khavansky, G. Chichua); their routes are not recorded. Since 2010, when Nicaragua recognised South Ossetia, South Ossetian climbers have raised the flag of each newly recognising state on the summit, which they call Zikara; in July 2018 they raised the Syrian flag.
Season
Best Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Good
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; high avalanche risk in the valleys
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Winter conditions
- Apr
- Deep snow
- May
- Snow and avalanche risk
- Jun
- Heavy snow cover on the glacier and pass; river crossings high
- Jul
- Second half of July is best for the Zrug and Ginat valleys
- Aug
- Best month; most stable snow and glacier conditions
- Sep
- Often settled; first ascent was in mid-September 1935; cold nights
- Oct
- Early winter snow
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Russian border-zone pass (North Ossetian border detachment, FSB)Required
The high valleys of Alagir district near the border are a border zone. Visitors need an individual or group border-zone pass, applied for in advance, and must carry the original passport. Local operators arrange group passes.
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- Hut Booking
- No huts. Bivouac on the Zekara glacier moraine; guesthouses in the Zaramag and Mamison area.
- Rules
- Border zone: carry a border-zone pass and original passport; patrols may turn back or fine visitors without them
- Do not cross the main ridge south of the Oni pass: the far side is South Ossetia, Georgian territory occupied by Russia, and entering it from Russia is illegal under Georgian law
- Many governments (including the UK and US) advise against all travel to Russia since 2022
- Getting There
Nar and Zaramag (Alagir district, North Ossetia); Alagir
Vladikavkaz (Beslan, OGZ)
- By car from Vladikavkaz via Alagir and the Transcaucasian highway (TransKAM) through Zaramag to the bridge at Nar
- A dirt road continues up the Zakka river towards Abaitikau; the Zrug valley road (4x4) leaves from Nar
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Weather
- Remoteness
- Altitude