Mt'a Shdavleri
3,993 m
Georgia
Also known as Schtawler, Shtavleri, +2Also known as
Schtawler · Shtavleri · შტავლერი · Штавлери
- Elevation
- 3,993 m
- Prominence
- 969 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jun–Jul
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: 2A (Soviet/Russian classification) (Gory Svanetii (Central Caucasus) guidebook, via skitalets.ru)
The line of the 1903 first ascent: from the Nakra valley in north-west Svaneti through forest and pasture, partly on a path mapped as the 'Shtavleri trail', to bivouac platforms around 3,100 m below the east gendarme, then easy snowy rock over the gendarme, across a small snow plateau and up the broken south-east ridge to the ice-capped 3,993 m pyramid. Soviet 2A, PD; 3–4 days with a guide.
About 36% of this line is approximate (no mapped trail; drawn from the terrain). Check it against a map before relying on it.
Why? 3 check notes
- danger scan: Shtavleri bivouac → Mt'a Shdavleri: DEM line 841 m off the straight axis
- Shtavleri bivouac → Mt'a Shdavleri: dem (snap_failed, 3.4 km)
- unresolved waypoints: East gendarme
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 9.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +2,783 m
- −133 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,993 m
- Time Up
- 10h 45m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 7h 13m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start from the upper hamlets of Nakra (Lenkvashi, about 1,400 m), where a path mapped on OpenStreetMap as the 'Shtavleri trail' climbs west through forest and onto the pastures of the south-east ridge. The Soviet guidebook describes the approach simply: up through forest, then grassy slopes, then scree to bivouac platforms below the rise of the east gendarme; 4–5 hours from the village. A tent spot on the trail at about 3,100 m is noted by mappers as poor and sloping, room for one tent. From the platforms climb easy, often snow-covered rock of the south-east ridge onto the east gendarme, descend easily on the far side to a snow plateau, and finish up broken, snowy rock on the ridge to the summit; the guide gives 4–5 hours from the bivouac. A local guiding company grades the ascent PD, with roped glacier travel, hard snow slopes of up to 40° early in the morning and an exposed ridge, and plans 3–4 days for the trip. Descend the same way, taking care on softened snow in the afternoon. The north ridge (also 2A), reached via the Shtavleri glacier on the north-east side, is an alternative; a hard 4B line climbs the west face of the south ridge.
Start
Lenkvashi1,343 m
- No public transport to Nakra; take the Zugdidi–Mestia marshrutka to the mouth of the Nakra valley and walk or hitchhike more than an hour to the village.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lenkvashi → Shtavleri bivouac | 6.2 | 1,796 | 7 | 6h 47m |
| 2 | Shtavleri bivouac → Mt'a Shdavleri | 3.4 | 986 | 126 | 3h 58m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Lenkvashi1,343 m
Elevation from the DEM; Shtavleri trail starts just north-west
- Feature: Shtavleri trail2,733 m
- Bivouac: Shtavleri bivouac3,128 m
Approximate position of the platforms below the east gendarme; elevation from the DEM
- Summit: Mt'a Shdavleri3,993 m
Key Passages
- Long off-trail approach with about 1,700 m of ascent
- East gendarme
- Snow slopes up to 40° and exposed upper south-east ridge
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 50%Overview
A free-standing, ice-capped pyramid of 3,993 m at the southern end of the Nenskra spur in north-west Svaneti, rising about 2,800 m above the village of Nakra. First climbed in 1903, its south-east ridge (PD) is a fine, little-visited 3–4 day snow and rock ascent.
Shtavleri (Mt'a Shdavleri) is the highest and last alpine summit of the Nenskra spur, a broken ridge that runs south from the Main Caucasus Range between the Nakra and Nenskra valleys. Standing apart from its neighbours, it forms a near-perfect glaciated pyramid. Easy, heavily broken rock ridges and buttresses fall east towards Nakra, while the western side towards the Nenskra is steeper, with short snowy ribs; the Shtavleri glacier lies on the north-east flank.
The mountain is far less frequented than Tetnuldi or Laila. Local guides describe it as harder than Laila but easier than Tetnuldi: roped glacier travel, hard snow up to 40° and an exposed ridge, after a long, largely off-trail approach from the valley floor. Route information is scarce, and at least one recent party abandoned an attempt after struggling with an old Russian description and poor maps.
The approach starts in Nakra, a remote village with no public transport, a few guesthouses and several old churches. Its isolation gives a wide panorama from the summit.
Climbing Notes
This is a PD glacier and mixed climb with a lot of ascent: about 1,700 m from the upper Nakra hamlets to the bivouac and another 900 m on summit day. You should be fit, comfortable on 40° hard snow with crampons, able to self-arrest and belay, and acclimatised; a night or two higher in Svaneti beforehand helps. SvanAlp, a local guiding service, runs the climb as a 3–4 day trip in June and July.
A typical plan: drive or walk to Nakra, climb to the bivouac platforms below the east gendarme on day one (4–5 hours), summit and return to the bivouac or valley on day two (4–5 hours up), with a spare day for weather. Start before dawn so you climb the snow while it is hard and descend before it softens. Water may need to be melted at the bivouac. Fog and afternoon storms are common; navigation on the approach is largely your own.
History
According to the Svaneti guidebook, the first ascent was made by the south-east ridge on 29 July 1903 by a party listed as K. Ficker, I. Wigner, W. Rickmers, G. Ficker and F. Schek, during Willi Rickmers' Caucasus expedition; Soviet climbers V. Zeidler, A. Guldan and I. Pyatkin repeated it on 1 August 1934. A. Beliashvili and A. Saperov climbed the north ridge (2A) on 7 July 1935, and V. Kozyavkin and Yu. Matsevity climbed the west face of the south ridge (4B) on 17 July 1958.
Season
Best Jun–Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Possible
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Possible
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter; avalanche risk
- Apr
- Spring snow; avalanche risk
- May
- Deep snow on the approach
- Jun
- Guided season June–July; good snow cover on the upper mountain
- Jul
- Guided season; afternoon storms
- Aug
- More ice and loose rock as snow melts
- Sep
- Icy conditions; shorter days
- Oct
- Early winter
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- No huts; guesthouses in Nakra for the night before.
- Rules
- The upper Nakra and Nenskra valleys reach the Russian border on the Main Caucasus Range; carry your passport and do not cross the main ridge
- Getting There
Mestia
Kutaisi (KUT); Mestia airport has domestic flights from Tbilisi
- No public transport to Nakra: take the Zugdidi–Mestia marshrutka to the mouth of the Nakra valley and walk or hitchhike for more than an hour to the village
- By car or taxi from Zugdidi or Mestia along the Enguri valley road, then up the side road to Nakra
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Altitude
- Avalanche
- Exposure
- Weather
- Remoteness