Ushba

Ushba is the most dramatic peak in the Caucasus — two sheer granite towers rising above the Mazeri valley near Mestia, with near-vertical faces on all sides. The mountain's profile, visible from parts of the valley on clear days, is immediately distinctive: the twin peaks look almost impossible. This is not illusion; Ushba is one of the hardest technical climbs in the range and has claimed many lives.

For non-mountaineers, Ushba is best seen from the Mazeri valley, reached by a rough road from Mestia. The Mazeri valley hike — from the end of the road to the viewpoint below the north face — takes about 2 hours each way and provides close-up views of the mountain's full height. The valley has a simple guesthouse. Ushba is used by serious alpinists as the main technical objective in Svaneti; its routes are graded at the top of the European and Russian systems.

things to do sight
A story
Ushba's twin summits — the north peak at 4,694 metres, the south at 4,710 metres — were separated by the first successful traverse of the mountain in 1937, a feat described by its Soviet participants as requiring 14 days of continuous exposure on the rock. The British mountaineer Albert Mummery attempted the south face in 1888 and turned back; he described it as "the most difficult of all the Caucasian peaks." This assessment has not changed significantly.