Svaneti Mountaineering Project - Georgia
This past June of 2008, shortly before the military conflict between Georgia and Russia, three climbing buddies and RMI mountain guides, Jason Thompson, Seth Waterfall, and Tyler Jones, embarked on a journey to explore and ski the remote and seldom climbed mountains of northwestern Georgia. Their objective was 17, 060 Mt. Shkhara, the highest peak in Georgia and the third highest peak in the Greater Caucasus range. With support from the Hans Saari Fund, they were able to spend three weeks traveling within Georgia and accessing the remote side of Mt. Shkhara, laying first descents on various couloirs, the highest of which descends from 16,600 ft. These mountains line the border between Georgia and Russia with the north and more accessible side of Mt. Shkhara lying on the Russian side of the border. Supplying some first hand information about this super rad expedition, Jason Thompson gives us some insights into the trip, the people of Georgia, and future possibilities for escort services in the region.







Behind the Photo (at the table playing cards)
"Our travel guide, Merab, was kind enough to let us stay at his house in Mestia. We had just left Ushguli that morning and planned to meet up with Merab in Mestia. The following day, Merab would travel with us back to Tbilisi. Like most of the houses in Mestia, Merab's place was run down, the Windows were cracked and the yard overrun with vegetation. General upkeep of the houses in Mestia is not very high on the priority list for the people of Mestia. I loved Merab's house, it had character. The colors of the rooms were bright, the floor boards would make noise with each step, and the electricity worked most of the time. Merab explained that the kids of Mestia knew that Merab did not stay in there full time, because he made his full time residence in Tbilisi, so they would break into his house to party. Here Tyler and Seth are playing cards while Merab is preparing us some coffee. He was very gracious in hosting us in his house."

What inspired you to choose Georgia of all places?
Seeing the initial picture of Mt. Shkhara with its stunning couloirs on the mountain, from a skiers perspective was very impressive. In researching the trip what we learned and then experienced in the UNESCO world heritage village of Ushguli really made the trip. It seemed to encompass a well rounded and balanced project, steep skiing, and a very unique culture.






When you guys were up in the mountains for days on end, did you feel a strong desire to instead be in the villages and just experiencing the culture and socializing rather than being isolated?
After 5 days of sitting out a storm in our tents we were very interested in being back in Ushguli. Our host family was very kind to us and our experience there will be remembered forever, very genuine people. I think we gained an understanding by being in the mountains which is a very important part of the Svan's history and is literally their backyard.

How much time did you spend immersing/experiencing the culture vs. skiing and climbing?
We spent about 15 days on the mountain and 8 days traveling throughout Georgia and spending time with our host family in Ushguli, a day in Mestia and a few days in the capitol, Tbilisi.






Were there any other mountaineers there or climbers?
We didn't come across any other climbers. It's a well-known fact that this area of Georgia has a very deep history of alpine climbing. Locals had said that every now and then a few climbers will come through there. Given the response to our visit it probably was not very often.






Where did you stay when you weren't in the mountains?
In Tbilisi we stayed in a hotel, while in Mestia we stayed with Merab our travel guide's house for one night during our return to Tbilisi. In Ushguli we stayed with our host family for 2 nights at the beginning of our trip and for 1 night after we came off of Mt. Shkhara. Our host family was tremendous, we ate about 4 full meals a day and they were FULL. The Nasharadze's, our host family, went out of their way to make us feel welcomed and at home. When we returned to Ushguli, after 15 days, they were so excited to see us our glasses never emptied of local beer and wine. Followed by Schnapps, a very potent, knock ya off your heels type of beverage.

Was it difficult to communicate with the locals?
Communication was pretty great. We were able to communicate and understand each other with our host family. Our travel guide Merab, spoke great English. We even had a couple political discussions with him. In Tbilisi most of the younger people we came across spoke very good English.






Do you wish you had been there during the conflict? In terms of being in such a unique experience?
Yeah you're right, to have been there during the war between Russia and Georgia would have been an experience. It would have been very interesting, especially as a photographer.

Were you aware while you were there that tensions were high with Russia over territorial issues?
A friend just asked me that the other day as well. Obviously there are the 2 break away provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossettia, and there have been small skirmishes surrounding these areas. But as far as realizing that a war was about to break out we didn't notice that nor get that sense. Some Georgian's did voice their opinions about Russia and let their personal dislike be known.






Was the area you were in affected by the conflict?
I highly doubt that the village of Ushguli was affected. They are an independent village, more or less living off the land. Tbilisi on the other hand and other parts of Georgia throughout our drive were affected, roads destroyed, bridges bombed.

What do the people think of North American's?
It was very interesting because so few north Americans have visited Georgia, I suppose, that folks assumed we were from parts of western Europe. There attitudes would change dramatically after telling them where we were from. A bartender challenged us to a trivia question of US history to name the 34th president. Upon giving the correct answer we drank for free the rest of the night.






Are there any random discoteque's in these mountain villages with weird furniture from the 70's and that play terrible Europop and American pop techno remixes?
No discoteque's in the villages. The night life of Tbilisi seemed to be very vibrant. The parties usually started around one or two in the morning, playing loud Europop to American top 40 techno remixes to original techno/electronic dj's.

What are some of your goals for the return mission in 2010?
We are hoping to return to the area in 2010. In researching this project we came in contact with the Svaneti Mountaineering Tourism Center. A non-government funded organization set up to help promote tourism in the region of Svaneti. Most tourism operations are based in Tbilisi, and the local people of the Svaneti region lose out on much of the income. The SMTC is set up to connect tourists and climbers with tour guides from the Svaneti region helping to keep more money in this region. The families of this region work together to offer everything a traveler to this region would need. We had a chance to meet with Zouri, the president of the SMTC, to ask if there were things in the future we could do to help build the project. He expressed interest in helping to rebuild their once thriving mountain rescue program.








For more info go to:www.svanetitrekking.ge/eng/about.htm

There will slide show presentations of the trip in:

Bellevue WA @ Mammut Mountain Works, November 22 at 7pm.
Free event, donations benefit the HSMF

Sun Valley ID, @ Apples bar grill, December 27 from 6pm -11pm.
Raffling off prizes, proceeds go to HSMF