CHAPTER XIII

THE CAUCASUS

BY HAROLD RAEBURN

The Caucasus of the mountaineer is that more or less continuous chain of great glaciated peaks which extends for nearly 600 miles between the Caspian and Black Seas.

[Sidenote: General Topography and Structure.]

Geographically, the water-parting of the ridge forms the boundary between Europe and Asia.

Politically speaking the mountains run, with a general south-east to north-west direction, through almost the centre of the Russian province of the Caucasus, dividing it into the two districts of Cis-Caucasia, with the chief city of Vladikavkaz, and Trans-Caucasia, with Tiflis as the centre of government. Situated in about the same latitude as the Pyrenees, with a more continental climate, the ranges of temperature are much greater than in the Alps.

In such an extensive tract of elevated country great variation of conditions must naturally occur. Speaking generally, and with more special reference to the central group of summits, the glaciation is somewhat less than in the Alps in proportion to the elevation, about 2000 feet greater than that of the central Pennines. The average level to which the glaciers descend is rather higher. As the average slope of the mountains is more abrupt, the glaciers are steeper. In consequence, the Caucasian glaciers are as a rule more difficult and broken, and the ice-falls more continuous.

The prevailing wind is warm and moisture-laden, blowing from the south-west, off the almost sub-tropical shores of the Black Sea; condensed by the cold peaks, the moisture is thereon deposited in the form of snow. Thus, in spite of its northern aspect, the glaciation of the European slope is little greater than that of the southern.

[Illustration: MAP OF PART OF CIS AND TRANS CAUCASIA

Showing approaches to the Mountains]

The height at which trees cease is very much the same on both sides (7000-8000 feet). A feature of the country is the great forests which cover the upper basins of many valleys, particularly on the south side.

In many of the southern valleys these forests are composed of deciduous trees of various species, such as birch, beech, oak, maple and chestnut, giving a variety and charm which the more sombre pine forests of the north do not provide. Some of the northern valleys are destitute of timber, and the fuel difficulty is one which confronts the climbing explorer.

The whole mountain system may for present purposes be divided into three principal groups.

1. All the peaks south and east of the line of the Dariel, more correctly the Krestovaya Gora, Pass; in which though many peaks exist as high as the Oberland Mountains, yet the glaciation is not continuous for long distances.

2. The great central group. This is the most important and best known. It extends from Kasbek, immediately west of the above pass, to the Klukhor Pass, west of Elbrus, a distance of about 130 miles.

In the whole of this distance there is only one driving road, that of the Mamison Pass (9280 feet), the highest road in Europe. All other routes across the range, except one or two grass passes, must be made over glacier passes, the lowest about 10,500 feet above sea-level.

3. West and north of the Klukhor Pass lies a tangled group of somewhat lower glaciated summits, some of which are still unascended.

[Sidenote: Records and Literature.]

If we pass over the ancient traditions and tales of the Arabians, Greeks and Jews, mountaineering in the Caucasus is of very modern growth.

The Arabian Kaf, the Jewish Ararat and the great mountain celebrated by Æschylus as the prison of Prometheus, are all situated in or near the Caucasus range; whether it be true or not that the Tower of Babel was built not far from the borders, this mountain land remains a Tower of Babel to this day.

In the city of Baku there are even now said to be one hundred different languages and dialects spoken. The Caucasus Mountains themselves give homes to as many tribes and dialects as there are rivers.

These tribes were almost always more or less at enmity amongst themselves. This lack of nationality rendered the task of absorption by Russia an easy one. It should not be forgotten that a good part of the Caucasus proper was not conquered by Russia. The nominal sovereignty possessed by the kings of Georgia over many of the mountain tribes only began to be made real when the last king placed himself under Russian protection.

This great diversity of peoples, languages, religions and customs renders travel in the Caucasus, if more interesting, much more difficult. Most of the people know nothing of Russian, and it is therefore necessary for a climbing party to have an interpreter with them who has knowledge of as many of the different languages as possible. Apart from the fabulous, the earliest effort of mountaineering in the Caucasus appears to have been an attempt to ascend Elbrus by a party of four savants, attached to the politico-geographical expedition of General Emanuel, in 1829.

The first writer to draw attention to the Caucasus as a field for mountain exploration was the Rev. H. B. George, in a paper read before the Alpine Club on 2 May 1865. The pioneer expedition was that of Messrs. Freshfield, Moore and Tucker, with François Devouassoud, in 1868. Mr. Grove’s party followed, in 1874, and his book, _The Frosty Caucasus_, is now a valuable alpine classic. During the ’80’s British mountaineers, with Swiss guides, conquered the majority of the highest peaks. Mr. Cockin was the most successful: three of the greatest peaks fell to him and his guides in one season. Messrs. Dent, Woolley and Holder were also very successful.

_My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus_, by Mr. A. F. Mummery, describes his expedition in 1888, when the great peak of Dykh-Tau was ascended.

In the ’90’s a number of British guideless parties went out, but from various causes had little success.

Since then, in spite of three splendidly illustrated volumes, _The Exploration of the Caucasus_, by Freshfield and Sella, in 1896, _Aus den Hochregionen des Kaukasus_, by Merzbacher, in 1901, and _Kaukasus Reisen und Forschungen_, by de Déchy, in 1904, British interest in the district has been slight. Messrs. Longstaff and Rolleston had, however, a very successful guideless campaign in Suanetia, in 1903.

A Russian author, Afanasief, published in German, in 1913, a very useful little compendium of the ascents made up to date, _100 Kaukasus Gipfel_.

As a proof that the Caucasus as a new mountaineering centre is still very far from being exhausted, British expeditions in 1913 and 1914 succeeded in effecting the ascents of ten new summits, none of which was below 13,500 feet in height.

[Sidenote: Routes of Access.]

The easiest, cheapest and quickest way to the central group from London is that to the north side, overland. The route is via Berlin, Warsaw and Rostoff on the Don. Thence either by the Baku train to Beslan, for Vladikavkaz, or by the Russian Spas express to Mineralnia Vodé, for Piatigorsk. An even better starting-point for the mountains is Naltshik, to which a branch railway, opened in July 1912, should run in two hours from the junction on the main Rostoff-Baku line of Kotliarefskaia.

The south side may be reached by driving from Vladikavkaz or from Darkop on the main line over the Mamison Pass.

Another excellent way of reaching the south side of the range from the north side would be by taking the motor service (office in the annex of the Grand Hotel) from Vladikavkaz over the Dariel--correctly the Krestovaya Gora--Pass to Tiflis, and round by the Tiflis-Batum railway. The motor line passes close under the huge mass of Kasbek (16,546 feet), and its glaciers can be reached in a few hours from Vladikavkaz. The old route to the south side of the range followed by most of the earlier English parties is that by Vienna and Odessa, thence by steamer, in from two to four days, across the Black Sea--calling at Sevastopol--to Batum. From Batum a short branch-line connects with Kutais. From here the Mamison road leads up to Oni on the Upper Rion, and can be utilized for driving for part or the whole of the distance, according to which valley or group of peaks it is desired to visit.

For the most westerly group, that lying west of Elbrus, the port of Sukhum Kalé on the Black Sea will probably be found most convenient. For the extreme eastern groups Tiflis will prove the best starting-point.

[Sidenote: Modes of Travel.]

The usual, and the best mode of travel in the mountains is on foot. All the railhead towns mentioned are more than a day’s march distant from the hills. Kasbek alone is closely approached by a motorable road.

At the towns elected for approach--Tiflis, Kutais, Vladikavkaz, Piatigorsk or Naltshik--it is necessary to engage vehicles or horses, and a cook-interpreter. Whether it is advisable to buy horses for the whole journey depends upon whether much travelling, and in consequence little climbing, is to be done. The purchase of horses sets the party free from the endless haggling, delay and annoyance which seem inseparable from hiring. On the other hand, the purchase necessitates engaging at least one man for every two horses, and this adds greatly to the expense and to the commissariat difficulties.

Though considerably improved of late years, the various roads up Caucasian valleys, where they exist at all, are not of the best. A Russian road on the steppe is not a road in the usual sense of the word; it is merely a part of the ground over which one drives, and is not made in any way except by the wheels of passing traffic. The road of the Mamison Pass is a built road; but it is exceedingly rough in places, and is frequently interrupted by landslides, tree-falls and avalanches.

The most comfortable vehicle to obtain is the troika or phaeton, a light, low carriage something like the alpine char. A rougher and more usual carriage is the lineika, seated like a low-set Irish jaunting-car on four wheels. It is wonderfully elastic, its light, loose method of construction allowing it to adapt itself to the potholes, boulders and tree-trunks of the rougher parts of the road. Most of these vehicles will be found to suffer from the general debility consequent upon extreme old age. It is advisable to have each one carefully inspected before the start.

In the more out-of-the-way parts, where such luxurious modes of travel cannot be indulged in, an arba can often be obtained. This is a light, springless two-wheeled cart. It is often drawn by a pair of small but strong oxen, and though the pace is very slow, a large quantity of baggage can be conveyed in one.

The horses--almost invariably mares--are small, light animals showing evident trace of Arab blood. They are docile, free from vice, and marvellously sure-footed. Indeed, in this last respect they far surpass an average mule. Some of the ‘horse passes’ on the south side of the range would be considered by most people impossible for horses and more fitted for goats.

The saddles are Turkish, i.e. with a high pommel in front and behind. Some travellers have recommended taking out an English saddle. Few riders, however, would be able to retain their seat on an English saddle while their mounts were scrambling down or up the precipitous broken bank of some ravine or bed of a glacier stream.

[Sidenote: Centres.]

As in the Alps, so in the Caucasus, more climbing will be got by settling at a centre than by travelling about from one place to another. On this method the necessity of carrying heavy tents, large supplies of stores, etc., is avoided. A couple of light tents, to accommodate two or three men each, are all that is necessary.

Good centres for the various districts are, on the north side, Urusbieh, Chegem, Balkar, Bezingi, Stirdigor and Dsinago; in the Tsaya valley, the sanatorium kept by M. Sanghiev in the pine forest near Rekom; the inn at Saramag on the Upper Ardon; the Russian road-houses of Kalaki on the north and Tshantshakhi on the south side of the Mamison Pass; Gebi on the West Rion River; Ushkul on the headwaters of the Ingur; Mestia or Mulakh on the Mulkhora; and Betsho just below the giant precipices of Ushba. To Gebi and Tshantshakhi Kasarma on the south, and to most places on the European side of the range, driving should be _possible_ nowadays.

[Sidenote: Equipment and Commissariat.]

Mountaineering in the Caucasus is still very much on exploring lines. Save in the case of Kasbek or, in a minor degree, of Elbrus, no huts, guides or organization for climbing exists. The success of an expedition must therefore largely depend upon the care and forethought bestowed upon the equipment and organization of the party before it leaves railhead.

The climbing equipment should be exactly similar to that of the Alps; but as anything lost cannot be replaced, everything must be at least in duplicate. Indeed, it is advisable to take out three pairs of climbing boots--the odd pair for the purpose of lending to porters if it is found necessary to take them over a glacier, since it is not fair or safe to take heavily loaded men with ‘gloved’ feet up steep and slippery ice and snow. Two ice-axes are essential: one may easily get broken, lost or stolen. Tents, of any of the lighter English makes, are best taken out. Eastern bags, with padlock and key, are the most convenient method of carrying spare clothes. Among these, two or three complete changes of underclothing--of course all wool--are necessary. Plenty of spare flannel collars and abundance of stockings, and, of course, undersocks, are well worth their slight extra weight. _Crampons_ are almost a necessity, though cumbrous and annoying to carry. It is advisable to have a tin case for these. They are of immense service in levelling up the good and the inferior icemen of a party, and in conserving the energies of the step-cutter, or step-cutters, for really difficult work on rocks or ice slopes higher up.

With two pairs of new--but broken-in--modern mountaineering boots it ought to be quite unnecessary to take out nails, iron boot anvil or hammer for a two months’ campaign.

The general stores--cooking utensils, plates or bowls, cups (mugs are preferable), table cutlery, travelling stoves (primus and alpine), candles, etc.--are best obtained in the country. The most convenient packages are strong baskets. These should be made at home, and covered with strong waterproof material. Size 25 inches by 15 inches by 11 inches is convenient for horse carriage, and should be furnished with a strong lock. They can also serve as seats in or outside the tents.

The personal equipment should include a roll-up mattress--hair is the best--6 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 4 inches, a down quilt or sleeping-bag and a small pillow. If the tent has a ground sheet, a waterproof cover for the mattress is not required. To save trouble and expense on the journey and at the Customs, it is much the best plan to bring as little as possible into the country in the way of consumable stores. Jam is perhaps the one exception. For high work jam is of great importance, and the little ¼-lb. tins to be obtained in London are extremely convenient. A few soups--powder or tabloid--are also useful for emergencies. Excellent shops are to be found at all the chief railhead towns, such as Tiflis, Vladikavkaz, Piatigorsk and Naltshik; also at Kutais and Oni on the Mamison road. In them almost everything obtainable in western Europe may be got.

Many different kinds of tinned meats, fruits and fish are to be had, but the party would do well to have as little to do with these as possible, except perhaps a few boxes of sardines. In the country, mutton, fowls and eggs are always to be obtained, and these are safer and more palatable than the tinned foods, which should be kept for emergencies and given away at the end of the trip. The great weakness of the Caucasian commissariat is in the all-important item of bread. Away from the towns this is invariably very bad. It is made of maize or wheat flour mixed with rye, or of rye alone; no yeast or baking powder is used, and it is never properly cooked. Naturally it is exceedingly trying to a western stomach. When forced to use it, one should have it well toasted. Very good bread can be bought in the towns, and as large a supply of this as possible should be taken. There is also an excellent form of bread to be got in some of the small _dukhans_ or shops up country. It is in hard glazed small rings, and is threaded on strings and hung up like onions to the roof. It keeps well, and is quite palatable and digestible. One way of overcoming the bread difficulty would be to engage a cook-interpreter, who could bake, and to carry flour and a small portable oven with the party.

[Sidenote: Organization.]

Interpreter-couriers are to be found at Tiflis and Vladikavkaz. These, however, would not care to attach themselves to a climbing party, or, in fact, to leave the roads at all; walking for even a few miles is not in their line. There are guides and tariffs--fairly reasonable--for both Kasbek and Elbrus. Good material undoubtedly exists for the development of a school of real mountain guides, but their time is not yet. A climbing party must bring its own guides, or, better still, have some one in the party who, by previous experience or knowledge of guideless climbing in the Alps, is qualified to act as guide and leader on high ascents.

After bread and horses, porters are the principal worry for the leader of a party in the Caucasus. The mountain tribes are independent and ‘huffy,’ and great tact and patience are needed in dealing with these semi-civilized children of nature. The men are not, like the Swiss, accustomed to carry heavy burdens, and are quite ready to throw up their job and throw down their loads at or without a moment’s notice.

The cook is a very important member of the party. He stands for creature comforts, and the party is fortunate which succeeds in engaging a capable man at the town from which the expedition starts. It is very necessary for all purposes that one at least of the party should know some Russian. The cook-interpreter, if only one man is engaged, must speak, besides Russian, at least one western European language, and he must have a good knowledge of as many of the Caucasian languages as possible.

[Sidenote: Maps.]

The general map of the country is that known as the 5-verst map, which is to be obtained in Tiflis or from the principal London map-sellers. It is on the scale of 5 versts = 3½ miles = 1 in 210,000, to the inch. This, though quite accurate as far as the low country is concerned, is of little use in the mountains. The best known map is that issued with Messrs. Freshfield & Sellas’s _The Exploration of the Caucasus_ (Edward Arnold, London, 1896). It is on the 5-verst scale, and is a useful general map, though the scale is too small to show the mountains properly.

Herr Merzbacher issued with his weighty work, _Aus den Hochregionen des Kaukasus_ (Leipzig, 1901), a very convenient map on the scale of 3⅓ versts = 1 in 140,000. This map is to be obtained from the publishers. It endeavours to give more names, heights and details of mountains than Mr. Freshfield’s; but this, in some cases, has led to a multiplication of errors. Mountains have been inserted which explorers of the locality have failed to find, and in the south-eastern portion of the central group the nomenclature and heights given are often very misleading. By far the most useful map, and the map which is practically indispensable for the mountain explorer who is not prepared to make his own, is the Russian 1-verst map. This is on a large scale (1/42000). It gives with very considerable accuracy the forms of such glaciers and mountains as are visible from positions reasonably accessible to the surveyors. It seldom commits itself by giving any names at all to the peaks, except to the principal ones--although the more important glaciers are generally named. The printing of the names and figures--of course in Russian characters--is often exceedingly bad. The maps are on the hâchure system. With the exception of the sheet covering Kasbek, which is on sale at Vladikavkaz, they can only be obtained through the military authorities in Tiflis.

[Sidenote: Expense.]

This will, of course, greatly depend upon the style in which the expedition is conducted. If a courier-interpreter is engaged, and Swiss guides are brought, the expense must be expected to be considerable. In spite of the general rise in the cost of living and in the price of labour, which of late years has increased in the Caucasus--between 50 and a 100 per cent--an eight or nine weeks’ journey out from London and back can be done comfortably at a cost not exceeding £100 for each member of a party of four, five or six. Below are given a few prices, based on the experience of the expeditions made in the years 1904, 1911 and 1913. They are, of course, only approximate. Foodstuffs will be found not to vary so much in cost as the hire of horses and porters.

1904. 1911. 1913. Horse, per day 1-3 R. 1½-2 R. 3-4 R. Porter, per day -- 1 R. 1½-4 R. Sheep (small) 4-6 R. -- 3-5 R. Hens (small) 20-40 K. -- 35-50 K. Eggs (small) 1-2 K. -- 1½-2 K. Bread (about 2 lb.) 8 K. -- 10 K. Cheese 15 K. -- 10-20 K. Wine (Kakhetinskoe), litre -- -- 1 R. Beer -- -- 15-20 K Sucking-pig (very small) 2-3 R. -- 2 R.

Rouble = 2s. 1½d. Kopeck = ¼d.

_Note._--All prices given are pre-war.

##