Season Diary - Day 16

Tuesday 24th February 2026 - Mestia, Georgia

Another day, another ski tour in the gaze of Mount Ushba.

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Mount Ushba has watched over us our whole time in Mestia. It is easily one of the biggest mountains in the Caucuses, but more than that it is easily one of the most dramatic.

Its twin peaks reach up high above the main ridge of the range to an elevation of 4,710m, the north tower ever so slightly lower than the south by around 20m. A stone’s throw from the Russian border it is close to Elbrus, the tallest mountain in Europe, and stands proud of the mountains that overlook Svaneti.

Local Soanian legend has it that Ushba and nearby Tetnuldi – a more classically shaped peak lying equidistant to the east of Mestia, were once lovers; Ushba the peasant’s son, Tetnuldi the daughter of rich parents. When Tetnuldi’s family found out about their love, they forbade them from seeing each other, and instead Tetnuldi prayed that her and Ushba would be petrified for eternity able to gaze upon each other across the mountains.

More recently, Ushba was first climbed in 1888 by British Alpinists. Another local legend has it that, after this feat of first ascent, Queen Victoria “returned” Ushba to the Svaneti people (ignoring that question of if it was “hers” to give away in the first place …)

Today, Ushba remains one of the most difficult peaks to climb not just in the Caucuses but anywhere in the world. It is incredibly technical, with no “simple” routes up like other summits such as Mont Blanc or Everest – simple use incredibly relatively, here. As such, only a handful of people attempt the summit each year, and it has claimed many, many lives over the last 150 years.

We started this week skiing in Tetnuldi, the only major resort in the region – although “major” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Up close and personal with the mountain, we saw her dramatic figure looming large over the eastern end of the valley. At the same time, however, the twin peaks of Ushba stood proud over the top of the northern edge of the valley, a constant reminder of the formidable nature of the mountains.

Yesterday and the day before, we were skiing up and down valleys to the southwest and southeast, respectively, of Ushba, meaning we were now up close and personal with the mountain itself. The twin peaks constantly came and went as the cloud ebbed and flowed around us, and for much of yesterday there was barely any sightline to the mountain at all. But we knew it was there, gazing over us and to his lover on the other side of Mestia.

And today, we were on the far side of the valley, the southern edge of Svaneti. We climbed a formidable distance, starting as we had done on other days in the trees and winding up tracks and through alpine meadows. But with every break in the foliage, every mini-summit conquered, and every ridgeline overcome, we knew looking back that Ushba was watching over us.

Tomorrow we move to Ushgili, and for the first time all week we will be away from Ushba and Tetnuldi. But somewhere we know they will be watching over us, and we will certainly find new legends to look for in the high mountains.

In the meantime, Tetnuldi and Ushba, once lovers, will continue to gaze towards each other until the end of time.