Russian climbing reality

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Climbing program to Mount Ararat
Climbing program to Mount Gestola from Georgia

The topic of absurd prohibitions in Russia, which is revealed below on a single example of the situation with Mount Gestola, is actually much broader. It is applicable to many locations and areas of activity in the Russian Federation, where the government regulation and prohibitions cause enormous damage to the economy and development prospects. For the realizing of the tourism activities, many areas and mountains on the territory of Russian Federation, in particular in the Caucasus, are closed or subjected to an excessive number of formalities. All the peaks of the Main Caucasian Range, historically inextricably linked with the history of mountaineering as a sport are prohibited for climbing. The main "magnet" of tourist traffic in Altai – Mount Belukha is accessible for climbing only from Kazakhstan, not from Russia, as well as the neighboring Altai mountains. The Queen of the Caucasus, the beautiful Mount Ushba, develops exclusively the economy of Georgia.

Any action associated with the spending of energy and resources must have a certain goal, the value of which must justify the costs of achieving it... Maybe I think in outdated patterns and cannot accept modern twists of logic. Recent events seem to confirm this idea...

Many peaks of the Caucasus have their own history intertwined with human deeds, exploits, events and achievements. Each peak is unique in its own way, there are no two similar ones... Nevertheless, below I will try to compare two completely different mountains, around which, today, a similar situation has developed...

Similar, but not quite alike. So, what is common between Mount Ararat and Mount Gestola?

Like most significant peaks, both of these mountains are located on the border of states - this is understandable, because from time immemorial times, territories have been divided between peoples according to landforms that make it difficult to move - along rivers, lakes, mountain ranges. Ideally - in the mountains, because the mountains are an insurmountable obstacle, a large natural fence.

Mount Ararat is a biblical peak, mentioned in various scriptures and inextricably linked with the history of our civilization. In addition, this is a symbolic peak for the people of Armenia - all the folklore, art of Armenian authors draws inspiration from the outline of this mountain soaring in the sky, which was located in the past on the territory of Armenia, and now is inaccessible to the residents of this country.

This inaccessibility is a great pain for the Armenian people, a constant reminder of the numerous tragedies of the last century.

The fact is that today Mount Ararat is in Turkey.

And, although this mountain is perfectly visible from Yerevan, it is inaccessible in about the same way as the craters on the moon. It is impossible to get to Mount Ararat from Armenia - like an evil smile of fate, the mountain shines with a huge snow dome over Erevan – the capital of Armenia, but not a single inhabitant of this city can get to its summit.

The inaccessibility of Ararat from Armenia is primarily due to the completely blocked communication between Armenia and Turkey, with a practically martial law between the countries. Of course, inaccessibility of Mount Ararat is not the main problem in Armenia today, but the situation with the ban on climbing illustrates well the thesis of my article, to which I just want to move now.

So you remember? Ararat is closed to Armenia because it is located on the territory of enemy and is locked up by the enemy. For no practical use, just to humiliate and insult other people.

Another, less known, but no less beautiful Caucasian peak – Mount Gestola, is also located on the border between states, between Russia and Georgia. This is one of the most beautiful peaks of the Main Caucasus, the decoration of the Bezengi wall, a copy and twin of Mount Tetnuld, famous peak in Georgia.

Mount Tetnuld and Mount Gestola are like twins, but Mount Tetnuld faces to the south, and Mount Gestola to the north. Today, Mount Tetnuld is extremely popular for climbing from Georgia; a modern network of cable cars and ski slopes has been built on the south side of the mountain.

A slightly different is the situation with Mount Gestola. Mount Gestola can be safely called the symbol of the Bezengi Gorge - this is the first and most memorable mountain in shape, which a tourist who has arrived in Bezengi sees. The silhouette of this mountain hurts the heart with its perfect geometry...

The analogy with Mount Ararat lies in the fact that climbing of Mount Gestola is also banned – climbing from the Russian side is impossible.

Who is the enemy who closed the opportunity for people to enjoy climbing the most beautiful mountain, who left the entire Bezengi region without a flow of tourists and the possibility of earning money?!

This is the paradox about which I began to write this text. Think about it: climbing Mount Gestola (as well as other peaks of the Main Caucasian Range) is prohibited by the Russian border service. The ban on climbing applies only to the citizens of Russia, since from this year foreigners have been denied access even to the border region.

But on the part of Georgia, a country included in the list of countries “hostile” to Russia, climbing is not only allowed, but is very welcomed in every possible way, as an additional source of tourist traffic. And this traffic, as you might guess, is needed to Georgia for the real development of the tourism infrastructure of the region, for the inflow of funds and the improvement of the well-being of the citizens. Citizens of Georgia, as you might guess.

So, in the bottom line, we have two prohibitions: one vile, but logical and understandable - an attempt to humiliate and suppress the historical enemy, weaken his will, thus obtaining a military advantage. With the second prohibition it is more difficult - who is trying to humiliate and oppress people in Russia and why?

In addition to the paradox of the situation, I can mention the attitude of the Georgian authorities towards foreign tourists, including those from Russia, that attitude is not at all “hostile”.

Paradox. In an exact translation from Greek, this word means something that is devoid of meaning and logic, or that has meaning and logic that is the opposite of its apparent meaning. I think this title illustrates well the situation you just read about.

The author of the text and photos - Alexey Trubachev

 MCS EDIT 2023