Georgia

A project aimed to combine our exploration of Georgia’s rich and distant culture with our passion for freeride skiing and ski touring. Manuel and Severin, along with Andrin — who is not an official member of Peak6 but often joins us on our adventures — were involved in this project. The trip took place in January 2025.

Why Georgia? Can you ski there? Is the political situation safe with Russia as a neighboring country? These were the questions posed to us by family, friends, and many others we told about our plans. Our answer was always the same: the Caucasus Mountains are known for heavy snowfall, and aside from a few online videos, information about ski touring and freeriding in Georgia is quite limited. As for the political situation, we believed it would be confined to Tbilisi, the capital, and not affect us.

With an adventurous spirit and the excitement of venturing into the unknown, our trip started in Kutaisi, where we were picked up by a private driver who took us from the airport to the mountain village of Mestia. Mestia immediately charmed us upon arrival. The village has a somewhat touristy vibe, but it is still manageable in size while remaining visually captivating with its iconic towers.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. As we were driving from Kutaisi to Mestia, it started snowing. Since it was still snowing on the second day, we let our guide, Lasha, lead us through the forest of the Hatsvali Ski Resort. We enjoyed 50 cm of fresh powder and forest pillow lines. From the following day onward, we mostly had sunny weather for the rest of our stay. Our schedule alternated between ski touring around Mestia and freeriding at the Hatsvali Ski Resort. The freeride days at Hatsvali, in particular, stand out in our memories, as we had excellent conditions to ride various couloirs and steeper lines in fresh powder.

Would we go back to Mestia? Definitely! The mountains around Mestia have enormous potential, and with the knowledge we’ve gained, we could explore them even more. This will not be our last time in Mestia.