Shkhara
Shkhara () is the highest point in the country of Georgia. It is located near the Russian-Georgian border, in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region on the northern side, and the Svaneti region of Georgia in the south. Shkhara lies north of the city of Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city, and closer to the townlet of Mestia in Svaneti. The summit lies in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, to the south-east of Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain. Shkhara is the third-highest peak in the Caucasus, just behind Dykh-Tau. Morphology Shkhara is the high point and the eastern anchor of a massif known as the Bezengi Wall, a ridge. It is a large, steep peak in a heavily glaciated region, and presents serious challenges to mountaineers. Its north face (on the Russian side) is high and contains several classic difficult routes. The significant sub-summit Shkhara West, at , is a climbing objective in its own right, and a traverse of the entire Bezingi Wall is considered "Europe's longest, most arduous, and most committing expedition". History The peak was first climbed in 1888 via the North East Ridge route, by the British/Swiss team of English climber John Garford Cockin and Swiss guides