Gudauri Freeride & Mountain Culture Week
Off-piste days above 3,000 metres, Caucasian hospitality below
Gudauri sits on a treeless shoulder of the Greater Caucasus at 2,200 metres, its lifts reaching past 3,200, with open bowls and long natural fall lines that hold snow from December into April. What it lacks in trees it returns in space: lift-accessed off-piste that would be tracked out by nine in the Alps stays untouched here for days. This week is built around that terrain. Certified mountain guides lead small groups through the bowls of Kudebi and Sadzele, the Chrdili flanks, and — conditions allowing — a day trip down the Georgian Military Highway toward Stepantsminda for views of Mount Kazbek and a descent under the Gergeti slopes. Avalanche equipment, daily snowpack briefings, and a maximum of four riders per guide are standard. Evenings restore the balance: a chalet table of Georgian cooking, qvevri wines brought up from Kakheti, a banya night, and one proper supra. December departures open the season alongside Gudauri’s first lift days.
Gudauri Season Opening
This journey is timed around Gudauri Season Opening — Gudauri Resort.
See the 2026 calendarThe programme.
Arrival and Avalanche Briefing
Transfer from Tbilisi up the Georgian Military Highway past the Ananuri fortress to Gudauri, checking into the Ridge Chalet at 2,200 metres. Equipment fitting and a thorough avalanche safety briefing follow: transceiver drills, terrain assessment, and the protocol the week will run on. Dinner introduces the guide team.
Reading the Resort
A first full day on the mountain, riding the lift system to the Sadzele summit above 3,200 metres and skiing the marked terrain hard to calibrate groups and legs. Short off-piste excursions test snow and technique. Evening review of the snowpack bulletin sets the plan for the freeride days ahead.
The Kudebi and Sadzele Bowls
The first committed freeride day: lift-accessed lines off Kudebi and the Sadzele shoulder, open bowls of 600 to 900 vertical metres with regrouping points fixed by the guides. Lunch at a mountain hut. Afternoon laps continue while legs and conditions hold. Banya and an early dinner close the day.
Chrdili Flanks and Supra Night
Guided lines on the Chrdili side, where north-facing aspects keep cold snow long after a storm, with a short bootpack opening longer, quieter descents. A gentler afternoon option stays on-piste. The evening is the week’s supra: a tamada, qvevri wine from Kakheti, and toasts that take their time.
Toward Kazbegi
Conditions allowing, a day trip north over the Jvari Pass toward Stepantsminda: a guided descent on the Gergeti slopes beneath Mount Kazbek and the silhouette of Gergeti Trinity Church, with lunch in a village house below. If the pass is closed, a ski touring alternative runs from Kobi.
Riders’ Choice Day
The final full day returns to whatever the week has shown to be best — fresh lines after new snow, a longer tour for the keen, or honest piste laps for tired legs, decided with the guides over breakfast. A farewell dinner at the chalet gathers the week’s footage and stories.
Departure to Tbilisi
A last breakfast at altitude and, for early risers, an optional first-lift hour on the corduroy before checkout. Transfer down the Georgian Military Highway to Tbilisi by early afternoon, with time for the old town or the sulphur baths before evening flights. Kakheti wine extensions can be added.
- Six nights at the Gudauri Ridge Chalet on a half-board basis, twin or double
- Five guided days with certified mountain guides, maximum four riders per guide
- Avalanche safety kit — transceiver, shovel, probe, and airbag pack — for the week
- Six-day Gudauri lift pass
- Kazbegi day excursion or ski touring alternative, conditions depending
- Supra evening with tamada and Kakhetian qvevri wines, plus one banya session
- Transfers from and to Tbilisi and all programme transport
- International flights to and from Tbilisi
- Personal insurance with off-piste and helicopter evacuation cover, which is mandatory
- Ski or snowboard equipment hire, arranged locally on request
- Lunches on mountain days
- Heli-ski supplements, bookable by the drop subject to conditions
- Gratuities for guides and chalet staff
Giorgi Beridze
IFMGA Mountain Guide · Georgian, English, Russian
Giorgi was born in Stepantsminda, in sight of Mount Kazbek, and has guided in the Greater Caucasus for fifteen seasons — summer trekking and alpine routes from the Kazbegi valleys to Svaneti, winter freeride and touring out of Gudauri. He carries the full IFMGA qualification, the international benchmark for mountain guiding, and is known among clients for conservative judgement and an unforced calm at altitude. Off the mountain he keeps bees, which he discusses with the same seriousness as snowpack.
Certified venues on this journey.
In the same spirit.
Run the Caucasus
A guided trail running camp across two High Caucasus regions: the Juta valley, Gergeti Trinity, and the Chaukhi massif from Kazbegi, then the Koruldi lakes above Mestia in Svaneti — for runners comfortable with sustained mountain distance.
Living Heritage Georgia
An eight-day arc through Georgia’s UNESCO-listed heritage as it is actually lived: the cathedrals of Mtskheta, polyphonic singing learned from its keepers, and the medieval tower houses of Mestia and Ushguli in Upper Svaneti.
Regional Taste of Georgia
A six-day eating itinerary across three regions: the Dezerter Bazaar and khinkali masterclasses in Tbilisi, bread ovens and the supra ritual in Kakheti, and the distinct dairy-rich table of the Adjarian coast.