Enchanted in the Caucasus

The Lada Niva’s engine whines in protest as the rev counter approaches the redline. Tyres squirm for grip in the loose snow. Vasil, our driver, calmly smooths out the drift and slingshots the car into the next hairpin. Behind our heads in the trunk our axes, shovels, snowshoes and crampons create a cacophony of steel and aluminium, counterpoint to the rubber and leather squeaks and tinny rattles from the Niva.

High in the Kazbegi Caucasus, Lisa and I have packs loaded with food, equipment and camera gear for a multi-day snowshoe and wild camping adventure. A few days earlier, we met Vasil by chance. One of those unexpected meetings that expands your knowledge and alters your world view. We get a detailed primer to decades of hard won local information. Info on which market to find the best pickles, fresh vegetables, strained yoghurt, and local specialties like dried sour plums and walnuts – an integral element for many Georgian dishes.

One such market gave us pause. From the outside, the ramshackle, faded facade speaks of a store long past its heyday, its dimly lit interior however reveals a trove of wonders; fruit leather with a mouth puckering sourness, tangy cheeses, wild herb medleys, delicate beetroots and pungent onions with a green/white hue.

The market visit also pulls into sharp focus the division of labour in this area. On our hike into town there were no women on the road, only men. All the taxis and tourist agencies are operated by men. Yet inside the market, in cafes and in restaurants the staff are almost universally women. It’s as though we’re in the nineteen fifties.

After a dinner of local specialties in one of the small restaurants, Vasil drives us back to our base for the week; the route revealing a treasure trove of possibilities for trekking, ski touring and mountaineering in this area. After just thirty minutes, we have a least a months worth of options. We need to head out for a recce.

The next morning we shoulder our packs early and head down a snow covered road, scoping potential trails. Within the first ten minutes we have had four offers of lifts from local drivers, curious as to what we’re doing out this early with laden packs. On the fifth offer, our resistance crumbles and we gratefully accept a lift down the road to the appropriately named Sno village.

Shafts of gold break the horizon and we pause for morning tea and fresh bread

Thanking our driver, I offer him a ten lari note. His response is a swift ‘I’m not a taxi’. Fearing I’ve made a faux pas, I look to see if he’s annoyed, but the beaming smile provides its own answer. This generosity of spirit is present in nearly every Georgian we meet throughout our trip.

Our entrance into Sno is across an off kilter suspension bridge, some planks missing completely. Luckily the river is only metres below us, not the yawning chasms you might encounter in the Himalaya.

We find a village in hibernation. The high peaks and narrow valley floor creates a sun shadow that covers most of the houses. Doors and windows are closed and shuttered, though snatches of laughter reveal life within.

Old style haystacks and greenhouses with broken panes line the gardens. Rusted trucks without windows lie canted on two wheel hubs, the rubber long since cracked and degraded in the deep cold. Around one corner we have a face off with a cow – Lisa swiftly checking to make sure we’re not playing chicken with the village bull.

Eventually we’re on the correct track to the trailhead. Once on the mountain, we begin to make sense of the landscape and terrain and the days ahead start to take shape in our minds. Checklists are formed and crossed off. In this deep cold we’ll have to find a water source or we’ll be melting snow for hours. Heading home for the night, we’re already excited for the adventure ahead.

That evening, the gear sorting ritual begins. Just enough clothing to keep us warm and dry, with spares for those ‘just in case’ moments. Winter sleeping bags have expanded in the house, which now have to be tightly stuffed back into drybags. Lisa agonises over which lenses to pack and if we will have the possibility of seeing the Milky Way (necessitating a tripod). We won’t be eating freeze dried meals on this trip, only Georgian inspired dinners and breakfasts. Food canisters, silicone pouches and drybags get packed with food for three days.

As though he has read our minds, Vasil calls us asking if we have any plans for the next day? ‘Sure!’ ‘Can you pick us up at 6am?’ ‘How about 7?’ he counters. Grateful for the extra hour’s sleep, we agree.

Morning comes all too early. We briefly question our respective career paths, but the magnetic pull of new mountains is all the incentive we need to get out the door. One wild ride up a twisting mountain road in that rattling Lada Niva to our drop off point, and we’re alone. Just us and an amphitheatre of peaks, radiant under starlight.

Shafts of gold break the horizon and we pause for morning tea and fresh bread. Time to soak up a little heat. We head deeper into the hills on worn goat trails. Our snowshoes and ice axes still packed. We’re almost at 3,000 metres and it’s minus twenty but the snow is sparse and patchy, drifting on spurs and piling in mounds on the northern slopes. We soon encounter the first signs of long habitation in this wild corner of Georgia. A ruin of a shrine, its stones worn smooth with centuries of age.

Georgian Caucasus Menu

Lobio with Mchadi (red bean, pepper, onion and herb stew with cornbread)

Equipment:
Camping stove, pump and fuel bottle
Ceramic pot and skillet
Wooden spoon and spatula
Silicone dry bag – to knead and store the dough

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Lobio:
2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked in water overnight
1 white onion, finely sliced
1 green pepper, roughly diced
1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp dried fennel powder
1/2 tsp black cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
Water
Salt – to taste
1 tbsp butter or ghee

Mchadi:
Cornflour, finely ground
2 eggs
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chili flakes
1 cup hard white cheese, cut into fine cubes
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Water
Extra cornflour for dusting

Storage:
Mix the beans, parsley and stock cube together and store in a lightweight leakproof container. Store the onion, pepper and spices in a separate container.

Method:
First make the cornbread. Mix together the cornflour, spices, salt, eggs and oil. Then add in the cheese and a little water at a time. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Store in a silicone drybag or reusable container.

Light the stove and when burning correctly reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the butter/ghee and when gently sizzling add the onion, pepper and spices. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the bean mix, stir well and enough water to cover completely. Increase the heat to full, cover with the pot lid and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat slightly, cook for 20 minutes or until the beans are soft, adding more water if necessary. Taste and season with salt if needed. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Place the skillet on the stove, reduce the heat to medium/high. Break off a golf ball size lump of dough, roll in between your hands until smooth and flatten. Dust with a little cornflour and place in the skillet. There should be space in the skillet for 2-4 breads, depending on size.

Dry fry for a few minutes on both sides until cooked through and the cheese starts to ooze out.

Serve the bean stew in an insulated container with some bread

Chicken Satsivi soup (winter camp version)

Equipment:
Camping stove and pot
Bamboo chopping board
Knife
Airtight container
Insulated bottle
Insulated coffee mug with airtight lid
Wooden spoons
Insulated bowl/mug – to serve

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
Cooked meat from thighs and one breast of chicken (Slow cook in the oven and when cold pull the meat apart with forks or your hands)
1 cup walnuts, smashed to fine chunks/powder
1 cup coriander leaf
1 cup parsley leaf
4 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1 glass white wine
1 cup sour cream
2-3 cups water (depending on how thick you like your soup)
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter (wrapped)
Sea salt

Storage:
Put the pulled chicken into an airtight container, and chill in the fridge overnight. Use this to transport to camp. Mix the wine and sour cream together and transport in a leakproof coffee mug. Fill your bottle with water.

Place the spices, stock cube and walnuts in a small reusable container. Place the herbs, onion and garlic and butter in another reusable container and hike to your chosen lunch spot, or overnight camp.

Method:
Finely chop the herbs, garlic and onion. Heat the pot, add butter and foam gently. Add the onion, garlic, herbs and spice/walnut mix; cook for 2 minutes.

Add the wine, sour cream and water, bring to a simmer. Then, add the shredded chicken and cook for 15 minutes minimum. (If you have the time and fuel, cook for longer as the flavours will intensify) Taste and season if needed.

Serve in the insulated bowls/mugs. Dig in!