Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

It was plenty hot up there, but the last of the previous winter's snow still clung on in this place of extremes.

Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

 Three more from that memorable walk.
Top:  dandelions in front of Mt. Tetnuldi
Middle:  Try walking up that!  "Slip slaaadin away"... but it's not as bad as it looks.
Bottom:  This, however, is every bit as good as it looks.

Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

Left of centre in the top shot is Karl, my walking partner for the day, on what looks like crazy-dangerous sand but is actually nice knifelike teaspoon-sized bits of slate.  Their very sharpness makes them slide very little, even at such angles.  But as the way got more and more vertical, and the rock more and more rotten - coming away in my hands, all that sharpness digging into my palms and filling my boots - I decided to stop, no more than 3 or 4 metres from the place from which Ushba would re-emerge (middle shot).  What made me turn back?  2 thoughts:  1) this is getting very risky for my level of experience, and 2) I'm not single anymore.
The bottom shot has our vehicle for the day and Ushba's twin peaks, just to the right of which is the slate hill which defeated me. This time.

Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

Described by one recent visitor as "Hardly lakes at all - more like ponds... not worth the trouble".  (And trouble it was - 1.5 hours of very rough roads in an old Soviet-era Vilis 4x4.)  But to a photographer a real gift, natural reflectors of the already magnificent scenery.  This blog's header panoramic photo is from the same lakes, the same day.  Near these lakes, hidden by an interposed hill of slate, Ushba's twin peaks brood hugely.  More soon on my attempt to scale that hill and see the monster up close.

And... Happy Birthday Gill, hope you have a great one, Lali & I are thinking of you massively today!