Surrounded by the majestic Greater Caucasus mountains in Georgia, Racha is an untapped backcountry skiing jewel at the intersection of Europe and Asia just waiting to be explored. Due to its incredibly versatile terrain ranging from low, dense forests near picturesque villages to 4,000 m/13,123 ft snow-capped peaks, this stunning area is ideal for adrenaline addicts in quest of the ultimate backcountry experience. With amazing powder and verticals for all skill levels, no nearby resorts and, as a result, no hordes of people, you can fast-track your skills with no interruption. Many quaint villages offer its visitors an insight into the local culture, community and Georgia’s traditional cuisine. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and experience an enthralling backcountry adventure in this remote and splendid location!
Make your way to Racha in western Georgia and carve your tracks into the quality backcountry snow that it offers. Upgrade your skills on diverse terrain and learn about avalanche safety from a guide with an extensive knowledge of this breathtaking area. Discover the traditional cuisine and have the powdery playground all to yourself! Take the guesswork out of the equation and let your guide monitor your progress and navigate you through the colossal winter wonderland while discovering this must-ski location.
On the first day of your upcoming adventure, you’ll arrive at Tbilisi International Airport or Kutaisi International Airport and your guiding service will pick you up. Depending on arrival time and needs of the group, you may eat lunch in Kutaisi or Tbilisi. You’ll travel to the city of Oni, check into a local guesthouse, and have dinner there. Your guide will carry out a gear check and a safety briefing. Prepare to depart for the first campsite early next morning.
Kick off the day with a delicious breakfast and avalanche education—learn why, how and where avalanches take place, how to approach risk management in the backcountry and other important considerations. You’ll discuss theory and do some practical drills such as burial and recovery, search patterns, and communication. You’ll also tour a base camp above Glola with approximately 800 m / 2625 ft of vertical climbing. Spend the night in a tent at the first base camp and have dinner there.
After your breakfast, you’ll ski from Glola base camp with terrain suitable to all skills and abilities. After a full day of skiing, you’ll descend to a nearby village to rest and recover. Get a taste of local cuisine and get a well-deserved rest. You’ll have dinner and spend the night in a village guesthouse in order to get ready for the next day.
Start your day off with breakfast and a minimum of 1000 m / 3280 ft of vertical climbing, and end it with a ski run to the base camp. You can climb higher on the ridge above the camp during the approach, adding another 300 m / 985 ft of vertical. Spend the night in the second base camp.
Have an early breakfast and prepare for today’s adventure. It entails 500-1000 m / 1640-3280 ft verticals on terrain ranging from easy tree runs above the camp to very challenging steep lines. Enjoy locally-sourced dinner and spend the night in the base camp.
After your breakfast, you’ll climb approximately 500 m / 1640 ft with an option of an extra 250 m / 820 ft and a challenging ride on the spine wall. Afterwards, some easy skiing awaits down the ridge to the Chiora village. Tonight you’ll stay in a village guesthouse where a warm meal awaits you.
After a delicious breakfast, you’ll head towards your last base camp. There will be approximately 800 m / 2625 ft of vertical climbing. You’ll have dinner and spend the night in your third and final base camp.
Enjoy breakfast in the morning and get ready for the penultimate day of this adventure. The terrain will vary from easy to very challenging and you’ll climb verticals ranging from 800-1200 m / 2625-3940 ft. Have your dinner, spend the night in a village guesthouse, and regain energy for the last day of this Georgian backcountry adventure.
This day can be placed anywhere in the schedule to have an extra day of rest with some more time to explore the villages or more time to ski in a particular area. Get to know the traditional cuisine and feel like a true local in this Georgian winter wonderland. On the last day, your guiding service will transfer you to any airport or city in the country after the party. If you’re interested in continuing to ski somewhere else in Georgia, your guiding service can make arrangements for you. The guiding service will edit a short movie from the footage they took during the trip and give it to you.
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Racha, Georgia, please refer to Georgia’s COVID-19 Entry Rules Website and the Government of Georgia’s Prevention of Coronavirus Spread in Georgia website.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this adventure:
What’s not included:
To enjoy this backcountry adventure, you need to be in very good physical shape. You will be on your feet for multiple hours a day for 8 full days, covering several miles of terrain every day. On this adventure, you’ll ski up to 1,200 m / 4,000 ft of vertical in the backcountry. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black-level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.
Backcountry skiing isn’t just for pros looking for the ultimate thrill ride, it’s also beginner friendly, meaning anyone with solid blue level resort experience can have fun in the backcountry. If you’ve never backcountry skied before, heading out with a guide is your best bet. They’ll take care of the planning, introduce you to the basics, like skinning uphill, and teach you how to manage the terrain. They also have the experience and avalanche training to keep you safe.
All camping and sleeping gear is provided by your guiding service. For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
Your guiding service can rent the avalanche gear at no extra cost and ski touring rentals can be arranged in advance through a ski rental shop in Georgia. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
Group sizes and pricing:
Ski touring in Racha, Georgia, can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Racha, Georgia, most people fly into Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport 5 hours away from Racha or David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport, 2 hours away.
Your guiding service will pick you up from one of these two airports and you will travel to the city of Oni, Racha Region. The guide will choose the appropriate terrain dependent on conditions and the ability of the group. On your departure, your guiding service will transfer you to one of the near-by airports. If you’re interested in continuing to ski somewhere else in Georgia, your guiding service can make arrangements for you.
A 50% deposit is due immediately. The second payment is due by 1/12/2022.
The 50% deposit is non-refundable. All other program fee payments are refundable upon request unless the expedition has already incurred costs on behalf of the applicant.
In case you are forced to cancel your trip as a result of Covid-related changes in entry requirements for Georgia or your home country, your guide will refund half of the deposit (25%) of trip value and the rest will be applied toward any trip in the following season.
All policies regarding cancellation will be clearly laid out by your guide after booking your adventure.
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