Volcano·Russia

Mount Kazbek

5,033m

Khokh Range

Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 5,033m
Prominence: 2,373m
Isolation: 114km
Relief: 2,910mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 58°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1868
Summit: 42.6969°N, 44.5181°E

Dormant volcano in Georgia and Russia

Mount Kazbek is a volcano in the Khokh Range (Russia). Its summit stands 5,033 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,373 m, and the nearest higher ground is 114 km away. It was first climbed in 1868.

From the lowest point within 5 km (2,123 m), it rises 2,910 m. The steepest side is the east face: 42° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 58° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Stepantsminda, 11 km away at 1,767 m: 3,266 m below the summit.

Mount Kazbek for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

7.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

1.6/2.55 waymarked routes and 33 path sections nearby
0.8/1.53 huts and shelters
2.0/23,266 m of ascent from the valley
1.5/1.52,373 m of prominence
1.0/1.54 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Mount Kazbek

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit5,033 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up3,400 msnow from October to June	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Stepantsminda1,767 msnow from January to April (some years from November to April)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Kazbek, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average August afternoon the summit reaches about 2 °C; on January nights it falls to about -33 °C. In 10 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,290 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (32 mm) and June the wettest (89 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Stepantsminda high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-24	-33	-2	1,400	38	10	4.1
February	-22	-32	-1	1,620	32	9	5.3
March	-18	-28	3	2,260	55	11	4.8
April	-13	-22	9	3,090	64	13	5.2
May	-6	-17	15	4,030	89	16	6.3
June	-2	-12	19	4,750	89	16	7.7
July	2	-10	23	5,260	62	12	7.8
August	2	-10	23	5,290	55	11	8.1
September	-3	-14	18	4,570	54	10	6.8
October	-9	-19	12	3,620	60	11	5.4
November	-16	-25	5	2,520	44	9	4.4
December	-21	-30	0	1,740	33	9	3.9

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,185 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Kazbek

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Kazbek seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

3mountain huts and shelters
ბეთლემის ქოხი 3650 (3,650 m), ალტიჰატი (3,014 m), დეკა (3,020 m)
—cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
—ski areas
5waymarked hiking routes
Stepantsminda–Kazbegi, Arsha–Stepantsminda (no trailmarks), Stepantsminda–Kazbegi (no trailmarks), Suatisi and Mna Gorge (no trailmarks) and 1 more
—via ferratas
2climbing crags and routes
Arsha climbing sector
10named glaciers
გერგეტის მყინვარი, დევდარაკის მყინვარი, აბანოს მყინვარი, ჩათის მყინვარი and 6 more
18viewpoints
საბერწე, ყაზბეგის საუკეთესო ხედი, Amazing view of the church, ეკლესიისა და მთების ხედი and 14 more
20campsites
საბერწეს საბანაკე, საბანაკე მეორე ჯვართან, Стоянка 3400, 3100 and 16 more
58hotels, B&Bs and chalets
მთის სახლი (Mtis Sakhli), სტეფანწმინდა, Leo Hostel, Guest House Sabauri and 54 more
29restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

33 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T2T3T4T5

T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Stepantsminda11 km · 1,767 m
Dzhayrakh19 km · 1,102 m
Verkhniy Fiagdon23 km · 1,217 m
Gudauri25 km · 2,223 m

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

2024-08-04 Mount Kazbegi in evening light — Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0

980522-IMG 6607-2-Kazbek — Safa.daneshvar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-24	-22	-18	-13	-6	-2	2	2	-3	-9	-16	-21
2020	+1.0	+0.7	+4.3	−0.6	+0.6	+2.0	+1.1	−1.6	+2.6	+3.7	+0.2	+1.3
2021	+3.5	+2.0	−2.5	+2.6	+2.7	+2.5	+1.1	+1.5	−1.2	−1.1	+2.6	+2.5
2022	−0.6	+1.5	−4.9	+3.4	−1.0	+0.9	+0.1	+2.4	+2.1	+0.2	+1.7	+2.1
2023	+1.8	−1.8	+3.8	+1.8	+0.3	±0.0	−0.3	+2.6	+0.2	+1.1	+2.6	+3.0
2024	+1.1	+2.4	+0.7	+6.8	−1.7	+1.7	+0.2	+0.8	+0.4	−0.7	+0.2	−0.3
2025	+3.5	−2.1	+3.4	+0.6	+0.9	−0.1	+1.9	+2.9	−1.2	+0.2	+6.3	+1.0

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,938 mMount Khalatsa

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q207680) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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