First Ascent of Archil Peak in Chaukhi, Georgia
The first ascent route of Archil Peak, marked in red. Photo: Facebook/Art of Ascent – Caucasus
High on the eastern side of Georgia’s Chaukhi massif, where familiar summits give way to quieter rock faces and unnamed ridgelines, Georgian team completed the first ascent of a previously unclimbed peak in late October 2025. The climb resulted in a new route graded 5B (Caucasian scale), approximately M5+, and the naming of the mountain Archil Peak.
The ascent was carried out by Giorgi Tepnadze, Bakar Gelashvili, Temur Kurdiani, Vakho Blagidze, and Tornike Tepnadze. While technically demanding and exploratory in nature, the expedition carried a deeper purpose: to honor the memory of their late climbing partner, Archil Badriashvili, whose influence shaped both the team and their long relationship with the Chaukhi region.
A landscape of unfinished lines
Chaukhi is often referred to as the “Georgian Dolomites” – a compact cluster of dramatic limestone towers ranging between 3,400m and 3,858m, well known and frequently climbed. Yet while its main faces are well explored, the team’s interest was drawn to the remote and largely untouched rock faces on the massif’s eastern side, where unclimbed lines still remain.
That interest dates back nearly a decade. In 2016, Archil Badriashvili and Giorgi Tepnadze completed the first ascent of the East Face of nearby 3,842m Asatiani Peak, during which they formed lasting friendships with the local Khevsur community. The experience left a deep impression, drawing the climbers back to the area again and again.
After Archil’s passing, his closest rope mates – Tepnadze, Gelashvili, and Kurdiani – returned to Chaukhi in 2024, adding another new route on the East Face of Asatiani Peak, completed with one bivouac. That climb quietly set the stage for what would follow.
Archil Badriashvili
A deliberate decision to name a peak
The 2025 expedition marked a rare departure from the team’s usual approach. Known for their restraint, they typically avoid naming routes or summits. Outside Georgia, many of their first ascents are simply referred to as “Georgian Route,” while at home, new lines often bear surnames rather than symbolic titles.
This time was different.
Encouraged by the local Khevsur community – whose culture emphasizes honor, loyalty, and enduring bonds – the team chose to name the mountain after Archil. The decision was not taken lightly, but it felt appropriate in a place where friendships between climbers and villagers stretch back generations.
The ascent
The route itself proved to be logical, sustained, and technically engaging, weaving through steep rock on a beautiful and isolated peak that had remained untouched despite Chaukhi’s long climbing history. The climbers described the line as demanding yet natural – a route that felt as though it had always belonged there.
In a single ascent, the team linked exploration, technical achievement, and remembrance into one continuous line.
More than a summit
Standing on the summit of Archil Peak, the climbers completed more than a first ascent. They returned to a landscape shaped by shared history – one that had witnessed their earliest climbs together, their strongest partnerships, and now, their loss.
Archil Peak is not a monument carved in stone, but a continuation: a quiet presence in the mountains that shaped them all. In a massif where most summits already have names and stories, this one now carries a name rooted not in ambition, but in friendship.
Some climbs are remembered for their difficulty. Others endure because of why they were made.