Dykh-Tau Dykh-Tau Dykh-Tau or Dykhtau (, that is derived from Turkic "dik dagh" which means Jagged Mount), is a mountain located in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia; its peak stands about north of the border with Georgia. Dykh-Tau is the second highest of the Caucasus Mountains, after Mount Elbrus, and is the second highest mountain in Europe. Dykh-Tau is best accessed from the north (Russia). Bezingi village may be reached from Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria with infrequent public transport, here a 4WD vehicle must be hired. Thus Bezingi Alpine Camp is reached at 2180m. From here it takes a further 2 days to reach the
Mount Elbrus The Soviet Union encouraged ascents of Elbrus, and in 1956 it was climbed "en masse" by 400 mountaineers to mark the 400th anniversary of the incorporation of Kabardino-Balkaria, the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic where Elbrus was located. From 1959 through 1976, a cable car system was built in stages that can take visitors as high as . There are a wide variety of routes up the mountain, but the normal route, which is free of crevasses, continues more or less straight up the slope from the end of the cable car system. During the summer, it is not uncommon for