TODO ENGURI FULL DESCENT THROUGH THE HEART OF THE CAUCASUS IN GEORGIA

Last autumn, a team of kayakers set out to paddle Georgia’s Enguri River from its glacial source to the Enguri Dam—over 200 kilometers of steep whitewater, dropping more than 2,100 meters in elevation. For Mike Krutyansky, this river is the gem of the Caucasus, just like the Stikine in British Columbia, the Oetz in the Alps, or the Indus in Karakoram. With challenging water levels, countless logjams, and sections first explored by Soviet paddlers decades ago, they set out to complete a rare full descent.

Mike Krutyansky

David, John, and I spent ages discussing the biggest logjam in the Enguri Canyon. I tried every possible angle with the drone to spot the last tiny eddy and potential exit before the huge pile of logs. There was something, maybe. It was barely enough to convince David and John that it was possible—or were they actually complaining about the lack of good filming points for this beautiful portage? You never know how steep the banks are from scouting from a drone. Could we risk it? A wall of stone divides the small and beautiful country of Georgia from Russia, crowned with glaciers and rising to heights up to 5,600 meters. The Caucasus Mountain Range stretches between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, also marking a natural boundary between…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025

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