Climber-Instructor Alexander Naumenko Was Killed By An Avalanche On Mount Shkhara
Mount Shkhara, Georgia – On August 8, 2016 climber-instructor Alexander Naumenko from Chernigov, Ukraine was killed in an avalanche while climbing a Russian Grade 5B route on Mount Shkhara in Georgia.
The avalanche occurred while Naumenko was crossing a snow slope. He was the third member of a three person team. The first person was not caught, the second was “slightly powdered,” and Naumenko was killed. Naumenko left behind a wife and two children, aged 3 and 5. RIP.
Located in the Svaneti region of the central Caucasus, Mount Shkhara is considered to be Georgia’s highest mountain at 5201 meters. The peak is a technical summit that is the eastern anchor of the Bezengi Wall – a 12 km long ridge that “links several of the highest peaks of the Caucasus: Lial’ver (4,350m), Gestola (4,860m), Katyn-Tau (4,974m), Jangi-Tau (5,085m, also spelled Dzhangi-Tau), Shota Rustaveli (4,960m), and Shkhara (5,200m)” (AmericanAlpineClub.org). Shkhara was first climbed by U. Almer, J. Cockin and C. Roth in 1888 via the North East Ridge route.
Read more about the avalanche on Mount Shkhara that killed Alexander Naumenko from these sources:
- EN.Reporter-au.ru
- MegaNewsWeb.com
- SummitPost.org
- 4Sport.UA
- AmericanAlpineClub.org
- Fasis.Kiev.ua
- Belrnok.ru
