Freeride Camp in Georgia: Gudauri

Gudauri and Ortsveri

1 - 7.02.2027
15 - 21.02.2027
8 - 14.03.2027
15 - 21.03.2027

7 Days

Hotel

Touring gear

There are places that do not ask whether you are ready. The Caucasus is exactly that kind of place. And if you have spent a while looking at photos of Gudauri’s snowy ridges and wondering whether you could do that too, we have something better than wondering. At PVD Club we put together a seven-day freeride camp Gudauri Georgia program that takes you from your first confident turns off-piste all the way to a final climb to the summit of Ortsveri at 4,350 meters.

This is not «riding near the lift» and it is not an extreme adventure reserved for people who already know everything. It is a camp where, in the same group, you might find someone putting on skins for the very first time right next to a rider with years of backcountry experience. And both of them will have a genuinely good time.

Why the freeride camp gudauri georgia program is built this way

We deliberately avoid turning the camp into an assembly line. Groups are capped at five people, and that is a matter of principle rather than a marketing line. With a group this size, the guide can actually work through each participant’s technique, adjust quickly to weather and snow conditions, and, most importantly, keep the route safe without rushing or cutting corners.

Pace, descent lines and daily load are all tailored to the level of the people in the group. Beginners get a solid foundation and step-by-step support, while experienced riders get demanding lines and the kind of technical challenge they actually came to the mountains for. It is this balance that makes our freeride Gudauri program work equally well for a first-timer and for someone chasing steeper lines.

If you have already been thinking about learning freeride and backcountry riding properly, rather than in scattered attempts, take a look at our general overview of everything worth knowing about freeride and ski touring in Georgia, where we break down the region’s specifics, seasonality and preparation in detail.

Who this camp is for

Beginners. If you already ride confidently on-piste, on skis or a snowboard, and you finally want to move onto untouched snow, we will teach you off-piste technique, help you sort out your gear, teach ski touring from scratch, and stay with you at every step on the safety side.

Experienced riders. If freeride is nothing new to you, the program offers steep lines, deep snow, full ski-touring routes, and technical work in forested and technically demanding terrain.

When the group includes people at different levels, we split it into smaller subgroups for specific tasks, while the overall training base and route logic stay the same for everyone.

Our customers' reviews of freeride Gudauri

How the seven days of our freeride camp in Georgia unfold

Day 1. Transfer from Tbilisi to Gudauri, check-in, and a full gear check, including avalanche equipment. In the evening you settle into your rooms and get a proper look at the resort area before the program starts. The evening closes with the first lecture, covering safety basics, gear, and the goals for the week ahead.

Day 2. The first day of freeride Gudauri riding at the Gudauri resort: warm-up runs, a technique assessment for each rider, and excursions onto untouched snow within the resort zones. The guide uses this day to calibrate the whole week, matching lines and pace to how each person actually skis or rides, not just to how they described themselves beforehand. In the evening, a lecture on snowpack and avalanche factors.

Day 3. A second day of off-piste riding in new zones of the resort, plus a mandatory hands-on avalanche training session on search and rescue. Between runs, the guide walks the group through real terrain features around Gudauri, pointing out where snow tends to build up and where it slides. In the evening, a debrief of the day and avalanche safety theory.

Day 4. A full ski touring Gudauri day to Deda Ena: skinning up, transitions, kick turns, and choosing a descent line through untouched snow. This is where beginners take their first complete touring outing start to finish, while experienced riders push the pace and refine route decisions on the move. In the evening, a lecture on avalanche forecasting and decision-making in the mountains.

Day 5. A ski-touring outing to Bidara with navigation and group tactics, followed by a descent through the Aragvi forest. The forest descent doubles as a technical lesson in reading trees and hidden terrain traps, which matters a lot once you are higher up on Ortsveri. In the evening, we prepare gear for Ortsveri and hold a final briefing before the climb.

Day 6. Transfer to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), a ski tour from Gergeti through the Arsha pass to the meteorological station at 3,650 meters, and an overnight stay in the hut. The approach itself is a full mountain day, with steady elevation gain and shifting terrain, so the pace is kept deliberately controlled to save energy for the following morning. Early dinner, an early night, and a final summit briefing before bed.

Day 7. An early departure across the glacier, roped up and in crampons. The ascent to the Black Cross (4,000 m) and on to the summit of Ortsveri (4,350 m), weather and group condition permitting. From there, a full ski descent back down into the Gergeti valley, followed by the transfer back to Tbilisi. This final day is the culmination of everything practiced during the week — the touring skills, the avalanche awareness, and the group’s collective pace all come together in one long push to the top and back down.

What is included in the price

guide services throughout the entire program;
accommodation in a guesthouse in Gudauri;
meals — breakfast and dinner;
transfers Tbilisi → Gudauri → Kazbegi → Tbilisi;
the training program: hands-on practice, lectures, avalanche training;
rental of avalanche gear (transceiver, probe, shovel);
rental of snowshoes, trekking poles, and a backpack.

Not included: flights, insurance covering freeride, ski touring and mountaineering (mandatory), lift passes, personal gear (skis, snowboard or splitboard, boots, skins, crampons, ice axe, helmet, harness), lunches and personal expenses. Hut stays, including the overnight stay on Ortsveri, are paid separately and are not part of the tour price.

Requirements for participants in our ski touring gudauri program

You will need confident on-piste riding, and for those on the experienced track, off-piste technique and prior ski-touring experience. The touring days and the Ortsveri climb involve 6 to 10 hours of physical exertion and up to 1,000-1,200 meters of elevation gain per day, so a reasonable level of fitness genuinely matters. Participants must be 18 or older, or younger with written parental consent.

Other freeride and ski-touring programs in Georgia

Gudauri and Ortsveri are not the only direction we work in. If this camp’s format suits you but you are looking for a different region or a different length of trip, this freeride tour Georgia collection covers our other routes:

an overview page of all freeride camps in the mountains of Georgia;
a longer multi-region route — freeride and ski touring in Gudauri, Goderdzi, Bakhmaro and Svaneti;
a program specifically in Goderdzi;
our general catalog of freeride tours in Georgia;
riding and ski touring in Bakhmaro;
an intensive freeride week in Gudauri;
freeride in the mountains of Svaneti;
a dedicated riding program in Gudauri;
and a ski-touring program in Svaneti.

What you will learn over seven days

The training part of the camp runs in parallel tracks for beginners and experienced riders, while avalanche training is mandatory for absolutely everyone.

For beginners:

basic off-piste riding technique — stance, turns on untouched snow, working with terrain;
first ski-touring outings: skinning up, kick turns, transitions, descent;
avalanche gear — transceiver, probe, shovel: how to carry, check and use them in practice;
reading a slope — where it is safe to ride and where it is not;
working as a group: spacing, intervals, gathering points.

For experienced riders:

technique on steep and deep slopes, speed control;
choosing and reading a line, working with terrain and natural obstacles;
riding through the Aragvi forest — trajectories, terrain traps, safety among the trees;
ski-touring navigation, route planning, timing and weather assessment;
advanced snowpack work, snow pit tests.

A separate block is dedicated to avalanche training: a hands-on search-and-rescue session (transceiver, probing, digging, teamwork) plus evening lectures on avalanche factors, snowpack, forecasting, first aid and equipment. We work through real-world scenarios, because in the mountains theory without practice does not count for much.

Frequently asked questions about freeride and ski touring Georgia

Do I need ski-touring experience to join this camp?

No, prior experience is not required for the beginner track. We teach skinning, transitions and descents from scratch, and we cover avalanche gear and how to use it in careful detail.

What happens if the group ends up with people of different skill levels?

That is a normal situation on our camps. When participants have different levels, we split the group into subgroups for specific tasks, while the overall route logic and avalanche training remain the same for everyone.

Is insurance mandatory?

Yes, and this matters a great deal. Insurance needs to cover freeride, ski touring and mountaineering elements, since the Ortsveri climb crosses a glacier and involves crampons and a rope team.

Can I skip the hut stay on Ortsveri?

The hut stay is billed separately from the tour price, but it is built into the logic of the day-seven climb, so it is treated as a mandatory part of the ascent to the meteorological station and the summit.

What if the weather turns right before the Ortsveri climb?

The program is flexible and can be adjusted based on real-time weather and avalanche conditions. In that situation, the decision on whether to proceed is made by the guide, and it is always final — keeping the group safe matters more than sticking to the schedule.