The Adyr-Su glacier is located in the farthest part of the gorge on the slopes of the Sarykolbashi Mountains (4160 m) and Ullu-Tau (4207 m). The Adyr-Su River originates here, which broke through a 17 km long gorge in the Great Caucasian Ridge. It is adjacent to the huge 90-kilometer Baksan gorge. The glacier is visible from the Glade of Desires, but if you go further, the trail goes directly to the ice masses.
In the valley of the Adyr-Su River there are several mountains whose height exceeds 4 thousand meters. All of them are covered with glaciers, and the snow cover lies on them all year round. Between the Sarykolbashi and Ullu-Tau mountains there is the Mestia pass (3769 m), where you can pass to the territory of Georgia. There are the main ice masses of the Adyr-Su Glacier lie. On the eastern side of Sarykolbashi Mountain is the Granovsky Pass (3950 m). It is covered with ice masses of the northern tongue of the Adyr-Su glacier and the southern tongue of the Bashil glacier.
Tourists can approach the Adyr-Su Glacier along the most popular route in this gorge – to the Mestian Hut. It starts at the Ullu-Tau Mountaineering camp. Behind the mountaineering camp there is a border outpost, where they check the passport and pass to the border zone. The pass is issued in the mountaineering camp.
The length of the route from the Mountaineering camp to the Mestian hut is 6.2 kilometers with a climb of 845 meters (from 2355 m to 3200 m). You need to plan the entire daylight day for its passage. This is one of two routes (along with the route to the Living Lake), which is accessible to everyone, not just for climbers.
After the Glade of Desires, a fairly steep ascent to the glacial zone begins. Gradually, all vegetation (even grass) disappears, and then the trail goes over the stones. At the final stage, you will come to a giant stone run left by the melted Adyr-Su glacier.
There are no trails among these stones, but you need to go to a huge boulder that stands on a hill. Climbing up to it, you will see a small unnamed lake. From the north, the Triangle Mountain (3830 m) rises above the gorge. The distance from the hill to the Mestian Hut is 1.4 kilometers. It is necessary to approach the lake, and then go directly to the Adyr-Su Glacier. In a Mestian hut, climbers undergo acclimatization before climbing to the peaks.
