Two retired ladies from Japan ascend Kazbek in North Ossetia

VLADIKAVKAZ, August 15 (Itar-Tass) -- In North Ossetia, two retirees
from Japan ascended the famous mountain measuring at least five thousand
meters in height - the Kazbek, the republic's tourism committee said.
The two ladies came to Russia especially to get to the top of the
mountain and managed to do so.
"Now professional guides help them to descend, and soon they will be
in Vladikavkaz," the source said. "Usually, such a trip takes about a
week."
Despite the age, one lady is 67, and the other is 79, they used
special equipment.
"Snow and ice appear already at about 2,400 metres, and at this time
of year the snow melts revealing the ice," the source said. "That is why
it is necessary to use ropes there."
Mount Kazbek is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major
mountains of the Caucasus located on the border of Kazbegi District of
Georgia and North Ossetia. It is the third highest mountain in Georgia
(after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh highest peak in the
Caucasus Mountains. The area around Mount Kazbegi was designated a nature
reserve by the Soviet government back in 1979, and includes beech forests,
sub-alpine forests and alpine meadows. Many of the plants and animals in
the reserve are endemic to the Caucaus region.

-0-kar