The cornice is accessible for only a short while. As the route's own description puts it, its openness is limited to the period from June through October, with the official start of the season on 16 June. These five months are not at all alike: what you see depends heavily on which week you arrive.
This isn't an article about the forecast — for exact temperatures, winds and rainfall see the weather page and the breakdown of the cornice microclimate. Here it's about how the meadows, the crowds and the very character of the place change from June to October.
June: the opening and the snowfields
The season opens on 16 June — and this is the freshest time on the cornice. Snowfields still lie in the shady hollows, and at the very edge of the melting snow the first flowers are already pushing through: crocuses, dog's-tooth violet, fritillary. The meadows are only just waking, the greenery bright and spring-juicy.
June's downsides are the most unsettled weather, and individual stretches of trail can be wet and slippery after the snowmelt. But there are still few people, and a chance to see the cornice almost empty.
July: peak bloom and peak crowds
July is an explosion of colour. The subalpine wildflowers bloom at full strength: several species of rhododendron, Kesselring's lily, meadowsweet, St John's wort, orchids. The meadows turn many-coloured, and it's the July photographs of the cornice, more than any others, that draw people here.
The flip side — it's the busiest month. The route's recreational capacity is up to 800 people a month, and on July weekends the trail and the campsite are noticeably lively. If you want the bloom and don't mind the company, July is yours; if you prize solitude, take weekdays or shift your trip to autumn.
The rhododendron that blooms here in creamy-white "bouquets" is the Caucasian rhododendron, an evergreen shrub of the subalpine zone. Its thickets cling to the slopes year round, but it flowers for only a few short weeks at the turn of June and July.
Quick quiz: the cornice seasons
August: berries and warm nights
By August the riot of flowers subsides, but the berries ripen: bilberry and bog blueberry on the slopes, raspberries here and there. The nights are still relatively warm, the days long. It's a comfortable month for an unhurried hike.
August's defining feature is the afternoon thunderstorms: a clear morning, and by midday cloud gathers over the ridge. So people set out early and try to be at the cornice in the first half of the day. More on this in the article on hazards on the route.
September: silence and clear air
Many old hands call September the finest month on the cornice. The flow of hikers falls away, the air turns clear — the distant ridges show as sharply as in no summer month. The meadows begin to yellow, adding gold to the landscape, and the frosts are still ahead.
The day is already noticeably shorter, so you have to reckon your time more strictly: the Alpika cable car down runs until 17:30, the backup is via Gazprom Laura until 19:00, and it gets dark earlier than in summer.
October: colour and the close of the season
October is the finale. The meadows and open woodland blaze with autumn colour, and the air stays crystal-clear. But this is already the edge of the season: by day in the sun it can still reach +15 °C, yet on average the temperature is now around zero, and it's turning genuinely cold. By the end of the month snow settles on the upper sections, and the route closes until next summer.
Go in October prepared: warm clothing, and for an overnight a warm sleeping bag and a down jacket. The weather is capricious, the daylight short. But the cornice at this time is almost deserted and especially beautiful.
"Access to the route is, as a rule, limited to the period from June through October inclusive."— from the description of route No. 8A, Caucasus Nature Reserve
When is best for you
A short crib sheet: want meadows in bloom — late June and July; want berries and a long warm day — August; want silence and the cleanest views — September; want autumn colour and solitude — October, but with warm clothing and a margin of time.
And one thing you definitely shouldn't do — plan the cornice for May: the season is still closed and there's snow up top. Once you've settled on dates, look in on the reserve's rules — the permit is arranged in advance, and without it you won't get onto the route.
