The heaviest bag I ever carried into the Caucasus held two bodies, five lenses, a drone and a tripod built for a stadium. I used a tenth of it, missed shots while changing glass in the wind, and spent the following year rebuilding the kit from scratch. What I carry now weighs 3.2 kilograms complete, and it has never once been the reason I missed a photograph.

The principle is simple: in the mountains the good light lasts twenty minutes, and every piece of gear costs you shots, not grams. One weather-sealed body. One 24–105mm that rarely comes off. One fast thirty-five for interiors, cellars and low light. That is the core. Everything else is a decision about a specific day.

In the Caucasus, strategy means three things. A circular polarizer, because the sky above 2,000 metres is brighter than any sensor handles and the glaciers need it. A tripod short enough to live inside the daypack rather than strapped outside announcing itself. And batteries — cold kills lithium fast, so carry three and rotate them against your body. An inside pocket beats any battery grip ever made.

Leave behind: the drone, unless you have checked the permit situation first — Georgian protected areas, military roads and the border zones are not places to improvise. Leave the 70–200 unless wildlife is the whole point of the trip. And leave anything you have packed because you 'might' need it. Might-need comes home unshot.

The best frame of your trip will happen while you are standing still, not while you are looking for a filter. Pack for presence. The light over Kazbek takes care of the rest.