The name Adai-Khokh comes from the Ossetian “Adaiykhok” – “Adai Mountain”. This peak is part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range and plays a significant role in the culture of the peoples of Northern Caucasus. For example, according to the Nart epic (common among osetians, balkars, karachays), the protector of animals resides on the summit, and blessings are sought from him before hunting.
Adai-Khok is famous for the diversity of fauna inhabiting the mountain. Endemic species include the Western Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), Caspian snowcock (Tetraogallus caspius), as well as the Caucasian chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra caucasica), and the Caspian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral).
A curious ascent of “Adai-Khok” was made in 1915 by Scottish mountaineer Harold Raeburn (1865-1926). He was convinced that he had ascended the highest peak in the Caucasus. The summit he mistook for Adai-Khok belonged to Mount Uilpata and was at an altitude of 4649 meters (approximately 15,200 feet). Later, he wrote that: “… no local knows the name Adai [-Khok]. The correct name of the highest peak is Uilpata.”