Gud-Mountain is a peak near Gudauri.
This name was often used in the 19th century, including in Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” (1839):
“And indeed, Gud-Mountain was smoking; light wisps of clouds crawled along its sides, and on the summit lay a black cloud, so black that against the dark sky it seemed like a blot.”
It is possible that the name of the mountain is related to the Ossetian legend about the spirit Guda:
“Long ago, on the bank of the Aragvi River, at the bottom of a deep gorge formed by sheer mountains descending from Gud-Mountain into the Devil’s Valley, in the dismal hut of a village there lived a beautiful girl named Nino.
Guda, the ancient spirit of the surrounding mountains, loved her.
Whenever the girl wanted to climb the mountain, the path would gently even out under her feet, and the stones would obediently arrange themselves into a gentle staircase. When she looked for flowers, Guda would reserve the most beautiful ones for her. None of the five sheep that belonged to Nino’s father ever fell from the cliffs or became prey to the evil wolves.
By the age of fifteen, Nino had become such an extraordinary beauty that the lovestruck Guda wished to become mortal for her sake. But the girl loved not him, but her young neighbor Sosiko, the son of the old Dokhturo.
This young man was famous throughout the village for his strength and agility, tirelessly dancing the mountain dance and shooting accurately with his rifle.
When Sosiko was hunting for a fleet-footed ibex, the jealous Guda led him onto steep cliffs, showered him with snowstorms, and covered the chasms with thick fog.
In the end, unable to bear the torment of jealousy any longer, on the eve of the wedding, Guda buried the lovers’ house under a massive snow avalanche, separating them forever.”