Back into the skies!

The last few trips I have been on have had a severe lack of summits. The last few trips have been focused on wildlife/nature and treks but the last two climbs were back in 2015 when I did Aconcagua and Mont Blanc (and failed both) so I haven’t had a successful climb since 2014 when I went to India to climb Stok Kangri.

So something has to be done.

So… something is being done. The company I usually go on climbs with has a new trip on offer in a location you would not normally consider a vacation destination. The summit is Damavand, the tallest volcano in Asia, located just outside Tehran in Iran.

3^rd – 4^th of August

Flying out from Copenhagen and arriving in Tehran just after midnight. Getting checked in at the hotel and have the first day off with a chance to see Tehran.

5^th of August

Tehran is close to the mountains – including Damavand – which means that it’s used as base for all climbs in the area. We’ll drive north to Darband and follow it with a 4 hour walk up to the villages Pas Ghale and Shirpala. Here we will spend the night at 2800m.

6^th of August

Today we will attempt reaching the summit of Tochal, a 3965m tall peak which will give us a view of Tehran and Damavand with snow all year round. From there we will return down to Shirpala and continue to Tochal Telecabin which we will take to the bottom form where we’ll drive to the Polur Federation refuge at the base of Damavand.

7^th of August

We will start off driving and continue by foot for 4-5 hours up to Bagarh at 4180m. Depending on availability we will either be in a hut or tents. This is the tallest camp on the mountain.

8^th of August

Today we will simply acclimatize up to app. 5000m to where there is a frozen waterfall. We will return to Bagarh for the night.

9^th of August

Summit day starts like all summit days; before the sun rises. It’s a technically easy summit but the mountain is massive and it’s easy to get lost in bad weather. There are some relatively steep passages on the way up until you reach the ridgeline at around 5400m from where it eases up and becomes an almost endless ascent to the summit at 5671m. Estimated 6-8 hours up and half that returning to Bagarh.

10^th – 11^th of August

Return down to Polur where we’ll drive back to Tehran, spend the night at the hotel and fly home the following day.

It’ll feel good to get back onto a mountain. I hope I’ll be able to do so more in the future but in the end it all comes down to prioritization.