At the end of 1995 our friend Nada who lives in IRAN, came home for a short visit. When she visited we were talking at length about the country she lives in. Nada described Iran as pleasant country, but she saw on my face that I didn't believe her, so she invited me to visit her in Iran. After some thought, I asked if they have any mountains worth climbing. After getting some information I decided to climb and ski from the top of the highest mountain in Iran.
Damavand is a 5671m high volcano, which is still slightly active. It lies in the Alborz mountain area, which is approximately 300km long and 100 km wide and is a natural barrier between the Caspian sea and the Iranian desert. This chain of 4000m high peaks is very interesting to look at and would make a beautiful setting for tour skiing. In a few days it is possible to walk over a dozen peaks which are higher than 4000m.
After I decided to climbing expedition to Iran I started to look for partners who would be interested in this adventure. First I asked my friend and frequent partner Matjaz. We have a long history of travel, skiing and climbing expeditions worldwide. To my surprise, he agreed at once. I asked another friend too, but he wasn't interested in our expedition so I decided that we'd go alone.
Preparation for travel began. The first date for departure was decided for the middle of March. But because people in Iran begin celebrating New Year on the 21st. of March (and the celebration lasts at least 14 days), we decided to go after the celebration. On the 4th of April we left Brnik (Slovenia) airport and, via Zurich, arrived at Teheran airport early in the morning.
After customs check, which can be very unpleasant, we went to the arrivals area to look for Nada, who would pick us up. I was scanning the crowd for her face with no luck. Suddenly I heard my name called but it was a man's voice. Luckily, she sent her husband and daughter, who I had met in Maribor. They took us to their place luckily, as it is very difficult to find for a newcomers. Their house is far from the airport, on the other side of town.
The next day we went to 'alpine union' in Teheran where Nada arranged an appointment with the president. After a long conversation it appeared, that they were not the category of climbers that we were used to. The president started to us talk about the dangers we might encounter, and in the meantime he was writing down his prices in US$. They wanted to arrange a lift and a guide. But after a while I was not sure that the guide would be able to follow us. They have no tour ski experience. We just wanted to get some information and an alpine map of the area where we were to go. After two hours of conversation I realized that we were making no progress. So we left.
The next day we where invited to the ambassador's home, Mr. Jozef Kunic who had climbed to the top of Damavand. Here we got some useful information. We were received very well and Mr. Kunic explained that we didn't need any permission for the climb and that we could just be on our way. So we decided to depart on Tuesday the 9th of April. The ambassador lent us his driver who took us to the mountain. The weather forecast was very unpredictable. The afternoon would improve and the next day would be beautiful but still windy. We were able to see just part of Damavand. The top was in fog.
At 7.30 in the morning we started on our way to the shelter which was at 4150m. Our climb started at 2500m. After three hours it started to snow hard and we hoped that this was just a passing storm. But the higher we climbed the stronger the wind was blowing, and it was getting very cold. When we were at an elevation of about 3800m it started to snow again and the wind was so strong that it carried snow horizontally. The fog was descending on us and in a short time we were in it. The wind was blowing at a speed of 100-120 km/h and we were struggling against it. It was very tiring and unpleasant. Snowflakes were stinging our faces like thousands of needles. But we were still hoping that the clouds would disappear soon. At a height of 4000m we had a little break. Visibility had fallen to under 15m. After short consideration, we decided to go back. There was no sense in continuing in such circumstances while we could still find shelter. To climb to our destination we needed 7 hours. And after 2 hours of tiring descent we were back at the starting point.
After one hour of walking in heavy rain a truck passed by and took us back to Teheran.
We decided to try once again on the 16th of April. We left Teheran in the dark but the sky was full of shining stars, which was a good sign. After 7 hours of climbing we were already at a height of 4300m. But there was no trace of the shelter, which was supposed to be at 4150m. I went to the edge of a crest and to my chagrin I saw the shelter, on the other crest, and about 150m below us. A big ravine separated us from the shelter.
After a short examination we found a way by which we could descend into the ravine. We skied over and climbed up the crest to the shelter which took us 2 hours. But we were happy and satisfied that we had found the shelter as the wind started to blow very strongly. Because of the strong wind the temperature dropped. Spending the night outside in such circumstances would have been very risky.
During our climb, I was concerned that the shelter might be closed, but to our luck, it wasn't. We put away our rucksacks and made something to drink, what we need the most. In a short time it started to get colder although we were in a shelter. So we got in our sleeping bags, and I cooked lying down. We ate our fill and tried to sleep. But we couldn't attain the right temperature even in bags. Slowly from nowhere headaches came and sleep was only a dream. Because of the cold Matjaz decided to use another (bivouac) bag cover. We also took an aspirin. We slowly fell into a sleep, which was short and light.
At 3.30 a.m. we were cooking our milk and preparing sport musli. We put the most important equipment and some drink in our rucksacks and before dawn we started to the top. At the beginning there were no problems. Matjaz was in front of me but I realized that he was not doing very well and I was afraid that we wouldn't reach the top at such a pace. At a height of 4600m I took the lead and soon Matjaz was far behind me. I still felt very good and I had a feeling that everything would be all right. At a height of 5000m I was not cautions enough in a turn. Suddenly my ski unbuckled and I was slipping on my back toward the valley. I tried to stop and for a moment I did but the next moment I was slipping faster gaining speed with every second. There was a 400m long slope below me. If I hadn't stopped quickly enough it could have ended very sadly. I used all my strength to stop and after 30m of slipping I did. Matjaz saw me slide past but was helpless. When I had stopped I lay down for a moment and then continued as if nothing had happened.
We started to feel the altitude and we moved more slowly. Soon the wind brought a smell of sulfur. People had warned as about this, but before I saw it for myself I had been certain there would be enough snow cover. For a moment the smell was so strong that we became sick. Luckily we noticed that we could climb over the other crest where there wasn't sulfur steam. But the wind still brought the smell of the sulfur. At times we were at an altitude of 5300m the climb was much harder than I expected. Matjaz said that he'd go only to the end of the crest and not a step further. I was surprised, as it seemed as if he felt better, or I felt worse, because he was progressing a little bit faster than I was. And at the end of the crest, he didn't stop but kept going I was relieved.
We were close to the top and the snow was very minimal. The wind had probably blow it away. About 130m under the peak I saw Matjaz sitting and I knew he wouldn't go further. I decided to go for the top anyway. When I reached Matjaz his bindings were open. I sat down next to him and had a few minutes rest. To my surprise Matjaz, asked me if we should put on crampons to reach the peak or would we just ski to to the valley as there was not enough snow for skis anymore.
Naturally I said we'll go to the top. It wasn't that far. After 1 hour of the last ascent we where fatigued but triumphant. When we turned around, we saw hazes on our tail which threatened to veil the view on the ravines we would use to ski down into the valley. We took a couple of pictures and then we hurried to our skis. We had to hurry to the shelter because, although the descent seemed simple, we realized that it might not be so.
It became apparent that we had to look for a way to descend. We skied down in a formation of switchbacks. The circumstances for skiing weren't perfect and the elevation tired us. But in a half an hour we were at an elevation of 5000m and I was very satisfied with the speed of descent. There was also no smell of sulfur anymore and our lungs were filling with fresh air. After one hour and 45 minutes we reached the shelter dead tired. Our mouths were totally dry as we hadn't drunk anything since the top. After a short consultation we decided to prepare something to drink and descend to the valley regardless of our fatigue. We still had a couple of SNICKERS, which gave us quick energy. We packed our things in rucksacks and meanwhile melted snow. When there was enough water we put in a vitamin tablet and a thirst quencher. This little rest, chocolate and drink revitalized us. We put on our rucksacks and skied to the valley. In spite of heavy rucksacks it was much easier than when we were directly under the crest of Damavand. The difference was obvious. There was more oxygen in the air making our recovery relatively easy.
In the last two sunny days a lot of snow had melted. Below 3300m the snow was very wet and skiing was a torture. After a good hour we reached base ground at 2600m. We strapped our skis to our rucksacks and went toward the village Polur far down in the valley. After an hour of walking we reached an asphalt road. We walked another half an hour in dark when truck finally came. We hailed it. The driver stopped, we loaded our gear on, and after three hours of a turtles pace we reached Teheran. Because the truck driver stopped here, we had to call a friend who sent a taxi to pick us up. We were happy when we got to the house and our hosts were very satisfied that we had come back in one piece. :))
In two days we climbed over 3000m and made our descent in three hours. Behind us was a technically easy climb, but still, quite grueling physically.
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