SUMMITS

SUMMIT Nº 9: ARARAT (TURKEY)

TURKEY

ARARAT

25 / 07 / 2022

ALTITUDE

5.137 m

ÒSCAR SOLSONA AND ANDREU LÓPEZ

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

MEDIUM

CHRONICLE

I have spent weeks preparing this ascent, working on resistance and acclimatization as well as investing in specific material, necessary for the cold conditions that we will encounter. I am equally motivated and impatient. Mount Ararat will be the highest mountain I have never climbed.

We landed after a 3h 30 minute flight and in the early afternoon in Istanbul together with Oscar Solsona and very soon we will meet our first expedition partner. Jordi Guasch comes from Barcelona and like us, he previously climbed Toubkal… together in a van from our local agency, Ararat Travel, we crossed the large and chaotic Istanbul (15.5 million inhabitants). The city shows movement, growth and evolution / modernization compared to 2002 where I was with my parents.

This first day of the trip will leave us a short period of time to stretch our legs around the city as well as visit one of its main mosques and begin to make friends with the local cuisine.

The second day of the trip will be an approach to Kurdistan (territory in the north of the country bordering Iran and Armenia where the mountain is located) as well as presentations and meeting the members of the group in which there will be a good representation of Catalans ( Oscar, Jordi, Natàlia with whom we had shared some preparation training, Ricard, Eva and myself). In the group we will also find a good representation of Andalusia (Cristina the youngest of the group, Jesús “the grandfather” of the expedition, “Curro” from Cádiz and Amanda from Granada) as well as a Basque representation (with the “Guillo” and “Patxi ” both with quite a bit of mountain in their legs), the Madrid couple Sergio and Amanda as well as the Valladolid Ester.

Together we will take a 2-hour internal flight to Imlil in the north of the country where our “sherpa” and local guide Orhan will be waiting for us. From there we will go to Dogubeyazit, a border city with Iran and which is very close to the beginning of the route. On this day of transition, we will take the opportunity to do some sightseeing around the city and already see in the distance the mountain also known as Noah’s Ark, which with its 5,137 meters is the roof of Turkey.

On our 3rd day of the trip, several vans pick us up at the hotel and take us to “Eli” which, at 2,200 meters high, will be our starting point for the route and the place where we will meet our “animal” allies on this adventure and which they are the horses that will carry our luggage. Our first day in the mountains does not present great physical demands and after 4 hours of slow ascent to acclimatize well, we will reach the objective of the day, which is Camp Base 1 at 3,200 meters. It will be our home most of the days of the expedition and we familiarize ourselves with the different spaces of it as well as we try to select a tent that is in flat and quiet territory to rest in the best possible way. I am not physically tired, but I do have a headache that lasts a few hours until the medical group of the expedition (we have 2 nurses and 1 doctor among our colleagues) “prescribes” an effective and fast medication.

The second day of the expedition is a classic of mountaineering. Gain altitude to lose it again in order to acclimatize well. We left base camp 1 and very slowly and gradually climbed up to an elevation of 4,000 m (slightly lower than in base camp 2). The landscape is very dry and without excessive attractions. The guides are very clear about the rhythm to follow and what has to lead us to success and that is that the whole group reaches the summit.

In the afternoon some colleagues take the opportunity to continue with the acclimatization. It is not my case that I stay at the store reading my gift for Sant Jordi, a book that deals with the ascent of the 14 mountains of 8,000 meters by the Asturian mountaineer Jorge Egocheaga and that has me trapped in a good way.

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On the 3rd day we completed about 1,000 meters of positive elevation gain to arrive at Base Camp 2 at 4,200 meters. It is a rather dangerous base camp as some rocks fall onto the tents… we have as tent neighbors a Polish mother and son who have joined our group. I have a long history with the Polish people and for a change we weave a beautiful friendship with them… the boy, only 15 years old, had already visited 75 countries and the mother 99.

We force ourselves to go to sleep early since at 12:00 at night we will wake up. I close my eyes, I don’t sleep, for 4 hours. On our 4th day of the expedition we start walking at 1:00 in the morning and the different members of the group begin to experience different sensations as a result of the altitude. In my case, despite the fact that I remain in front of the group, I notice the lack of oxygen and it is difficult for me to breathe. However, as I gain altitude, the initial bad feelings disappear and I feel strong and in perfect condition with my legs and lungs, and I don’t notice altitude sickness either. I feel in full connection with the mountain.

Arrived at 4,800 meters the first snow appears, although with an insignificant thickness, so insignificant that crampons could become expendable. Out of prudence we put them on.

In this final part of the ascent, the weather begins to change and storms arrive with wind and fog that limit visibility as well as the door to a thermal sensation of -20 degrees of temperature. The group begins to stretch and it is that some colleagues have to manage different problems in the form of muscle pain, stomach pain… Despite these difficulties in the last meters, the group arrives whole and happy at 5,137 meters. It is my maximum height ever. A special emotion invades me. Tears of joy fall from my eyes. Noah’s Ark also had a place for us.

GALLERY

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