Some of the Best World Treks – Part 3

Wandering around Tehran

However, since we are not in Iran every day, we also visited it as tourists. A city tour of the capital Tehran had followed. Tehran is not my favourite capital city, but it is interesting in its own way. My friend and I decided to take a quick look at the nearby neighbourhood where we slept. She works in Iraq and was already familiar with the culture of the Middle East, with wearing a scarf and appropriate clothing, even when the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius, as is usual in Tehran.

In the city, we visited the Golestan Palace, which is one of the oldest complexes in the city, and the Milad lookout tower, also known as the tallest tower in Iran. After that, the Azadi Tower in the city centre. This was followed by lunch at their traditional restaurant, where we sat on the carpets and ate mostly with our hands. We tried the abgoosht dish (also called dizi), which is a single dish made from lamb, chickpeas, white beans, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. Persian bread is also served with dizi.

But why did we come to Iran this time? To conquer one of the world’s most easily accessible five-thousander, called Damavand. It is located at the southern foot of the Elburs Mountains, also known as Alborz and Elborz.

Conquering Damavand, the highest peak in Iran

We arrived at the foot of the Damavand volcano from the capital by a slightly smaller bus and continued our way with four-wheelers. They brought us quite high, to almost 3,000 meters above sea level. Here was our lodging for the first night.

The first task of our bodies was to acclimatize to height. It is usually possible to feel the minor consequences of altitude sickness somewhere around 2,800 meters, so some of us already had a minor headache.

There were as many as eleven happy hikers; we rested a bit after lunch, and then we had an acclimatization hike to about 3,500 above sea level, where we sat for an hour and got to know each other a little, told stories and laughed.

After an extensive dinner, which was arranged by two of the guides, we went to sleep. And all in one place so that we did not get cold. Basically, there was a “bedroom” next to the kitchen, and we laid thick sleeping pads on the floor, and our sleeping bags. We slept dressed and covered with hats.

The next morning, we ascended to a height of 4,200 meters, where we were supposed to spend two nights. The way up was an awfully slow walk, as this is the only way to avoid altitude sickness. When we arrived at the hut, we left the heavy backpacks in the room, and we acclimatized again and climbed another one hundred or two hundred meters higher. We sat here again for an hour, then headed back to our hut. In the afternoon, for the most part, we already felt stronger headaches, which did not stop despite the painkillers. After dinner, we all went to bed quite tired and exhausted due to altitude sickness. Each of us, however, was plagued by a different kind of problem. The boys in the room next to us had their problems, and the girls theirs. Luckily for me, I slept like a log, as I went to bed right after dinner and slept until morning.

The next morning was wonderful. It was a cold day, but the sun was shining, and the sky was cloudless. That day was an acclimatization day. We slept a little longer, left our heavy backpacks in the rooms and, after breakfast, we took with us only about two to three liters of liquid and some chocolate bars and headed very slowly up the hill. Today's goal was an altitude of 4,800 meters, as well as, of course, photography, admiring the Iranian nature far around, an ice waterfall on the way and more. The day was wonderful and Iran as a country has a lot of sunny days.

What is interesting about the country is that you must wear a headscarf just about everywhere as a woman and be covered with dresses from neck to toe. The only thing you can show are the toes and the fingers. Here on the mountain, once we crossed 3,000 meters above sea level, wearing a scarf was no longer mandatory, otherwise you had to wear a hat because of the cold, but when we sat together with other Iranians for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it was completely normal that women wore neither scarves nor hats. In the capital Tehran, wearing a headscarf was also mandatory in restaurants.

The next day was the most important day. The day when it is necessary to gather all your strength and climb high, to the 5,671-meter-high and extremely steep volcano. The day when it will be necessary to climb additional 1,471 meters higher, and then return to 4,200 meters to our hut.

Victory day on the mountain

At five in the morning the next day we headed towards our goal. We walked in complete silence, one after the other, very slowly. The guides kept pace and if we ran up the hill too fast, they stopped us in time. We also soon found out that the height started to make us feel worse and that we also did not have much strength for fast walking. Our main guide took a photo of us during our ascent because we were too cold and we needed too much energy for the ascent; each successful climb for an additional one hundred meters meant we walked harder and became more tired. The higher we walked, the more we could hear the sighs of anguish here and there.

But we came to climb right to the top, so we all had that in mind, and only the will and concentration brought us to a height of 5,200, where a short stop with lunch followed, and then onwards again. In a row, one after the other, to the top. And everyone with their minor problems somehow came to the top. What a joy. Luckily for us, the day was gorgeous and completely cloudless. For the first time, standing so high, however, was a special feeling. At the top, you forget you could not eat at the last snack because you were a little sick. You almost forgot that you had a headache. The glacier at the top of Damavand volcano is also something special, as these are the last glaciers left and are slowly disappearing.

Even though the joy at the top was indescribable, it is not recommended to stay at such a height for a long period. The headaches passed soon after we descended back into the valley. And to be fair, we did not eat much that day. Partly because of nervousness, as we worried whether we will be able to get to the top or not, and partly because of altitude sickness.

During our descent, we felt joy and satisfaction that we had conquered the top, and so we went down with smiles. But it took quite a bit of caution, as it is an extremely steep volcano, which, on top of all the last 1,500 meters, also froze. Also, the weather got cloudy, it got foggy, the wind started to blow, and then snow started falling. Tripping from time to time was not uncommon and when we arrived back to the hut at an altitude of 4,200 meters, we were happy to be able to eat the soup again, generally had an appetite, and we did not even feel nausea anymore. The next day was followed by a good hour of descent to our first hut at an altitude of 3,000 meters, then lunch, and then we had to put the head scarves back onto the head, and descend on our four-wheelers to an altitude of 1,000 meters, where our bus was waiting to take us back to Tehran.

Dinner at a nearby restaurant was the dinner of winners. Of all of us who have come so far to conquer this tall volcano and all of us who have succeeded.