In summary, we had a wonderful and relaxing time with our guide Firat and Ayhan our cook, who accompanied us during the 5-day tour of climbing Mount Ararat. In addition to the normal travel program, Firat gave us a lot of information about the country, people and culture and answered all kinds of questions. He was also available for questions beyond the scope of the trip and provided great support for our arrival and our tours on our own in the area around Van before the actual ascent of Ararat. Ayhan provided us with the most delicious food during the tour under the limited possibilities in the base camp and camp 2 on Mount Ararat. The highlight was of course that we reached the top of Mount Ararat, albeit in the freezing storm.
Day 1 – Pick up in van and drive to Dogubayazit
Since we had come to Van a few days before the actual ascent of Ararat in order to explore the area around Lake Van on our own, we were not picked up at the airport, but directly to our accommodation in Van by Firat by car. No other guests had arrived via Van that day, which is why we drove straight on to Dogubayazit, the town at the foot of Mount Ararat. On the way we stopped for a coffee or tea break at a beautiful waterfall, which many local guests also came to for a picnic. come. Since the backdrop is also very popular as a photo motif for wedding couples, there is a good chance of meeting a Kurdish wedding couple here. After a short break we went on to our hotel in Dogubayazit, where we met the other member of our mountaineering group. All in all, our group consisted of only three participants. After lunch together in the city, where we got to know Ayhan, our cook for the next few days on the mountain, we went for a walk together through the center of Dogubayazit and the bazaar. We ended the day with a dinner together with the whole group and planning for the next morning.
Day 2 – Climb to base camp
After breakfast, we would be picked up by a driver at the hotel with all our luggage (food, tents, etc.) for the tour and taken to the starting point of the Ararat climb at about 2,200m. All of our luggage, with the exception of our day backpacks, was loaded onto horses and transported independently to the base camp, while we started the approx. 1000m ascent together with Firat and Ayhan. During the ascent we passed a small nomad camp and enjoyed the beautiful view of the plain below us and the snow-covered mountain flanks above us. Ayhan prepared a packed lunch for lunch.
This was followed by the rest of the ascent to Basecamp (3200m), where we set up the kitchen tent and the tents for the night together.
Before dinner we had some time to do a short acclimatization ascent to about 3700m. At the end of the day we had a cozy and delicious dinner together in the kitchen tent.
Day 3 – Ascend to Camp 2
After a hearty breakfast, we broke down the tents and loaded everything back onto the horses to make our way to Camp 2 (4,100m). On the 1000hm climb there, we experienced the first small snow showers on Ararat. Also the summit of Mount Ararat was shrouded in clouds all day, so we couldn't get a glimpse of our destination for tomorrow. During the day we learned that none of the summiteer teams succeeded
was under the conditions to advance to the summit.
When we arrived at camp 2, Ayhan, who hurried ahead during the ascent, had already set up the kitchen tent and prepared hot tea for us.
Together we prepared the pitches for the tents in the scree fields of Camp 2 and set up the tents.
Since the summit ascent was to take place very early the next day, we disappeared into our tents rather early after another delicious dinner.
Day 4 – Summit day and descent
After a short night, our alarm clock rang at 2:00 a.m. Strengthened by a breakfast with warm tea in the kitchen tent, we started the ascent to the summit at 2:30 a.m. with minimal luggage for the day, our headlamps and thickly wrapped up in gloves, hats and jackets .
With alternating clear and cloudy In the first hours until sunrise, the ascent was still possible without crampons in the alternating snowy and rocky terrain. During a short drinking break at about 4800m we had a beautiful view of the sea of clouds below us. A short time later, however, we were enveloped by strong wind and clouds, so that the further ascent to the summit became a fight against cold, wind and snow.
At about 5000m we saw the beginning of the EIskuppe reached and had to put on our crampons for the last 140hm to the summit. Shortly before 7:00 a.m. we reached the summit, visibly frozen, which we left again after about 1 minute due to the weather conditions. From then on it went down again and got steadily warmer as soon as we left the cloud zone at the
summit. We were already back in Camp 2 at 9:00 am and were able to warm up again with a second breakfast. Since we were still in good time, we decided, deviating from the original plan, not only to descend to the base camp, but also to descend all the way to the starting point of the tour on the same day. So we had a really long day with 1,000 meters of climbing and 3,000 meters of descent. In return we could look forward to a warm shower in the hotel in Dogubayazit in the evening. The day ended with a joint dinner in the city.
Day 5 - Ishak Pasha Palace and drive back to Van
After breakfast at the hotel, we were picked up by Firat to visit the Ishak Pasha Palace, which is impressively situated on the mountain slope above Dogubayazit, and a Kurdish museum. Finally we went to lunch together with the whole group as well as Firat and Ayhan in Dogubayazit. After lunch we made our way back to Van with Firat, from where we were to catch our flight home the next day.
