Alam Kooh @ 4,850 m
My Travel Journal – I’m in Iran 😍
… I went for a walk. I felt good, my head was clear. I felt calm. I was surrounded by absolute silence, and that silence created a space for me to listen, to hear my inner voice. I could breathe. I used my phone only for taking photos and writing down my thoughts, it felt good being offline. It was a proper reset for me. Freedom and simplicity, through which you disconnect yourself from the often overwhelming stresses and problems of everyday life …
Day 0 – Goodbye London
I arrived at the Heathrow airport much earlier than needed but I just wanted to relax with a pint of Guinness and update my travel stories. Usually people hate airports, they link it with rush, anxiety, delays and being tired … but I love airports and the whole process of getting ready and travelling to my final destination. I love every moment, soaking up in the atmosphere. The feeling of adventure, exploration, rush, people watching, they come, they leave, they say hellos and their goodbyes, tears of happiness and sadness … emotions are hovering in the air …
The flight from London to Istanbul with the Turkish Airlines was delayed by almost an hour which we spent sitting on the plane, stressing about our connection flights. Eventually the plane took off; it was a pleasant flight with a good meal. I couldn’t sleep, so I watched an adventure drama movie ‘Storm Infinity’- based on the true story of Pam Bales who rescued a stranger by risking her own life on Mount Washington.
Of course we arrived in Istanbul late, I wasn’t worried about not making it on my next flight as about my luggage not making it. However, surprisingly my flight to Tehran with the Turkish Airlines was also delayed by 1.50h. I actually think that they do it on purpose. It meant that my luggage would make it, and I had a time to explore this massive airport and try some local specialties. It is one of the largests airports in the world, able to handle over 200 million passengers a year, and considered as the region’s most important global hub. When I boarded my flight to Tehran I could only think about closing my eyes – I felt exhausted, as I ate in Istanbul, I skipped the meal on the plane and just slept until they announced that we were landing.
Day 1 Arrival in Tehran
I think taking into consideration the sanction regime put on Iran due to serious human right violations as well as due to nuclear weapons and activities. I was expecting an army at the airport, detailed checks, and difficulties but apart from the long wait, the visa collection and checks were very straightforward and I had no issues. However, I have to highlight that I’ve travelled on my Polish passport, as it is more difficult for British passport holders to get a visa, as well as roam freely around the country.
I booked my trip with ‘Iran Explorations’ which completed the visa application for me. I was supplied with a visa application code. At the airport I had to visit a visa office, where they checked my passport, travel insurance (which is a must, otherwise you will have to purchase one at the airport). I needed to pay a visa fee and my entry visa was issued (and the electronic version emailed to me).
Just remember that none of the western cards work in Iran so you will need enough cash to cover all your expenses while there. I’m not sure if I have enough, I have to say that it is stressing me a bit not being able to access my funds while being abroad.
While in Iran, I’ve learned that you can convert your cash into a debit card and Mah card (Iranian prepaid debit card designed for tourists and temporary visitors). Some Iranians banks (Bank Melli Iran, Bank Pasargad, Saman Bank) issue tourists with prepaid debit cards, which can be loaded with Iranian currency. There is a Bank Melli branch at the airport, you will need a passport and visa to apply. I’ve learned this information too late, so I had to carry lots of cash on me. The official currency of Iran is Rial, but people almost always use Toman in everyday life. However, people normally use the unofficial unit ‘Toman’ in everyday transactions, for example: 1 500 Tomans, meaning that you should pay 15,000 Rials.
The trip
The trip starts intensely. Straight after I landed, I began my AlamKooh Trek. No time to waste! I try to save as many holiday days as possible to cover my mountain adventures. I met my mountain guide at the airport. Her name is Zara, she seems lovely. She is the same age as me, and she’s been climbing mountains for 17 years, and she’s been a guide for 7 years now.
At the airport I exchanged 50 Euros to the local currency, I received a bundle of notes that doesn’t even fit in my wallet. I also got a local SIM card.
Soon after, we left Tehran behind and we drove the famous Chalus road, also known as Road 59, and one of the busiest in Iran, linking Tehran with the Caspian Sea. The road is 160 km long, and it crosses through Alborz Mountains and tops out at 2.700m. On our way, we stopped in a local restaurant to have a lunch, as for breakfast we had only ice creams 😅 After yummy Zereshk Polo Morgh dish (is a rice dish usually made with saffron and barberries alongside a chicken and tomato stew). After lunch we headed towards the mountaineering federation lodge In Vanderben Village at the foothills of Alam Kooh @ 2,400m. We arrived there at 5ish, the trip that was supposed to take us 4h took us 7h due to heavy traffic. As I mentioned before, Road 59 is one of the busiest in Iran.
The Mountaineering Federation House
The Mountaineering federation house, with many rooms, big kitchen and their own climbing wall is usually bustling during the season, but September is already classified as out of season so Zara and I were the only people staying there. We had a room with 6 bunk beds. We unpacked everything (which equals = making mess) and decided to have a nap before the dinner and re-packing our bags for the Alam Kuh trek next day. I fell asleep immediately, and it was difficult to escape Morpheus’s arms and wake up. The house felt cold; but we had to get up and prepare our stuff. Zara cooked us a delicious dinner.
Tonight I discovered ‘Anab’, called jujube fruit, or red or Chinese date. In alternative medicine, they’re used to improve sleep and decrease anxiety. Zara also gave me some raisins but from black grapes. They taste totally different to the ones that I had before. And trust me when I say that they are delicious, they are! as I’m not a fan of raisins. After this mouthwatering experience I had a shower and went straight to bed.
Day 2 Beginning Of the Alam Kuh Trek
After 9h sleep I woke up totally refreshed and ready for my adventure. We had breakfast, finished packing and around 10 am we left the lodge. We drove in a 4WD car via a rocky valley – Tang-e Galoo upto 3,100m. Here, we met another guide with 4 ladies from Czech Republic, as we are doing the same trails both – Alam Kuh and Damavand we would be sharing the catering tent and transportation between the peaks.
From Tang-e Galoo we started our trek to the Alam Kuh Base Camp – Hesarchal flatland at an altitude of 3,750m. It was a pleasant walk, I wasn’t rushing, as I didn’t want to stress my knee too much. It was only a few days after my injection, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I kind of need to learn to trust my legs again and believe in my capabilities, as at the moment I’m very sceptical about my performance.
After a few hours we reached the Alam Kuh base camp, apart from us and the shepherd’s dog, there was no one else around. We set up our camp in this stunning, peaceful and quiet area surrounded by many charming mountain peaks over 4,000 m and kilometres of untouched natural beauty landscapes. Two nights in this place.
After lunch, I went for a walk. I felt good, my head was clear. I felt calm inside, I was surrounded by absolute silence, and that silence created a space for me to listen, to hear my inner voice. I could breathe. I used my phone only for taking photos and writing down my thoughts, it felt good being offline. It was a proper reset for me. Freedom and simplicity, through which you disconnect yourself from the often overwhelming stress of everyday life.
After a walk it was time for a wet wipes shower 😛 I organised my space in the tent and chilled in my sleeping bag until dinner. It was getting cold, but I didn’t mind that as the fresh mountain air felt nice. The moon was bright, with plenty of stairs. Beautiful night.
Day 3 Acclimatisation climb and early night before the Alam Kuh summit
I haven’t slept at all. It was a full moon, and I had a slight headache. I was tossing around my sleeping bag, trying all possible positions, but couldn’t make myself comfortable. Eventually I fell asleep not long before my alarm clock rang. My watch said no sleep data recorded, body battery 5% hmm it doesn’t sound positive.
I got up, dressed, had juice, two paracetamols, big breakfast, two black coffees – and felt okish.
I’m ready for another day. Today’s plan was an aclimatacion climb to Lashgarak the Small (4 176 m) and Lashgarak the Great (4256 m).
We were taking it really slowly today, we didn’t leave the camp until 10.45am. This time of the year Alam Kuh base camp was empty, aprto of Zara and I, there were only Czech ladies with their 2 guides. I could climb without other people around, so we left the camp 15 minutes after the others. When travelling by myself, I like having this choice of being antisocial; inside of my head; enjoying and soaking the surroundings without being forced to talk, immersed in silence. Most likely it is because of that I get overwhelmed with people’s interactions on a daily basis, surrounded by people all the time. Therefore, I really enjoy and appreciate the times when I can be with myself. Zara, my mountain guide, is very quiet. I ask her questions about Iran, her life, our plan, but the majority of the time we don’t talk.
While reading the book and soaking my body in the early morning sun outside of my tent ⛺️ I came across this sentence
“Obie się siłujemy ze swoim ciałem i próbujemy je zmusić do czegoś, czego ono wcale nie chce, ale nie wiem, może to po prostu o to chodzi w życiu’
translation from Polish :
“We both fight with our body, trying to force it to do something it doesn’t want to do, but I don’t know, maybe that’s what life is all about” Jakub Małecki – “Święto Ognia”
Do I force my body to do what it doesn’t want? Maybe sometimes … But you can’t give up in life, you have to challenge yourself, right? That is what life is all about … constant change, growth and working towards your goals.
Today, I’m not in the strongest form, I haven’t slept much, almost nothing. I had a light headache the whole night. But that’s the part of acclimatisation, tomorrow will be better. At least I hope.
As part of my acclimatisation I submitted my first two peaks in Iran Lashgarak the Small (4 176 m) and Lashgarak the Great (4256 m). It always surprises me how I can be in the present moment when in the mountains. The endless horizon, mountain landscapes, clouds slowly swimming across the sky, wind, birds, fresh mountain air feeling up my lungs, and my calm mind. Nice feeling, also my trust in my knee slightly improved and it was easier for me to walk today.
Nature creates these beautiful landscapes, you look up, turn around and mountain peaks are painted on the blue sky horizon. I’m lucky to be a witness of so many beautiful places in the world.
In the afternoon I rested in the tent until dinner, which was just delicious. Maryam just created magic here in the middle of nowhere. I had a massive dinner knowing that I won’t be able to eat anything until I summit the Alam Kuh. The action happens on an empty stomach after a strong black coffee 🙂
Night night, tomorrow IS THE DAY!
Day 4 Alam Kuh Summit Day
During the past few days I’ve learned that my spiritual approach to mountains is quite different, maybe even unique to other people … We were chatting about different peaks and I mentioned my trip to Mexico and how I perceived Pico de Orizaba. When I saw Pico for the first time he terrified me. There was something dark and angry about how it looked whereas Ista was gentle and welcoming. One of Czech ladies also climbed Pico, and looked at me and said hmm I didn’t feel anything like this, Pico was just a beautiful mountain for me, but I’m not very spiritual.
Yes, I ve got this tendency to personify mountains, giving them human characteristics. They have their soul, spirit, and some of them give me positive vibes whereas others terrify me.
Today, I woke up at 3.45 am, dressed, and made sure that I had everything packed! Coffee at 4 am, actually two cups of strong black coffee. At 4.40 am we were ready to go! It was a beautiful night, the sky was covered with thousands of stars, and a waning gibbous moon illuminating our path. We only used our headlamps for the first half an hour, the rest of the way until the sunrise the moon was showing us the way.
The sun was slowly waking up, you could see on one side moon and on the other rising sun, it felt magical.
My stomach wasn’t great. But mountains force us to push our limits without taking into consideration our weaknesses. It was the first time since Nepal that I haven’t used Diamox to help me with the acclimatisation. So, I kind of knew that I might suffer from headaches and nausea. Haven’t had such bad headaches this time but nausea during the climb was making it difficult.
The Czech ladies had breakfast before they left the camp, on the mountain each time I saw them they were having snacks. I was hungry, but I knew that my stomach couldn’t handle any food. How to deliver the energy your body needs, when you can’t eat. We were about an hour away from the summit when Zara tried to force me to eat something. I took two pieces of dry fruit and one almond. That’s all. I asked her to give me a warm water from her thermos but I didn’t realise that she dissolved some sugar in it, the sip was awful. I nearly threw up.
The steepest part, the last hour, felt like never ending. Each time is the same, you see the top, but after the next turn is another rock, and more steps to go. Finally, I reached the top of Alam Kuh, Czech ladies were already there, enjoying the views and celebrating their achievements. I sat down, took a piece of flat bread with peanut butter and chocolate spread and slowly ate it, a few sips of coke. I was so hungry! It felt good to eventually eat something.
Zara and I were sitting on the top alone, we weren’t talking, just enjoying the surroundings, stillness, calmness and quietness of the place. We were looking into the distance, buried in our own thoughts. Silence can be really powerful and full of meaning.
After a few photos, we made our way down, it took us around 2.5 hours to get back to the base camp. Lunch was almost ready, I was hungry but couldn’t really eat much. Anyway, I forced myself to have a bowl of soup. I dissolved some electrons in the water; made a cup of black coffee, had a few dry fruits and some jelly sweets. I was full. I was tired. And still the day hasn’t finished.
We still had over two hours before putting our camp down, so I organised my backpack, leaving only my sleeping mat out and tent. I felt like I needed to lie down and rest a bit before we made our way down. My eyes closed, it was hot – I unzipped both sides of the tent, the warm air was blowing over my body. It felt nice even though It was hot. After one hour of rest I got up and finished packing. We put the tent down, and started our way down.
It took us less than 2 hours and we got to the area where the truck picked us up. We made our way to the small village, another 1,5h in the car, bumpy off road, dusty, sticky, hot. Smell of the exhaust fumes was getting in through the open car windows. My nose was full of dust, my face covered in dirt. Black nails. Dusty and dirty clothes. Part of the experience, it shows the effort that you have put into achieving the goal. Right?
It was almost 7pm when we eventually arrived in our guesthouse. I had a whole room to myself, the hot shower felt nice on my tired body. Almost like a massage, I could stay there for hours, but needed to organise my stuff, repack for the next leg of my trip. Another peak was waiting for me; 24h rest and Damavand!
I climbed Alam Kooh by the normal route – South Face – long but not as technical as the famous north face one. The southern routes are class three climbs at summer time. Alam-Kooh @ 4,850m is the second highest summit of Iran after Mt Damavand, located at the heart of Alborz mountain range, 40 km south from the Caspian sea.
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