With an altitude of 5670m Mount Damavand is the highest mountain of Iran and of the entire region until the Himalayas. Located in the Alborz mountain range to the north of Tehran it is also the highest volcano in the whole of Asia. Mt Damavand is dormant with no recorded eruptions in human history, but still has some activity in the form of sulphureos emissions near the summit. From a distance Mt Damavand looks a bit like Mount Fuji in Japan because of its conical shape.
Mt Damavand is a popular climbing destination, due to its easy accessibility and the fact that the trail to the summit is free of snow in the summer months. A number of routes to the summit exist, of which the southern one is the easiest one and can be completed in two or three days. On a two-day program climbers spend the night before the climb at altitude either in Polur (2200m), Reineh (about 2000m) or in camp 2 (the Goosfand Sara base camp). The next day climbers proceed to camp 3 (the Bargah Sevom camp) at 4200m of altitude. After an additional night at altitude climbers start early in the morning, typically around 5am, for the summit climb. The summit is usually reached in 5-6 hours, i.e. before noon. After a short break the descent starts around noon and climbers usually are back at camp 3 by 3pm. Climbers then have the option of staying one more night at camp 3, which makes sense if the summit climb took longer than expected and climbers only returned to camp 3 late in the afternoon or if climbers are very tired. Otherwise climbers leave camp 3 by 5-6pm at the latest in order to reach camp 2 before dark. The descent from camp 3 to camp 2 is doable in two hours.
A certain level of fitness is required, because beyond 3800m the air is very thin and there is the risk of suffering from altitude sickness. A special breathing technique is necessary at altitude, especially if climbers are not fully acclimatised. It is advisable to do the climb with somebody who has already done it and has experience at high altitudes. The climb is not technically difficult, the only challenges are the high altitude, combined with the strong sun, sometimes strong wind, dry air, dust in the air and the trail which in large parts consists of loose rocks and even sand.
01 Mosque 02 Golden minaret 03 Resting area and mosque
03 Resting area with bridge and mosque 04 Golden dome of mosque 06 View of Mt Damavand from Polur
07 Mountain climber statue in Polur 08 Shop in Polur 09 Hostel of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation 10 Hostel of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation
11 4WD car in hostel parking lot 12 Road from Polur to Camp 2 13 Jeep on road from Polur to Camp 2
14 Road from Polur to Camp 2 15 Goosfand Sara base camp and mosque 16 Goosfand Sara base camp
17 Donkeys carrying bags 18 Goosfand Sara base camp 19 Indiana Jones in Camp 2 20 Goosfand Sara mosque
21 Goosfand Sara base camp 01 View of Mt Damavand 02 Hikers on the trail 03 Hikers on the trail
04 View of Mt Damavand 05 View of Mt Damavand 06 Rock formation 07 View of Mt Damavand
08 View of Mt Damavand 09 View of Mt Damavand 10 View of Mt Damavand
11 View of Mt Damavand 12 Inscription on rock 13 Mt Damavand 14 View of Mt Damavand
15 Mt Damavand 16 Hikers climbing Mt Damavand 17 Hiking trail 18 Pile of rocks
19 Hikers resting 20 Hikers descending Mt Damavand 21 Hikers resting for a while 22 Hikers descending Mt Damavand
23 Hikers taking a break 24 Hikers descending Mt Damavand
01 Bargah Sevom refuge and camp 02 Bargah Sevom refuge
03 Bargah Sevom tent camp 04 Bargah Sevom tent camp 05 Bargah Sevom shelter
06 Community room 07 Bargah Sevom tent camp 08 Bargah Sevom facilities and valley
09 Bargah Sevom facilities and valley 10 Climbing the stairs 11 Bargah Sevom camp 12 Sunset
13 Sunset 14 Sunset 01 Sunrise 02 Mountain slope
03 Mountain slope 04 Sun rising behind mountain slope 05 Mountain slope with snow fields 06 Mountain slope with snow fields
07 Hikers resting in the morning 08 Mountain slope at 5200m 09 Mountain slope at 5200m 10 Hikers climbing Mt Damavand
11 Snow fields at 5300m altitude 12 Snow fields at 5300m altitude 13 Snow fields at 5400m altitude 14 Snow fields at 5400m altitude
15 Snow fields at 5400m altitude 16 Trail to the summit 17 Trail to the summit 18 View towards the summit 19 View of the summit crater
20 View of the summit crater 21 Sulphur rock 22 Sulphur rock 23 Sulphur rock
24 Trail close to the summit crater 25 Summit area 26 Crater rocks 27 Clmbing towards the summit
28 Clmbing towards the summit 29 Clmbing towards the summit 30 Hiker approaching summit crater 31 Hiker approaching summit crater
32 Hiker approaching summit crater 33 Hiker approaching summit crater 34 Hiker among summit crater rocks 35 Hikers on summit crater 36 Hikers on summit crater
01 Summit crater with glacier 02 Summit crater with glacier 03 Climbers on the summit
04 Summit crater with glacier 05 Crater 06 Rock formations 07 View of Lar lake
01 Irrigated valley 02 Mt Damavand
03 Mt Damavand 04 Mt Damavand
05 Road to Mt Damavand 06 Mt Damavand 07 Mt Damavand
08 Mt Damavand 09 Mt Damavand 10 Mt Damavand
11 Mt Damavand 12 Mt Damavand 13 Around camp 3
14 Mt Damavand 15 View from Mt Damavand 16 View from Mt Damavand
17 Hiker climbing Mt Damavand 18 Early morning view from Mt Damavand
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