Close to the Mountains: We Climb Together
Strength, harmony, energy, care, freedom, love…
August 13 is our day…
Decision
It is wonderful when someone plants seeds in your mind, ideas, dreams… and then they begin to grow quickly, occupying your entire imagination…
“Will you join us? We are going to climb Mount Ararat.”
Fears appeared before my eyes, and then victories. I understood that it was dangerous, time-consuming, but those seeds made my thoughts live and breathe only with Ararat.
I know, even today I am surprised how I found myself on the summit of Mount Ararat.
Such an ascent was not planned; it was unexpected, frightening, but tempting. While people prepare and mentally adjust themselves for several months, I joined the team only during the last 10 days. I believe it was a signal that should not have been ignored.
And with the same speed, another thought appeared: to find a supporter. I decided to apply to AraratBank.
The new minimalist logo of the bank symbolizes Mount Ararat. A height that can only be conquered together.
I thought: with Ararat, on Ararat, why not? It sounds beautiful.
I quickly contacted them and asked for a meeting. They did not refuse. I visited them with a broken voice (the consequence of spending the night on Aragats). They asked me to share my vision, and with my broken voice and coughing attacks, I told my story.
It was one of those unique cases when we were on the same wavelength ideologically. They listened silently throughout the entire conversation, and at the end, surprised and warmly, they asked:
—Can you climb it?
I confidently answered:
—Of course, after all, I am not alone…
Only now do I understand the scale of my responsibility.
The number of people who believed in me increased by one more organization. If before I had doubts about whether I would be able to overcome it, now there was no doubt anymore. I had no right to “stumble.”
Preparation
Sleeping for two nights at an altitude of 3200 meters on Mount Aragats.
Friends, this period of my life was very different from the others. Maybe one day I will share it in a separate story.
The acclimatization training was a real nightmare: pressure fluctuations, nausea, sharp noise in my ears, dizziness.
he dark shadow of fear had entered the room. It whispered in my ear in an incomprehensible language, very quickly, without pauses. With wet and cold hands, it tried to cling to me. It looked carefully into my eyes, and if I blinked even for a moment, it would attack like a predator, take me in its grip, and absorb all my energy.
Believe me, the moment you become weak, it will embrace you. The important thing is to always keep your mind alert.
It is extremely important to do acclimatization training. If you overcome it, then climbing will become partly easier.
During the ascent of Mount Ararat, the equipment is transported by horses. Depending on weather conditions, it is possible to spend one more night on the mountain, for which participants do not need to pay additional costs.
For participating in the expedition, you need:
mountain clothing, mountain boots, thermal clothing, warm spare clothes, two backpacks of 60–70 liters and 20–30 liters, a rainproof jacket, a sleeping bag suitable for temperatures from -5 to -10°C, trekking poles, two types of gloves (warm fleece and windproof), winter and summer hats, a first aid kit, mountain sunglasses, sunscreen, a headlamp, and a thermos.
I went through difficulties, failed and started again, again and again, not with bitterness, but with love, because ahead of me was a great achievement: discovering myself.
Was there fear? Of course, there was.
My mind was calm, my thoughts were clear. I had accepted long ago the fact that journeys guide me to where I need to be.
All I have to do is follow the signals, learn lessons, heal through my own weaknesses, and not be afraid.
7 crazy people, 7 stories, 7 motivations.
This time it is a team journey, and I could not have met a better team.
I am sure that on the mountain our strengths will merge, all our skills will unite, and a new stage of life, a new me — the transformation will definitely be interesting…
Because we are climbing together.
Towards Ararat
On August 10, at 4 in the morning, I opened my eyes.
I realized that each of us has our own Ararat to climb in life, and I was ready for the journey.
Mountains have taught us to speak silently.
Just like in ordinary life, in the mountains all the most difficult moments happen in the mind.
Cold, wind, altitude — all of this is simply a factor, a feature of the sport, which is only a background for discovering yourself and your friends.
Everything “extreme” changes and disappears, but the experience and emotions remain, and the human characters revealed during this journey stay with you.
For the first time, we saw Ararat from the opposite side.
Throughout the entire journey, it followed us with its gaze, while we silently observed it, trying to understand the similarities and differences between the Ararat we had seen before and this Ararat.
Ararat, a snow-white, dazzling summit against the background of unimaginable light blue and deep blue skies — isn’t it the symbol of a human dream, whose call has disturbed souls for centuries?
After 10 hours of traveling, we arrived at the hotel with the energy and excitement of children.
Day One
From Bayazet, we climbed by mountain vehicles to an altitude of 2200 meters toward Mount Ararat, from where we started our hike.
We met Davud, our Kurdish guide and, in the future, a very dear friend.
He has completed more than 400 ascents. He is modest, quiet, knowledgeable, and influential, with a face burned by the sun and wind, smiling eyes, and a soul born from nature.
“Ararat is my mountain. My life, my energy, and my oxygen are here,” he shares.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell much about him, because he preferred to remain silent and enjoy the peace and harmony floating in the air.
First Camp։ 3200 meters altitude
We were welcomed with cold and sweet melon. They showed us our tents, where lunch was already prepared.
By the way, you do not need to worry about food. Each group has a cook, so you are free from the burden of thinking about what to carry and what to eat.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and small tea breaks during the evening.
Only in the mountains can you realize that in life a person often feels like a hostage of urban noise and everyday work routines.
We constantly strive for freedom and try to understand whether it even exists.
There is freedom, and it lives in the mountains.
Mountains are the place where you can “float among the clouds,” admire them endlessly, breathe freely, and grow wings.
Day Two
We took our food packages, water, plums, juice, sweet pastries, and chocolate.
We continued along the trail, walking together like one person, toward an altitude of 4100 meters.
If until 3200 meters we walked through dust, this time the path was sandy, and because of the small stones, it was possible to slip. We had to stay attentive throughout the entire journey.
Second Camp
Life changed dramatically here.
There were only you, tents shaking in the wind, the open sky, and Sis rising beside you.
Sometimes I think that perhaps many of us go to the mountains to understand how precious the gray everyday life really is. To feel the taste of a cup of hot tea after several days of thirst. To sleep after many sleepless nights. To meet friends after long loneliness.
To experience silence after hours spent in a terrifying storm.
The night was long, the wind was strong, and seven people were in one tent.
We settled close to each other to stay warm.
Songs, stories, funny moments from life.
It is exactly here that you understand that in the mountains a person searches for another person.
Friendship, a shared struggle, the joy of the victory of human will over the blind forces of nature.
Without friendship, without friends, climbing is impossible.
Even reflecting on the great beauty of mountains can only be complete when a friend is beside you.
We shared the last desired sip of water, gave each other the most comfortable places in the tent, warmed each other with kindness, joked, sang songs, while the wind tried to carry away the tent.
For moments like these, for testing ourselves, for getting to know ourselves better, for reaching the limits of what is possible and looking beyond those limits — for all of this, it is worth going to the mountains.
Day Three. The Ascent
Night, 2:00 AM.
From an altitude of 4100 meters, we started moving toward the summit.
Seven people + one guide were walking toward the dream.
Climbing mountains, especially Mount Ararat, is one of the best ways to challenge yourself.
If you have a goal, you must overcome the obstacles on the way.
Those who overcome the difficulties that arise along the journey prove that they do not betray either themselves or the goal they have set.
The strong and the weak unite in the mountains.
Here you learn to help each other, to climb together.
After 3.5 hours of walking, we reached the summit.
Am I a happy person?
Yes.
I had a dream, and it came true.
Climbing Ararat was my deepest desire during those last ten days.
Emotion
5165 (5137) meters altitude.
The summit.
We stood on the top, having overcome the cold and the wind.
The ascent of Ararat is similar to the stages of life.
If you want to succeed in life, you must walk through dusty and rocky roads.
Do you want to surpass yourself?
Then you must be ready to place your foot on a stone higher than expected.
It will be cold, of course you will feel the cold, but your goal will warm you from within, strengthen you, and then you will place your foot more confidently on the ice.
Are you still thinking whether to climb Ararat or not?
