Azhdahak Attempt

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Attempt on Azhdahak

Summary: October is not the best time to climb high mountains in Armenia, but I had work to do and so we gave it a try. Our aim was Azhdahak, one of the high (3597 meters), but not difficult mountains near Yerevan, and part of the Geghama range. Azhdahak is not a sharp peak. The slopes of Azhdahak are inhabited in summer by shepherds, and there are some faint 4WD tracks.

We rented a Lada Niva, arguably the best-suited care for this terrain. It was an old car, and the engine was tired, but it managed very well even in difficult rocky passages.

We selected a route starting from Geghard village (near the well known Geghard monastery), and reached an elevation of about 2900 meters where we planned to camp. The last few kilometer lead across pastures without a visible road.

One could see across the lights of Yerevan, and even Ararat showed for a few moments. Given good weather, the hike to the summit would normally be a breeze.

But it was getting cold and cloudy. During the night, snowfall set in and our 3-season tent bent down under the weight. At first light, we were engulfed in thick fog, with a prospect for more snow. With our bald summer tires on the Lada, the first order of the day was to get the car out of the snow back on a trail.

As it happened, we were late for one day, before the hiking season closed on Azhdahak.

Maximum altitude:	2930 meter
Minimum altitude:	1708 meter
Cumulative height:	1221 meter
Cumulative length:	16 kilometer one way
Difficulty	moderate, depending on the weather
Time:	1.5 hour
Date of this record	October 2014
Download GPS info:	Azhdahak trailhead

General location and approach: Central Armenia, between Yerevan and Lake Sevan

Other Information:

The track starts from Geghard village (not the monastry of the same name)

Initially the track is quite rough, but soon after leads through meadows

We had rented a Lada Niva, justifiably the most trusted vehicle in this part of the world

Reaching an alitude of about 2900 meters

We hit a cloudy day, but did not have much choice

Glimpses of Azhdahak mountain, though we never saw the summit cone

Hoping for better weather, we decided to camp

Ararat (on the left, above and under the clouds) across the valley of Yerevan

We ditched the idea to hike Azhdahak and rescued our rented Lada Niva instead

before the snow would make it impossible to return to the real world

We decided to visit Sevan Lake instead - one of the large high alitude lakes, at 1900 meter.

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