Mountaineering in Armenia

“A wise man will never climb a mountain, he will find a way to avoid it” – This saying is surely not about mountaineers and hikers. Today climbers, along with pilots and astronauts, have become idols. Mountaineering in Armenia develops every year. The main reason that attracts people to the mountains is a kind of addiction that modern science cannot explain. Mountaineers call this addiction “love towards mountains”. This addiction occurs in many people who have ever reached the top of a mountain.

After that, it is impossible to imagine your life without ascents and without the search of new mountains and routes that you want to walk.

The origin and development of mountaineering

Mountaineering is a kind of mixture of sports and outdoor activities, the purpose of which is to get to hard-to-reach places. Mountaineering originated in Western Europe in 1786. This year the Swiss scientist Horace Bénédict de Saussure suggested climbing the highest point of the Alps, Mont Blanc (4810 m). The struggle for Mont Blanc lasted 26 years. Geologist and botanist Saussure, who himself conquered many Alpine heights, has appointed a monetary reward to those who develop a route to the top of Mont Blanc. In 1785, he himself attempted to climb the summit, but failed.

In 1786, the hunter Jacques Balmat came up with an idea that could help him win the Saussure Prize. He found a relatively easy path and suggested his doctor Michel Gabriel Paccard to join him. Finally, on August 8, overcoming many difficulties, they reached the cherished summit. The way to the top turned out to be incredibly difficult. Exhausted Paccard barely crawled on all fours to the top, and during the descent, he experienced snow blindness.

Balmat was also exhausted, but found the strength to go to Geneva to Saussure. The next year, in August 1787, Saussure and Balmat with 18 guides, started their ascent and on the third day were already at the summit. The ascent received a great response throughout Europe, attracting hundreds of adventurers to the Alps.

The further development of mountaineering was facilitated by the creation of mountaineering clubs and national organizations.

The Roots of Mountaineering in Armenia

The first mountaineering ascent in Armenia happened on 27 of September 1829. Armenian writer Khachatur Abovyan and the professor of the Imperial Dorpat University Friedrich Parrot climbed to the top of Mount Ararat (5165m). You can read about the ascent in our article “The first ascent to Ararat”.

On July 29, 1845, the German geologist Hermann von Abich made the second ascent to Ararat, accompanied by the translator Petros Sharoyan and two other Armenians – Hovhannes Ayvazyan and Murad Poghosyan. In 1896, the professor of Zurich University I.Abelyan also made an ascent to Ararat.

The new wave of mountaineering in Armenia is notable by the ascent of the Northern peak of Aragats (4090). In 1935, 1000 people at once climbed the northern summit of Mount Aragats with the guidance of Vahram Daryan. In 1950, there were nearly 1500 members in Armenian mountaineering sections.

From 1950 to 1960, famous USSR athletes Vano Galustov, Sergey Harutyunyan, Albert Hakobyan and Aghvan Chatinyan presented Armenian mountaineering with great honor. The famous mountaineer of USSR Aghvan Chatinyan was born in 1927. Though being old he continues to lead an active lifestyle. Particularly remarkable is his famous route “The cross of Ushba”, which he has paved as part of a team led by Kirill Barov in 1959. This route is still considered one of the most difficult.

The Rebirth of Mountaineering in Armenia

After the collapse of the USSR, mountaineering in Armenia, as other sports, simply ceased to exist. Only in the 2000s, Armenian mountaineers independently began to climb Elbrus, Lenin Peak, Communism Peak. However, there were no mountaineering organizations or schools. Mountaineering in Armenia started to develop from 2010. This year marked the rebirth of Armenian mountaineering.

Over the past years, Armenian mountaineers have reached many peaks, such as Mount Elbrus (the highest peak of Europe), Mount Damavand (Iran), Mount Kazbek (Georgia), Matterhorn (Alps), Mont Blanc, Ushba (Georgia) and so on. They have participated in many international competitions and held competitions in Armenia. Armenian Mountaineering and Mountain Tourism Federation, which has been operating since 2011, played a huge role in this issue.

From 2011, members of the federation started their ascents to the highest peaks of Iran – the extinct volcano Damavand (5671m), Mount Hezar (4501m), and Mount Kazbek (5034m) in Caucasus. Later, Armenian mountaineers took part in the winter ascent of Damavand within the framework of an international tournament, and reached the summit with honor.

Days of Mountains

Since 2003, by the decision of the UN General Assembly, December 11 is celebrated as the International Mountain Day. On this occasion, there are different events and celebrations throughout the world. This kind of events show exceptional value and importance of mountain and alpine regions.

In Armenia, the Day of the Armenian Mountains is celebrated on October 9.

On this day in 1829, Khachatur Abovyan set foot on the highest peak of Armenian Highland, the Holy Mount Ararat. On March 30 of 1829, naturalist and geographer F. Parrot came to Armenia with his hiking group to explore Ararat. They went to Ejmiatsin on September 8, where Parrot met Abovyan. Abovyan joined the group as a translator and guide. They started the ascent from the Akori village. After two unsuccessful attempts, on September 27 (on October 9 by the new calendar), at 15:15, Parrot, Abovyan and 4 other members of the group reached the summit of Ararat.

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