Hiking with the Prime Minister

All our hikes begin with briefing, and the most important thing and my biggest request to climbers is to walk in line. Walking in line is safe: everyone is walking in the same pace, it feels as if the group becomes a single organism. Walking in line is simple. The line speaks about the group’s discipline.

Before giving each briefing I am ready for the question: “Why should we walk in line?” During every hike there is someone who definitely steps out and walks out of the line. There is always one whom you should remind all the time to get back into the line, whom you should explain that regardless of age, experience or position they are a part of the group and must adhere to the rules.

During the hiking I have often expressed the opinion that we will get the country we wished only when we will all learn how to walk in line. This will mean having a disciplined society.

We were standing at the starting point and I was about to give briefing for the ascent. I asked Minister of Environment Erik Grigoryan where his friends were, because I knew that his friends were planing to join us. With a mysterious smile on his face, Erik said, “Here they are, they are coming.” In the distance, I saw 4 similar vehicles driving in formation with red-blue lights on the first one. I jokingly asked Erik, “Is this the Prime Minister coming?” There was nothing serious in what I said, I just said what I thought because such kind of a convoy is always associated with the leaders of the country. I didn’t know anything. The vehicles stopped, and the Prime Minister came out. As always, with a smile on his face, he approached and shook hands to greet the members of a group.

Honestly for a moment I became speechless, I was thinking about giving the briefing. I began asking myself, “What if he doesn’t walk in line? How am I going to make him enter the line? It’s all right, he is a prime minister, although what’s the difference, whoever they are … that’s it, I am doing my job, the rules are for everyone.

I began giving the briefing. The moment I said that everyone should walk after me and should not walk behind Hrachuhi, who will be the last in the row, the prime minister began searching for Hrachuhi, he even came ahead to see about whom I am talking about. I gestured and showed him, he nodded. We began to walk.

The Prime Minister entered the line just like everyone else. He was 7th or 8th after me. After the first five minutes I calmed down. There wasn’t a need to ask the prime minister to enter the line. Nikol was walking in line. I smiled and thought that if from now on somebody will get out of line, I am gonna tell them “Hey, even the prime minister has walked in line with us.”

Whenever I was noticing that the prime minister’s breathing was becoming heavier I was asking whether there is a need to stop and rest. He was saying. “You tell me, you’re the team leader”.

I decided to take a group photo on the summit, I was imagining how the hiking community would react. I was thinking how excited our families would get, but I was also afraid of some people getting a heart attack from jealousy. And suddenly I thought: “What if he doesn’t make it to the summit?” I turned around and looked at him, and I understood that he will definitely make it.”

The hike was resuming, the prime minister was calmly walking in line. His bodyguards were stepping out of the line and staying back or getting ahead. But this didn’t matter, they were on-duty, shortly afterwards we reached the summit and this is when PM Nikol Pashinyan called for peace in the region.

During the descend, as usual, the line was not maintained. Keeping the line during descend is desirable but not mandatory. Midway, Nikol asked why aren’t we walking in line anymore, as it was easier in line.

The unusual became usual. Before this, no leader of the country during any government had ever climbed a mountain with any of the groups. It was a great honor for us that the prime minister decided to join us. It certainly was an exclusive day in the history of Armenian Geographic to have a hiking with the prime minister of Armenia.

My entire story was around walking in line. The line is discipline. The prime minister walking in line is one of us, because he is down-to-earth. During the trip he wasn’t making decisions or giving instructions, because he understood that he joined a professional team and he must adhere to the rules. The prime minister did not forget to promote geo-tourism. He called on people to live a healthy life, climb mountains and get to know their own country. Upon leaving, he said goodbye to each of us, he thanked us for the trip and took off, after some 5 steps he stopped, looked at me and waved saying, “good luck Tik”.

I don’t know to what extent I was able to present our experience, but this article wasn’t actually about the hike.

Now I have the answer to the question: “What was the biggest surprise in my life.”

 

Article by Tigran Varag

Photos by Tsovinar Hakobyan

The copyright of this article is owned by armgeo.am. The content of the article may be cited or used on other websites only with an active link to the source.

Blog about Armenia