Narine Vardanyan

What’s your profession? What do you do?

My first profession is a journalist, the second is a literary critic and a teacher. At the moment I work in Artsakh, in the field of education.

When and how did you decide to take part in a hiking trip for the first time? How your first hiking trip was and what kinds of emotions did you experience?

I was born in the mountains, in Tavush, or as we say in recent years, in Real Tavush – Shamshadin. My eyes are used to greenery and mountains. We even look up to see the fields. When I moved to Yerevan, my first big concern was the immense horizon. It seemed that I could not hold on to anything. So, I started to discover city parks, then I started looking for hiking opportunities. The first mountain, the name of which I remember, and remember the hike as well, is Mount Hatis. It was an easy hike. It was a long time ago, but I know that it was easy, because it felt like I am going back home. It seemed to me that we went to collect blackberries, and the mowers were about to pass by us. This feeling is still with me. To this day, I experience this thrill whenever I am in the mountains.

What has changed in your life since you started hiking?

People have changed, and probably I myself have changed. I know people who go on difficult hikes to let out the aggression and negativity accumulated inside. I go on hikes to let out love.

My whole life I thought that I love Armenia. In recent years I realized that I love Armenia from afar, abstractly, without understanding why I love it. Now, when I have an opportunity to touch it and feel its warmness, I can say with confidence that my conscious love for Armenia has changed my life and changed my attitude towards all manifestations of love. I learned to discover, learn, admire and not ask anything in return. Just like with a loved one: to feel, touch, take care, to know by heart the direction of the veins on the arm… and not be able to live without all this.

What do mountains give you, what are you looking for there?

I am looking for peace in the mountains. Mountains helped us achieve peace for our country thousands of times. With this in mind, in the mountains I restore peace in my soul every time.

Is there a creation that you associate with mountains or hikes?

When I feel like too much time has passed since the last hike, I feel sad and remember William Saroyan’s creation “My heart’s in the highlands”. I think that if one day my legs would not want to go to the mountains, I will learn to play some instrument, probably Sring, sit on my rocking chair and play until people start asking me questions, and I will answer meaningfully: “My heart’s in the highlands, in the Armenian highlands”.

What was your most memorable hiking trip and what made it special?

The most memorable hiking trip is probably the ascent of Mets Kirs. For a long time, I was afraid of heights, and before climbing Mets Kirs my legs would often tremble on the rocks and narrow paths. At the end of the Mets Kirs ascent there is a small area with cliffs. There was also snow and ice, and in order to overcome this part, I had to put my feet on the ground as firmly as possible. It was there that my trembling disappeared. At the top, looking at the “fist” of Kirs, I felt how proud I am for myself. I irretrievably fell in love with this mountain. When we went down, I made a promise to myself that I will come back. Now I am writing this, and Mets Kirs is visible from afar, and I feel a little ashamed that I have not returned there yet.

Are there destinations that you haven’t climbed yet but have a desire to do it?

There are many mountain peaks from which I have not yet looked at the world: The Northern peak of Aragats, Ararat, Kusanats, Varag… I have no dream of climbing any peak. The only peak I am thinking about now, I will never climb, but I will wait for my return from there.

Which are those three words that can describe your feelings during hiking trips?

Instead of three words I will say one small sentence: “Look, what a beautiful homeland!” This is what Karen kept saying throughout one of the hikes. Now when I travel, I always remember these words.

What do you think, who are hikers?

Hikers are people obsessed with life, and life is the mountains.

How did you appear in ArmGeo club?

My best and closest friends are from ArmGeo and are directly related to hikes. But I found them and became friends with them before I found ArmGeo.

The first hike was in Artsakh – a three-day off-road tour in my birthday. It was my first hike with ArmGeo, but I knew almost every participant.

It was a muddy hike. We got to know each other better. This hiking trip was about love, great love. On these days I saw the most beautiful sunset in my life – a sunset on Mount Dizapayt. We settled down with our sleeping bags on the wooden floor of the village school, and Hrach threw wood into the stove all night. Until now, the monotonous crackle of fire fills me with a sense of care. After that, it is impossible not to go hiking.

What advice do you have for those who want to start to go hiking but don’t dare to get out of their comfort zone and do that?

When I first started hiking, I didn’t have the necessary clothes, I was getting wet and sick all the time. Then the mountains gave me strength and immunity. They saw that I would never give up on them and allowed me to become stronger. Trust the mountains, let them take care of you, let them change your life. Find peace in the mountains, find a formula for love, find people.

Members of ArmGeo Club