Mount Arrat - Page 3

Camp 1 - Camp 2 - Gipfel - Camp 1

Today was acclimatization day. That is: walk up to Camp 2 at 4200 m and back again. That didn't sound so difficult, especially since we could already see Camp 2 from Camp 1. But the heat and the very stony steep path put us already properly. We also became more aware of how many people were climbing up and down here. In 5-minute intervals tourists moved from the summit into the valley or mule columns up and down. Every 200-300 meters of altitude we made rest, much drinking was a must on the mountain. At the beginning still Ballermann songs on the lips silenced these increasingly 🙂. Shortly before Camp 2 we turned then on a quieter hill and made a longer rest before descent.

This was not much easier in the stony terrain. Arrived down, was still fitting the crampons for the day after next. About a dragged box ran party music and various dance interludes kept the mood high 🙂. After us, a group of 5-6 young Poles had arrived, all well trained. They wanted to climb with us the next day, but the first caught it still in the evening with nausea. Water from the tap should not be drunk in Turkey unboiled, maybe that was the reason, no one knew. The next morning they all had stomach problems, they stayed in the tent.

We were spared, so in the morning we went up to Camp 2 to spend the night. We already knew the route, but that didn't make it any easier. Our mules passed us halfway and when we got to the top, most of the tents still needed to be set up. So we supplied ourselves with Çay and coffee and enjoyed the free view into the low lying valley. There were no toilets here, everyone was looking for a spot, no one wanted to imagine what and where was left here over the years. We were too excited, this night was ascent. I slept as much as I could, we packed then, after our alarm clock had brought us 1 o'clock from the sleep. We drank as much as we could, then we went out into the night.

On the slope, many headlamps of groups that had started before us could already be seen. The path was very narrow, steep and stony. Staring, always the shoes of the person in front of us in the view, we stamped slowly uphill. Hours passed in the darkness, one did not look automatically upward, there one saw anyway nothing. Except for slight breathing problems and once nausea, we were spared from major obstacles. Dawn rose up the slope on the right side. In the meantime, isolated people from other groups came down, they had not made it. It became lighter and in front of us a wide carpet of snow and ice. The air was thin and it was difficult to put on the crampons.

At some point we had the beautiful summit in view. Just vertically above it, the bright sun. Even if it became steeper again the last altitude meters, at the latest now there was the last motivation. Our group had made it completely, we rejoiced and hugged each other. Afterwards photos, photos and again photos 🙂. We stayed some time at the summit, at some point Firat urged, because we had to go 2 camps lower today. The descent was not much more relaxing, but the head was free.

After seemingly endless hours descending with crampons, as we chose a snowier way down, we reached Camp 2 again. Here we had an hour for refreshment. Firat often yelled at other mountain tourists who deviated from the path and started rolling rocks above us. He knew why, the steep slope was so full of large piles of stones, if one came loose, it shot like a bullet into the valley. The Poles were doing better in the meantime. We met them in Camp 2 and they were supposed to reach the summit the next night. After a few more hours, exhausted and happy, we reached Camp 1. Not much more happened here: our tour guide spent the first beer 🙂, then only eat, drink, sleep.