Article by : Hamid Shafaghi , IFMGA mountain and ski guide
Hamid.shafaghi@gmail.com
Alam kooh summit ( 4851m ) is the second highest mountain in Iran and obviously the most technical mountain . The north face and west face of the summit consist of granite technical routes and walls which accept many experienced climbers each year ! The Glaciers and vertical rock change it to the most challenging mountain from north and west face. By the way its possible to reach the summit via an easy nice route ! Here are some information that I prepared about the mountain .
Mountain Location : Northern of Iran in Takht-E-Soleiman massif , Closest city is Kelardasht
Best season to climb : May to September, but the best months are July and August .
Easiest technical route : German Flank : A technical rocky ridge to the summit ,PD in French grading which goes to the summit
Hardest route : Polish 48 : up to 7c in the hardest pitch , One of the most attractive and challenging route on the wall .
Time to reach to the Basecamp ( 4000m ) : 1 and half day with acclimitization
Alamkouh means a straight flag mountain which is showing its unique shape .
The first route was developed by two climbers , Amir Alaei and Harry roust on 1964 which they didn’t reach the summit completely . Then in 1966 , 4 climbers from French Alpine Club did the first route on 25 days of hard job !
In 1969 , The Polish Climbers made the first ascent of the Polish 48 which they climbed it aided ! In the recent years the route climbed free . 4 years later the Polish made another first ascent on the wall which is one of the stunning aid climbing routes on the wall .
From 1982 To 1984 , Arash route was opened by the cooperation of some Iranian climbers in the area .
| Name | First ascent | grade | Description |
| Amir Alaei, Harry Roust | 1963, Amir Alaei, Harry Roust | 6c, A1 | From left funnel of the wall up and left through gully to the summit . 11 pitches totally . After first easy 3 pitches there is an overhang which is bolted ( A1, 6c ) . The next pitch is the small roof and after you reach the Ice anchor, From here route goes from gully and during the snow time it’s hard to climb because of frozen cracks. |
| French | 1966, French Alpine Club | 6c, A1 | French is the same as Harry route/Alaei up to ice anchor,over there is a big traverse with 2 pendulum to right to pass the mirror face of the wall and traverse right to the huge funnel of the wall . It continues to reach summit with 5 more pitches and reach beneath the main summit . First ascent took 25 days but nowadays experienced climbers do it in less than 4 hours. |
| Polish 48 | 3 Polish climbers | 7a+, A2 | First ascent was done by a Polish team on 1948, accomplished by 3 bivy on the wall and opened aided. Today Polish 48 is one of the stunning routes on the wall that goes free by strong climbers . The most famous pitches are Konje bozorg ( Big corner ), Konje Kochack ( Small corner ) and Dojorabi . Climbers need to be experience in Trad Climbing . Route is 10 pitches . |
| Polish 50 great coulouirs | Polish | Mixed Climbing | Another Polish team did a great job on the huge main funnel of the wall . Because of the falling stones in the main funnel this route didn’t repeat after the first ascent and grading is unknown. Interested climbers should be great at mix climbing and should try in autumn and winter ( Less falling stones ) . |
| Polish 52 | Polish | 5b, A2 | 5 Polish climbers with a 7 days attempt on the wall made the first ascent of Polish 52 which is mostly an artificial climb on a thin crack . There are lots of old pitons on the way up to the summit . Finding the route is possible to see the big roof on the wall . The line of the route is directly goes up from this roof . This is an awesome route with great view of the wall . this route goes directly to Ghomghome ledge and then up to the summit . |
| Iranian | Iranian | A2, 6b | In 1984, 2 Iranian wanted to repeat the Polish 48 but they didn’t find the route and found that they are on a new route, so continued it to the summit . The route was repeated just 1 time by A.Alinejad and R.Rezazade 20 years later . Location of the route is between German flank and Polish 48 |
| Arash | Arash Club | 5.9, A2 | Between 1982 to 1984, A group of climbers from Arash climb did the forst ascent of this route, Route is artificial except the first pitch and there are many old pitons in the route . It goes up parallel with Harry Roust/Alaei route and then to the rigth . |
| Anjoman | Arash & Damavand Club | 5.8, A2 | First ascent was on 2000 by a cooperation between Arash and Damavand CLub . Route is 250 meters |
| Crystal fall | Italian Climber | A3 | An artificial climbing route that goes up from left of Harry roust. Pitches shoule be done by use of hooks and professional artificial stuff. The roune named christal fall cause there are christals falling from top of the wall on the climbers ! |
| Kermanshah | Kermanshah Climbers | A1 | Another artifical route by Kermanshah Climbers . the route is equipped with bolts that today you couldn’t trust completely . |
| Nejah | ? | ||
| Oraul | ? | ||
| Shokouh | ? | ||
| Hamedan 67 | M.H.Talebi moghadam,M.R.Khodayari, … | 6c+, A2 | In 1988, A group of Hamedani Climbers made the first ascent of this route. Route is mostly artificial but it is possible to climb it free. It goes up from the right side of Polish 52 , |
| German Flank | German Climbers | 4 | This is the first route on the ridge of Alamkouh and is the most easiest way to reach the summit from north technical face . This technical ridge is a place for many climbers each year . |
| Homaye Saadat | H.Bolandakhtar, H.Shafaghi | 6c , 200m 2012 |
This is an uncompleted route because of the falling stones . It could be done by an autumn or spring climb when there are less falling stones on the wall . |
| Ehsan | P.Zafari, H.Sharifi, H.Sharifi, N.Eshghi | A3 | Close to Crystal fall, Iranian climbers did this route artificially in the summer of 2015 . Anchors are safe ( 2 bolts) but you need to use special artificial stuff. |
| Rajia | F.Mijoji, Saeid Aghakashi | 7a, A2+ | An alpine style first ascent on the wall by 2 Iranian climbers in summer 2013 ,The route is close to Polish 48 and Iranian route. |
| Alpine | Iranian | ? | Opened by a group of Iranian climbers on the west wall . unfinished. |
| Bidad | Qazvin climbers | 7b, A3+ | Opened in 6 days on the west wall by a group of Qazvin climbers led by F.Mijoji . |
Topo Alamkuh
Samavar stone , a very famous stone in the area .
Southface of Alamkuh :
Southface of Alamkuh is another heaven in the area of Takht-e-Soleyman . This area is less technical but still consist of high mountains . The access way is from Vandarbon hut and then drive with 4wd cars to Tang-e-Galoo and then trekking to Hesarchal valley ( 3700 m ) . From here it’s possible to Trek to high mountains like Lashgarak , Menar , Gardoonkuh , Khersan and Alamkuh itself . Theses summits are more than 4200 meters above sea level .
I hope this article helps you to have enough information about Alamkuh area . Please send an email to me if you have any further questions .
Hamid.shafaghi@gmail.com
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