The Summit

MountainViews newsletter for guestuser

July 2023

HILLWALKING
NEWS - INFORMATION - RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS - FEATURES - FORUMS

Looking east from Cronamuck in the Bluestacks
- Meenanea is the rocky prominence to the right of centre.
For original track, click here.

Picture from Bolus head in Iveragh NW
View from summit taken just after sunrise.
For original track, click here.

Slioch, Scotland
above Loch Maree
For the original summit comment, click here.

Regions: MOUNTAIN COMMENTS - TRIP REPORTS - TRACKS - SUMMARIES
In short: Discovery

MOTLEY GATHERING

Armenia - Mount Khustup

Dawn at 2000m

The verdant mountains of Armenia

The town of Kapan is in a sheltered river valley with contrasted with the dry heat of some of the areas we had passed through. It is at a height of around 1,000 meters and we proceeded up the hill along a normal road before we hit what loosely could be called a forest track with deep ruts, mud and dizzying drop offs and switchbacks. A one hour journey over rough ground in which we were thrown around the off road vehicle like a dinghy in a force ten gale followed before we eventually made it to the campsite area at around 2,000 metres just as the sun set.

The col between Khustup's tops

After around about 100 metre ascent we left the bags behind to scramble up a rocky cleft to reach the real summit of 3,209 metres. A short down climb across to the cross which was on the edge of the rocky outcrop was a must (even though it was a few metres lower) for the obligatory photographs.

The author on the summit

Then we gingerly made our way down the rocky cleft, picked up our rucksacks and proceeded down the trail back to the camp. We stopped on the way down to admire the enormous mushrooms growing wild all around us and eventually reached the campsite after encountering some vicious dogs who were herding sheep.

A quick take down of the tents and packing the off-road vehicles meant our goodbyes to Mount Khustup were complete and away down the off route trail we went. The driver had been informed that the woman in the front seat was feeling ill and felt as if she was to vomit so he actually drove extremely cautiously until we reached Kapan given the drop offs on the way (it was a superb piece of acting on her part it has to be said). Mount Khustup was interesting and worth a climb and the views across into Iran were just about visible due to clouds coming and going.

When we reached the roads again, the sick front seat passenger was forgotten about by the driver completely. During his drive on into the town called Goris the driver restarted his lunacy and when he was asked to slow down, his response was “why, are you scared?”

Mount Khustup is an interesting climb and is surprisingly green as a lot of the landscape is very desert like on the journey there. The only issue is the drive for the overland bit, our driver for instance not being especially safety conscious.

The route

Armenia has numerous hotels and is well geared up for tourism with flights from many countries arriving in the airport called Zvarnots. There are many day trips available from Yerevan and that may be best option for most people. However, for the more adventurous who wish to travel and stay outside Yerevan the roads are not great in places, the accommodation very basic and the driving patchy at best. Information ...

-- Fergal Hingerty

Our man in Jordan

HILLWALKING IN JORDAN by Pepé

(As told to David Murphy)

The classic reveal of Petra's Treasury building

Pepé has always fancied himself as Lawrence of Arabia, so the opportunity to visit Jordan proved tempting. He set off along with long-suffering wife Sheila on a G-Adventures tour. Jordan means Petra to most people, so their first hillwalk took place there.

The Petra experience works like this: you pay 50 Jordanian Dinar at the ticket office – a whopping 65 euro but worth every cent. From the ticket office through the narrow Siq to the famous Treasury Building (familiar to most from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) is 1.2 km. After gazing in awe at the Treasury, emerge from the canyon and another 3.3 km through the ruin-studded valley (Roman, Nabataean ruins to name but two) brings you to the start of the Monastery Trail. Bear in mind that the 4.5 km you’ve walked thus far is all on a slight downhill incline so the reverse will be true on the way back.

THE STAIRS, THE STAIRS. WHAT IS THE STAIRS?

Petra has three famous trails, or ‘stairs’ as Jordanians call them. Locals refer to these hillwalks not in terms of metres height or kilometres length, but in ‘stairs’. The Monastery Trail, a must-do in Petra, is 850 ‘stairs’ approx. These ‘stairs’ or steps are not uniform; some are big, some small, some easy, some tortuous. Sometimes the stairs disappear and you’re faced with a longish stretch of rock or pathway to trudge on. One thing all stairs have in common: they go up. For this Monastery part, you trek well over half a kilometre in before the stairs start to bite.

2.5 km after the start of this trail you arrive at a wonderful natural arena housing the impressive monastery. There is a coffee-shop where you sit, recharge your batteries, and admire the Wonder of the World before you. You are at no great elevation: 810 metres more or less. Pepé, being Pepé, had to reach the highest accessible point of Monastery Hill. This entails a short further hike of less than a kilometre. Minor scrambling is involved – there are ropes and bits of metal, ferrata-style. Up top you’ll find benches to sit on and a local offering sweet Bedouin tea. Enjoy the tea which is always free. That’s to make you feel obliged to buy a trinket. If doing this, haggle like hell. Pepé splashed out on a bracelet for Sheila. Made of ‘solid silver’ so the seller said, complete with ‘precious gems from Petra’. Original asking price? Over a 100 euro. Pepé spent 12 euro on it so it may not be sterling silver and rubies after all, but the workmanship is good and it’s a nice piece. Linger at this high point and soak in the stunning views. You’ll need to rest because you’ve trekked yourself a shade under 8 km in and are faced with the same trek out.

The Monastery at Petra

Of the two remaining stairs, Pepé had time only for the easiest option: the High Place of Sacrifice. This trail consists of over 600 stairs (1.2 km one-way) and takes a mere half-hour up, half-hour down. The route is a little confusing near the top but there’s always a friendly local to ask if you’re not sure which turn to take. Views up here, as the name suggests, are literally breath-taking – go close to the edge if you dare.

The most strenuous of the trio of climbs is ‘Royal Tombs’ – more than 900 stairs. One of Pepé’s tour group, a Canadian called Cathy, said she found the route confusing. “One set of stairs might bring you onto a boulder. You can see the next set of stairs but how to get to them is not obvious. Sometimes you’ve to double back and choose a route that seems counter-intuitive,” she said. Two others in the group, Jess and Lauren, had to retrace the long stairs back down from Royal Tombs because they couldn’t find the shorter descent route.

Our tour guide hammered home to us not to take short cuts. There are plenty of ‘No Climbing’ warning signs along the valley floor. “Stick to the stairs,” he said. Several tourists fell to their deaths in 2019. The day before this visit, an Italian plummeted to his death somewhere off Royal Tombs. Word now is that Petra authorities are considering closing off parts of this route altogether.

To do all three stairs without rushing you’d need seven to eight hours. Pepé’s group had six hours in Petra. You can always take a donkey ride up the stairs, or a camel or horse ride through the valley to save time, but these are mistreated animals so best not encourage the practice by choosing this cruel option.

Wadi Rum arch

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’S DESERT: WADI RUM

There you have it – a memorable 18 km trek with two climbs thrown in. What more could you want? Another climb, that’s what. Pepé got it in Wadi Rum where, as a prelude to a night of star-gazing, the group were taken on a jeep tour to several spectacular desert sights including Needle Arch – a boulder-climb that takes a couple of minutes as it’s elevated just 15 metres or so above the sand. There are footholds to help on the way up. “Slide down on your backs,” the tour leader advised when it came to the descent. To hell with dignity, thought Pepé as he negotiated the tricky way down in this manner. He discovered that descending boulders is easy and quick – when unencumbered by bags and other equipment – if you bend over backwards and use all fours like an upside down spiderman. The trick is to keep your backside arched off the rock while in motion – let that be Pepé’s nugget of knowledge imparted for today.

On a point of interest, Jordan’s highest mountain, Jabal Umm ad Dami (1854 metres), sits in a remote part of the Wadi Rum, near the Saudi border. Not difficult to climb at all, just a pathwalk with slight scrambling. Two hours should see you summit from the usual start point. Unfortunately for Pepé, his full-on tour schedule precluded any thoughts of ascending it this visit. Maybe next time.

Map of Jordan

Information ...

-- David Murphy

Using information from EastWest mapping

SITE NEWS

CHALLENGE
A place for those interested in Challenge Walks

MountainViews Challenge Walks Calendar

The Fei Sheehy Challenge 2023
A mighty Challenge over three days to cross the Galty, Comeragh and Knockmealdown Mountains. Organised by Na Sléibhte Hillwalking Club - There are three variations of walks over three great mountain ranges.

Many of these Walks can see full registration very quickly! In the case of the ever popular Fei Sheehy Challenge for example, once the participants number 90 souls - registration closes until the following year! So be sure to avoid disappointment as they say…

Be sure to remember also, how the Challenge Walks Calendar will continue to update and publicise as more and more of these great Events are confirmed throughout the year.

So now as we’re starting to see a co ck-step in our daylight hours and barring the next serving of wild weather or a “cold snap” that seem to be a whole lot more frequent these days… there’s no real acceptable excuse for not getting muddy and boggy upon a hill or two in your own near vicinity.

This forthcoming year will see many a Hillwalking Club only delighted to welcome back the avid Challenge Hillwalker as old friendships are renewed and new ones forged true.

Support a Challenge Walk Near You!

Onwards and Upwards Boys and Girls,

Keep Safe and Enjoy Your Day!

Jim Holmes.

Using MountainViews Notifications - Daily, Weekly or Monthly.

The MountainViews ANNUAL 2022, brought out in 2023.

emVee-Tube

This month.
Kudos to our contributors.

NOTICES

• If you are contributing, please be careful to respect the interests of landowners. Suggest access routes well away from houses, gardens or that could conceivably impact farming activities. When walking, keep away from gardens or farm buildings. Use stiles or gates wherever possible. Never do anything that could allow animals to roam where the farmer did not intend. Ask permission where appropriate.
• Take care if parking and do not obstruct roads, lanes and field entrances to access by farm machinery, which can be large. Exercise your dog in parks or forests but avoid countryside or open hillside where they may worry sheep.
• Report suspicious activity to the police forces, as below.
• If your car is broken into in an upland area report it to the PSNI or Gardai as this will help them be aware of the issue and tackle it in future. Store the numbers. In Northern Ireland use the PSNI non-emergency number 0845 600 8000. In the Republic you can find the local Garda District HQs phone numbers at www.garda.ie/Stations/Default.aspx. Specifically for the hotspot of Wicklow: the Garda Divisional Headquarters in Bray is 01 6665300.
• If you hear of a problem area or route, write it up in MountainViews which does everyone a service.
  Report rubbish tipping in the Republic - ring EPA hotline 1850 365 121
  Report recreational quads in national park area (in which they are banned). They are also banned in the Mournes. For Wicklow please phone the Duty Ranger: 087-9803899 or the office during office hours Telephone: +353-404-45800. For the Mournes ring the PSNI (as above) or contact Mournes Heritage Trust. Put these numbers in your phone, take regs etc. Let MV know of contact numbers for other areas.
• If you have visited some of the less well known places, we would appreciate a place rating and also "Improve Grid Ref" for summits and other places.
• If you find errors in the basic information about places such as in their names, their heights, county name etc please use the "Propose Places Database Change" option.
• If we can, let's make MV have more than one route up a summit or to a place so as to reduce the tendency for paths to appear. Your grid refs in comments for different starting points show up on MountainViews maps as well as shared GPS tracks.
• Visit the MountainViews Facebook page.
• Visit the Challenge Walks Ireland page (jointly managed by MountainViews)

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