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- Mount Ararat, 16,897’ Winter Expedition
- “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
I believe the essence of being alive is celebrating each day that you are alive by stepping up to the daily challenges and surpassing them with courage, faith and hard work as well as contributing to the world with your positive actions.
For the past few years, I have had the privilege of celebrating my birthday, December 12th on a mountain just because it is the place I feel closest to God along with other personal feelings.
I had initially chosen to climb Elbrus via Southside even though I had successfully summitted in October of 2019 via North side. I had yet experienced a winter expedition which can be even more dangerous, colder with harsher conditions. But with Covid-19 restrictions and new Omicron variant, traveling to Russia would not be possible.
Even though my ultimate goal is to complete the 7 World Summits (I have completed 4 thus far), there are many mountains all over the world which I have a true desire to meet and climb. On my list was Mount Ararat, 16,897’/5136m located in Agri, Turkey.
Of the research I had done, all companies suggested to climb between the months of June through September to fully enjoy the warm weather and only the final 100 meters would have snow in the Summer. One website stated, “You are foolish if you climb in the winter months of December-February.”
I contacted Mt. Ararat Trek’s owner, Burhan and told him that I had a short time because of work constraints, but wanted to climb Ararat in the winter for my birthday between Dec 8–13. He didn’t hesitate to say that I am welcomed to come at any time, but he also clarified that it was ME that was choosing the date.
Earlier this year, I summitted the tallest peak in North America Denali, 20,310' located in one of the coldest places on Earth in Alaska, so I was confident that I had the proper gear and mental fortitude for a winter expedition.
5 days off from my jobs were approved and my ticket with Turkish Airlines was booked! I was nervous of the unknown of traveling and climbing in a new country. I made sure I went to church prior to my flight as well as provided my sister my itinerary and guide’s contact info.
It had been 8 months since my 2nd Pfizer Covid Vaccine shot, so I also got the 3rd Booster shot as well as the required PCR test prior to my flight.
The flight from NYC’s JFK directly to Istanbul was over 10 hours, but Turkish Airlines provided top notch services including hearty and delicious meals, Wi-Fi and a great movie selection. With a 6-hr layover in Instabul and then an additional 3-hour flight to Agri, I spent 19 hrs in travel, but I finally arrived in Agri!
Upon my arrival, I tried to ask the personnel about my baggage and quickly discovered that no one spoke any English. As a Professional Spanish Interpreter/Translator, I am fully aware of language barriers, but now I was at the other end.
I finally met my Guide and within a few minutes of speaking, I realized that his English was also very limited and found myself gesturing and using my phone as a translator from English to Kurdish. Thankfully, the ride to the Ertur hotel was about an hour and as soon as we got there, I took out all my gear to see what I would need and what I could leave.
Although he said I should leave my ice axe, I packed it anyway. This was a winter expedition and there was no way I was going without it. I was definitely tired and feeling the 8-hr time difference between NYC and Turkey. The plan was to meet the next day on Thursday, December 9th at 9am where we would head to the base of Mount Ararat and start the trek to Camp 1.
Thankfully, I set my alarm for 6am which was 2 p.m. in NYC because without it, I am not sure I would’ve woke up. I felt disoriented, but quickly got up to finish packing and took a shower before heading down for breakfast.
Although I maintain a healthy clean diet back home, I usually will stuff myself right before the start of an expedition because my digestion is the 1st thing to get affected in the altitudes where my portions are cut more than half.
A driver in a large group van and my Guide, Burhan picked me up right after 9 a.m. I chose to sit up front with the Driver who didnt speak a word of English, but I wanted to take in the scenery as well as pictures.
During the ride, the Guide said that in reality, the season for climbing was over since October. He tried to explain how beautiful and warm it was in the Summer months where he gets large groups of 20 and 30 people at a time who get treated to daily meals, showers and restrooms at the camps. “It is better service than 5-Star hotel! People don’t want to come down from Camps in Summer,” said Burhan.
Being in large groups and being treated to all those luxuries has never appealed to me at all. It is the reason I climbed Elbrus via North side because all those luxuries were eliminated. Part of growth to me is learning how to stay positive and overcome challenges with as little help as possible.
We arrived at the Base and met with the man in charge of the horses who would help carry up 2 bags of large heavy wood, gas, water and other essential items. I immediately felt bad for the horses as the heavy bags were placed on them and tied tightly with a rope. Along with the horses, there was a large white dog who immediately came up to me. Her name was Gerchi. “Hello Mama! You are so pretty!” I said to her as I rubbed her belly.
It was very cold and the trails were fully covered in snow from the base of the mountain. “In the Summer it is so warm and beautiful and there is no snow until the last 100 meters to the top!” repeated the Guide for what seemed like the 10th time. “Cold and Snow is no problem for me. I love the snow!” I replied.
The trek up was beautiful indeed with every thing covered in snow. I could not stop smiling until we met his friend midway up and he was visibly upset. I didn’t understand anything they were saying and I asked what was going on. “My friend who is poor is upset because wolves ate his horses last night here on the mountain.” The horses are part of how they make a living.
“WAIT! WHAT? Wolves?” I asked in a terrified tone. Apparently there are wolves and bears that come looking for food at the camps on Mount Ararat. I learned that a bear had destroyed one of my Guide’s tents a couple of months ago looking for food as well. We were the only ones currently on the mountain, therefore, a huge target. I felt nauseous!
“What the hell did I get myself into,” I thought to myself as I texted my sister on WhatsApp on what was going on. To my surprise, this would be the 1st mountain I had ever been on that had full Wi-Fi available.
We finally arrived at Camp 1 before sunset and a fire was started to keep us somewhat warm while dinner and tents were being set.
That fire was worth a million bucks! “In the Summer, there is never snow in the camps. It is so warm and everyone enjoys outside not like this,”said the Guide yet again. Right before I was about to respond something I would’ve regretted, I noticed that Gerchi followed us up! “Gerchi! Mama! So nice to see you!” I said while hugging her.
“Oh Good! She can watch outside for the wolves and bears,” said the Guide as he was handing me a plate full of food that had chicken, meat, tomatoes and bread. We were at 10,500ft and I was not particularly hungry and instead gave more than half of my plate to Gerchi while he wasn’t watching.
Being a Dog Mom to my rescue dog Jack for almost 12 years now, I couldn’t help worry about Gerchi. I was instantaneously crushed when I saw her trying to get comfortable in the cold snow. “She angry because she is cold,” said the Guide.
“Can’t she sleep inside the tent with me please?” I asked. “Oh no! Dogs dont sleep inside tent. She will be ok.” He replied.
Now, it was starting to get dark and colder. The wind was picking up and it had also started to snow. I asked yet again about bringing Gerchi inside, but the answer was the same. So, I took out 4 of my jackets and placed 2 underneath and 2 over Gerchi to help warm her up. In a matter of minutes, she was snoring.
The plan was to move up to Camp 2 at 3800m/14,200' tomorrow morning, so I wanted to get some solid rest. It was close to 9 p.m. and I had started to drift into a deep sleep until I hear Burhan yell, “YOU HEAR THAT?” I jumped up and said, “What is going on?” He started banging a spoon into a metal of some sorts and yelling. After a few minutes, he went on to say “It was just a Fox. I thought it was the wolves or bear.”
My hopes for getting any sleep were totally gone. A few minutes later I was startled by a loud noise, but it was just the Guide’s incredibly loud snoring. I did not get one wink of sleep and even went out 3 times to check on Gerchi and added a few layers to keep her warm. At one point, she lifted her head and our eyes met. I knew she was thankful.
At 8 am, I woke the Guide up from his deep sleep and told him I was exhausted from worrying and not sleeping all night. There was no way I could go up to Camp 2 this way and instead suggested I rest and we make a summit push from Camp 1 which would require me to ascend over 6,000 ft in the snow.
“That is very difficult Patrika but if you want to rest and do that we can do that and we will wake up at 2am and start at 3am,” said the Guide. For some reason, the people in Turkey insisted on calling me “Patrika” which made me cringe and I had to correct them.
The guy with the horses came promptly at 9 a.m. and he helped make breakfast. Everything had frozen over night. Everything! He had also mentioned that the horses could not go all the way to Camp 2 because of the ice.
I gave almost all my breakfast to Gerchi and although I was sad to see her go, she left with the horses.
After breakfast, I went inside the tent to take a desperately needed nap of perhaps 2 hours. As soon as I got up it was nearly lunch time. The Guide kept offering me “Chai” which was really black tea. It seemed like it was all he constantly consumed along with a cigarette.
I have met a few guides that smoke after an expedition, but not like this. All through the unexpected things that were happening, I prayed and tried to stay positive.
I had a small dinner meal of chicken and rice with tomatoes as the sun was setting at 4:30 p.m.. Gerchi wasnt around to give her any of my food, so I had no choice and tried to eat almost everything.
I went inside the tent by 6 p.m.and set my alarm for 2 a.m. even though I didnt think I would need it. I listened to the soft sounds of Enya and spoke with my sister amd tried to get some sleep but couldn’t. The wind was shaking the tent violently at times and the Guide was snoring.
I climbed Denali on zero sleep and food on summit day, so I am familiar with this feeling. At 2 am, again, I am the one waking up the Guide. “Hey! Its 2 am!” I said loudly. “It is very windy, we must wait. Go to sleep,” he replied.
Undoubtedly it was windy, but it wasn’t severe. It may have been about 30 mph winds which to me is totally doable having climbed Mount Washington several winters in above 50 mph winds.
I was at his mercy and waited until 4:30 am before waking him up again. “Still too windy. Go to sleep,” he mumbled. I wasn’t sure what to do except wait. At 6:30 am, I woke him up for the last time amd once again he said it was too windy. I got out of the tent and said, “It is beautiful! Just cold but it is NOT too windy! We must go now!’
He got out and realized that what I was saying was true. “It’s very late. We will see how high we can go. We leave right now,” he said. My backpack was already packed from the night before, but in all the rush, I failed to pack it with extra water.
I had my ice axe in hand and asked him where was his. “Ice axe not necessary,” he said dismissively. The steep incline climbing started almost immediately and the above the ankle and sometimes knee deep snow at the start caught him by surprise. I would later learn that he had never ascended Ararat in the pure winter.
There were no footprints or clearly marked trail and we were the ones opening and breaking trail. At times, we did not know where we were stepping and our feet would just sink in waist deep which made for an incredibly slow and difficult pace. We arrived at 13,800’/4200m almost 6 hours later at 1 p.m. “Patrika, it is very cold and I think this is a good place to take picture and turn around. Mount Ararat will always be here and you can come back in Summer,” said the Guide.
I took the picture but had to plead with him, “Please! I don’t want to turn around! I traveled 19 hours to come here. I am NOT cold and I feel fine. I am going slow because of snow conditions but I can continue. I just need some extra water and we can go.”
Up until then, all I had seen him do was drink black tea from his thermos. “I don’t have extra water,” he said. He had only brought his thermos and a 6 oz water that had frozen. I had brought my 1 liter Nalgene and a 16 ounce water, but was running low with just about 6 ounces left, so I got snow and filled the rest of my Nalgene to the rim. “That’s enough! Snow no good for stomach,” he said.
We continued on in the deep snow and exposed rocks making it very challenging and drained our energy. He must have asked me to turn around a half a dozen times, but my reply was the same. My phone was nearly dead as the cold had drained the battery. As we got closer to the summit, I managed to snap a pic right before it died completely!
The sun set and I was completely out of water. There wasn’t an opportunity to be happy and enjoy anything. “Now it will be dark soon and we have no water,” said the Guide as he had ran out way before I did.
The descent on snow and rocks with crampons in the dark was painful and cold and there was not a soul on the mountain. I thought about my dog Jack and my sister back home and tears ran down my cheeks. “Just keep moving forward no matter what,” I kept saying to myself trying not to think of how insanely thirsty I was.
The Guide took a few hard spills and if I didnt have my ice axe, the same would’ve happened to me. At one point, I fell to my knees and ate snow for a few minutes.
After 16 challenging hours, we made it back to Camp 1 where he gave me the best tasting Pepsi I had ever tasted! He helped me get my crampons and boots off while he rushed and cooked a plate of white rice and tomatoes. As I changed, I cried and called my sister. I was happy to have made it back to the tent safely and with all my fingers and toes intact.
The next morning, we packed and made the descent all the way back to base and Gerchi came to say Goodbye as well. I kissed the horses goodbye who had been so friendly to me and we made our way back to the Ertur hotel.
That night I packed after a long hot shower and was looking forward to going home. It was what I wanted more than anything.
I was surprised to see a Taxi outside waiting for me. Burhan said that he got booked for a last minute tour, but would have his cousin who was a Taxi driver and did not speak any English, drop me off at the airport. He shook my hand and sent me off.
Within 20 minutes, I received an urgent text message from Turkish Airlines saying that my flight has been cancelled due to unsafe weather. A few minutes after as we drove into a fog, I understood why my flight was cancelled.
I called Burhan and I managed to tell him the situation. However, I still wanted to.go straight to airport and somehow fly home even if I had to drive to a different further airport. He communicated with his cousin and we arrived at the airport 90 minutes later.
The airport was a ghost town. The security agents did not speak English and I had to use my phone translator which helped me get to the agents at Turkish Airlines. After 2 hrs of the most difficult communication, they scheduled me to fly to Ankara out of Ezrum Airport which was 4 hours away. In Ankara, I would have a 6-hr layover before going to Istanbul for my final connection to NYC.
The Taxi driver agreed to drive me for $700 Turkish Liria which is equivalent to $45 USD. I gave him $850 Liria. As we were driving to Ezrum Airport, all of a sudden the military and police were fighting with about 6 men with long beards and struggling to handcuff them.
I was immediately terrified and asked what was hapoening! “Big Problem! Afghanistan! no need passpport to come to Turkey!” said the Taxi Driver. “Please go fast,” I said to him while I called my sister and told her what to do if she didnt hear back from me within the next hour.
Prior to booking this trip, the last thing I ever thought of was the exact location of where I was going. All I thought about was climbing mountains.
A few minutes later, we arrived at Ezrum Airport and I had a 4hr wait. I was the only one there at the moment and could not wait to start boarding to Ankara where I would take the required PCR test before getting to NYC.
The travel on the way back took a total of 30 hrs, but I don’t remember being so happy to finally be back home in New York City. They say that traveling is good for the soul because you learn to be truly grateful for what you have.
In this trip, I learned that proper extensive research is imperative before such an important climb. Mt. Ararat Trek company has a very high summit success rate in the Summer and they are highly recommended with amazing services in the Summer only.
In closing, I still have much gratitude for this memorable climb as we are a compilation of our experiences. I strive every day to be a better person and become the person God intended me to be as well as contribute to the world in a positive way.
My journey continues with the Mountains as I keep moving forward with my “Climbing for a Dream, 7 Summits” project. 4 World Summits done, 3 to Go!
For sponsorship, please contact me at: climbingforadream@gmail.com
Back home with Jack!
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