Alam-kuh

Know Before You Go

TREKKING ROUTES

Alam Kuh has two main trekking routes, one on the south face and the other on the north face of the mountain. The southern route is the chosen route of most trekking tours as it is a normal trekking route without technical difficulties. Conquering Alam Kuh by the northern route is more difficult and requires higher mountain climbing skills due to its steep foothills thus; few tours are held in the north face.
Both southern and northern routes begin at Vandarbon village, one of the subordinate villages of Kelardasht. Kelardasht is a 5-6 hour drive away from Tehran and afterward, there are another 2 hours left till Vandarbon Camp (2200 meters).

• The northern route: The northern trekking route begins directly after the Vandarbon camp. This route is also known as the Alamchal route referring to Alamchal glacier, located near Alam Kuh big wall. The northern route goes on until Sarchal hut ( 3950m ) and after that to Alamchal camp, located over Alamchal glacier (4200 m). This camp doesn’t have a hut or shelter. Trekking up to Sarchal takes 4 to 5 hours and another 2 3 hours of trekking is left for reaching Alamchal camp. The route from Sarchal to Alamchal is not steep and the elevation gain is only 300 meters however; it’s long and covered in the moraine. Several summits such as Takht-e Soleyman, Siah Kaman, Shaun are visible on the way up to Alamchal glacier. The rest of the route up to Alam Kuh summit is known as Siahsang ridge. This route passes by Siahsang summit and under Shakhak Peak. The name, meaning black stone, refers to the black stones seen on this ridge. Ascending to the summit from Alamchal takes 6 hours. Siahsang ridge is stony and steep however; using ropes is unnecessary.


• German Flank route: This route is accessible via both Nandal and Gazane villages and passes by Takht E Fereydon shelter at 4350 meters of elevation. Yakahr Glacier and the valley can be seen at the leftside fo the route, adding to its the charm .Many mountaineers believe the northeastern route is the most beautiful of all.


• Big wall route: It’s also possible to conquer Alam Kuh summit through routes passing over Alam Kuh big wall. Among the many routes that Iranians and teams of other nations have opened on this wall the Italian route (48), Polish route (52) and French route are the most famous.
  Conquering Mount Alam through Alam Kuh big wall is a unique and amazing experience,however; it requires high level of fitness and sufficient experience in rock climbing and big wall climbing.
  In addition to its height (50 m), Alam Kuh big wall is located in more than 400 meters of altitude where the functionality of the body reduces due to acclimatization issues thus only those with enough experience in multi-pitch climbing can handle this climb assuming that they’ve also had regular training.
  Alam Kuh big wall is comparable with the big walls in the Alps and the climb is no less technical than technical climbs in the Alps. The climbing grade of ascending Alam Kuh big wall is variable and can be either Aid climbing, Trad climbing or a combination of the two, depending on the chosen route.


• The southern route: The southern trekking route begins at Tang-e Galu (2800 m) after passing a 20km long dirt road. Afterwards, the route continues to Hersachal base camp (3750 m) with a gentle slope and passes above the beautiful snowfields. It’s possible to conquer other summits in Takht-e Soleyman region located near Hesrachal such as Lashgarak, GardunKuh, Setareh, Menar, South Khersan , North Khersan and Majikesh. All of these summits are over 4000 meters high and conquering them can help the acclimatization for climbing Mount Alam. The rest of the route to Alam Kuh summit is a normal trekking route and takes the mountaineers to the peak after 5 hours of trekking.


• Other routes: There are also other routes available for conquering Alam Kuh and the summit is reachable via almost all of the other nearby mountains. However; these routes are rarely used due to lack of water supply and shelters. Most of these used are only used for special programs.