News Source:Iran Mountain Zone - mountainzone.ir
This report is a description of events started with the idea formation of "2nd Superior Rock Climbing Festival" by ALPINE CLUB OF IRAN (ACI) and ended with 14 new routes on "Sang-e-Sar Sol" wall in Semnan province north of Iran.
First day of July, 2009 was a Wednesday that a hot news but to some extent vague came up on the official website of Alpine Club of Iran; "Detect Big Walls in Your Area". ACI was looking for information about virgin walls throughout the country to define a new route opening project for a common Iranian and French team among mutual collaborations between them and French "GHM". This began in 2007, when 3 members of "GHM" came to Iran during the "1st Superior Rock Climbing Festival" and hold courses on "Aid Climbing Techniques" to a group of Iranian climbers, who were gathered by ACI.
The deadline was passed and there was just one pack of information on the desk. It was about a rocky canyon in NW side of Mahdi-Shahr city in "Semnan" province that is called "Karkouh" canyon.
Cold seasons were in the way and still "Karkouh" was the only choice for the project. Therefore, ACI delegated a team to have a survey of that canyon. During that trip, started on September 12th, Ali Karimi and Omid Saafi opened a 70m route on a conglomerate wall in the canyon. They spent two days and bolted almost the whole route.
Returning back to Tehran, their satisfaction inspired ACI’s executive board to plan more seriously for the second festival. Its Public announcement commenced on October 4th, but with a different style from last festival. Through the announcement, they had called all climbers interest in bouldering, sport climbing and big wall climbing to take part in this gathering aiming to open new routes on crags and walls of "Karkouh". Also, after a few negotiations with French GHM, Antoin Cayrol and François Bernard were mentioned as their representatives. They arrived in Tehran two days prior to festival’s opening on Sunday, November 15th.
Eventually, in Monday’s evening, attendees plus executive board members left Tehran toward Mahdi-Shahr city in the NW side of Semnan province and accommodated in apartments belong to city council of Mahdi-Shahr.
By transporting 31 climbers toward "Karkouh" canyon in the next morning, the 2nd Superior Rock Climbing Festival was officially opened on Tuesday, 17 th of November. "Karkouh" is located 8 km NW of Mahdi-Shahr in altitude range of 1300m to 1500m.
Climbers seemed unsatisfied with the region. Just two pitches and mostly bolted have been opened by Seyed Mehdi Hashemian, Farshad Mayjouji and Mehdi Razaghiha, who were from Qazvin province. Hashemian was a member of national sport climbing team during last few years.
Asking about the reason of dissatisfaction of climbers, we were responded by Hasan Gerami, who was the technical authority of festival as follow:
"Cracks begin approximately 25m far beyond the ground so that one should use aid climbing techniques or drill bolts in these meters. Aid climbing techniques were not that much common used among the attendees and bolting needed so much energy and time. Also, it was supposed to promote "Clean Climbing" method during the festival, which is totally opposite to that much bolting. Therefore, rest of climbers denied to ascent just a few meters and spent their time bouldering. It was a situation of anxiousness that forced us to consult with a few local guides if they could show any other climbing resort around Mahdi-Shahr. Meanwhile, locals whispered about a valley in northern side of the city with the name of "Sar Darband". Inevitably, but hopefully we derived toward."
Looking after a right spot, the group came across a rocky tower approximately 200m tall, located in the middle of "Sar Darband", but they still kept going. Seven kilometers further up not far than the sandy road into the valley they caught sight of a huge limestone wall approximately with 250m height and 700m width in the north side.
It is called "Sang-e-Sar Sol". "Sang-e-Sar" is a territory expands between eastern shoulders of East Alborz range and western Semnan province and assumed as summer pasture for same named nomads, while the word "Sol" means "big rock" in local dialect. So, complete phrase of "Sang-e-Sar Sol" means big rock of "Sang-e-Sar" territory.
The new wall was more compatible with festival’s objectives and participants ’ desires, so "Karkouh" was totally forgotten afterwards.
Antoin and Ben (François) were the first rope mates managed to open a new route in the eastern part of the wall. Due to several photos, participants took them after coming down; French climbers put the name of "Séance Photo" on that 180 m route with difficulty grade of 5.10b.
There were 4 other multi-pitch routes, which started at the foot and ended at the top of "Sang-e-Sar Sol".
French guys along with Afshin Ramezani, a climber from Karaj city, climbed 230 meters with difficulty grade of again 5.10b and mentioned it "Afshin".
Araki climbers, Abbas Mohammadi and Pezhman Zafari climbed 240m in the folding line of the wall. They assigned the name of "Kiana" and difficulty grade of a range between 5.10c to 5.11d to free climbing pitches and A2 to the last pitch. It is worth noting that Abbas and Pezhman are in a preparatory process to climb a big wall outside Iran, next summer.
"Laneh Oghab" or "Eagle’s Nest" is another route in the left hand side of "Séance Photo" that completely climbed by a team composed of Arash mountaineers club’s veteran, Hussain Hizom-Kar, Masoud Zeynali and Amir Goudarzi. They traversed a 2-meter wide ledge in the fourth pitch and continued along "Séance Photo" to the very top of the wall.
Coming from Khoram-Abad city in western Iran, Dariush Abdalian in a rope with Pouya Jafari reached the top via a 125m route in the eastern end of the wall and named that bolted route "Kal-Ma", which means "Deer’s Shelter" in "luri" dialect. They were interested in sport climbing routes and bolted another 12-meter route in the left hand side of "Kiana", which was called "Ambiguity", unfinished obviously.
Members of "Hemmat Shemiran" mountaineering groups of Tehran, cleanly climbed two 50-meter routes with the names of "Hemmat Shemiran" and "Se-Pandoul" on the either sides of "Sang-e-Sar Sol". The rope-mates were Saeid Taheri and Bouye Sadat-Nia.
Alike climbers of "Hemmat Shemiran" group, Saman Mafakheri, Rahman Moradianim and Mehdi Abbasi as members of "Ghajer" Mountaineering Group of "Ghorveh" city in Kurdistan province opened a 110-meter route, named "Saman" and a 25-meter one, named "Ghajer". Last few meters of "Saman" ends in the middle of "Séance Photo".
At the right hand side of "Ghajer", again seyed Mehdi Hashemian and his rope-mates from Qazvin opened two sport routes next to each other, respectively with 25m and 100m length. The first route’s name was put "Kamin" means "Ambush" and the second one was named "Qazvini-ha" regarding their hometown.
The 13th route was result of an attempt by Ali Karimi, who was a member of festival’s executive board at the same time and Hussain Boland-Akhtar both from Damavand Ski and Mountaineering Club of Tehran. That nameless 32m tall route has difficulty grade of 5.10a.
The last route was opened on western end of the wall, where Esmaeel Motehayer-Pasand along with Zohreh Abdollah-Khani and Samira Samimi climbed 28 m and named it "Zohreh".
Eventually, 14 routes on "Sang-e-Sar Sol" wall in "Sar Darband" valley and 1 route on a wall in "Karkouh" canyon were generated at the end of "2nd Superior Rock Climbing Festival". Among routes on "Sang-e-Sar Sol", five routes start at the foot of the wall and after climbing more than 3 pitches reach to the top, while the rest has at most 2 pitches and aborted somewhere in the middle of the walls. Four of these abortive routes are bolted and seems proper for sport climbing.
At the closure of "2nd Superior Rock Climbing Festival", a few attendees declared their viewpoints especially on the subject of new detected wall in "Sar Darband" valley. May be, they worth reading.
Abbas Mohammadi, who along with his friend, Pezhman, managed to open the longest and probably the most difficult route during the festival, told: "Any style of climbing is possible with any quality on "Sang-e-Sar Sol" wall. One should use various techniques to climb a complete route on this big limestone and it makes him feel well."
Hussain Hizom-Kar compares it with Pol-e-Khab, a climbing resort near Tehran, and said: "This wall offers good opportunities for climbers in Mahdi-Shahr and suburban to improve their climbing skills. "Sang-e-Sar Sol" wall’s role for climbers in Semnan province could be very similar to that of "Pol-e-Khab" wall for climbers in Tehran province."
Iranian famous climber, Mohammad-Taghi Bahrevar, who had a translator role during the festival, said: "If I am asked to assign a grade from 1 to 10 to this wall, I will give 8, due to its accessibility, adequate width and height and its orientation. Besides, it is a virgin wall and offers many possibilities for a climbing team to enjoy."
