#OmanPride: Oman team braves bad weather in Iran peak bid

Muscat: A group of Oman-based climbers recently attempted to climb the 5,671 metres high Mount Damavand in Iran, but returned after they were only 671 metres away from the summit due to extreme weather conditions and safety reasons.
Seven climbers from the Outward Bound Oman (OBO), including six Omanis and one Moroccan, took up the challenge and recently attempted to climb Mount Damavand, the highest volcano in Asia and the tallest peak in the Middle East and West Asia.
After reaching 5,000 metres, however, the group had to turn back due to bad weather which brought strong winds and intense cold that kept them from reaching the summit.
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To acclimatise themselves with the Iranian terrain, the group had successfully climbed Mount Tochal, whose summit rises to 3,993 metres. They accomplished this with their own equipment and then set out to greater heights to Mount Damavand using mules to carry their bags.
Once the members reached 4,250 metres at Mount Damavand, they split and tried getting to the summit taking different routes, but had to return at 5,000 metres.
The group left Muscat for Iran on May 13 and returned on May 20. Two instructors from Outward Bound Oman -- Mohammed Al Touqi and Sokayna El Hadad -- were part of the team of seven.
Like other parts of the world, Iran has had a long harsh winter and by mid-May, much of the snow is usually gone, but this year Damavand was covered in more snow than usual.
“In such intense conditions, climbers would wear specialist footwear, but because we were not expecting it to be as intense, we tried the climb without such footwear and that made it harder for us to move,” said Mohammed al Touqi, one of the two instructors from OBO.
“The OBO was the only group to attempt to climb the summit that day. Others kept away due to the weather. For safety reasons, it wasn’t possible to continue past 5,000 metres,” Sokayna El Hadad, the other instructor from OBO, said. The team greatly enjoyed their trip to Iran, and described the scenery and Tehran as stunning. Everybody achieved personal successes, many challenging themselves more than ever before. They can all be proud that they conquered Mount Tochal and were very close to the summit of Mount Damavand under extreme weather conditions.
“An ascent of Damavand embodies all that Outward Bound stands for. It is a non-technical mountain, but a climb requires participants to draw upon their inner resolve, initiative, physical fitness and determination to succeed,” said Mark Evans, General Manager of OBO.