Like in the Alps and Caucasus, the snow conditions were poor in Armenia as well during past winter months. In Aspen though, where I spent skiing and teaching for the ski school there, it was a decent early season and very good snow throughout the season. Then came the long awaited March to guide for ski touring in Armenia.
I finally skied one of my projects in Fox Mountains, solo. My skiing buddies were busy to support me on this backcountry trip, and the weather is warming drastically in the valley now, so it had to be done now or postponed to next year which I didn't like for some reasons.
One of the best seasons in terms of snow abundance and stability during the past decade in Armenia. Although without ski-touring tourists this winter, we made it quite fun anyway!
On Feb 22, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia reported an avalanche accident in Kotayk Province on the slopes of Mt. Teghenis 2851m.
Could it be an any better time for route setting than a COVID lockdown period?
10 new sport climbing routes (14 pitches) we set this September in Noravank Canyon. Our friend Martin Tučka from Czech Republic, who visited to our Armenian Rock Climbing Festival in 2013 and put number of sport routes here, was back again for this project.
During the warm winter in Armenia, the only colds for ice climbing we found on early Feb on the north of Armenia, famous waterfall “Trchkan” to which no ice pick has touched before.
Rumors about this amazing program of rock climbing and mountaineering in Armenia and Georgia had been started in between American Alpine Club and Alpine Club of Iran years ago, in 2011..
When Sam Bie emailed me about their wish to visit Armenia with Alex Chabot and establish new routes on basalt columns then I realized that the rock climbing is going to rise on the new level in Armenia.
On late Oct our guests were Morteza Eftekhar, with his family, in the group of Naser Ararat, from Iran.
With Jan Pala, we had planned this ski-tour trip in Armenia around a year ago.
This time we were honored to host the iconic mountain guides Claude Jaccoux and Alberto Re in Armenia.
A great pleasure and fun is to ski with a good friend Alexey Shustrov, who investigated so much to promote ski touring in Armenia.
Aghvan Chatinyan was born on December 14, 1927 in Vardapluri, a village in Stepanavan, Armenia.
8/38 Margaryan str., 0036 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Tel: +374-93-337-937, +374-93-318-006.