Successful GA concluded in Iran

22 Oct 2008

The 2008 General Assembly of the UIAA was held in Teheran, I R Iran from October 16-18. It was, according to the organisers, the first time a GA of an international sport federation was held in Iran.

Opened by Mr Mohammad Aliabadi, the Vice President of I R Iran, the meeting's main agenda items included elections to the Management Committee and the Executive Board, discussions on the significant increase in the number of mountaineering and climbing equipment carrying the UIAA Safety Label, as well as issues related to competitive sports. On this issue, the Ski Mountaineering Federation ISMF voted not to become a UIAA unit member.

The commissions reported on successful UIAA events and ongoing projects (such as youth camps, updating the Tyrol Declaration, research in mountain medicine, and assessing mountaineering themes in advertisements).

Germany's Pit Schubert was elected honorary member in recognition of his lifetime work to improve the quality of mountaineering equipment through the development of new standards and testing methods.

Jan Bonding and Nico de Jong were re-elected to the Executive Board and members Paola Gigliotti and Zhixin Li were replaced by Italy's Silvio Calvi and Switzerland's Rita Christen. The terms of the other board members, President Mike Mortimer, Vice President Jordi Colomer and Peter Farkas do not expire until 2010.

For the Management Committee, the following representatives were elected from the largest federations: Frank Urs Müller, SAC; Georges Elzière, FFCAM and  Joan Garrigos,  FEDME. From the regions of the world, they were: Mark Richey, AAC for North America; Michael Pupeza, CAR for Europe; Roland Magg, MCSA for Africa; Homayoun Baktiari,  IR IMF for Asia and John Nankervis, NZAC for Oceania. No candidate was elected for South America. The final five seats were allocated to Fumio Tanaka, JMA; Stefano Tirinzoni, CAI; Dimitris Georgoulis, EOOA; Frits Vrijlandt, NKBV and Doug Scott from the BMC.

The UIAA expressed its thanks to the Iranian Mountaineering Federation for its warm hospitality and excellent organisation, especially the efforts of  Homayun Bakhtiyari and Shiva Farsi who were always on hand to deal efficiently with delegates' requests, including some that seemed impossible.

Mt Damavand

Following the GA, many participants took the opportunity to climb Mount Damavand, a volcano and the highest peak in the region at 5,671 metres. Earlier this year, it was designated as the country's first National Natural Heritage Site.

Situated in the Albourz Range, it is only 100km from Teheran and 75km from the Caspian sea. Damavand's crater has a diameter of about 180 metres. The slopes and skirts are filled with volcanic lava and yellowish sulfuric rocks, and there are a number of small volcanic mouths near the peak from which leak sulfur gases. "Although Damavand has been dormant for 100,000 years, geologists have not denied it might become active again," said Bakhtiyari.

Of Damavand's many glaciers, the most important are Dobisel and Sioleeh in the north and Yakhar in the east.

The I. R. Iran Mountaineering Federation has plans to build what it describes as one of the world's highest shelters at 4,000m on this mountain to provide appropriate facilities for climbers.

The peak is reached by an eight-hour trek followed by an eight-hour climb along one of four main routes. Each has a refuge for climbers. 

The president of the Czech Mountaineering Association, Alena Ottová Čepelková, was one of the GA attendees who took advantage of her visit to Iran to climb Damavand. 

She set off with Hiro Saso of Japan, John Nankervis of New Zealand and Norway's Harald Kippenes. The group reached the 3,000m base camp in Goofsand Sara and Čepelková and Kippenes were the two members of the group who eventually made the summit with their guide. 

Although visibility was poor, Čepelková said the group of international climbers was very impressed by the "very friendly and nice Iranian people" they met.

There were no encounters with the monster who is said to inhabit the summit, according to one of the many legends surrounding Damavand.

Since the mountain is the country's national symbol, its picture adorns bank notes, credit cards and bus tickets.

But Bakhtiyari points out that Damavand is only one of many climbing opportunities in Iran, from simple routes and trekking to very technical winter or summer ascents on mountains such as Alam-Kouh (4,850m) with a 750m vertical granite face.

Other popular climbing areas are Kuh-e-Bisotun, Alam Kouh (4,850m), Takht-e-Soleiman (4659m),  and Mt. Saballan (4,800m).

For a slide show of Iran's mountain landscapes, visit our photo gallery page.