Takht-e Suleyman Massif

Takht-e Soleyman Massif (Persian: گرانکوه تخت سليمان‎) is a subrange of central Alborz mountains. [1] In the area, about 160 distinct peaks higher than 4,000m are distinguishable, with the highest, most famous, and most technical one: Alam Kuh, 4,850m. The area can be captured inside a rectangle of 30 km width and 40 km length. The massif is limited to Taleqan valley from south, Kelardasht green plane from east, Abbas Abad rain forest & thick vegetated hills/slopes at north, and Shahsavar rain forests and Se Hezar valley at west.

Discovery

The original and pre Islamic name is Takht-e-Jamshid - The Takht-e-Soleiman region was virtually unknown until the 1930s. Freya Stark travelled there in 1931 and described her thwarted efforts to climb Takht-e Suleyman in The Valleys of the Assassins.[2] Douglas Busk, a British mountaineer, explored the area in 1932,[3] and made the first recorded ascent of Alam Kuh in 1933 via the east ridge.[4] Later on, Busk along with Professor Bobek made a detailed survey of this area. In 1936 the north-west ridge (called Germans flank) of Alam Kuh was climbed for the first time by German mountaineers, which was considered a great achievement among European climbers.

References

  1. ↑ http://images.summitpost.org/original/429880.JPG
  2. ↑ Freya Stark, The Valleys of the Assassins and Other Persian Travels (London, 1934)
  3. ↑ D.L. Busk, Climbing and ski-ing in the Elburz Range, North Persia, 1931-2: The Alpine Journal, v. 45, p. 334-341 (1933).
  4. ↑ D.L. Busk, Climbing in the Takht-i-Suleiman Group, N. Persia: The Alpine Journal, v. 47, p. 299-309 (1935).

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