I'm planning to climb it in summer, so unless I'm really unlucky, I won't freeze. I might hook up with someone on the mountain, since it's too much trouble to look for someone here. I'm sure I won't be the only one attempting to summit. Besides, I'll take my time to do so.

There are sixteen known routes to the summit. Here is some good information -
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... avand.html

I won't be able to get time off in the summer, which means that the earliest I'll be able to go to Iran will be September. I was wondering how the weather would be on and around Damavand then?

I only found the second page today, so thanks for all the extra info!

I'll be sure to drop you a line when I'm leaving bijan_tango!

which route you wana try? if south (which is the more common) I should say September is the end of the summer and so the weather is going to turn cold. off course It's not extremely cold but it's cold. as said before it's an alone pyramid so there's always a considerable wind.
so although no need for double boots, but you'll need a warm & wind-stopper cloths. better to bring a tent, cause the shelter is crowded.

btw, if you're serious coming Iran, I'll glad to join you. I'll ask if some of my skilled friends would like to join (They may not cause of getting ready to go to Himalaya/Island Peak).

I will be bringing my tent as i prefer sleeping in it instead of in an overcrowded smelly shelter. That is unless the weather is really bad. I'm not too sure yet as to about which route I'll be taking. If south is most common, it's probably also most crowded. So why not try something else? I'll be vary happy to climb with someone, especially if it's someone local, who knows the language and culture. It'll be a more complete experience.

Back from both Iran and Switzerland, i took a long easterholliday this year. First of all, i did not reach the summit of Damavand, when we went up the forecast said good weather the current day and the day after. When we reached Shelter 3 however the update said a storm coming in in the afternoon the day after, which would last for three days. So instead of spending my Irantrip in a damp and cold concrete bunker, i decided to go down again in the morning, the day after. This gave me the oportunity to explore other mountainranges and peaks in the Alborz-region, so the rest of my stay was spent peakclimbing with skiis, something this area was perfect for, picked a lot of 4000`ms.

I will go back next year, but then in the summer and another route, one are dependent on so many external factors with skiis that you must include a considerable percentage of luck into your consideration.

Advice: Go directly to Rehne from the airport, in the summer the taxidriver will take you all the way up to shelter 2 (Goos fan sara) As stated before, i made use of the services of this firm: http://www.damavandiran.com/ and as expected they were great, they are flexible and has tons of experience.

If anyone has any questions i will be happy to answer.

Hi Doberman,

Happy to hear you enjoyed your stay in Iran. I don't have a lot of questions. I'm pretty sure I'm going and I'll probably take your advice and use damavandiran too. I'll try to get as long a holliday as possible and spend it climbing mountains in the alborz range, with damavand as my "finale".

Did you also spend some time in Teheran, and if you did, did you like it?

How were the locals you met in the alborz mountains? Did they speak English?

How easy/hard is it to buy food while trekking around in the alborz range?

How is transport in the alborz range?

Are there any other sites you consider worth the visit?

well I'm not able to say if you will like Iran or not but Iranian people are very hospitable so I hope you'll find it well. but if you wana employ a local service, off-course it's going to be good. they'll do everything for you but it would cost. but if you're going to spend a long time it's reasonable to save your money, so following information may be useful for you.
1-you'd better provide your foods in cities (some huts/shelter has stores, not all of them)
2-reaching to all mountains with public transportation is far from my mind. you can just approach some how.
3-some people can speak in English, not local people, but local guides. it's not a good idea to count on this that you can always find a guy knowing English
if you'r going to come without any local service, me and bijan are ready to help you. I go with a good group to alborz summits and may arrenge to accept you as a guest, so no worry about program and such

I have sent you an PM WouterB.

Thank you for the pm!

Bijan and Neghafi, I will most defeniatly contact you guys. Knowing some Iranian people will probably be a huge benefit when I start making my practical arrangements. I also wouldn't mind climbing with you guys!

Doberman told me what he spent in Iran and that sounded kind of steep for me. Ofcourse, I'll be there late summer, so I'll have the possibility to camp. Also I'm probably not going to do any guided tours. I just want to walk and explore and I only need a good map to do so. I wouldn't mind knowing some of the local prices, just to compare them to my prices.

Let's see:

Bread
Cheese
Sausage
Beer (just kidding)
Milk (1l?)
Water
Fruits
Some local food?

I love it that I know so little about Iran, It'll be a nice experience

I may be interested in climbing this puppy again myself around that time frame. Just sent you a PM.

Cheers,
abe

Replied yesterday...

for whom may be interested: "ِِDamavand climbing season begins ... "

I am VERY interested. HOWEVER it seems I won't be able to enter Iran. I've received a negative advice from the Belgian foreign affairs agency on going to Iran. Furthermore, the Iranian embassy doesn't seem too keen on letting me enter the country. Last but not least, I've received multiple warnings from Iranians. They mostly stated that if I were to enter the country and any kind of war would break out, I would be captured and held hostage immediately.

As my sources are good, and it seems I won't be able to enter the country, I might have to cancell my ticket. . I'm not panicking yet, but I think I might have to start searching for an alternative... .

Why let the potential effects of Dick Cheney's megalomania prevent you from climbing.
Snub the asshole and go to Iran!
Hell, he tried to scare me with red "terror warnings" and I still flew on airplanes...