Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
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35.78523°N / 52.11491°E |
Activities:
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Mountaineering |
Season:
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Summer |
Elevation:
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11883 ft / 3622 m |
|
Overview
Click for Introduction to the Central Alborz Mountains.Click to see a Map of the Dobrar Ridgeline.
Elevation Note: The Iranian 1:50 000 map only gives contour lines of 3600-3620 m. The 3622 m figure is per my GPS.
Dobrar Ridgeline:
Dobrar (Ghareh Dagh) Ridgeline is an impressive 52 Km long mountain chain that forms a continuous wall in the southeastern portion of the Central Alborz Mountains of northern Iran. This ridgeline gives rise to more than 20 named peaks and many other unnamed high points. The elevations of 5 of these peaks exceed 4000 m. The highest of these peaks is the 4072 m summit of the West Dobrar Peak. The ridgeline starts near the Emamzadeh Hashem Pass on Haraz (Tehran-Amol) Road and heads east to end near the village of Seh Band on Firooz Kooh (Tehran-Sari) Road.
Dobrar RidgelineChangiz Chal III:
Near the western end of the Dobrar Ridgeline, you will find three peaks with roughly the same elevations. West to east, these peaks have been named as follows:
Changiz Chal Peaks1) Changiz Chal III, 3622 m
2) Changiz Chal II, 3640 m
3) Changiz Chal I, 3635 m
To the west, Changiz Chal III is connected to a series of rounded high points (with elevations in the 3400 m range). These high points eventually connect to the 3416 m Bazm Chal Peak which is the westernmost peak of the Dobrar Ridgeline and is often used by climbers as an access route to the ridge-top. The southern slopes of Changiz Chal III go down steeply to form a valley where the town of Damavand (not to be confused with Mt. Damavand) is located. To the east, a 3550 m saddle separates Chagiz Chal III from Changiz Chal II. The northern slopes of Changz Chall III go down to the valley of Lasem Creek (near its junction with Haraz River).
The summit of Changiz Chal III consists of two separate high points that are a few hundred meters apart. Although both of these high points appear very rugged, the western point can be climbed without any technical difficulties. The eastern point, however, creates a small wall on its eastern face.
Changiz Chal III can potentially be climbed via its northern slopes but most climbers who come to the area, climb the Changiz Chal Peaks as a part of a multi-day traverse of the Dobrar Ridgeline.
Route:
This route describes a traverse of the Dobrar Ridgeline from Bazm Chal Peak to the 3550 m saddle between Changiz Chal III & II. Click here to read about the Bazm Chal Peak.
Starting Point: The summit of Bazm Chal Peak 3416 m
Lowest Point: 3330 m (somewhere on the ridge-top to the east of Bazm Chal)
End Point: Saddle between Changiz Chal III & II 3550 m
Hiking distance from the summit of Bazm Chal to the summit of Changiz Chal III: 6.65 Km (per my GPS)
From the summit of Bazm Chal, head east/southeast and follow the ridge-top over at least 5 distinct rounded hill-like high points. The elevations of these points are in the low 3400 m range. The lowest saddle between the high points is 3330 m (some climbers have given the names Lasem and Mian Rood to the two more prominent points). You can either traverse the slopes of these points or go up to their tops (we chose to traverse the last two points via their southern slopes). Changiz Chal III can be seen as a prominent peak sitting beyond the high points. The 4020 m Angemar II Peak is visible at the far end of the ridge-top.
 Changiz Chal from Ridgetop |  Changiz Chal from Ridgetop |
After passing the last high point, you will reach a 3390 m saddle at the base of the west face of the west summit of Changiz Chal III. The slopes may appear steep, rocky and intimidating.
The West Face of the West SummitYou can, however, traverse to the north side of the ridge-top and follow these slopes to reach the west summit of Changiz Chal III
 North Side of Ridgetop |  North Side of Ridgetop |
Views from the top of the west summit of Changiz Chal III:
The south face of Mt. Damavand as seen from the west summit of Changiz Chal III Dokhaharan Massif |  Bazm Chal Peak |  Ab-Ali Ski Resort |
 Town of Damavand |  Angemar Peak |  Road to Lasem Village |
Reaching the top of the east summit of Changiz Chal III will require walking on a narrow rocky ridge-top.
East Summit from the WestBe ware that should you go to the east summit, to continue east, you will have to descend the small wall on the east face of the east summit.
The small wall on the east face of the east summitAn easier option is to avoid the east summit. From the top of the west summit, you can descend a short distance down the northern slopes and traverse these slopes just below the ridge-top. Once you are beyond the east summit, you can go back up to reach the ridge-top.
 Traversing the north slopes |  Traversing the north slopes |  Traversing the north slopes |  Traversing the north slopes |
Here you will come across a couple of other rocky high points. These do not present any technical difficulties.
 Rocky High Point |  Rocky High Point |
Beyond the rocky high points, you will go down easy slopes to reach the 3550 m saddle.
 Easy Slopes |  Mt. Damavand from the easy slopes |
The northeastern face of Changiz Chal III from the slopes of Changiz Chal II