Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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36.11775°N / 51.08466°E |
Route Type:
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Mountaineering |
Season:
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Summer |
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Time Required:
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One to two days |
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Difficulty:
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Hike |
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External Links
Overview
General Notes:1) From the village of Kalvan you can follow a well-established trail all the way to the summit of Kahar the Great.
2) Kahar the Small can be climbed by descending from the summit of Kahar the Great to a 3730 m saddle and then following any path to its top.
3) We did not come across a well-established trail on the upper parts of the northern slopes. I will only describe the route that we happened to take. Also be ware that if you descend the northern slopes to the village of Gateh Deh, you might have a hard time returning to the Karaj-Chalus Road. From Gateh Deh, you will have to drive east up a rough dirt road to the 3100 m Asalak Pass and then down to the Karaj-Chalus Rd near the town of Gachsar. From Gateh Deh, your other option is to head west down the Taleghan Valley to the town of Shahrak and then back to Karaj.
Getting There
See "Getting There" on the main page.Route Description
Please refer to the Detailed Map of the Central Alborz Mountains for the below discussion. Having the 1:50 000 Map (See the “Maps” section of the Central Alborz Page) can add much more detail. You will need sheet “6262 III Asara”.All distances are per my GPS.
Place…….…….….Elevation………..Distance
Kalvan…...…….....2200 m………….zero
Shelter…..……..…3200 m………….4.0 Km
Kahar the Great…..4015 m………….3.15 Km
Gateh Deh………...2300 m……..…11.8 Km
Total……………………………….18.95 Km
Point 2490 m
Peak 4050 mFind the stream that runs through the village of Kalvan. Go to the right (east) side of this stream and follow the trail uphill. The trail makes a series of switchbacks and quickly goes up to reach a 2330 m saddle on the north side of Point 2490 m. From the trail, you will only have views of the 4050 m sub-peak of the Naz Peak. The Naz or the Kahar Peaks will not be visible.
Follow the trail above the mentioned saddle to reach the shelter at 3200 m and then the summit of Kahar the Great.
To descend the northern slopes, we headed west past Point 3807 m to the 3730 m saddle between Kahar the Great and the Small, then went north down into the bowl between the two peaks. We did not follow the stream but went down the slopes on the east side of it. These slopes were at times covered by slippery rock. We eventually returned to the stream at a place where there was a small flood control dam at an elevation of 3000 m.
Point 3807 m from flood control damAfter the dam, we found a water pipe that seemed to traverse the slopes above the stream on the east side of the stream. A trail could be found along the length of the water pipe. We followed this trail for half an hour or so without losing much elevation until the trail came to an abrupt end.
We then followed the water pipe steeply down the slopes around 150 vertical meters or so and crossed a side valley named “Ghaleh Dokhtar” and then followed the water pipe 100 vertical meters uphill again where the pipe turned into an open ditch. We were now on the east side of the main stream around 250 m or so above it.
We then followed the ditch going around Point 3021 m until we found a trail on the right side of the ditch (2800 m).
The trail then made many switchbacks and went steeply down to reach the Gateh Deh Village.