Photos of Iran — adventures on Alam Kuh
Before I get distracted posting photos of my month in Iran, this important detail from the Huffington Post: former Playboy centerfold admits to helping Canadian boyfriend illegally enter the United States.
Such a scandal would never plague Iran.
Also, barring utter disaster, after last night’s 1-0 US victory over Honduras, the United States will be joining Iran in the final round of the World Cup in 2014.
It’ll take me a few posts to bust out the full run of trip photos, but first come pics from the early part of our exchange between the American Alpine Club and the Alpine Club of Iran. Shortly after we arrived, we headed to the Alam Kuh massif in the Alborz Mountains nortwest of Tehran. The single biggest memory I took away from this trip was of the warm and friendly Iranian people.
Curbside diplomacy: Lydia Pyne and Marilyn Genenati making friends north of Tehran
Americans and Iranians getting organized at the Alam Kuh trailhead. (Note the blue truck– I’ll have a whole series of blue truck photos to post.)
Mary Ann Dornfeld on the hike up
The north face of Alam Kuh
Back: Me, Mahsa Hokamzadeh, Saeid Mahmodi, Jim Donini, Majid, Shaima Shadman; front: Mohammad Bahrevar, Mohammad Norouzi, Hassan
Mark Wilford and Mohammad Bahrevar hiking into the cirque
Taking laps on a moderate crack climb near the hut
Mohammad Bahrevar, Shaima Shadman, and Jenn Flemming in the Alam Kuh hut
Shaima Shadman and Rosie the Riveter
With Stephen Alvarez in our high camp tent
With Mohammad Bahrevar making a recon of Alam Kuh’s north face
Mark Wilford and Mohammad Bahrevar
Mahsa Hokamzadeh high on Alam Kuh
NG photog Stephen Alvarez doing what he does
Jennifer Flemming giong all glam-glam in front of the Alam Kuh hut
Mohammad Norouzi
Breakfast in a guest house the morning after we got down with the Supreme Leader watching from the far wall
Alam Kuh is a gorgeous mountain with an impressive north face. I wrote about the Iranian-American climbing exchange in Rope Diplomacy: On the Steeps in Iran (available asa $.99 eBook), which includes more than 30 of Stephen Alvarez’s incredible photos. (Which are a hell of a lot better than these!)
