The Ala Dag - Climbs and Treks in Turkey’s Crimson Mountains

Guidebook details climbs and treks in the Turkish mountains of the Ala Dag, which consist of five main valley systems, each narrow and steep sided with hanging valleys. Four sections, with a comprehensive introduction, on The Cimbar and Kayacik valleys; the Yedi Göl; the Emli and Siyirma valleys; the Kokorot and Kara Göl valleys, all with climbing routes and local walks and treks.

II   History of Alpinism in the Ala Dag

The history of alpinism in the Ala Dag, as is to be expected of such a group of mountains, is rather complex. This may be attributed in part to the wide variety of mountaineering which can be accomplished within these mountains, ranging from mixed climbs on rock and ice depending on the season, to highly committing treks in the solitude of a seldom frequented, wild landscape, from alpine skiing on virgin slopes to rock climbing pure on many of the challenging walls and faces.

However, apart from these qualities, the Ala Dag’s central location, within a reasonable distance of the capital city Ankara and ease of access generally, have been major factors contributing to its establishment as the primary range of mountains for alpinism in Turkey.

Today the Ala Dag are considered as the cradle of Turkish alpinism in which many generations of climbers have been fostered. Recorded upon the waterlogged and weather-worn pages of many a peak book are to be found the account of ascents, earmarking important chapters in the history of Turkish alpinism. One may mention here the beginning of winter alpinism in Turkey, marked by the first winter ascent of Demirkazik by Dr Bozkurt Ergör in 1969.

However, alpinism is a relatively young sport in Turkey and, true to the evolution of any new branch of sports, its development has been erratic. While some years have been marked by outstanding achievements, others have not surpassed mediocrity.

Yet it is hardly possible to maintain that Turkish alpinists have recorded pioneering history in the Ala Dag. If we are allowed to overlook early unrecorded ascents of various peaks by generations of shepherds and hunters as not being purely alpine feats, then credit must go to the true pioneers of this range, to the climbers whose imagination and daring more than fifty years ago still inspire a younger generation of climbers today.

The Beginnning of Alpinism
At the turn of the century there were neither readily available maps, nor any account of the region to attract the attention of and guide climbers to the Ala Dag.

However Dr Friedrich Parrot shattered the myth of Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat), when he reached its snowcapped summit in 1892, a feat considered impossible by religious zealots at the time. Subsequent ascents by a number of alpinists and missionaries followed, but attention remained focused on this one mountain alone. The Russian geologist P. de Tchihatcheff, while undertaking a general geographical survey of South Central Asia Minor in 1848 (results of which were published in his three-volume Asie Mineure, 1867-1869), was the first person to refer to the Ala Dag in writing. Setting off from Kayseri to Farasa (Camlica), Tchihatcheff traversed the north-eastern periphery of the range, from where he continued traversing the eastern foothills of Ala Dag to reach Bereketli/Maden, today Camardi, located on the west side of the mountains.

1853 saw Tchihatcheff once again in the vicinity, this time travelling toward Farasa (Camlica) from the south, along the south-eastern fringes of the range. Although Tchihatcheff never entered the mountains proper, he completed a thorough survey of the region surrounding Ala Dag, thus contributing to the subsequent opening up of the area to mountaineering.

1859 was scene to a new spate of research in the region. This time it was Theodor Kotschy, a German botanist who was to focus his attention on the area. Kotschy, as far back as 1836, had accompanied the German geologist J.Russeger to the Bolkar range of the Taurus mountains, south-east of the Ala Dag, making the first ascent of Medetsiz, the highest summit of this range. Now, travelling from Kayseri and traversing the north-west periphery of the Ala Dag to reach Bereketli/Maden (Camardi) and from there Pozanti, Kotschy was able to conduct a botanical and geological survey of the western fringes of this group of mountains.