Mt Babadag
Mt Babadag is a 12,000ft mountain in the watershed ranges of Greater Caucasus in Azerbaijan's northeast region. It is of significant religious importance, with pilgrimages going to the summit every year to visit hermits that live there for three months in the summer. The mountain can only be reached by a six-hour off-road drive up into the mountains, the latter part of which is a long haul up a river bed. It is so remote that on a previous recce visit, the charity's team had stones thrown at them as they made an alpine start, with the locals mistaking their head-torches for the wild glowing eyes of aliens!
We hired three 4x4s: two for us and one for the charity team. Our two drivers had never driven outside the UK let alone off-road! However, we'd prepared by getting off-road driving tuition, sponsored by Vauxhall. The weather was a big worry for us as we were going so late in the season. And rightly so. We got caught in the first snows of the winter.
When we could go no further, just past the last town in the hills before Babadag, the team faced a choice - make an 18km hike with all our equipment up the river bed, or turn around to take Mt Jahartz, a 6,000ft mountain we knew we could get to. By a majority vote, we turned back. The walk up Jahartz starts in Lahij, a fascinating and ancient town that is very high in the mountains and often completely cut off during the winter.
We made it to the summit of Jahartz, guided by a local. The sight was amusing - us in our western kit (waterproofs, fleeces, mountain boots and poles) and our guide in sports jacket and wellies!
