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 (surviving only on food and water brought to them by the pilgrims). 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. The charity support team were experienced in these matters, despite the fact that on a previous recce visit they'd nearly got themselves stranded on the wrong side of a river following a flash flood, as well as acquiring chronic food poisoning -- from eating cheese that had been stored for months inside a dead sheep's stomach - 'the best cheese in Azerbaijan', they were reliably informed - yuch.
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. It is populated by a few hundred mountain people who make their living from herding goats and intricate metalwork.
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! The whole journey took us about a week. We camped out every night and took with us all the food, water, fuel and other provisions we needed. The scenery was stunning, especially the last camp as we came down below the snow level.
More photos
