The first climb to the top of Ararat

Many European travelers and geographers showed exceptional interest in the Armenian Highlands, especially in its eastern part. They were particularly interested in Mount Ararat and the Ararat valley, which, according to the biblical myth, were considered the center of resettlement of humanity after the Flood. European travelers considered Mount Ararat a mountain completely inaccessible to humans. The materials they wrote necessarily talked about the very steep, impassable slopes of the Ascension Peak, eternal glaciers. French travelers Jean Chardin (1673) and Piton de Tournefort (1701) brought relatively more accurate information about Ararat to Europe. But these also spoke of the inaccessibility of the mountain. Passed down from generation to generation, the created myth was further strengthened and received the force of an undeniable tenet of religion.

Friedrich Parrott, professor at the University of Dorpat

The difficult political situation created in Eastern Armenia was an obstacle for a serious scientific study of the mountain massif of Ararat. The arbitrariness of the ruling khans, as well as the tyranny of the wandering nomadic tribes, did not allow for a thorough exploration of Ararat for many years. The entry of Eastern Armenia into Russia made the work of scientists easier. The first to take advantage of these favorable political changes was Friedrich Parrott, a professor at the University of Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia), who was a renowned scientist, physicist, physician and explorer. F. This scientific expedition, organized by the efforts of Parrott, aimed to come to Armenia and not only to conquer the peak that seemed unreachable for mortals, but to explore the entire mountain range in many ways. The scientific campaign was complex. Astronomer V. F. Fyodorov, geologist Behagel von Adlerkron, students K. Shiman and H. Hein.

The participants of the expedition arrived in Etchmiadzin on September 8, 1829. The clergy of Etchmiadzin welcomed the participants of the expedition with open hearts. The scribe Khachatur Abovyan was translating them. F. At the suggestion of Parrott and with the consent of the Catholicos, the latter was assigned to accompany the expedition. Khachatur Abovyan gladly accepted the duties of translator and employee.

Khachatur Abovyan's climb to the top of Ararat

On September 10, the expedition left Etchmiadzin and headed for Mount Ararat.

On September 11, scientists conducted the first observations on the right bank of Araks. Then the expedition reached the village of Akori, F. Parrot Kh. Under the guidance of Abovyan, he went to the village, talked with the landlord S. With Khojyan, he hired oxen and accompanying people. In the evening, travelers reached St. Jacob's Monastery, which was to be their main station.

On September 12, at 7 o'clock in the morning, F. Parrott undertook the first ascent attempt. K. participated in the uprising. Shiman, one Cossack, and Sahak, a construction worker from Akor. F. The group of parrots climbed the very steep eastern slope of the mountain and, not reaching the eternal snow line, spent the night at an altitude of 3502 m above sea level, in the meadow zone.

On September 13, the group continued the ascent without Sahak. Having reached the snow border, the expedition faced new difficulties, the lack of special equipment was felt. The group had a few hours to go to the top, but the lack of food and the danger of descending at night forced them to turn back. They had reached an altitude of 4365 m above sea level.

At 10 o'clock in the morning on September 14, the group successfully returned to St. Jacob's Monastery. True, this first ascent attempt was unsuccessful, and the mountain was not conquered, but the possibility of climbing to the top of Great Ararat was proved. Kh. Abovyan was burning with the desire to personally participate in the next ascent.

On September 16, after conversations with local construction workers, the idea of attacking the peak from the west matures.

On September 17, the entire expedition begins to prepare for the second ascent. Kh. Abovyan asks the professor to allow him to participate in the campaign as well. At first, Parrot does not agree, he spares the young man, considering him unprepared for the difficulties that lie ahead, but eventually gives in to his whims.

On September 18, the second ascent begins. A heavily laden caravan of horses, oxen and men moves along the western slope. This time, 12 people participated in the ascent. It is particularly difficult to cross "sand and gravel" and irregularly piled stones. At 6 o'clock in the evening in the meadow zone, reaching an altitude of 3,704 m above sea level, the caravan stops for the night near a plateau called Kip Gyol.

On September 19, the thermometer reads half a degree cold, when the main body of the expedition, leaving the horses, oxen and coachmen behind in the morning, attacks the mountain. Two hours later, they come across a large glacier, over which they had to dig footholds and, helping each other, move forward carefully. In one of the canyons, they come across a glacier more than 1.5 meters thick and finally reach a "straight and flat" rock. There was no point in going over the rock because it would take several more hours and the weather was getting worse, the wet and cold wind promising an impending storm. The expedition stops at an altitude of 4591 m above sea level. It is here that Parrot finds it expedient to stop the 12 kg black cross he brought with him. It is mounted facing Yerevan so that it can be seen through binoculars from the city.

On September 20, the expedition successfully returned to the main residence with its entire composition. The expedition did not reach the top of the mountain this time, and in fact the ascent failed again, but the direction of the attack proved to be right.

On September 21, the storm continues around Mt. The thick fog is replaced by a whirlwind and a terrible thunder.

On September 22, the members of the scientific expedition continue their observations, enrich the collections, and correct the maps. F.Parrot was mainly engaged in the adjustments of the instruments for measuring the declination and inclination of the magnetic needle. Adlerkron continued to collect and arrange the volcanic rocks (basalt, porphyrite, andesite, etc.) that make up the slopes of Masis.

On September 23, scientists not only continue to explore the surrounding area, but also begin to undertake research in more distant places.

On September 24, the weather gradually improves. F. Parrot has new plans brewing. He feels that he has not properly divided people's efforts and time during the ascent. He comes to believe that success depends on how much they climb on the first day, because then there will be more time to reach the top of the mountain the next day and come back in the afternoon.

On September 25, St. In the monastery of Jacob. expedition members were preparing for the third ascent.

On September 26, before daylight, the expedition left St. From Jacob's Monastery and heading for the third time to the top of Mt. F. participates in the third ascent. Parrott, H. Hein, Kh. Abovyan, 6 construction workers and 3 soldiers. The ascent is carried out from the western, more precisely, northwestern side of the mountain. At 12 o'clock, the expedition reaches the plain of Kip-gyol, where it stays for 1.5 hours. Soon people are forced to take the burden on their own shoulders. 3 people stay here, the remaining 9 people stop for the night at 5.30 in the evening, before reaching the limit of eternal snow, at an altitude of 3910 m above sea level.

At 5.30 am on September 27, the expedition begins the last stage of the ascent and half an hour later they cross the border of eternal snow. The glacier encountered during the second ascent was much easier to pass because the snow sitting on the glacier had started to melt and people could walk more freely with the resulting half-melted cover. However, the expedition is thinning. one of the Chinese fell ill at night and could not join the expedition in the morning, the other two, unable to endure the difficulties, turned back. There were 6 people left. Straining their last strength, they continued the ascent.

Finally, after overcoming several hills and glaciers, the expedition reaches the top of the mountain at 3.15 in the afternoon. Kh. Abovyan stands the 1.5 m high cross on his shoulders in the snow.

There were 6 brave people: Fridrich Parrott, professor of Dorpat University, Khachatur Abovyan, scribe of Etchmiadzin Monastery, Armenian builders Hovhannes Ayvazyan and Murad Poghosyan, and soldiers of the 41st Armenian Squadron, Alexey Zdorovenko and Matvey Chalpanov.

Only 45 minutes are left for the expedition members to reach the top of Masis. Not finding anything to take with him, Kh. Abovyan takes a piece of ice and wraps it in a handkerchief.

In the early morning of September 28, the expedition continues its descent and successfully reaches St. Jacob Monastery.

After the triumphantly completed ascent, the scientific expedition does not immediately leave St. From Jacob's Monastery. His plans included exploring the surrounding area and also climbing to the top of the Little Massif.

Between October 10 and 23, F. Parrot's expedition conducts geological studies in the Geghama Mountains, then passes the Geghard Monastery and enters Yerevan. Kh. Abovyan. Studies are also carried out around the villages of Sirbakan and Prcho at the foot of Mount Ararat, then in the southern slopes of Artashat, after which they enter the city of Bayazet and get acquainted with the Armenian monuments.

On October 25, the expedition begins to prepare for the ascent of Little Masis.

On October 26, in the evening, a group of 9 people reaches the northern slopes of Little Masis and spends the night in a small forest.

On October 27, the ascent of Little Ararat begins, for which the western slope of the mountain was chosen. One of the participants can't stand the difficulties and returns. The remaining 8 people managed to reach the top at 11 o'clock by heroically scrambling.