Mount Sabalan

Best time for trekking Sabalan

The high season of Sabalan trekking starts in mid-June and goes on until mid-September. During this time the weather is stable and the temperature is the highest of the year with the lowest being -10 degrees at night and 0 at day. Climbing Mount Sabalan is possible with summer equipment at this time of the year thus many mountaineers choose to climb this beautiful mountain then. 

Sabalan Trekking Routes

There are three main Sabalan trekking routes. They are the following:

• Southern ridge: The southern route begins at Alvares ski resort located 30 km away from Sarein. It is one mostly covered by large rocks and is considered one of the most technically difficult routes. In addition, there are no huts or shelters available on this route to spend the night. It is recommended to use this trekking route only during winter as intense slope increases the risk of rockfall in other seasons. The risk of avalanches is also higher on this route, making it necessary for mountaineers to know about the basics of trekking in snow. 
• Western ridge: This route passes by the beautiful valley and is reachable via Shabil village. This Sabalan trekking route begins at Qarah Gol Lake, passes by the great Heram glacier, and finally reaches the Sabalan summit. The western shelter located on this route is 4200 meters high, same as Bargah-E Sevom hut and Simorgh hut on Mount Damavand. The eagle-shaped rock named Ghartal( meaning eagle in Azerbaijani Turkish) is one of the interesting features of this route and has become the symbol of Mount Sabalan. This mysterious rock resembles a seated eagle facing the east. One of the other features of the western route is the delayed sunrise in the morning, making morning treks a little harder due to the cold weather. Furthermore, some parts of this route are covered by grit, inhibiting the progress and taking a lot of the mountaineers’ energy while trekking. 
• Northeastern ridge: The northeastern route is the most popular and is accessible via Shabil village, the same as the western route. The Sabalan trekking tour package offered by Cheetah-Adventures is planned to take the mountaineers to the summit using this route. This route begins at Shabil hot spring located 50 km away from Meshgin Shahr and 25 away from Lahroud. The 4WD cars available at Shabil talk mountaineers to Sabalan camp after riding in a long twisting dirt road for 45 minutes. It’s also possible to send the equipment to the camp by car and trek up to the camp (4h) to enjoy the beautiful landscape. It’s important to reach the camp before it gets dark. The camp is almost 3650 meters high, leaving the mountaineer with 5 kilometers of trekking with 1160 meters of elevation gain to reach the Sabalan Summit from there. Depending on the weather and physical condition of the team members, ascending normally takes 5 hours, and descending takes 3. The route from the camp to the summit is easy to find and has guiding signs. It is a rather easy route, allowing the trekkers to reach the summit in just a few hours during summer. 
• The technical northern glacier route: This route is a glacier approximately 350 to 400 meters long where the 7 pitch method is used to climb. Enough trekking skills and experience in similar climbs and special ice climbing equipment (such as crampons, Ice axes, Ice screws, rope, helmet, harness, etc. are necessary for this climb). This route is only chosen by professional mountain climbers due to its difficulty. The northern glacier route is reachable via the same road that reaches the northeastern camp.