allmost at the top
early morning start on the dirt track
early morning view of the Aladaglar
the start of the Yalak trail
higher up on the Yalak trail looking back
up a steep gulley,still on the Yalak trail
high up on the trail ,view of the Karayalak valley.
Still on scree after the second false summit
Young Ahmed ,our rearguard with the rescue horse
across a huge scree slope
like disciplined soldiers
Still on the Yalak trail on a very rough part
The mule caravan catching up with us
the other side of the pass,the snow in the shadow is fresh
Celikbuduyran pass,view of mount Embler (Ergin Tepe)
Celikbuyduran pass,3450m,looking back at the moonscape we just climbed
the huge scree slopes before the pass
within sight of Celikbuyduran pass,well over 3000m
Yedigoller plateau, walking towards Yedigoller yayla
Yedigoller plateau,marching further on
Yedigoller plateau,last ridge before the camp
within sight of the Yedigoller camp
The mountains on the south side of the plateau
Yedigoller yayla camp
time for thought
Yedigoller camp,a closer look
the group well rubbed up in the dining tent
Yedigoller camp at dusk
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day 10
ascend 1450m
descend 350m
time-7hrs
shower temp- 0 deg c
I woke up to the sight of a group member chasing the mules out of our campsite.I had a good night's sleep,i was dreaming i had a hot shower and then i sat on a sette drinking a coctail,never mind,the reality was different.We had our fetta cheese breakfast and got on to the trail early.We were joined by two porters,Mehmet-Ali our muleteer and young Ahmed,our rearguard with the rescue horse.We backtracked for a while on two days ago dirt trail and then picked up the Yalak trail that took us deeper into the valley.Further on we turned right into a steep gulley and a very rough path.Out of the gulley and the path did not improved,scree and more scree.We went over two false summits and still carried on on scree paths,more like moonscape,until we could actually see the pass on the side of mount Embler.On the Celikbuyduran pass at 3450m we felt better,we were higher than any mountain on the Pyrenees and the Dolomites and we were only crossing a pass.The Canadians felt very good,the thin air and the sight of snow seem to make them feel like home.We carried on on a gradual descend path that run over a absolutely bleak landscape over a ridge and we were home.The Yedigoller camp was next to a meadow and a dry lake,with Mount Direktas 3550m towering over.The facilities were more basic than before,all the washing had to be done in the lake(some distance away) the tents very low ,i was running out of breath getting in and out,the toilet the worse so far,but what you expect at 3100m.A decent evening meal and i was off to bed early,a very tiring but satisfying day.
