Jabal ash Shaykh – Syria Highpoint

Jabal ash Shaykh/Mt Hermon – Syria Highpoint

Attempt to 2350m

Eric Gilbertson

Sept 14, 2019

The highest point in Syria, Jabal ash Shaykh/Mt Hermon, has been on my radar for a while, but I’ve always thought I’d have to wait until the political situation improves significantly in Syria to attempt it. In March 2018 Matthew and I visited the Golan Heights to try to climb the highest land in disputed Israeli territory. We hiked up to the top of the ski lifts of the Mt Hermon ski resort and were permitted to hike to a small hill about 2180m high. (Israeli soldiers did not permit us to hike to the highest point in disputed Israeli territory, Mitze Hashlagim at 2,222m, which we were very close to). 

From our small peak we could see the true summit of Mt Hermon in the distance. The ski resort was named after Mt Hermon, though it was only on the southern slopes of the peak. I could see a road leading from the top of the ski lifts over to the summit of Mt Hermon, but of course the soldiers said we were not permitted to walk up that road. The road leads to a small UN outpost very close to the true summit. 

On that same trip I traveled to Lebanon to hike the highpoint, Qurnat as Sawda, and briefly looked into climbing Mt Hermon from the Lebanon side. The summit is on the Lebanon/Syria border, so it could theoretically be climbed from Lebanon. I read that in the past it was a popular hike in Lebanon, but had not been hiked in the past ten or so years due to the war in Syria. So I didn’t attempt it on that trip. 

I was surprised to learn, then, in the spring of 2019 several groups were successfully reaching the summit from the Lebanon side, for the first time in years. In early June I contacted a local guide who was organizing the trips, and he confirmed he could secure permission from the Lebanese military to climb the mountain, accompanied by a guide from the village at the base. 

I had planned an ambitious mountaineering itinerary for the summer, so unfortunately wouldn’t have time until mid-september, at the tail end of my travels, to attempt the summit. I knew with the volatility of the political situation in that area that the summit could again be off limits any day, and the sooner I tried for it the better my chance of success. But figured it was still worth a shot to try in September, given that people had recently been reaching the summit. 

After a 2-week expedition to northern Labrador to finish the Canadian province/territory highpoint list, followed by a month-long expedition in Afghanistan, I checked

email in early August and the mountain was still open, with several more groups summitting. I was bagging some more country highpoints in southeast Asia when I got the bad news that on August 9 the Lebanese military stopped giving permission to reach the summit. It appeared the Syrian army had heard about the trips to the summit and were not happy. 

On the last attempt, on August 9, the Syrian Army had been on the summit and descended into Lebanese territory to intercept a group of hikers climbing up. They fired warning shots in the air and forced the hikers to turn around. They kept the guide until he paid them off. 

From that date forward the Lebanese military would only give permission to ascend to 2400m, about 400m below the summit. This is the elevation of the top of a rough dirt road on the Lebanon side, and I assume they give permission to this elevation because it would be easy for the Lebanese military to drive up to provide assistance if necessary. 

It was still a month before my planned attempt, so I decided to still go through with the trip. It seemed to me like the type of situation that could change up until the day I arrived, so I held out hope for an improvement in the coming weeks. 

After climbing more peaks for the next month I finally took a flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Beirut, Lebanon, arriving in the evening of September 12. I stayed at a hotel in downtown, then the next morning walked along the waterfront until 3:30pm. I had arranged for a taxi to take me to the village of Rachaiya at the base of the peak, where I would stay in a guest house with the local guide that night. I had arrived a full day early to give myself some buffer time in case I missed a flight. Luckily that turned out to be unnecessary.

It would have probably been cheaper to rent a car than take the taxi, but I was a bit nervous about avoiding the red zones listed on the US state department travel advisory. I figured a local would know exactly where it was safe to drive. 

We drove east from Beirut over a big mountain pass, then turned south just before the Syria border, reaching Rachaiya around 5:30pm. The guide, Mehdi, welcomed me into his house and his wife served an excellent dinner. I could see Jabal ash Shaykh from the entrance of his house as the sun was setting, and it looked very close. That evening fireworks were going off for about an hour over the village to celebrate Muharam, I think. Unfortunately I didn’t speak Arabic and Mehdi didn’t speak much English so it was a bit difficult to communicate. Though he did have an electronic translating device that was helpful.

 I learned that day that the Lebanese military were still only giving permission to climb to 2400m. So even after a month the situation must not have improved. I was a bit disappointed, but thought I could at least get as high as possible on Mt Hermon. I would also build some connections with locals who could help me secure permission in the future to reach the summit whenever the situation improved.

The next morning, September 14, we left at 6am, just before dawn, and drove about 10 minutes toward the summit. We stopped at a military checkpoint and a guard came over to check our documents. The road beyond the checkpoint led to a few farms, and several locals that the guard recognized drove through. But we had to be inspected more carefully. The guard radioed to other people, I suspect his superiors, but we weren’t given permission. A few weeks earlier I had sent in my passport details to the military so they would know who to let through. 

Finally after about 30 minutes the radio crackled to life and someone on the other end officially said I could go through. We parked the truck at the checkpoint and continued on foot. I’m pretty sure I would not have been allowed through if I had not secured permission well in advance of the trip. 

As the sun gradually rose on Mt Hermon we walked up dirt roads through vineyards and other small fields. Eventually we passed the fields and climbed up a steeper road that switchbacked up the mountain. 

Around 2100m at a small gully flanked by cliffs Mehdi motioned that we leave the road and head straight up. We scrambled up some talus and scree, occasionally stopping to eat some tart red berries growing on bushes. 

At the top of the gully the terrain spread out and we cut right to the crest of a small rock outcrop. We were at about 2350m and I could see the end of the dirt road just above us. Behind it, tantalizingly close, the gully continued up to the summit. 

“Summit?” I asked, pointing up hopefully, thinking maybe Mehdi would change his mind since we didn’t see anyone up there. 

“No, no, down,” he replied. He looked nervous, not wanting to linger in the open too long. He kept looking up at the summit, searching for any signs of the Syrian army. I could have probably gotten up there in 30 minutes from our point if I hustled, but unfortunately it wasn’t a safe thing to do. Based on satellite images there is a Syrian outpost just over the border a few hundred feet from the summit, and if the Syrian army didn’t want hikers up there then hikers would probably be wise to stay away. Earlier in the summer the Syrian military must have tolerated hikers going up there, but for some reason they had recently changed their mind.

We lingered for about 2 minutes, then cut across to the road and walked down a few hundred feet to round a ridge. Once out of sight of the summit we stopped for a break to eat some food and admire the view. 

We then continued hiking down the road, and arrived back at the trailhead a few hours later. In all it was a 12 mile hike with about 3,500ft of elevation gain. I took a shower at Mehdi’s house, then Mehdi’s neighbor gave me a ride back to Beirut. 

That night I caught a 2am flight out, connected in Dubai, then flew up over the North Pole back to Seattle by Sunday evening ready for work Monday morning. 

 

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