The Season That Built the Summit
The 2026 road to Ararat opened on an ordinary Tuesday evening in late March — 6:00 PM at Brand Park. Week after week, the same time, the same hillside. Those walks looked simple, but they were laying the foundation: stronger legs, a steadier heart, and the quiet habit of showing up. Fridays added Wildwood Canyon, where grade and pack weight turned a walk into real training.
In April, the alarm clocks moved. Josephine Peak at 4:00 AM, Stough Canyon, Brand Cemetery before sunrise — the team learned the alpine start: hiking by headlamp, holding a rhythm in the dark, breakfast on the trail. Endurance deepened, and so did consistency — Tuesday, Friday, Sunday, every single week.
By May, the mountains themselves became the classroom. Baden-Powell at 5:00 AM, Mount Baldy twice — once by the Harwood route — Mount Wilson, Cucamonga Peak, Twin Peaks, Mount Lukens. Weekend after weekend between 8,000 and 10,000 feet, lungs learned thin air and legs learned long, steep climbs. That is exactly what Ararat asks of you.
On August 22 the team checked in at Yerevan — a walk to Tsitsernakaberd, then an acclimatization climb up Mount Aragats. Then came Turkey: Camp 1, Camp 2, and on August 28, summit day — up in the dark, down to Camp 1, standing 5,137 meters above the sea.
Nobody was carried up Ararat. The summit was climbed one Tuesday evening at a time — endurance first, then altitude, then the mountain itself, all built on a rhythm that held from March to August. That is goal-oriented hiking.
