Mountaineering has been an increasingly popular pastime in Iran for several years. It’s especially people from the cities who swarm to the mountains on weekends – many of them without necessary skills or knowledge, however.

Several years ago, Naturefriends Austria launched a cooperation with the Iranian mountaineering association, which also resulted in the establishment of a Naturefriends group in Iran in 2018 and a joint ascent of Mount Damavand, the highest mountain in Iran with an elevation of 5,671 m. The plans for the upcoming years involve implementing a jointly developed training concept focusing on the issues of safety and risks in the mountains. The first training seminar, attended by 25 participants, was held in March 2019 at the foot of Mount Damavand.