Ski up the "Sacred Mountain" Ararat, admire the stark and rugged beauty of Lake Van, acclimatise on two fantastic ski mountains, take your time to conquer the high summit goal. Enjoy Kurdish hospitality, gain insights into the culture of Eastern Anatolia, and fly home with memories of a fantastic ski touring week. With its even, not too steep slopes, Ararat is an ideal ski mountain and a great and "exotic" destination that apart from excellent fitness requires no exceptional skiing skills. Nevertheless, the ski ascent of a five-thousander is a challenging undertaking simply because of the altitude. The journey begins with two great tours on perfect ski mountains high above Van. See, which also provides acclimatisation for Ararat: Mt. Artos (3570 m) and Mt. Süphan (4058 m). For the ascent of Ararat, there are four days available for the approximately 3,000 metres of elevation gain to the summit - including about 2,500 m of ski ascent/descent and extra time. Depending on snow conditions and the availability of horses, the Ceven hut is reached at 3450 m. The summit ascent is technically easy and can almost entirely be done on skis, but is exhausting due to the altitude. In good weather, there is a wide view from the summit over Anatolia, into Iran, and as far as Armenia. And then (hopefully)… a thrilling 'glacier ski run'!