A disabled Iranian war veteran becomes the oldest Mera Peak conqueror

An August 24 issue of Iran newspaper carried a brief report about a disabled Iranian war veteran Farhad Eskandari, who managed to secure the title of the oldest conqueror of Mera Peak [a mountain in Barun sub-section of the Himalayas with an elevation of 6,476 m]. Here is a translation of the report:

Farhad Eskandari, who is almost 80 years of age and has recently had his name recorded as the oldest climber of Mera Peak in the Himalayas, has scaled high peaks across Iran and around the world for more than four decades. He is a household name among his fellow climbers, a guy with a long white beard that not even young people can touch when it comes to climbing.

Never before has anyone managed to pull off such a great accomplishment at such an advanced age. Among the peaks he has conquered are Damavand [the highest peak in Iran, 5,670m], Sahand [the highest in the province of East Azerbaijan, 3,707 m], Sabalan [in Ardabil Province of northwestern Iran, 4,811m], Alam-Kuh [in the Alborz mountain range in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran, 4,848 m] and lots of others in Iran. Mr. Eskandari, who is originally from Zanjan [the capital of Zanjan Province in northwestern Iran], has conquered Ararat, and Sobhan in Turkey four times and some other peaks in Central Asia.

However, his burning ambition was to climb the Himalayas and every time he looked at the picture of Mount Everest, he asked God to give him an opportunity to hoist up Iran’s flag on one of its lofty peaks.

The picture depicting him prostrating himself in prayer on Mera Peak is the most glorious scene ever recorded in Iran’s history of mountain climbing. Mr. Eskandari, who suffered injuries in his eyes and hands during the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 80s, has added the title of the oldest climber of Mera Peak to his trophy cabinet. He has set his sights on Mount Everest with an elevation of 8,848m.