Page 22 - 2022 AMA Summer

MISCARTICLE
Desparate times
SUNSHINE AND DEATH
By Alun Davies
We were having an enjoyable morning skiing in Eastern Turkey. We were training to climb Mount Ararat on skis, and we needed to hone our skills and improve our fitness in the mountains. Earlier that morning, we had enjoyed a good breakfast in our hotel in Erzurum, a historic city on the Anatolian spice route. It was a short ride to the ski resort of Palandoken and on arrival our minibus parked at the end of the road just where the snow began to cover it.
We took our skis and rucksacks and strode over to the snow and clipped into
our touring skis. We were using artificial skins which stick to the base of the ski which allows you to walk uphill on snow. Once everyone was ready, we split into three groups of five or six people and set off making tracks up the nearest hill. It was warm work in the sunshine and I undid my jacket to increase the ventilation. It was early March and spring was in the air.
As we ascended a wide snow slope our small group were close together skiing in the tracks of the leader. To our surprise, we saw a chimney sticking up out of the snow and smoke was belching out of it.
Some yards below the chimney we saw a small opening, the size of a little door, with a blanket covering it. At the sound of our voices, a child of about six appeared and she was as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Soon her mother came out and greeted us, but it did not take long to realise that there was a serious language barrier. That did not deter her, and she keenly beckoned us into her home. We kicked off our skis and one or two at a time we crouched down to enter. The main space was carpeted and of a good size with chairs and a table. A cooking area was at the rear with a hot stove that
22 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER