Photo courtesy of Zarik Boghossian
Professor of entrepreneurship Zarik Boghossian and his son, freshman Alex Boghossian, completed an expedition this summer to the summit of Mount Ararat. Mt. Ararat is believed by some to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark
The climb took place in July, and took a total of three days. The pair stopped at two separate bases on the way up before they reached the summit. They hiked about five or six hours the first day up to base one, which rests at 11,000 feet. The second day, they hiked another six hours up to base two, which rests at 14,000 feet. The two left just past midnight on the third day to continue hiking the last five hours up to the summit at 16,854 feet.
Zarik said the timing of the climb was personally significant for him and his son, since it coincided with the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian genocide, an event that isn’t officially recognized as a genocide in some places.
Zarik originally decided to take on Mt. Ararat because he said it’s considered a national treasure to the Armenian nation, representing their “sad history” and “prosperous future.” Mt. Ararat, though located in eastern Turkey, is still considered an Armenian mountain because when the Armenian people were pushed out of their land, they were allowed to keep Mt. Ararat as their own, even though the land itself now belonged to Turkey.
During the Armenian genocide, almost 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire. Zarik said he has been dreaming of climbing this particular mountain for the past five years, and ultimately decided he wanted to bring Alex with him.
“This would have been a small tribute from myself and Alex to go to the mountain, to reach the summit and to raise the Armenian flag, and we did that,” Zarik said.
Zarik said the further up on the mountain they climbed, the more difficult it became because of the increasing size of the rocks. This made it hard for them to find areas to pitch their tents, and often resulted in little sleep.
The rocks covering the ground were only one example of the handful of conditions that the two had to face during the expedition. Freezing climates were another issue, with the temperature dropping to 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit at the summit. The air was very thin, making it difficult for the two to take in oxygen at normal rates. They also had to hike with 30-pound bags on their backs, which contained their supplies, including snacks, water, warm clothing, clamp-on shoes to walk on glacier-type ice, flashlights and goggles. They were also prepared to stay on the mountain two or three days longer than expected in case there were storms that jeopardized their safety on the way back down.
Preparation for the hike was extremely important, according to Zarik. The duo would hike every two weeks to local areas about two or three hours away, and would sometimes wake up at 4 a.m. on Saturdays just to hike as part of their conditioning. They began preparing a full year before the actual Mt. Ararat climb.
Alex said that about two months prior to them traveling to Mt. Ararat, his dad fractured his ankle. During this stressful period, he said he learned that his dad could do just about anything.
“He was sad, because he thought that was it,” Alex said. “He put a year of hard work into it, and now he wasn’t going to be able to do it. He was also sad for me, because I wasn’t going to be able to in his mind. But I told him, ‘You’re exaggerating, you’ll definitely be able to,’ and he again set his mind to it. He went to physical therapy almost every day, and once the time came, he was ready and he actually did it.”
Zarik said he was frustrated and disappointed after the fracture, and feared it was a sign that maybe he wasn’t supposed to go on the hike, but he continued to prepare as best he could. He was on crutches for a total of six weeks and remained on those crutches until four weeks before the hike. Even after the injury, he completed the hike alongside his son, which he said meant a lot because he believed the example he set was one of determination and never giving up.
The two ran into yet another unforeseen problem on the mountain, this one centered on Alex. When they woke up the morning of the second day on base camp 1, Alex noticed he had swollen glands, a sore throat, shivers and eventually a fever.
“My dad was very scared, but there was no way I was not going to do it,” he said. “I mean if there was no way I could do it, I wouldn’t obviously, but I knew I could get it done, so I told my dad, ‘Don’t worry, I can do it,’ and I did.”
Zarik also made it very clear that maintaining their safety, not reaching the summit, was his first priority. He said he didn’t believe they were going to end up going to the summit because his son wasn’t healthy enough to do it safely.
“I’m a parent first,” he said.
But when the two woke up at midnight on the day they planned to head for the summit, Zarik asked his son to look him in the eyes and decide together whether or not it was a smart idea to continue.
“I don’t think he was 100 percent better but because he was determined, he said ‘Look, I’ve worked really hard to get to this point. I have eight more hours to go to get to the summit, I’m going to do my best.’” Zarik said. “See, I think those are things that he has learned as part of this expedition. Things will be hard, things will be tough. There will be hardship in life, but if you stay up with it and you are determined, you are going to end up doing it.”
They left for the summit on July 23 at 1 a.m. and reached it at 6:30 a.m. the same morning. Reaching the summit was an emotional experience for the father and son, with a mixture of cultural significance and pride in their own dedication and endurance, Zarik said.
Zarik said he cried for both him and his son out of joy because they had completed something that meant more to them than just any hike.
“It represented our nation,” Zarik said. “It represented our culture, it represented the centennial for Armenians, it represented father and son bonding, it represented our endurance, it represented him feeling very terribly the night before and then stepping up to the game and achieving before many others.”
Generally hikers of Mt. Ararat make a stop or two on the way back down, but Zarik and Alex decided that after their 1.5 hours at the summit, they would start and finish the full descent. The two made it down the mountain all at once, hitting the trailhead at 10 p.m. the same day they reached the summit.
Zarik said he saw this experience as a gift he could give his son that would last a lifetime, adding that he thinks Alex is now a more humble and confident person because of this experience.
When asked what the hike has done for him and his dad, Alex looked down at the floor and then over at his dad and said, “Best friends for life.”
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Follow Taylor Centineo on Twitter: @lifeoftay
