Ascent of Uludag Tepe on 2018-03-05| Others in Party: | Richard Mclellan -- Trip Report or GPS Track
| | Date: | Monday, March 5, 2018 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Uludag Tepe | | Location: | Turkey | | Elevation: | 8353 ft / 2545 m |
Ascent Trip ReportSkinned up from Uludag ski resort ( Bof hotel ) - straightforward ascent to ridge then along undulating ridge. Most snow blown off and just a thin icy crust with small fresh snow patches. Not steep . Ascended to plateau of Uludag dag evi with hut( hoarfrost covered; tiny snow passage into empty concrete room) , most of height now gained but c 5 k to go.
Then , nice ski descent back to undulating ridge. It’s possible to by pass some of the humps. However, we soon left our skis, realizing we’d be quicker on foot and there was no nice descent to look forward to.
Cloud now lowered to nil visibility. However it cleared again as we reached the first, northern, slightly lower summit- with plateau area, cornice and no definitive point. 15mins later we crossed a wide col to the southern high point. This was an intricate mass of beautiful hoarfrost fronds, possibly enclosing a rock outcrop or cairn. We climbed on top and enjoyed clear views back along the ridge and down into the snow free valley below. -1 degree c ,sunny, with increasing wind
We returned the same way along the ridge with alternating sun and cloud and some quite strong winds, keeping away from the cornice edge in places. We traversed at mid height on the south side of Uludag Dag Evi and removed skins for a pleasant ski down its slopes back west to the wide flat topped ridge again. To avoid wind we traversed off the ridge once above the ski lifts- there didn’t seem enough snow for avalanches?? Anyway , we were fine. We skied down the piste -lifts closing- and back to the hotel. A fine day.
The day before and after the weather was poor: thunderstorms snow and high winds/ heavy rain . Whilst there was plenty of snow it was getting very wet and heavy lower down so earlier in the season might be better.
The road up to Uludag is two lane tarmac with crash barriers and many coaches- not too steep but twisting. Great efforts are obviously made to keep it open but access evidently can be an issue in poor weather.
We flew to Sabiha Gokcen airport, Istanbul. This is a smaller international airport on the East side of the city centre and thus avoids driving through the incredibly congested roads of Istanbul. We hired a car and drove the 160 km (2.5-3.5 hours drive depending on traffic) via Bursa to Uludag. As far as we could see you can hire downhill but not ski mountaineering skis there. A lift pass was Turkish Lire 120 per day or L15 per lift but we did not use the lifts as we started before they opened at 9 am. There is free parking in Uludag and lots of hotels in winter; not sure what’s open in Summer. You can get a cable car to Uludag from Bursa.
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| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2963 ft / 903 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 3291 ft / 1002 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 14 mi / 22.5 km | | Quality: | 7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Unmaintained Trail, Snow on Ground | | Gear Used: | Skis, Ski Poles | | Weather: | Cool, Breezy, Partly Cloudy
Some fog patches with poor visibility | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2963 ft / 903 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 2635 ft / 803 m; Extra: 328 ft / 99m | | Loss on way in: | 328 ft / 99 m | | Distance: | 7 mi / 11.3 km | | Route: | From Uludag ski resort | | Start Trailhead: | 1825m 5718 ft / 1742 m | | Time: | 5 Hours | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 2963 ft / 903 m | | Distance: | 7 mi / 11.3 km | | Route: | Via pistes of uludag ski resort | | End Trailhead: | 1825m 5390 ft / 1642 m | | Time: | 3 Hours |
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