Climbing Crosses Iranian Cultural Divide

With all the dark news coming out of the Middle East right now, we thought it was time for a rather more uplifting and inspiring story that shows climbing and the outdoors can bring people together.

In late October, a group of five British climbers, nominated by the BMC and including Anne Arran travelled to Iran as part of an initiative to develop contacts between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UK. The BMC reps took part in a week-long mountaineering programme where they coached groups of Iranian competition climbers and presented slide shows.

Perhaps most amazing was the participation of Iranian women climbers in the programme, albeit under unusual conditions - all femal climbing took place behind locked doors or alone on superb boulders and crags north of Tehran. Not only that, dress codes meant that the local women were climbing hard routes kitted out in full-length macks and headscarves. See the picture below.


Despite the conflict in Afghanistan, the BMC team say that the atmosphere was friendly and hospitality superb. Good to see climbing working positively to improve the understanding between different cultures.