Tried to call from the summit but was cut off - yes – you can get roaming from Ararat's summit.

The climb up began from our alpine meadows camp at 3,200m (2 nights) and went up a 5 hour grunt to the summit camp at 4,200m. The terrain was typically volcanic - mainly a scree hike but really tough when we went with full packs. The weather throughout on the higher levels of the mountain was bad with sudden hail showers.

On Aug 11 the morning after reaching high camp, we pushed for the top from 5am. The last 300 vertical metres was easy snow climbing . All routes wind up on this section anyway. We roped up and plugged away until the summit at 10am. Fantastic views of Armenia, Iran and Little Agri (Ararat). A small Turkish flag and a few memorials mark the summit.

NO sign of the Ark or Noah.

The clouds began to rise up as we returned to our high camp and we got back between 2- and 3pm. The meal of rice and chinese sausages after that climb was incredibly good!

We dropped 2,000m the next day to rendezvous with our motorised transport along way down in the small village of Eli. What a knee - cruncher........

South Col Adventures' Ararat Expedition is a success!

We’re safely back in Dogubayazit with grand views of the peak and working on stuffing ourselves with the excellent kebab meals here, fresh salads and short excursions. More from Istanbul in a few days.

Dave