Before the revolution, our mountaineering structure was French, and the training was a direct copy from France. Guides were turned into instructors, and aspirant guides became assistant instructors. The training courses initially were basic and then advanced.
Before 1978, the Mountaineering Federation would invite foreign instructors to Iran every few years to hold classes for select instructors so that Iranian instructors could familiarise themselves with newer and more optimised methods.
A few books on mountaineering were written in that era, but not specifically for teaching in training courses.
“The New Mountaineering” book, published by the late Sadegh Amin Madani at that time, was considered one of the best sources for technical mountaineering training.
After the revolution, a person named Mr. Aghayee became the head of the federation and insisted that mountaineering should be “Islamicised,” even suggesting barefoot climbing! One of the first things Mr. Aghajani did when he became the head of the federation was to dissolve the advanced courses.
The Ministry of Sports issued a standardisation plan for training certificates across all federations, stating that instructors had three ranks: three, two, and one. The federation had to comply, although they had no other choice, turning the courses into basic and then level three instructor courses, followed by two and one.
Some instructors who remained in the federation became level 2, and the rest level 3.
The federation would annually call for level 3 instructor training, and getting accepted was as competitive as the university entrance exams of those times. Many good climbers were rejected on technical excuses, but in reality, due to selection issues.
As a result, it was very difficult for outsiders to become level two instructors, and level one was exclusive to Mr. Hassan Javaher, who justified his rank by attending a mountaineering course in Switzerland, claiming it was advanced enough to qualify for level one.
Mr. Mousavi, who was for a long time the head of the federation’s technical committee, said that he taught from pictures in a German book brought by the late Mohammad Davoudi during a level two course in 1988. How he translated and read German, I don’t know!
The atmosphere back then was as described.
Mr. Aghajani, during his first term as president, believed that training was the federation’s weapon and should be its exclusive domain. He explicitly stated this in a gathering with the Damavand Club in winter 1989 at the Esun Hotel, where the Damavandis wanted to bring a foreign instructor to Iran for training.
There were no written training contents in the federation; everyone taught according to their own preference. Part of the reason was the emptying of the federation’s archive after the revolution when the departure of the then-officials left the fate of the federation’s documents and records unknown.
The problem with dividing training courses and removing the advanced course was that it forced anyone wanting to gain comprehensive skills to attend instructor training, creating a kind of military ranking system among instructors. Higher rank meant more authority!
Apparently, there were some secret techniques that only level two and one instructors were allowed to know! What these techniques were, nobody knew, nor were there any writings about them.
During the 1990 and 2000s, nobody in the federation thought to write guidelines for conducting courses or textbooks. Two good books published during this period were the “Technical Mountaineering” book, written and translated by Shahryar Amir-Begi, and the translation of Alan Blackshaw’s book “Mountaineering Training.”
From 1990, the focus and organisational energy of the federation shifted towards sport climbing and later Himalayan programmes.
The first written material I saw from the federation was in 1993, a three-page typed document given for a refresher course for level 3 instructors in Roodbarak, covering the basic course syllabus.
The training courses were limited to basic rock and snow, and occasionally level three instructor training. Although instructors generally knew what was to be taught, the teaching method was subjective. This was true even for instructor training.
I remember when I attended a rock climbing basic course, the first question from me and other attendees was whether there was a reference or textbook we could consult. The answer was no.
There’s no doubt that technical climbing and mountaineering are practical activities that must be learned through continual practice. However, having a reference to consult alongside practical training is extremely beneficial. The few available books at the time were beyond the level of basic trainees and couldn’t adequately replace a dedicated and structured textbook. Additionally, drip-feed teaching hindered the progress of enthusiasts.
In 2001, I, along with two other members of the Damavand Mountaineering and Skiing Club, were selected
to participate in the International Mountain Leader course at the ENSA mountaineering school in Chamonix, France.
This three-week course in the world’s mountaineering capital completely changed my view of training. The ENSA library, training facilities, equipment testing lab, and practical work under IFMGA guides was an opportunity to understand what real mountaineering meant.
The course training was a selection of theory and practice. I’ve always been interested in the theoretical and physical aspects of technical mountaineering, and it was there that I found answers to all my questions about fall factors, impact forces, and how to calculate them, the efficiency of anchors, and many other topics.
I asked the training head if I could get a copy of all the course textbooks, and he agreed. On the last day of class, we were given a complete copy of all course textbooks, about 1000 pages.
When I returned to Iran, I handed the textbooks to the Damavand Club, intending to make a copy for myself later. However, the then-secretary of the club, who was with us on that trip, took them home, claiming they were his and refused to share them.
At that time, the federation’s mountaineering committee was planning a climbing congress in Akhlamad Valley, Khorasan, and invited me to take on the technical responsibility. I had been writing the TechTip section in the mountain magazine for a while, mainly translations from Climbing magazine and English technical climbing books.
I suggested we prepare a booklet for the congress in the same style as TechTips, and the participants could discuss and exchange views in various working groups.
This was done, and fortunately, it was well received at the congress.
In autumn 2001, during meetings held by the federation’s technical committee to rewrite the training system, I was also invited. I made several specific suggestions:
1. Reintroducing the advanced course into the training system.
2. Writing guidelines for conducting training courses covering all aspects.
3. Writing a specific textbook for basic and instructor courses for all levels.
My goal in writing these guidelines was to ensure instructors knew what steps to follow before and after a course, what preparations and coordination were needed. When an instructor has a list of necessary equipment, teaching aids, evaluation forms, and most importantly, syllabus and textbooks, there is no room for forgetfulness or subjective teaching.
I started with the rock climbing basic course plan, preferring each plan to have two versions: one for the instructor and the other for the student, containing all the topics and materials to be taught in class, illustrated and fully explained.
Most of the content was translated from European and American mountaineering books, covering relevant parts of each topic. I tried not to rely on just one book but used all the books I had (always regretting those ENSA textbooks gathering dust in a corner, unused by anyone).
I gave the first draft of the rock climbing basic course plan to several veteran instructors for feedback.
I am always indebted to “Saeed Javaherpour” for pointing out many valuable aspects.
At this time, the head of the mountaineering committee changed as per the federation president’s opinion, and Mehdi Davarpour was appointed as the new head.
I didn’t know much about “Davarpour,” but he was very receptive to the work done and promised all kinds of cooperation.
During a refresher course for instructors in Kermanshah, it was announced that the advanced course would be reintroduced into the mountaineering training system, and the basic course plan, about 200 pages long, was introduced to the instructors along with guidelines for conducting training courses.
In writing this plan, in addition to the sources I mentioned, we conducted several sessions with some instructors in the Band-e Yakhchal climbing area to complete and correct parts of it, acknowledging these friends at the beginning of the plan.
The plan included practical and theoretical parts. The theoretical content of the basic course covered leadership, nutrition, grading, knowledge of mountains in Iran and worldwide, climbing styles, navigation, and environmental conservation considerations.
This was a significant shift in how classes were conducted at the federation and a new and positive change for the instructors.
The next step was writing the advanced and level three rock climbing instructor course plans.
I’ve always had issues with the 3, 2, 1 grading system, believing that segregating parts of the training into specific courses is not feasible. After the basic course, if someone wants to continue technical mountaineering, they should learn everything in the advanced course and then progress through practice and repetition.
In my opinion, instructing is a profession. One becomes an instructor to teach, not to learn techniques, especially in fields like rock or ice climbing.
However, the flawed and imposed structure of the Ministry of Sports had enforced this on Iranian mountaineering training, and there was no way around it.
In my view, an instructor course is a place for reviewing safe and correct methods and how to teach properly
, not a place to learn techniques, whether basic or advanced. So, I tried to include all necessary items in the textbooks, especially the advanced course.
In the winter of 2003, I, along with a few other instructors, went to Glenmore Lodge in Scotland for a training course on mixed climbing.
It was an excellent class, and I brought back two training books to Iran, keeping them for myself this time. These two books became the foundation for writing the course plans for snow and ice.
We introduced this course plan during a refresher course for instructors in Tochal.
Over the next two years, before I migrated to the UK, this whole collection was revised several times.
I tried to write the student versions as if an instructor was talking and explaining techniques, and the instructor versions as reminders of key points during teaching.
As I said, all the content of these textbooks was translated from European and American mountaineering sources. Mountaineering in Iran is an imported sport; all techniques and methods have been transferred from European countries, and at best, we are users and followers.
These methods have been reviewed and corrected over decades and used by climbers worldwide for practical work.
Mountaineering can’t be learned solely from books and writings, but having books and sources alongside practical work makes a climber who knows why a technique is performed and the rationale behind it.
Even after nearly twenty years, these booklets are still used in all federation training courses, although the authorities have sometimes removed the author’s name from the beginning and added a few pictures. However, the core and structure are still those initial writings.
I am glad that this legacy of mine remains in Iranian mountaineering.