Maja Harapit

The south wall with last evening light in July, the tip is hidden behind the left lower summit

Gesehenbdep2 The boiler at the north end of the Shala Valley with the mighty south face of Arapi of Theth

The Arapi (Albanian Maja e Arapit, sometimes Albanian Maja e Harapit ) is a mountain in the Albanian Alps in the north of Albania. The mountain is indeed only 2217 meters above sea level. A. high, with its 800 meter high south wall he is one of the most prominent rock formations within Theth.

Location

The Arapi is located north of Theth, a remote mountain village in the Shala Valley, which is surrounded by the highest mountains of the Albanian Alps. The Shala Valley ends north of Theth in a large valley, on the west by the walls of the Radohima ( 2568 m above sea level. A. ), to the east by Jezerca Massif ( 2694 m above sea level. A. ) and to the north of the pass Qafa e Pejës (1705 m above sea level. A. ) and the rock faces of Arapi is completed.

The Arapi - also called Matterhorn Albania - located on the edge of the National Park Theth and is one of the landmarks of the park and the village Theth.

Description

The Arapi rises from a large saddle between the mountains of the Bjeshkët e Namuna and Jezerca which rises from Qafa e Pejës west to Radohima. The south wall falls steeply into the Shala Valley. Do not end right at the top; this is a little bit back visible from the south only from a distance. To the west and north of the mountain also falls very steeply from about 200 meters to the saddle. Significantly less steep the eastern shoulder drops to Qafa e Pejës.

The mountain and the surrounding karst saddle is made ​​of rugged, traversed by sinkholes and caves limestone of Jurassic and Triassic age.

Origin of the name

The name can be translated as Arapi Mohr, Dark or Arabs.

In karst of Arapi and surroundings there are several caves.

At the bottom of the south wall there is the entrance to the longest horizontal cave in Albania. Bulgarian researchers have explored its length at 2,585 meters. The depth of the cave system is 346 meters. Inside the cave 15 species were found.

Alpinism

The ascent over the eastern shoulder with steep alpine meadows can be managed without any technical difficulties, even if the orientation in the karst terrain is not easy. From the pre-peak on the rock wall (2050 m above sea level. A. ) to the summit it will not take quite half an hour.

The south wall is considered the highest cliff of the Balkan Peninsula. It was first climbed in the summer of 2010 by a majority of Germany coming big wall climbers. They needed this, 18 pitches. West wall and north wall are also suitable for shorter trips.

Obersteiner called the Austrian Georg Heinsheimer, Heid, Egon Hofmann and Henry treasure from Innsbruck and Linz as a first ascent, which should be ascended in 1930 on the eastern shoulder. In their reports, but no corresponding ascent is noted. At the same time, Italian surveyor and British climbers were in the area go. It is possible that one of these climbers groups also easy to reach the, by the way lying Arapi has climbed; Documents, however, are not available. It is also quite conceivable that Albanian shepherds or hunters have ascended before the foreign mountaineers easy to cresting mountains like this on the easy-to- perpetrator of eastern shoulder.

In the years 1959 and 1960 were mountaineers from Albania and the GDR on Arapi who have developed several routes to the north and west walls. Also a first ascent on the edge of the south wall was made. 1985 rose two Albanian mountaineers also the first time the south wall, but avoided the most difficult places in which they evaded outward.