One Year of Our Story
It is very inspiring — and it also brings responsibility — when an initiative brings positive results, especially when you receive more than you ever expected. Our club began its activities on February 9, 2016, and within one year we made real progress: the number of children in the club grew, and so did our mountain ascents, climbing sessions and the lessons planned in our program. Over this year, thanks to the effective work of our carefully selected team of instructors, the children gained knowledge of mountaineering, developed some climbing technique and, most importantly, understood the importance of following safety rules, working as a team and the right way of thinking in the mountains.
One year — for some it is just a number, but for us it was a year of unforgettable days full of colors and adventures. We simply could not keep our story to ourselves, so we decided to hold an event for our club’s birthday, share the story of our first year and thank the people who stood by us.
On February 9, 2017, one of the halls of the “Elite Plaza” business center was crowded and lively. The children’s families, relatives and friends were there, as were our instructors and representatives of mountain clubs operating in Armenia. And, most encouragingly, as always the Armenian Federation of Alpinism and Mountain Tourism was by our side, represented by its Vice President Suren Danielyan.
During the event, the children beautifully presented the path they had traveled. The mountain spirit was clearly felt. They spoke about the knowledge gained during lessons, described the practical training sessions and connected the theory lessons with the hikes through interesting stories. We watched three short films about our club. The reactions from the audience showed that we managed to convey everything we had felt during our trips and everything we had gone through, and to present clearly what we had learned. The children’s sincerity received an equally sincere response. During the evening, we presented certificates of appreciation to our instructors, because they play a huge role in shaping the children as mountaineers; they are also the people who believed in the club and have been with us from the very beginning. The club members, in turn, received certificates for completing the theoretical and practical courses in mountaineering and mountain preparation held by the “4 PEAKS” mountain club. We ended the evening with the song “Mountains”, written for our club by Shushan Rubenyan. Accompanied by guitar, drum and shvi (Armenian flute), the children sang beautifully, bringing the warm evening to a close.