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It was a little after 4 am when Peter Burke stepped out of his tent and onto the ice in the foothills of the Elburz mountain chain in Iran.<\/p>\nIt was a little after 4 am when Peter Burke stepped out of his tent and onto the ice in the foothills of the Elburz mountain chain in Iran.<\/p>\n
Even in the pre-dawn gloom, he was acutely aware of standing in the shadow of mighty Mount Damavand, which at 5,671 meters is the highest peak in Western Asia.<\/p>\n
Somewhere out there in the darkness lay its snow-covered summit, and Peter faced a tough 1320 meter climb to reach it. The Wellington civil servant was a long way from home, and he knew he had a big day ahead.<\/p>\n
“Your mind can play tricks on you with high altitude climbs,” says Peter. “I was excited and nervous, and there’s always a thought in your head, ‘Am I going to make it’.”<\/p>\n
Read more about the climb in this photo essay.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was a little after 4 am when Peter Burke stepped out of his tent and onto the ice in 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