Just before the summit of the Selim Pass (2410m) in Armenia. Lots of snow, but the road had been pretty well cleared – just one lane wide in most places, but the snowploughs had made passing places like this at intervals. But up ahead there were two articulated lorries – car transporters (you can just see the cars on the top level of one of them in the picture). One of the lorries was jammed diagonally across the road, with a wheel in the ditch on each side..
We were going to Yerevan, and it wasn’t a lot further to go back down and round the other way. For anyone going to Martuni, or any of several other places, going round the other way would be a very long detour indeed (~250km instead of ~30km).
There was just room between the banks of snow each side of the passing place to do a seven-point turn in the Ziguli – a bigger car would have had to reverse a long way to find anywhere to turn.
On the way back down, it started to snow. Hard. We were very glad we weren’t stuck up there at the top!
(Video of the descent before the snow started, and after. Hand-held by my passenger – viewing full screen not really recommended!)
©Clive K Semmens 2011