Hermon Summit 🗻

Hi,
I keep telling you about the Hermon, and how we took the cable car to Hermon Summit, or walking over to the fighting hills on top of it.

But in the matter of fact, this is not Mount Hermon peak but only the Israeli Mount Hermon peak, the Israeli Hermon is only 7% of the whole Hermon. The real peak of mount Hermon is about 15km north of it, On the border between Syria and Lebanon. That is what you usually see when looking on this mountain from Israel.

Unlike the Israeli Hermon, packed with IDF bases and used as a ski site, the Hermon Summit is not that popular. There is an UN base on top of it, nicknamed Hermon Hotel (you can understand why – with the snow on the winter and the view in the summer).

The Summit is higher than Israeli Hermon: 2814m against 2236m, about 600m higher. It is the size of couple of football fields with a 15m cave. at the middle. As the Hermon mountain was captured during six days war, you can ask yourself, why wasn’t it the highest point of the mountain that was seized?

Well, first – first the point that forces were looking for was one that will allow view over Golan heights and Damascus. More than that – the Helicopters send over for the mission did not manage to climb higher than 1700m (only couple of days later they climb higher to 2224m peak with mules carrying the support). Others claim, the helicopters try to land on the summit of the mountain (2,814m) but failed on finally landed on 2,224 and there was the point the Israeli Hermon  was set.

A small group climb to the Hermon Summit on the days after, on its own mind and only the set the Israeli flag and went back. But the border line was set around the Israeli Hermon, the 2,224 peak. A small post was built, mainly for intelligence purposes with only dozen of fighters for guarding it.

On Yum Kippur war the Israeli post was captured by Syrian commando soldiers, and taken back after an heroic but meaningless fight of Golani Brigade soldiers (Climbing Golani ascent, you can see many pics here), and later a full operation with Golani soldiers and Paratroopers. As part of the third battle, a force was landed on the Hermon Summit and captured it.

But the forces were not organized for the Alpine conditions on top of the mountain. It had to be rescued, although the rescuing force was also not equipped for the task, and had to be rescued too. The Summit was inaccessible by vehicles and only by air until half a year later.

The Israeli forces were back to the Hermon Summit on November 8th, and was abandoned on start of December for the whole winter. But still an IDF force was located on the Pitulim (twists) post, that was a built Syrian post about 7km north of the Israeli Hermon and about the same height (2,170m) that was bombed daily.

On the 31th of March 1974, when weather condition approved, an Israeli patrol, was sent to top and evacuated 2 hours later. The Syrian captured the abandoned summit on April 6th, which an Israeli patrol revealed the day after (On Seder Passover).

After a bitter fight, on 14th of April the Hermon Summit was again captured by Israeli forces. The next day a D-9 bulldozer opened the way to Hermon summit, and was the first vehicle to arrive it. The road allowed to fortify the Summit and to Armored vehicles and supply to reach the place and better protect it.

The next month and an half were the peak was a fighting area and was bombed daily from 7:00 till 19:00 aimed by Syrian soldiers not far away. At first The fighters were hidden mainly in the cave on the Summit (nicknamed “The death Yard”)  that reinforced with construction formwork. The equipment was left outside for lack of space and was damaged daily, and the artillery shells stopped only to allow the Syrian to attack.

During the fights Helicopters were shot down or crushed due to weather conditions, soldiers hijacked while sitting in their tank, as well as jet fighters and many soldiers that lost their life.

On those 7 months (24.10.1973 till 31.5.1974) the location was mostly held by the IDF soldiers fighting it daily until it was given to the UN soldiers, now sitting their on a post called Hermon hotel. 33 soldiers had fallen during those fights and 6 more were captured.

Take Care
Gad

The look on the Hermon Summit, with UN post (Hotel Hermon) those days (Source: Fresh)

 

Golani brigade soldiers on the Israeli Hermon – Mitzpe Shalagim (Source:Noah Efrati, naamoush)

IDF post Mitzpe Shalagim on the mountain on June 1967  (Source:Noah Efrati, naamoush)

The Israeli post on the Hermon before Yum Kippur war (Source: Golan Archive)

    The Israeli Hermon Before Yum Kippur war (Source: Golan Archive)

The Hermon ski site (Source: Golan Archive)

The Israeli Hermon bombed on the third battle in Yum Kippur (Source: BaMahane)

The rescue team to the Hermon, that lost his way in the heavy fog  (Source: Oded Al-Yagon)

An Helicopter rescuing the rescuing team send to the Summit of the Hermon (Source: Oded Al-Yagon)

The Cave below the Summit of the Hermon on the right. (Source: Fresh)

The cold experience made a PTSD, the guarding location over the cave at the Summit (Source: Amos Fromkin, The Israeli professor for caving, that was summoned to investigate the cave)

An evacuation helicopter shut down and still burning (Source: Avi Dwidowicz)

22.04.1974 Israeli troop activity on Mount Hermon

IDF soldiers evacuating the Hermon Summit and move the responsibility to the UN force, June 1974 (Source: UN archive) 

The UN forces taking responsibility over the Twists post, June 1974 (Source: UN archive) 

The Twists Post under heavy snow (Source: Morag-i@013.net)

The way to get supply and change people (Source: Morag-i@013.net)

The Twist post after snow storm. Look on how the wind “piles” the powder snow on the vertical elements (Source: Morag-i@013.net)

Clearing the way to the post entrance (Source: Morag-i@013.net)

Dolly, the White Shepered, was locked in the post during the storm for 3 days – here she finally got out (Source: Morag-i@013.net)

Hermon Summit from the the Israeli Hermon (source: Izzy Barron)

Hotel Hermon – during the summer, view from the north the cave is just the below the post (Source: Fresh)

And during the winter (Source: Fresh)

  The view from the post (Source: Fresh)

A memorial cross, view from the South (Source: Fresh)

The way to the top of hermon (Source: Daniel Ventura)

The summit of the Hermon noways. you can see Hotel Hermon, the cross and ammunition from the fight over Hermon summit (source: Discover Lebanon)

Mount Hermon from the Booster ridge, the snowy part is the Syrian Hermon and the mount summit. The Israeli Hermon ends about the middle of the picture, where you can see an army post.

Hotel Hermon, the UN post on Mount Hermon summit