Ras Dashen

Ras Dejen is the highest mountain in Ethiopia and tenth highest mountain of Africa. Part of Simien Mountains National Park located in the Gondar, Amhara Region, it reaches an elevation of 4,550 metres . The more common form, "Ras Dashen" is a corruption of its Amharic name, "Ras Dejen", used by the system of the Ethiopian Mapping Authority which means "the general who fights in front of the Emperor".OverviewAccording to Erik Nilsson, Ras Dejen is the eastern peak of the rim of "an enormous volcano, the northern half of which is cut down about thousand metres by numerous ravines, draining into the Takkazzi River." Its western counterpart is Mount Biuat (4,510 meters), separated by the valley of the Meshaha river. The mountain is often place to violent snowfalls during the night, but, since daily and night temperatures vary greatly, the snow is almost completely melted in a few hours (during the hottest period of the year) since temperature may be over 5 Celsius degrees by midday. In winter snow falls rarely, since the majority of yearly rainfalls in Ethiopia are in the summer, but if it does it usually lasts for weeks or months.The first recorded ascent by a Eurasian was in 1841, by the French officers Ferret and Galinier. There is no verifiable evidence of earlier ascents by locals, but the summit climate and conditions are relatively hospitable, and there are nearby high altitude pastoral settlements. A small fort still partially standing at around 4,300 Meter SRTM data.