Kuh-e Siah Khvani

Kuh-e Siah Khvani (کوه سیاه خوانی) is a mountain in Razavi Khorasan Province, northeastern Iran, and the highest summit of the Binalood range near the city of Mashhad.^{1 • 2} Published sources disagree on its elevation, with figures of 3,211 m, 3,222 m, and 3,314 m in circulation, and the peak also appears in climbing records under the name Shirbad.^{2 • 1 • 3}

Location and naming

The mountain lies in Razavi Khorasan Province, close to several small settlements: the locality Darbehesht about 4.5 km to the southeast, the village Buzhan about 7 km to the southwest, and Sowqand, a village in the Central District of Nishapur County, about 8 km to the southwest.¹ The Persian form of the name is given as کوه سیاه خوانی, and the romanized variant Kuh-e Siah Khvani is also used.¹

The name belongs to a common Persian pattern in which kūh means mountain and sīāh means black; several unrelated Iranian mountains carry similar names, including Kūh-e Sīāh in Markazi Province (2,265 m), a Kūh-e Sīāh hill in the IR31 administrative division, and Kūh-e Sīāhān in the southeast.^{5 • 6 • 7}

Elevation and prominence

Reported elevations differ by more than 600 meters across the main references. The GeoNames-derived Mapcarta page gives 3,222 m (10,571 feet).¹ Ski of Persia, a mountain-guiding site, gives 3,211 m for the highest summit of the Binalood.² Peakbagger's Ultras of Iran list records the peak as Shirbad at 3,314 m with 1,870 m of prominence, and the list of ultra-prominent peaks of West Asia gives 3,314 m with 2,074 m of prominence and a 1,444 m col, ranking it among Iran's peaks with more than 1,500 m of prominence.³ An older US National Imagery and Mapping Agency compilation, accurate as of January 2006, lists Kuh-e Siah Khvani in Ostan-e Khorasan at 2,682 m (8,799 feet) at 36.2697222° N, 59.0530556° E, coordinates slightly east of the GeoNames position.⁴

The range attribution also varies: prominence lists place the peak in the Alborz Mountains, while Peakbagger assigns it to the Eastern Iranian Ranges.³

Binalood range and climbing

The Binalood mountains are the nearest range to Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, and Kuh-e Siah Khvani is their highest summit.² The area is used for ski touring; the small Shirbad ski resort serves as a base camp, with food, sanitation, electricity, and heating available on site.² The Shirbad Ski Piste is listed as a place of interest near the mountain.¹

Access conditions reported for the range are: no climbing permit required, off-road access with a 4×4 recommended, a summit altitude of about 3,211 m, a minimum altitude of 2,700 m, and a maximum vertical drop of about 511 m for ski descents.² The best period for skiing in the area runs from February to mid-April.² Peakbagger records six logged ascents of the peak (as Shirbad) as of its most recent list.³

References

1. Kūh-e Sīāh Khvānī Map, Mountain, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, Mapcarta
2. Binalood 3211 m, Ski Touring & Climbing, Ski of Persia
3. Ultras of Iran, Peakbagger.com
4. Iran, Mountains: Kuh-e Siah Kamar to Kuh-e Siah Riz, IndexMundi
5. Kūh-e Sīāh, Markazi Province, Iran, Mapcarta
6. Kūh-e Sīāh, Iran, Geographical Names (NGA data)
7. Kūh-e Sīāhān Map, Mountain, Iran, Mapcarta

Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Landforms and terrestrial features › Mountains, plains, and other land terrain › Named mountains and peaks › Mountains of Asia › Mountains of Iran

Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026

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