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areas; and the high altitude makes breathing difficult and muscular activity strenuous. Even in the
peak climbing season during July and August, this remote mountain is loaded with obstacles:
winds reaching up to 150 mph, snow, mist, wild animals, falling boulders and even bandits who
prey on climbers. Now, shouldn't this tell us something? If the ark had grounded on top of this
mountain, how in the world did thousands of animals of all types safely descend from these rugged
and treacherous heights? If experienced mountain climbers have difficulty climbing the mountain
with all the latest equipment -- HOW did Moses and all the animals climb down?

What about the temperatures on the mountain? Apart from the rugged and treacherous ter-
rain, Mount Ararat is covered by perpetual snow and ice from the 14,000 foot level up. Some of
the glaciers on the mountain are hundreds of feet thick. It seems those who believe the ark is still
up there suppose it has been preserved BECAUSE of the ice, however, this very supposition is
DISPROVED by the ice! Notice! If the ark had actually been carried to this height by the Flood
waters, it would not have been floating in the water but would have been frozen in ice! Survival
for Noah, his family and all the animals would have been almost impossible because of the EX-
TREME cold -- even within the ark. Once outside the ark it is difficult to understand how any of
them could have made it down the mountain through all the snow and ice.

Let's consider another enigma. We read in Genesis 8:10-11: "...and again he sent the dove
out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked OLIVE
LEAF was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had abated from the earth." If you do some
research on olive trees you will learn that this plant thrives best in areas with low humidity, long
hot summers, and winter temperatures that do not drop below 10 degrees F. Olive trees grow at
low elevations -- NOT on top of mountains perpetually covered in snow and ice! "Consequently,
had the ark been on top of Mount Ararat, the dove would have had to fly DOWN thousands and
thousands of feet to the level at which olive trees grow and then fly clear back UP with the olive
leaf" (NF, JLD, & LF, pp. 74-75). Frankly, I don't get this picture from reading the Genesis ac-
count -- do you?

Let's look at it another way. In the above passage from Genesis 8 we learn that the reason
Noah sent out the dove was to ascertain if the Flood waters had abated from off the land. If the ark
had landed at the 17,000 foot level as some believe, the Flood level dropped from this elevation
all the way down to the level at which olive trees grow in the seven days between the first release
of the dove and the second. Remember, at the first release the dove returned empty-handed -- or
empty-mouthed! No one in their right mind believes this scenario!

Regarding the olive leaf -- this presents another conundrum! The mixing of salt and fresh
water would have killed off the various species of marine life as well as all of the trees and seeds
of other vegetation. If the tops of the highest mountains were covered, this means the water level
would have been five miles above the present sea level. The water pressure would have been
about 800 tons per square inch. Ten months of this pressure, along with the lack of light and the
mixture of salt water would have destroyed all plant life and seeds on this planet. This being the
case -- where did the dove even find an olive tree to pluck the leaf from and return to the ark??
How did the ark survivors exist in a world without vegetation?

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