**All photos copyright Matt Edwards** (not sure why the album link is so small, but click on it to take you to the web album and they should show up full size)
My last post left us off in the city of Osh. We didn't linger here long as the low lying valley was hot, lush and completely devoid of snow! The city is also one with a rough recent history. A little less than a year ago, the city erupted in violence as ethnic tensions between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek people boiled over. Osh is right on the Uzbekistan border, so the city is filled with many people of both ethnicities. The riots caused an estimated 200 deaths, with thousands more displaced. The place was on ablaze, and evidence of the violence is still clear with many burned out buildings throughout the city. While it felt safe enough during the day, we didn't spend time on the streets after dark as the city is not well lit, and tensions still simmer beneath the surface. We stayed in a cavernous Soviet era hotel that made up for in price what it lacked in comfort; a room for 3 cost roughly $10 US.
We left Osh to head for the capital city of Bishkek. The drive to Bishkek goes over two 3000m passes, one of which would give Roger's Pass a run for its money in terms of big, easy access alpine terrain.... we were drooling. Our plan was to extend our visas, restock on trip food and head to Ala-Archa National Park for more skiing. The park boasts an incredible amount of alpine climbing and ski touring, much of which is accessible from 2 huts. Without too much hassle we were able to extend our visas, buy food (which was exponentially easier here than in China) and arrange for transport to the national park.
We arrived at the Ala-Archa trail head with 6 days worth of food and fuel, plus all of our gear. The lowest of the two huts was the Ratsek Hut, which lies at 3300m and is run by the Kyrgyz Alpine club. It serves as an alpine climbers haven, with granite spires to rival the Bugaboos for both quality and quantity. We hauled ourselves up the steep trail to the hut where we spent the night. From here we moved up to the "Hotel Korona" which sits at 3800m. This one was a little less deluxe than the Ratsek. An old tin shed dating back to the Soviet days, which serves climbers in the area. Korona is the iconic peak of the area, sitting at just over 4800m.
The tin hut was great, it was totally bare bones, but we were thrilled to be skiing. The hut is just off to the side of the Ak-Sai Glacier, so provided great skiing right from the front door. We skied pow on May 19th, which is the latest any of us have ever skied, let alone skied powder. We got up early to beat the sun on our last day in the tin hut, and got most of the way up Korona Peak. The route for us ended at the high col (4820m) as the summit tower required more rock climbing that we were prepared for. It was a great day and an even greater way to finish off the ski season and the trip! We skied down Korona, had coffee and lunch at the hut and then headed out.
So, while the ultimate goal of the trip was to climb Lenin Peak, none of us left Kyrgyzstan disappointed. We learned so much about planning international trips, we got some great skiing in, learned about, and immersed ourselves in a very unique culture, and now we are all filled with ideas for the future. The mountains of Kyrgyzstan seem limitless... there is so much terrain worthy of ski touring and we only just scratched the surface. It is definitely a place I would like to go back to with my skis!
Hope you've enjoyed the blog, as limited as its been!
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