Tien Shan Glaciers and Mountains Project

2011-02-08T13:20:00.000+06:00

An article I published in the December issue of The Avalanche Review that presents personal stories from a winter in Central Asia and an overview of regional avalanche perceptions. Accompanying my article is a great piece written by Jaime on our all female ski mountaineering trip in the Jetim-Bel. Click here to read it.

EurasiaNet.org

2010-10-19T22:41:00.006+06:00

A recently published article by David Trilling of EurasiaNet.org.
Kyrgyzstan: Melting Glaciers Threaten Central Asia’s Ecological and Energy Future
....No one doubts the crisis, which will likely touch even the remote highlands, where nomads and herders have lived alongside the glaciers for generations.

“Satellite imagery presents a unanimous view of glacial wastage across the Tien Shan” Mountains, says Ann Piersall, a research geographer who recently spent a year in Kyrgyzstan’s headwater At-Bashy Region studying the effects of glacial melt on herding and farming communities. Piersall found that “in the At-Bashy region, half of interviewed subjects had observed a visible decrease in the extent of glaciated area in their lifetime” and blame glacial retreat for an increase in extreme weather....

Preliminary Findings

2010-10-07T21:34:00.002+06:00

At the end of September after 11 months abroad, I have returned to the United States to embark on on a coast to coast tour to visit family and friends. I was fortunate to present my preliminary findings at the University of Central Asia prior to departing Kyrgyzstan. In the coming months I will be preparing formal papers for submission for publication. Until then, this is just a short summary of my work to date...

While overwhelming evidence of glacial wastage is present, uncertainty still exists over projected human impacts. Within the At Bashy Range, glacial are has receded 12% from 1970-2000 and an additional 4% from 2000-2007 (Narama, 2010). Historic temperature records indicate that temperatures have risen over the past 80 years, while precipitation records do not show any significant trends.

Despite the heightened awareness of climate change in Central Asia, there is an absence of qualitative research addressing local people’s observations and perceptions of changes and impacts. Over the past year, my research focused on integrating existing quantitative research with field based qualitative social research that was missing from the discussion.

Results of my case study are from interviews, focus groups and informal conversations conducted in Kyrgyz with the help of a local field assistant. Extended periods of observation in remote mountain pastures and rural villages were essential to my research. In formal interviews, study participants were asked open-ended questions about the importance of the glaciers and mountains. Additionally they were asked about long-term visible changes in glaciers, land and water and the impacts those changes were having on their lives and communities.

I was able to complete 76 formal interviews that ranged from half and hour to four hours in length. Conversations revealed that although local people in the At Bashy unanimous recognize the importance of mountains and glaciers as a source of cultural identity and a physical resource, there is a wide range of opinions and observations detailing environmental change.

It does not appear that residents in At Bashy are facing any increased stress from current reductions in glacial area, although seasonal water scarcity remains a future concern for many. To date dramatic historical, social and political instabilities have strongly shaped local perspectives on change. People still identify the environment as the most important resource. Potentially future climatic changes, such as warmer temperatures and increases in precipitation, could result in positive impacts for herding livelihoods. Small reductions in runoff will not dramatically affect residents of the At Bashy Range due to their advantageous location at the head of the watershed. However, these same small reductions would have great downstream implications for agriculture, irrigation and energy generation.

Repeat Photography

2010-10-07T21:14:00.000+06:00

Repeat photography can complement recent investigations based on remote sensing and computer modeling. It can provide a strong tool that visually represents changes. In my first months in Kyrgyzstan I can across photographs of glaciers taken in the At-Bashy Range in the 1960s that were incorporated into the USSR Catalog of Glaciers. Only a few photographs were suitable to document changes in glacial cover because in many of the photographs it was difficult to distinguish between seasonal snow coverage and glacial area. This summer I returned to two locations in the At Bashy Range on several occasions. In both cases even after repeat visits I was unable to return to the exact location of the original photograph. It appears that one of the photographs was possibly taken from aircraft. In addition to the difficulty of relocation efforts, the summer weather was less than ideal. The At- Bashy Range receives the majority of its precipitation in the summer, including snow at high elevations. This past winter was a record snow year and the mountains remained blanketed in seasonal snow for most of the summer.

In my attempts the resulting photographs do not offer much scientific value. They do highlight that retreat is not extreme and offer an interesting glance into the past.

At Bashy Mountaineering Part II

2010-09-12T15:46:00.002+06:00

APPROACH
The relationships I have cultivated with local people in Kyrgyzstan have provided numerous direct benefits crucial to my individual well being as well as my research goals. At unexpected times the relationships have had unexpected benefits. As Ben and I planned our final mountaineering trip into the At-Bashy Range we selected the Oshairak drainage in the center of the range for its aesthetic qualities on the map: the impressive size of the upper basin, the heavy concentration of large glaciers, and the presence of several of the range’s tallest peaks.

Ben and I with our Kyrgyz family, Asyl and Nurbek and four of their five girls: Aijarken, Aliza, Malika, Aijan

After tracing the Oshairak river back out to the At- Bashy valley, I was surprised when I realized that the grandparents of the Kyrgyz family I reside with in At-Bashy village live just a few kilometers from the entrance to our chosen drainage. With a few phones calls we had a place to stay, horses to carry our bags partway, and relatives that knew the way into the drainage. Instantly relieved of the major logistical and language complications, I was thrilled for the sudden unexpected convenience of relatives. In Kyrgyzstan climbing is the easy part, or at least relatively speaking. Just getting to the mountains is often the most difficult component of independent mountaineering here and despite my conversational Kyrgyz it remains the case even after almost a year. Although it is easy to find a taxi it is often difficult for local people in At Bashy to understand exactly why we are going into the mountains. Numerous times, taxi drivers or hired horsemen think that just anywhere in the mountains will be good enough. Conveying that we really truly want to go to this specific spot can often be confusing.

We hired a small old Russian Lada in At Bashy. After a dusty hour taxi ride south we were dropped off in a recently cut hayfield on the side of the dirt road leading south from the village of At Bashy to the much smaller village of Kazlybek. Grass season is in full swing in the At Bashy region, with all of valley’s lowland hay being cut for winter fodder for animals.

The parents of my “adopted” Kyrgyz family greeted us in true Kyrgyz fashion: chai, bread and lots of food. In customary Kyrgyz style, the parent’s youngest son Atilet (my “uncle”) lives there with his wife and newborn child. This tradition of the youngest son remaining with his parents is one of the many instances that illustrate the importance of family in Kyrgyz culture. It is unheard of for aging family members not to be taken care of and rural household units often consist of extended family. In addition to the immediate household, we were not the only guests staying that night. It was a cozy sleeping arrangement as nine of us slept spread across the floors in their tiny two room house.

The Oshairak Drainage. We attempted the peak on the left the following day

With Adielet and three horses we departed the following day, able to travel on horse a majority of the way up the drainage. The horses returned with Adielet and we walked several additional kilometers to the base of the largest glacier in the drainage to camp for the night. As dusk was settling Ben spotted a horseman with three horses descending a steep scree slope from a rocky 4000 meter pass that paralleled the glacier. After crossing the foot of the glacier he rode into our camp and it appeared that he was just as surprised to see us as we were to see him.

The yak herder

As he smoked a cigarette he informed us he was a yak herder looking for lost animals and asked if we had seen any recently. Just a few hours prior we had seen two wander by our camp. He looked neither relieved nor impressed and just kept smoking. In my time here I had heard of herders ascending above the mountain valley pasture but had never witnessed it. Given my research interests in local perspectives of glacial retreat I was thrilled to speak (in very basic Kyrgyz conversation) after watching him cross the tongue of a glacier. We watched him depart admiring his horses’ ability to walk across the moraines and huge boulder fields.

ASCENT AND ATTEMPT

At the head of the valley, we ascended the largest glacier in the Oshairak drainage. Several hours were spent negotiating a heavily crevassed section that required placing protection to cross delicate ice bridges. Upon reaching the upper section of the glacier we chose a camping location on a lateral moraine. The upper basin was encircled with a multitude of summits, and we identified and admired numerous alpine ice and snow routes.

The following day we attempted a prominent peak on the north side of the drainage. Directly from camp we climbed a snow gully that lead to a steep, icy and exposed ridge on the upper edge of a glacier which required careful climbing to reach a small shoulder. From here we walked a long snow ridge, before traversing a chossy section of fourth class rock. 30 meters from the summit we decided not continue as the final pyramid steepened considerably without opportunities for protection. With a storm rolling into the cirque, we descended an alternative snow coliour that fanned out onto the upper glacier. Looking back at the summit it appeared that approaching from the south would allow easier climbing to the summit. Regardless we were pleased with the quality of our climbing and the spectacular views.

Final Snow Ridge

Hmmm... the final chossy rock pyramid

Overnight the storm blanketed the area with a dusting of snow, but the skies did not clear. We decided we were not interested in returning to our first peak just to climb the final few meters, so we moved our attention elsewhere. We packed up camp and crossed the glacier to the south with hopes of climbing a very beautiful rock peak and exploring a rocky needle we had spotted. As we ascended the ridge we started looking for shelter as the storm gathered strength. High on the ridge, around 4300 meters, we found a small nook and set camp for the evening.

Winds shifted direction after dinner and picked up speed. We spent a sleepless night listening to the violent and continual rattling of the tent. The following morning as we attempted to melt snow we found neither of our lighters worked and there was only one match left. Unwilling to risk our last chance for coffee in the strong winds, we packed up camp and climbed a small scree peak just above camp before descending into the Chet Keltebek drainage. After a long scree descent of almost 1000 meters we found a sheltered area to boil water and rehydrate. After our considerable descent and with no reliable source of flame, we decided to head out two days earlier than anticipated slightly let down.

We walked out via the Chet Keltebek drainage stopping to admire an immense herd of yaks that probably belonged to the herder we had met on our first night. Above the green pastures the drainage bifurcated into several basins with glaciers pouring over their upper reaches. Many impressive mountains with great potential for alpine routes loomed in the distance.

The Chet Keltebek drainage converges with the Oshairak drainage several kilometers from the At Bashy Valley. In the foothills, just a few kilometers from reaching the dirt road, we camped for the night. Having not planned a taxi pick up, the following day we walked for several hours through several small village to reach the main road. After several warm beers and some lunch at a small café we hitchhiked back to the village of At Bashy. The Kyrgyz family we live with ensured that before we returned to Bishkek Ben was well fed with meals such as laghman (noodles and mutton) and beshbemak (a whole sheep boiled with a few noodles). My Kyrgyz mother told me once, “A well fed man is a happy man”.

Ak Tash

2010-08-25T11:11:00.000+06:00

My imagination was spurred in June during a trip to Tash Rabat, located in the southern portion of the At Bashy Range, for the climbing potential of the area. Tash Rabat is an ancient stone structure dated to the 15th century that was used during the height of the Silk Road. Today, local and international tourists travel to the area to visit the stone structure with its beautiful dome that still remain tucked safely in the mountains.

Ben and I traveled to the area following our mountaineering trip in the northern portion of the range looking for rock climbing, rest and relaxation. The impressive overthrusts of the limestone cliffs are incredible aesthetic and from a distance it appeared that climbing and exploration would be abundant. Dozen of eagles continually soared above us riding summer thermals only disappearing when returning to their nests in the cliffs.The area we were in is know as Ak-Tash which means white rock. However in three days of exploring we were unable to find routes with protection opportunities with traditional climbing gear. We also struggled to find any top roping locations. The climbing potential is incredible and many walls looked like they could hold dozen of sport routes. However I would hesitate to promote bolting in the area given the remote location of the area and the abundant eagle nesting.

As our original intentions changes we started spending more time with my local friends from a previous visit who run on of the yurt camps in the valley for tourists coming to Tash Rabat. Sabyrbek and his family allowed us to live in one of their yurts and I took to helping them cook, clean and do chores. The few tourists that filtered through during the week seemed to think it strange that an American was "working" in such a remote place. I have found that helping is the quickest way to peoples hearts and the best way to understand the life and intricacies of a culture.

Our week ended on not the best notes as Ben succumbed once again to intestinal issues. We retreated to At Bashy and then to Bishkek. A week of rest and calorie recompensation for Ben has us feeling strong and eager to return. Today we head back to At Bashy for our last three weeks exploring, climbing and sharing life with local people.

ABOUT AT BASHY

2010-08-25T10:31:00.000+06:00

This post is intended to provide a more detailed background of the social and physical features of the At-Bashy area...

SOCIAL FEATURES
The At Bashy Mountain Range is located within the Naryn Oblast, one of the seven oblasts that constitute Kyrgyzstan. Although the Naryn oblast covers ¼ of the country’s land area, it only hold 5% of the country’s population (271,280 people) making it the most sparsely populated oblast in Kyrgyzstan. The majority of the oblast’s residents live in rural villages. The economic and cultural ties to the landscape are reflected by a strong cultural pride. The Naryn oblast is often considered the most “Kyrgyz” in terms of ethnicity and is considered by many to be the Kyrgyz cultural heartland. READ MORE....

PHYSICAL FEATURES
Located just north of the Chinese border within the country of Kyrgyzstan, the At-Bashy Mountain Range stretches for 160 km (100miles) with peaks in elevation up to 4800 meters (about 15,500 ft).There are over 190 glaciers in the At-Bashy region. In the At-Bashy Range, maximum precipitation and glacier accumulation occurs in the spring and summer when the weakened Siberian high allows for moisture to arrive from the west and north coinciding with maximum glacier melt rates. READ MORE.....

Tradition of Nomadic Pastoralism: The Kyrgyz Herder

2010-08-25T10:03:00.002+06:00

The practice of semi-nomadic pastoralism is strongly rooted in Kyrgyz cultural identity as the practice extends regionally back thousands of years. Despite drastic political transformations over the past two centuries, livestock has remained the most important component of rural livelihoods in Kyrgyzstan. Today, pastoralism continues to be the main livelihood for many rural Kyrgyz as topographic and climatic constraints limit crop cultivation. READ MORE....

First Ascents

2010-08-07T16:25:00.001+06:00

The earliest descriptions of mountains and glaciers in the Tien Shan were from travelers of the Silk Road, such as the seventh century Chinese monk Xuan Zang who wrote of snow transformed into ice rocks that never melt. The first detailed recordings did not occur until the 19th century, lead first by European explorer Piotr Semenov in 1858. Other early explorers of the 19th and 20th centuries climbed a few summits, but remote ranges were not fully explored until the Soviet began training mountaineers in the 1950’s. Soviet alpinism in Kyrgyzstan was focused on the highest summits and training occurred near Issyk Kul lake and Bishkek, leaving a majority of peaks in the Tien Shan unclimbed. Despite an absence of records, select peaks throughout the At-Bashy and other ranges were climbed for surveying purposes to generate Soviet maps. Many of these peaks still bear survey posts which contradict recent claims by Western climbers that these ranges are unexplored and their peaks unclimbed. Additionally in the At Bashy range local Kyrgyz have been utilizing mountain pastures for grazing and have travelled across high altitute passes for hundreds of centuries. Although many peaks still remain unclimbed, assertions that the At-Bashy was unexplored until recently should be considered disingenuous.

Given its political history, Kyrgyzstan has only recently become an international mountaineering and climbing destination. The past fifteen years has brought an increasing number of climbing expeditions to Kyrgyzstan, many in search of remote and unclimbed areas. Despite the plethora of unclimbed peaks, it can often be difficult to determine what has been climbed, as historic and local information is often difficult to find. However, the commercial appeal of virgin summits is strong for independent and guided expeditions and continues to drive mountaineering in the Tien Shan. The Kyrgyz Mountaineering Federation, a semblance of an organization, is attempting to work with the American Alpine Club to document expeditions throughout Kyrgyzstan. However it still can be a questionable exercise to claim a first ascent, especially on lower elevation peaks, such as those in the At-Bashy.

Pat Littlejohn and the International School of Mountaineering claim the first expedition into the At-Bashy range in 2003. Several other expeditions have occurred since then, including a repeat visit from Littlejohn. These expeditions have been recorded in the American Alpine Journal and shared via other online and printed publications. Littlejohn will be returning with two expeditions this summer to climb in the At-Bashy. Despite first ascent fever and the relative ease of claiming first ascents in the At-Bashy, we are hesitant to jump on the bandwagon given the presence of surveyor posts in the range and the lack of written Soviet exploration records. We look forward to returning to Bishkek in September and further inquiring about Soviet cartographic expeditions to expand what we know and have observed in the At-Bashy Range.

Ben and a Soviet era survey post on the summit of an unnamed peak in the At-Bashy Range

In our mountaineering trips in the At Bashy, potentially some of our ascents are firsts and likely others are not. A surveyor post or a summit carin is a clear indication of a prior ascent, but the lack thereof does not eliminate the possibility of a previous ascent. Despite the appeal of a first ascent to any climber, the semantics of defining our ascents as first or seconds is not a main motivating factor. The remoteness of the range, the unknown nature of our routes, the beauty of the landscape, our interactions with locals, the humor in dealing with local logistics- these are the things that motivate and inspire us.

At Bashy Mountaineering Part I : THE NORTH

2010-08-07T16:15:00.001+06:00

A map is a visual gateway, a landscape written on paper that comes alive in the mind of a keen reader. Our first mountaineering trip into the At-Bashy Range was inspired by nothing more than pouring over maps. Historic Soviet maps served as the first reference, with satellite imagery, digital elevation models and Google Maps providing us more accurate and detailed information. We were inspired by a unique looking cirque with three +4400 meter peaks on the south end. While still in Bishkek we sketched out a rough route to explore the area over seven days, gathering navigation coordinates and elevations to aid our trip.

After Ben’s recovery from a multitude of ailments, we left Bishkek via shared taxi, a seven hour drive to At-Bashy. As a majority of people in Kyrgyzstan do not own vehicles, a multitude of transportation options exist including buses, minibuses and taxis. Shared taxis, most often small sedans, are private vehicles whose seats are filled by paying occupants. Given the rough roads and long distances, taxis are the quickest and most popular form of transportation. We filled the entire trunk of our tiny shared taxi with mountaineering and camping gear. Of all our undertakings, our greatest exposure to danger occurs on the roads here, as our driver sped in typical fashion the entire way aggressively passing on blind corners, rattling over potholes and blasting loud pop music the entire way.

After arriving in At-Bashy and spending half a day with the Kyrygz family we live with there, we headed north to the tiny village of Ak Muz, which translates from Kyrgyz to English as White Ice. I had made advanced arrangements through a friend, Kymbat-eje, who lives there to hire a horse to carry our gear part of the way into the mountains. In Ak Muz, while drinking endless cups of tea we discussed the feasibility of using horses to access the Taldy-Suu drainage. Kymbat’s 18 year of son, Chingiz, was going to accompany us. He affirmed us that it should only take four or five horse to travel up the drainage with horses towards the pass over into the Ak-Say valley.

DAY 1: Humor and Horses
After spending a windy night camped in Kymbat’s yard, we departed early in morning with Chingiz. Our initial transportation logistics did not manifest as we had imagined as Kymbat-eje had different ideas about which there was no discussion to be had. Instead of us being on foot, with our bags on one horse and Chingiz on the other, Ben and I ended up on one horse together while our bags and Chingiz loaded down on the other.

We left Ak Muz in the wrong direction despite our plan to head straight across the river as discussed the previous day and confirmed by consulting the map. Chingiz took us on an hour detour to travel upstream to cross the At- Bashy River before retracing our progress on the opposite bank. We finally arrived at the tiny village of Taldy-Suu at the base of the drainage we wished to travel up. We provoked a great deal of curiosity and it seemed every man in the village had input for our route, with unanimous directives to a different drainage that apparently offered easier passage. Only with persistence were we able to clarify that we did not just want to go anywhere in the mountains, but that we had a specific destination up the Taldy Suu drainage. Four hours after leaving Ak Muz and only having traveled four air kilometers we remained humored, but our patience was beginning to give way to frustration. After a complete tour of the village and numerous route changes, we set up the right drainage into the mountains. Ben and I rode a few hundred meters up, then dismounted and moved our backpacks onto our horse. In the pouring rain, we walked several more kilometers to a point were the horses could no longer easily travel before sending Chingiz and the horses back to Ak Muz. We camped at our drop off location, spending the afternoon doing some reconnaissance towards the pass.

DAY 2: Geographical Gaffe
Awaking to zero visibility, completely enshrouded in mist, we headed towards the Taldy-Suu pass. Although our reconnaissance the previous day helped us find our way initially, the snow, steep moraines, and limited visibility made navigation complicated. Reaching a small saddle, a strange basin lay before us. It looked nothing like the pass we had expected. Without stopping to reassess, we continued in the thick clouds, finally reaching a semblance of a pass as the mist began to clear. Befuddled, we pulled out the compass and the GPS. It was immediately clear we were not at our intended destination, so where were we? A few moments later, we made the embarrassing realization that we were looking down the valley we had just camped in…we had walked in an ascending semicircle through the moraines.

With a bearing for the correct col, we corrected our route, ascending to the 4000 meter Taldy-Suu pass in the early afternoon. Just below us lay the Beyyt Kashka-Suu drainage and our destination cirque. The entire basin was snow filled. Glaciers clung to the higher peaks, with the green pastures of the Ak-Say valley visible in the distance. We descended 50 meters and set up our tent on a small exposed mossy ridge. With the dedication of trail laborers, we built a small windbreak for our tent from rocks. Given we had only brought the tent fly and ground cloth, our construction proved useful as nightfall brought strong winds and snow.

DAY 3: SNOW
Peering out of the tent prompted no rush for an alpine start given the ten centimeters of new snow blanketing the basin. Clearing weather came in the late morning, which we took advantage of to climb a small peak just west of camp. We ascended snow to the base of an arête leading to the summit, before enjoying moderate (Class III/IV+) climbing to the summit (4390m). Given the thin coating of ice across the rocks on the ridge, we descended from the summit down a large scree field to a glacier before walking back to camp. The afternoon brought more snow, wind and below freezing temperatures.

DAY 4: THE TRIFECTA
The storm cleared overnight, giving us the weather window we had been hoping for. Early in the morning, we set out with intentions to climb the three highest summits in the area, all linked along the south side of the cirque by high ridges. We ascended via a glacier to a col between the west and middle peak. Despite the clear skies, a strong wind persisted and temperatures remained cold. At the col, tanding in blowing spindrift, we watched two wolves cross moraines and disappear into the valley below us. Kyrgyz people had often questioned us if were afraid of wolves when we traveled into the mountains, but we were unsure if a wolf population even existed in the At-Bashy. A general dislike and fear of wolves persists here, similar to the sentiment that existed in the western U.S. in the 20th century. Given that we harbor no hatred or fear, it was a special treat for us to watch the wolves travel through the rugged landscape below.

From the col we first climbed the western peak via a rocky ridge that lead to steep snow which required the use of crampons and ice axes. The snow dome summit (4561m) provided incredible views of the heavily glaciated central portion of the range.

We retraced our footsteps to the col to ascend the mellow ridge to the middle summit (4535m) which had been previously climbed as indicated by the presence of a geographical survey post at the top. We continued east, descending a steep, exposed and double corniced ridge. Both sides of the ridge were +50 degrees, with one side bulletproof and the other wind loaded. The new snow and strong solar radiation made us hesitant. Unable to easily protect our descent, we carefully down climbed the ridge to a steep slope and eventually to the col below. The ascent of the last peak in the enchainment was the most involved.

Although the climbing was only moderate (Class III/IV), it demanded attention given the exposure on both sides of the ridge. The climbing eased, but the upper third required ascent of a steep a snow ridge to the final upper slopes and summit pyramid (4546m).

With still blue bird skies, we enjoyed panoramic views of the entire Ak-Say valley which we had walked the length of two weeks prior. We descended via the same route to the col, before down climbing into a new glacier basin. Avoiding exposed glacial ice, we had a single 30 meter rappel through a cliff band that brought us to the base of the peak. Our final few kilometers of the day took around a small glacial lake, across old moraines and a final plod though soft snowfields to camp.

DAY 5: REST AND REALITY
We took a rest day doing absolutely nothing but sleeping, talking B.S., laying in the sun and eating the copious amount of food we packed in.

Day 6: DESCENT
Feeling we had explored the basin to our satisfaction, we packed up camp and ascended out of the basin to the west with full packs. We dropped our backpacks at a col, climbing the final peak in the cirque (approximately 4400m- forgot to take the GPS). We then descended into the Djol-Bozoshty drainage, which holds the Bozoshty Pass and a horse trail that herders use to cross the At Bashy Range. This was the drainage that Chingiz and the men of Taldy-Suu initially wanted to take us into, as it is one of only two easily crossable passes in the entire At-Bashy Range. A long scree descent brought us to lush green pastures filled with horses. We encountered several men on horseback traveling between the Ak-Say and the At Bashy valley. We shared our lunch with a lone herder. He generously shared his kymys (traditional Kyrgyz drink made of fermented mare’s milk) which was just as delicious as we remembered after several weeks without. We camped near the base of the drainage near a small forest enjoying the warmer weather and lower altitude. Kyrgyzstan is a vastly treeless landscape (50% of the country’s forest has been cut down in the last 30 years) and seeing a forested skyline made me think of Montana and my impending departure this fall from Kyrgyzstan.

DAY 7: EXIT
We hiked out the remainder of the drainage to the village of Myy, from which without any hassle or unnecessary haggling we found a man with a car who took us back to At-Bashy to enjoy warm temperature, feasting on watermelon with our Kyrgyz family, and a washing in the public bathhouse.

Bishkek Lassitude

2010-07-27T07:45:00.000+06:00

On the Glacier beneath Chok Tal

We are headed back to At-Bashy, this time headed into the mountains as opposed to around them. After our circumnavigation of the Range two weeks ago Ben and I journey to Issyk Kul Region to lay on the beach and attempt Chok Tal, the tallest peak in the Kungey Ala-Too. The warm weather proved fruitful for our sunburns but in the end prevented us from reaching the summit due to soft snow conditions. Returning to Bishkek, Ben succumbed to a various amalgamation of illness. After a week of rest, he is mostly recovered and we are ready to get away from the hot smoggy streets of Bishkek. We will be spending the next month mountaineering and exploring in the At-Bashy Range. Until then!

Circumnavigation of the At-Bashy Range

2010-07-20T14:10:00.001+06:00

To commencement the beginning of our summer exploring the At-Bashy Range, Ben and I recently traveled through the extent of my study area, circling the entire At-Bashy Mountain Range. We walked the extent of the range from north to south walking over 180 km from the At-Bashy valley over into the Ak-Say Valley, south to the shores of Chatyr-Kul, before reaching Torugart Pass on the Chinese border and hitchhiking back to At-Bashy. This journey has been one I have wanted to make since the inception of my time here in Kyrgyzstan.

Although it was physical journey, covering significant mileage and completing a defined geographic path, the trip proved to be more of a social journey more than anything. The natural beauty of the landscape, the vastness of the high pastures, the stunning views of the mountains were superceded by our interaction with the semi-nomadic Kyrgyz herders.

As we walked from the gorgeous wooded valley of Bosogo and then across the wide open pastures of the Ak-Say Valley, we would frequently pass yurts next to glacial fed streams tucked into hillsides. Incredible hospitality was extended to us in almost every interaction we had with these herders and their families. At the least, we were always invited in for kymys (fermented mare’s milk), chay (tea), nan (bread) and kaimuk (fresh cream). Many people offered much more…. a meal, the slaughtering of a sheep and a place to sleep in their yurt. Or perhaps we need a donkey or even better a horse for the rest of our journey? Most often we did not accept the extent of people’s hospitality. Although we never declined the plethora of kymys or chay that existed at every yurt, we usually turned down offers of food and a place to stay due to our desire to minimize our impact as well as to cover decent distances of ground each day. It also often seemed the most elaborate offers came early in the morning, when we had traveled very short distances from our previous night’s camp.

Peoples’ perceptions of our journey varied greatly. One old man told us it would take over a month to walk to our intended destination. Most clearly had no envy of our undertaking, but still took great interest in us. Most people were surprised we had no horse, no car nearby, and no yurt. Where did we sleep? What did we eat? Children in particular took great interest in our tent and our backpacks.

Recollecting my observations and the interactions we enjoyed seems superficial at best, but I hope this narrative of our journey provides a portrait of life on pasture.

July 4th- Day 1- After taking in the mal bazaar (animal market) of At Bashy we headed north with my Kyrgyz family in their rusty Volkswagen van along the bumpy track to the northern tip of the range. After several stops for picnicking and flower picking, we were dropped off and to the great doubt of my family headed west. A short distance brought us to the yurt of Taliabek, an old herder whom I had met and interviewed previously in the spring. He was thrilled to receive us as guests and even more thrilled to receive photos of him and his family that I had brought.
We pitched our tent between his two yurts, spending the evening observing livestock, cutting logs with a crosscut and playing soccer with his grandchildren (U.S. vs Kyrgyzstan, World Cup match of Bosogo). We fell asleep surrounded heavy breathing of cattle, our sleep only interrupted by the sloppy tongues of cows against the tent.

July 5th- Day 2- After joining the family for tea and bread, we set off against Taliabek’s advice for us to continue along the dirt track used by vehicles, instead opting to follow horse trails that passed over to the Ak-Say Valley. Our trail immediately led us to a yurt where we began our frequent consumption of kymys, fermented mare’s milk.

Foals are kept tied to a line in the front yard of yurts, keeping mares at close range for frequent milking. Once milk is gently extracted from the horses’ teats it is transferred into a large wooden barrel that had been smoked with pine cones and native wood. Here it is frequently churned with a large wooden stick, called a bishkek. Fermentation occurs during churning producing within several hours, kymys: a thick, fizzy, slightly sour, delicious liquid that is prided by all Kyrgyz and redeemed for its health benefits.

Walking up to the headwaters of the At-Bashy River and making several creek crossing we began our ascent of the pass into the Ak-Say Valley. We bypassed herders fishing the creeks and joined several for kymys spread across a saddle blanket. Crossing the divide, we were tucked against the northern most peaks of the At-Bashy Range and were granted incredible views. Upon descending into the Ak-Say Valley, we set up camp in a short break of weather between incoming afternoon thunderstorms that are generated every afternoon along the At-Bashy range. Some of the herders we met earlier in the day passed our tent at nightfall and invited us to join them at their yurt for the night. The downpour kept us in place unwilling to dismantle our tent in the wet and darkness. Skies cleared at sunset, presenting an incredible sunset.

July 6th- Day 3-We awoke to be invited up to the yurt of a family living upstream from our camp. Although each families’ yurt has its own decorations most are set up in similar manner with shyrdaks (felt rugs) spread across the floor and a small table or dosktun in the center of the yurt. Yurts are made locally and consist of a felt covering spread across a wooden frame. Cooking and heating is provided by the burning of dung in a small stove that is near the entrance to the yurt. At night, tushooks (large mats of fabric or wool) are laid out across the floor of the yurt for sleeping. Personal belongings are sparse, almost everything present is functional for cooking and herding. People subsist primarily on bread, the milk products of horse, cow and yak (kymys, milk, cream, butter, and yogurt) and meat. Most meals we observed consisted of bread, kymys and chay.
While the men of the family that invited us in had departed for their daily herding duties, we joined the women and children in drinking kymys and several bowls of hot foamy cow’s milk before starting walking for the day. We could not find the yurt of the fishing herders we had met the previous day and headed southeast into the heart of the Ak-Say Valley. We chose to stay off the dirt track that intersects the center of the valley, instead walking on horse trails and more often than not just across the grasslands. Walking was easy as we passed large herds of livestock in river bottoms. In the afternoon we intercepted a single rider on horseback, who invited us to his yurt. Approaching the yurt, children came running on foot to greet us. Joining the entire family with the ritual kymys and chay, the ritual questions followed. Why do Ben and I not have horses with us? And more importantly why do we not have children?
Observing the simple existence of the family it was easy to romanticize about life on pasture. Despite the hard work of herding and living off the land, it was apparent that they were genuinely happy and despite their simple material objects, content.
We continued onward that evening, walking well into the evening before setting up camp amidst a collection of strange rock piles. A short discussion and a consultation with my old soviet map of the area proved our suspicions, we had set up camp in the middle of an old cemetery. For our own peace of mind and out of respect, we moved camp to the opposite river bank.

July 7th- Day 4 -Waking and walking, it was not long before we walked into the front yard of a yurt. The women were hard at work separating yak kaimuk (cream) and making sarymyy (butter, literal translation yellow fat). After watching the mares be milk and two dead yaks be hauled in we continued our walk in the scorching afternoon sun.The expanse of open space of the high altitude pasture is incredible. Gazing out across the horizon, we literally stumbled onto a yurt. After kymys our host, Aldenbek and his wife Nazgul, invited us to stay for a meal and to spend the night. Feeling good about the terrain we had traveled, we decided to stay, feasting on ibex, riding horses, and enjoying the company of the children and the slightly strange aunt. Nightfall brought a hoard of visiting neighbors, fried fish and a bottle of vodka. The Kyrgyz do not take drinking or toasting lightly, I opted out but Ben was wrangled into finishing the bottle and listening, but not really understanding, the tall tales of herding. We stayed up well into the night with the men, drinking tea by candlelight while the children sat silently in the backdrop of darkness around us.

July 8th- Day 5-After a great deal of thanks and boding farewell to Aldenbek, we headed out ready to cover some good distance. Just a few minutes brought us to the yurt of our previous night’s visitors and mandatory tea and kymys. Declining food and the slaughtering of a sheep, we headed out only to run into a string of yurts of other men we had met the night before. Unwilling to displease our friends, we partook in a incredible routine of kymys, chay and nan at each yurt. Each family seemed so proud to host us. Quite quickly we consumed several liters of kymys a piece, but somehow were able to continue our consumption from yurt to yurt. One family had captured a small wolf pup which was chained in the front yard.
Across the river at another yurt, we watched the shearing of sheep. Ben was challenged playfully by a young herder to a wrestling match, in which Kyrgyzstan was victorious (you can’t let the host country lose on their own turf, can you?). After an entire morning of feasting and chatting, we were concerned about how little progress we had made. One of the herders offered to take us some distance by horseback and we negotiated a price. After a lengthy roundup and more tea, we were finally off, each with our own horse, accompanied by three mounted Kyrgyz men. It was not long, before we stopped once again for kymys and nan at a neighboring yurt. Only an hour after our start, it became apparent that the price was up for negotiation. Unwilling to pay more, we departed a bit frustrated from our guides on foot. That afternoon, feeling motivated, we covered around 25 miles. The landscape was increasingly drier and the yurts sparse. We had entered the heart of the Ak-say, one of the most remote valleys in Kyrgyzstan. Finally finding water, we camped for the night almost reaching the divide between Ak-Say and Chatyr-Kul basins.

July 9th- Day 6-Waking early, we headed south intercepting the dirt track that follows the Chinese border. We had a brief encounter with a brigade of soldiers on foot patrolling the triple barbed wire fence of the border. They had difficulty understanding how we came to be where we were, as it seems by traveling through the high pastures we had bypassed several checkpoints located along the road. Fortunately we produced our necessary border permit and identifications and proceeded without trouble.
We crossed the divide into the Chatyr Kul Basin, now walking above 3600 meters (11,880 feet). We were beckoned over and invited up to a yurt set against several abandoned houses along the track. The Soviets built several settlements in the area to support collective livestock herding operations that have long been vacant for the past two decades. One man and his family were working to remodel one of these houses for their use in the summer.

After a brief visit, we continued on the road, bypassing another checkpoint, before walking the long, long last miles to Torugart Pass and the main road, arriving just before dusk. One of two main roads in Kyrgyzstan, the road over Torugart Pass is the main route of transport for goods from China. We stayed at a tiny truck stop which was nothing more than a dilapidated collection of Soviet trailers, rough looking men drinking vodka, various trucks, and several small families.
Ben promptly became sick after eating eggs and bread. In the trailer of a woman we befriended, we had a poor night’s sleep on the floor as border soldier’s barged in at 4 a.m. looking for more vodka and snacks.
July 10th-Day 7 -A long morning wait, with entertainment from local children, finally brought a fleet of trucks across the Chinese border, from which we were able to hitch a ride with a Russian driver headed to Bishkek with a convoy of several other semi-trucks. Squeezed in the front seat, the drive back to At-Bashy was rough and bumpy, slow, and long, taking the entire day. Just a few kilometers outside of At-Bashy the fleet stopped for a flat tire. With darkness closing in on us we were impatient at the proximity of home, so we hopped out and were promptly picked up by a bypassing car. We covered the last miles of our circumnavigation with two drunken Kyrgyz men before returning home to hot food and my Kyrgyz family to relive the tales of our kymys drinking over the following days.

Introducing....

2010-07-20T13:39:00.001+06:00

Almost a month has passed since the arrival of my friend Ben Logan. A California native who has worked and climbed across the western U.S., he come to join me for three months in Kyrgyzstan. His presence as a friend and mountaineering partner here in Kyrgyzstan facilitates a much higher level of freedom and safety than I was ever able to experience as an individual.

From previous traveling experience, I often identify myself as a married women in foreign cultures. In Kyrgyzstan it has proved to be useful as I spent most of the winter traveling, working and living as a solo female- a difficult concept for local men to grasp. When Ben made his plans concrete in January, my imaginary husband was gifted a name. Our "marriage" here is highly functional, allowing us to stay with families together, travel without suspicion and be more socially accepted. Together we take great humor in answering the ubiquitous questions about our lack of children and future plans for procreation.

For our remaining two months, we are piecing together an itinerary for mountaineering objectives in the At-Bashy Range that will make the most of our time and limited resources. Despite a strong emphasis on efficiency, we also wish to allow for a degree of spontaneity within the project's framework. Simplicity is our mantra and we will be utilizing local means and approaching our mountain forays with minimalism and flexibility. Thank you the the American Alpine Club Nikwax Alpine Bellwether Grant and the American Alpine Club Research Grant for supporting the cost of Ben's participation.

The Walk

2010-07-03T10:34:00.000+06:00

The past weeks have passed quickly. With the departure of Dr. Sarah Halvorson, I accepted a new companion, Ben Logan. He will be joining me for the summer as my mountain partner. His presence will facilitate the ability to travel freely and safely throughout the At-Bashy Range and the country. Since his arrival we spent a few days rock climbing at Chong Kurchak, a canyon outside of Bishkek before heading to Ala-Archa National Park for a week. The referendum and a venomous snake bite (foreign country, unknown snake species… who wouldn’t want to pick it up?) prevented me from joining Ben and some friends on a climb of Corona Peak. My hand has resumed a normal size and the referendum passed with an overwhelming majority so we were able to spend the past week climbing, brushing up on our crevasse rescue skills and helping with the Intern Training with the Alpine Fund.

Next up, we are headed south to the At-Bashy Range. On foot we will walk the length of the range on the high and remote Ak Say Valley which holds some of the most remote herding pastures in Kyrgyzstan. I have travelled on the northern side of the range, but am looking forward to the adventure of the unknown.

Intern Training Trip

2010-07-03T10:17:00.000+06:00

The Alpine Fund, a non profit I have been volunteering with throughout the year, organized a two day Intern training trip to the Ak Say Glacier in Ala Archa National Park. Ala Archa is located just an hour south of Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Mountains and is Kyrgyzstan’s most accessible and popular hiking and mountaineering location. The Alpine Fund works to promote youth education and connect local disadvantaged youth with the mountains in Kyrgyzstan.

Volunteers Maik, Anuska and Margreet acted in place of unassuming tourists while Salavat and interns Abdybek and Aidylet acted as the guides and porters. The group was rounded out by David, Ben and myself (Ann) who were already spending the week mountaineering in Ala Archa. Numerous requests are directed towards the Alpine Fund regarding guiding and hiking especially around the Bishkek area. The purpose of the trip was to provide interns with the necessary skills to fulfill basic requirements if they wish to pick up additional employment through future inquiries.

We selected the Ak Say Glacier trail for the training trip as it is the most popular destination in the park and a likely trail for future trips. The trail to Ratsek Hut and the Ak Say Glacier winds up through a beautiful green valley bypassing a large waterfall before climbing straight up a glacier moraine for several hundred meters to series of small flat benches just above the tongue of the Ak Say Glacier at 3200m (10,560 ft).

Our hike up went smoothly, light summer clouds kept the temperatures pleasantly cool. Abdybek and Aidylet hoofed up a majority of the weight in their packs refusing to redistribute any weight. We stopped near the large waterfall to enjoy a hot lunch of noodles and tea which was not disrupted even by stove malfunctions and a small gas explosion. With full bellies we scrambled our way up the steep scree of the glacier moraine for another hour and a half.

We set up camp just beyond the Ratsek hut, pitching our tents beneath the incredible collection ice glazed summits. Even though temperatures in Bishkek have been sweltering hot, in the mountains nighttime temperatures had been dropping below freezing. The interns prepared an incredible dinner of gretchka and veggies as a small rain squall moved through. The weather cleared for dinner. After eating everyone’s gazes turned skyward to witness the sunset. Peachy clouds were set alight against a deep blue sky as each peak took on a fiery pink alpine glow that grew more intense by the moment.

As darkness fell everyone retired to their tents. Morning came faster for those that stayed warm through the night, a few had underestimated the amount of clothing to bring. A hot breakfast and tea cheered us all up in the morning. Half of the group ascended a ridge of Uchitel Peak while other relaxed in camp before reconvening for lunch and descending back to the trailhead. Beyond just being plain fun, the weekend was good preparation for the interns for mountain adventures and potential future work as guides and porters.

Descending Teke-Tor after an unsuccessful summit attempt.

Korona Peak (4860m) viewed from Teketor

Ibex

THE SOUTH

2010-06-22T08:29:00.000+06:00

Returning from At-Bashy, where for a majority of our time we were completely removed from outside communication, it is devastating to hear about the destruction of lives in the South. We, Dr. Sarah Halvorson and I, were somewhat aware of the situation while it was occurring. However, rumors abounded and we were unaware of magnitude of the situation or failed to believe it.

Back in Bishkek widely circulating rumors are intermixed with facts making it difficult if not impossible to differentiate between the two. I cannot claim high validity to my knowledge, nor can anyone else. The investigation of the events on June 10th in Osh, Jalalabad and across the south is still speculative. However it is widely accepted that it was planned and well organized, most likely by the former president, Bakiev and his supporters. The were able to utilize an existing ethnic tension between Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnicity and incite violence through incredible manipulation of emotion and fear. Beyond widespread burning of homes and point-black killing, many powerful manipulation tactics were utilized to provoke violence including accusations of Uzbeks raping Kyrgyz children and women. Knowing the difference between accusation and action is faint because the manipulation tactics resulted in many accusations eventually coming to truth. It is difficult to comprehend how this can happen. What complicates the events for me is the fact that several weeks ago wide circulation of a recorded conversation between Janish (Bakiev's brother) and Maxim (Bakiev's son) outlined how to create violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Given this knowledge, I felt certain that the events would not happen since it had been revealed to be a ploy. However I clearly could not comprehend the power of destruction and emotion and it's ability to self perpetuate and rapidly escalate.

Although things are calm in the north, a high level of tension exists as the referendum vote is scheduled to occur on June 27th. The ballot contains two important items to be decided. The first is whether to accept the newly drafted constitution. The second is whether to confirm Rosa Otunbayeva with executive powers until the fall election in October. Despite the individual significance of both these items, they are packaged together in a single vote. The referendum ballot will consist of a single “yes” or “no” vote to either approve the new constitution and accept Rosa Otunbayeva or reject both. I cannot offer any predictions in what events will unfold as I still at a great loss for what has happened in the south.

Life in the Jailoo

2010-06-22T07:47:00.000+06:00

Over the past two weeks while violence erupted in the south, I was tucked up in summer pastures of the At-Bashy Range. I have hired a local field assistant, Aizada, to assist in my interviews as my Kyrgyz is insufficient for that level of conversation. However, my Kyrygz had greatly improved over the past month and I find myself actually able to maintain (and sometimes finish!) entire conversations.

I was also joined by another "field assistant" and "photographer" Dr. Sarah Halvorson, Associate Professor and Chair of the Geography Department at The University of Montana. This is Sarah's third visit to Kyrgyzstan and she has extensive research experience in Central Asia. Our time in the At-Bashy area was incredible.

We started this trip by participating in a Teacher's Workshop at Naryn State University in Naryn City, a large town of 40,000 located an hour north of At-Bashy. The workshop was focused on integrating ecological information and sustainable development into Kyrgyzstan's high school curriculum. It was a unique opportunity to interact with local teachers and gain insight into the education system. At the end of the workshop I had the opportunity to run a focus group with the teachers regarding my research interests. I was particularly interested in finding out about how people define glaciers as many of my interview participants in At-Bashy use ice and snow interchangeable, often defining glaciers just as snow. We also had the opportunity to discuss the placement of mountain geography and glaciers in the current school curriculum and in the Soviet school curriculum.
Following the workshop, a teacher from Ak-Muz a small village near At-Bashy invited us to visit. She accompanied us for a day of field interviews visiting yurts in summer pastures. We were treated to a great surprise when her family slaughtered a sheep for us that evening to make none other than the infamous besh-bemak to feast on rump fat, innards and incredible soup and noodles.
We joined my Kyrgyz family in At Bashy for a few days before heading south to Tash Rabat, an ancient Silk Road caravan sari. Here we stayed in yurts for several days, interviewed many herders, rode horses across snow to high mountains passes and were invited to a spontaneous party with seven Kyrgyz families.

Throughout the entire range, yurts are popping up and livestock are taking to the high pastures. Families are leaving villages and taking to up their semi-nomadic living for the summer. Koomuz, fermented mare's milk, is everywhere and is beloved by all Kyrgyz. It is a bit of an acquired taste, but as with all of the incredible dairy products here I am a fan. This past weekend we left the jailoos and koomuz to return to Bishkek and the realities of the death and chaos in the south. Sarah has safely departed for the states. We had so much fun! I am incredibly grateful for her visit which provided the opportunity to receive some mentorship and feedback regarding my fieldwork and to share the experience with someone.

Three Hundred Cups of Tea

2010-06-06T08:42:00.001+06:00

I am currently undertaking my official interviews in the At-Bashy range. Through my interviews, I am attempting to gain insight into the ways in which glacier retreat is impacting water security, livelihoods, and environmental quality. This research is some of the first research documenting local knowledge and perceptions of glaciers.

My interviews consist of 24 open ended questions about the importance of the glaciers and mountains to their communities. Additionally subjects are asked about long-term visible changes in land and water of their surroundings and the impacts those changes are having on their lives and communities. I am using a local translator to assist me to ensure I have full comprehension of the conversations. Study participants must be life-long resident of the At-Bashy Range and have a livelihood connected to the natural resource base including semi-nomadic herding, high-elevation farming, hunting, guiding or logging.

In May, I conducted 29 interviews, primarily with herders. Many of the subjects’ families have lived in the area for upwards of 300 years. Answers to questions were varied, but the preliminary overview presents some interesting insight. There was unanimous agreement that mountains and glaciers are important to individuals and communities. When asked about the meaning of mountains and glaciers many people chose symbols of life, wealth and Kyrgyz culture. Numerous people described changes in land, water and glaciers over their life while many other people had not observed any changes.

The interviews are giving me deep insight into rural life and culture in Kyrgyzstan. Most interviews have been fascinating and the generous hospitality of people overwhelming. But a few time, certain interviews have been frustrating with contradictory statements or answers I perceive to be superficial.

Next week, I will be returning to At-Bashy with Dr. Sarah Halvorson, an Associate Professor at The University of Montana in the Department of Geography. I am excited to collaborate with her as I continue my work, drinking endless cups of tea, in dozens of homes and yurts, listening to individuals speak about their lives, views and beliefs.

Rural Life

2010-06-06T07:54:00.000+06:00

Life in At-Bashy epitomizes rural Kyrgyzstan. At-Bashy is a village of 10,000 residents located just north of the Chinese border within the Naryn Oblast (Kyrgyzstan is divided into 7 political regions called oblasts). The Naryn Oblast is often considered to be the Kyrgyz cultural heartland. True to this generalization is the only mono-ethnic oblast in the country with an ethnic composition that is 99% Kyrgyz and many residents of the province do not speak any Russian.

Agriculture dominates the economy accounting for 40-60% of the oblast’s production and employing over 60% of the population. Over 80% of the oblast population lives in rural areas, with Naryn (40,000 people) being the only town of substantial size. The Naryn Oblast is the poorest oblast in the country with 42.7% people living in poverty. The average income per capital is just 1,465 soms per month ($37 USD). Due to the poor economic conditions, many rural people maintain self-sufficiency through a combination of agriculture practices and animal husbandry, both of which are climate sensitive sectors.

Group of women making felt in Terek Suu, a small village

A horse stands alone outside the animal market

In At-Bashy, I have found a local family to live with while I conduct interviews in surrounding villages and pastures. The family lives in a typical adobe house. There is no running water, but there is a well in the yard- a luxury compared to walking onto the street to collect water like many other families must. The house has electricity, but in the winter is primarily heated through burning of coal. The family sleeps together in one or two rooms depending on how cold it is. Everynight tushooks, thick mats, are laid out on the floor and then put away in the morning.

The family has five girls ranging in age from 1 to 16. Both the mother, Asyl and the father, Nurbek, are from At-Bashy and have many many relatives in the area. Being incorporated into a Kyrgyz family means sacrificing personal space and personal desires. The area of greatest difficulty for me is the local diet. I enjoy many of the traditional dishes, but suffer from the amount of food that is pressured upon me and a continued lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most meals consist of either potatoes, rice or pasta with lots of fat and a little bit of meat. Bread is ever present. And it is always washed down with tea.

I celebrated my 23rd birthday in At-Bashy. My family and their extended family suprised me with a traditional feast of an entire boiled sheep laid on top of noodles and potatoes. This gastronomical delight is the Kyrgyz national dish known as besh bemak (translates into “five fingers” because it is eaten by hand). As the guest of honor, I fed the eyeballs, the tongue, many large white hunks of mutton rump fat and other indiscernible body parts. In great timing, as I was devouring the thyroid the grandmother asked me in disgust "In America you eat pigs right?.... Uggh...how could ever eat a pig!" I was the only who saw humor in that situation.

My time in At-Bashy in May was cut short when I developed a persistant high fever, deep fatigue and deep cough that forced my retreat to see doctors in Bishkek who speculated over many things ending in "ocious". Pneumonia was finally named the culprit and recovery is slow but underway. Despite my father's concerns, I am quite sure my respiratory distress is unrelated to my recent gastronomical delights.

Locals taking break from planting potatoes

The At-Bashy Market

At-Bashy

2010-05-19T08:50:00.000+06:00

I am headed to At-Bashy!

FUN RUN

2010-05-19T08:34:00.001+06:00

The Alpine Fund Dacha Weekend

2010-05-19T07:48:00.000+06:00

Buttercups blanketing the hills, herds of sheep…….it is spring in Kyrgyzstan! This past weekend we took full advantage of the beautiful weather while staying at the dacha, the Alpine Fund’s lovely mountain house located at the base of Ala-Archa Canyon just outside Bishkek. A group of eight teenagers from Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage joined Salavat and volunteers David, Kevin and myself (Ann) for the weekend. Besides hiking and getting out in the mountains this weekend held a special purpose. From this group of kids, one will be selected to be Alpine Fund interns for next year. Selection criteria for an intern includes financial need but also motivation and interest to take on responsibilities involved with the Alpine Fund organization such as assisting in mountain trips and helping with meetings.

After arriving Saturday afternoon and having lunch in the garden, we hiked up the east side of the valley. Everything is green, green, green! We were rewarded with excellent views of Ala-Archa and the Aiygene Glacier. Dinner that evening was plov (traditional rice dish) cooked over an open fire in the yard. As the embers died, all the kids filled out sheets indicating their future plans, financial independence, and other questions that will aid our selection in selecting interns.

On Sunday after a hearty breakfast in the garden we spent some time pouring over a world map talking about geography. One of my favorite questions is to ask where in the world people would like to go to. All the kids had different answers to this question and some of them even said they would like to see the entire world! As the sun climbed into the sky we set off and hiked to the top of the Alpine Fund peak, a small mountain located on the west side of the valley. The climb up was hot, but a steady breeze kept us cool on the summit. The kids were thrilled to look north into Kazakhstan. Overlooking Bishkek, we were all grateful to get out of the city and into the mountains for the weekend. Returning to the dacha, we strolled through herds of grazing animals and groups of Kyrgyz families picknicking. After a late lunch, we all headed back to Bishkek renewed from a weekend of activity, sunshine and spring.

I have been an active volunteer with the Alpine Fund since I arrived in November. The Alpine Fund (www.alpinefund.org) is a local non-profit that works to connect at-risk youth from orphanages and street markets with the mountains. Upcoming The Alpine Fund has a 5km Fun Run planned for June 6th at 12 noon near Ala-Archa park outside Bishkek. See the Alpine fund website or visit them on facebook for more information.

Stable Instability

2010-05-15T08:00:00.000+06:00

Disorder and instability have returned to Kyrgyzstan in the past several days. On Thursday, May 13th counter-revolutionary forces took over government buildings in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken- all provincial regions in the southern portion of the country. In Bishkek, small demonstrations were held in support of reinstating the former mayor. Conflict between counter-revolutionary forces and pro-government forces (revolutionary forces that assumed control over the government last month) resulted in violence on Thursday and Friday in Jalalabad and Osh. By Friday morning, the pro-government forces had regained control of seized buildings. Local sources are indicating that the former president‘s family, the Bakievs, may be financing some of the disorder that is taking place.

These recent events are at a smaller level than the events that took place April 7th-8th, 2010 when the government of Kyrgyzstan was overthrown after widespread antigovernment protests.
However, the current events highlight the fragile nature the interim government has.

Demonstrations on both sides are being called for over the weekend. Monday, May 17th seems to hold a gathering sense of uncertainty as it marks 40 days since the events of April 7th and is being called a memorial day. Many shops in Bishkek, especially those with expensive inventory, have cleared their shelves clean and have shut down in preparation. One particular concern is over the potential for violence. Many households have rifles for hunting and from a history of ethnic violence. Additionally, hundreds of guns were distributed on April 7th, when an Interior Ministry arsenal was looted.

With advice from the U.S. embassy, I am delaying my departure to At-Bashy and will remain in Bishkek for several more days. Although rural areas would initially be safer than Bishkek, I could find myself stranded and without communication if events escalate dramatically and roads are shut down.

Spring Plans

2010-05-15T06:57:00.000+06:00

I recently returned to a very green Bishkek and markets full of strawberries and cherries. My short hiatus was a journey to another great mountain range of the world, the Alps. In France and Switzerland I joined friends to ski a portion of the Haute Route (bailed due to rain) and classics such as Aiguilles du Tacul, the Cosmiques Couloir off the north side of the Aiguilles du Midi, and the Grand Cass. Returning to Kyrgyzstan felt like coming home.

For the rest of May and most of June, I am heading to At-Bashy to fully immerse myself in conducting interviews with locals in the At-Bashy area who make their livelihood connected to natural resources. The interviews will be an investigation into the way in which changes in glaciers are having an impact on livelihoods, water security and environmental quality.

I was last in At-Bashy over a month ago and the region was just beginning to melt out after winter with an above average snowfall. Now spring is here and herders are readying their livestock to head to high elevation pastures for the summer.

My many travels this winter proved fruitful in exploring various ranges of the Tien Shan, making many friends and gaining exposure to many different aspects of life in Kyrgyzstan. However, I am looking forward to getting to settle down a bit more and invest myself more deeply in one place.

Historic Data

2010-05-13T23:16:00.001+06:00

These graphs show average historic annual temperature and precipitation for the village of At-Bashy. This data comes from stations maintained as part of a much larger network of weather observation stations across the former USSR. Precipitation data dates back to 1927 and temperature data for At-Bashy dates back to 1962, however both datasets have incomplete years of data that were excluded from my graphs. The data does not continue to present day, as most weather stations were abandoned in 1990. In fact today, there are less than 25 weather stations in Kyrgyzstan, just a fraction of what existed several decades ago.

According to the regressions, which I have not analyzed their statistical significance, the data shows an increasing temperature trend and a decreasing precipitation trend. The significance of these trends should not be extended to make generalization about regional trends over the past century. However the data still provides an insight and when coupled with additional data sites will provide a broader glimpse of trends.

Obtaining the data was a process in itself. During the winter I contacted the Kyrgyz Hydro- meteorological Center certain they would be thrilled to provide me with the data I was interested. To my surprise I was informed that the data would be available at $10 US Dollar per year per station. That is a hefty price tag of $4200 for just 4 stations’ data! Unwilling to pay, as I made more contacts I thankfully obtained the data free of charge from several sources including Dr. Ryskul Usubaliev at Central Asia Institute of Applied Geosciences and also from Dr. Chiyuki Narama at Nagoya University in Japan. The problem was there were discrepancies and the data did not match. Recently, Dr. Vladimir Aizen at the University of Idaho made a majority of historic USSR meteorological data available via a web data server at http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/cae/data/index.html. Dr. Aizen and Dr. Narama have both assured me to the accuracy of their data, and being that there data is identical, it is the data I have chosen to use.

The uncertainty in data accuracy is significant because each data value can have a huge effect on the resulting trend. One small difference can greatly exaggerate an increasing trend that could be used to falsely indicate warming. On the reverse, another error could negate an actual positive trend.

This story highlights the delicate nature of numbers and data, as well as questioning the significance that is placed on the results. Beyond questioning the data sources and transcription, I have to wonder about the accuracy of the observation records. Although error in transcription from original sources to digital sources can be overcome, there is no way to overcome original biases from measurement or recorder error.

I will still use the data in my research, but it will be supportive documentation. Coupling the trends of multiple stations in the area should provide a better representation. Additionally, I will be interested to see any correlation between the data and locals’ observations.

National Geographic

2010-05-13T23:08:00.000+06:00

The April 2010 National Geographic was a special issue- WATER – Our Thirsty World. One of the feature articles is “The Big Melt”, highlighting that “glaciers in the high heart of Asia feed its greatest rivers, lifelines for two billion people. Now the ice and snow are diminishing”. The article covers all of Central Asia and provides an excellent overview touching on documentation of changes, existing difficulties for locals, different government responses, and possible future impacts for the region.

Jetim-Bel Range- Women`s Kyrgyzstan Expedition

2010-04-28T04:06:00.000+06:00

Molly, Jaime and I are just a few days back from an excellent trip exploring the remote Jetim Bel Range, located in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. We were thrilled to get into the mountains after the initial delay due to the political turmoil that unfolded upon Jaime and Molly's arrival in Kyrgyzstan. Our departure was mark with a multitude of absurdly hilarious difficulties mostly involving money. After spending a night in Barksoon, we hired a local driver, Mischa, who dropped us off on the north side of Sueok Pass at 3800m.

In our nine days of exploration we found incredible terrain, but it was blanketed in one of the scariest snowpacks any of us had ever seen. With safety being forefront we still managed to ski- exploring and linking five different glacial drainages from two camps. The relief of the Jetim Bel is not immense, but it is beautiful for ski touring a multitude of steep ridges and baby glaciers filling in all the north facing valleys. We had beautiful weather all days but one. Despite the strong solar radiation, temperatures stayed cool from steady winds and strong diurnal cooling. The long spring days were greatly appreciated.

We had planned to attempt a repeat descent of Sari Tor, a peak climbed and skied by the female explorer Ella Maillart in 1932 on wooden skis. Only days before our departure from Bishkek, we became informed of the presence of two Sari Tor peaks in the Jetim Bel area. Unfortunatley, the Sari Tor indicated on maps and the one we had planned to ski was not the Sari Tor that Ella skied. That Sari Tor is located about 45 km away and is currently off limits as it is part of the Kumtor Gold Mine complex. Many locals did not seem aware of these Sari Tor's existence and it is not indicated on any historic USSR maps. However, following in the spirit of Ella Maillart, on our second day we were able to ski the NW face of our Sari Tor (4481)m, a first descent.

Our descent of Sari Tor marked the beginning of our relationship with descents on western slopes. Almost every east slope we inspected we found to be wind loaded with extremely poor structure and high energy. Due to high hazard and large consequences, we turned away from many beautiful descents. In lieu of making a multitue of steep descents, we were able to complete numerous traverses and ski more conservative lines in all of the central drainages of the Jetim Bel. Our tours included several long ridge traverses, 4 summits over 4500m, one +24km day tour over Sari Pass.

Despite thre remote location of the Jetim-Bel, on a dirt track bisecting the range we encountered over 100 head of horses headed towards their summer pastures already. It was repeated our last day with a herd of cows on the main road, when Mischa was picking us up.

Our hesitations about the snowpack were confirmed when we remotely triggered a Class III avalanche setting up our camp in valley bottom. We had been in the location for over an hour, when we suddenly felt the snowpack collapse and listened to the failure propagate through the entire valley. Within moments, we were watching the entire eastern slope above us come roaring down into the valley. Fortunatley, we had picked our site carefully- even Jaime had measured the alpha angles (the runout distance of an avalanche). The slide stopped about 200 ft from camp and the resulting debris were big enough to bury a car (3-10m). The crown was over 1/2 km long and the slide ran 400m downslope. Our last day, we hiked up the slide path which ran to the ground. We did a crown profile, the culprit was depth hoar on a crust just above the ground. In addition to the poor structure (from examining the layers) there was very poor strenght and a great deal of energy in the snow as indicated in stability tests we conducted.

Reminded why we had been cautious in our descent lines, we headed out to meet Mischa and head back to Bishkek. Molly and Jaime headed back to the states and I departed for Kyrgyzstan for a short hiatus.

Thank you to the Hans Saari Memorial Ski Fund Exploration Grant for their support. The grant is designted to support and expand the boundaries of ski mountaineering and provide a better understanding of mountain cultures.

THE TEAM

Jaime, Ann and Molly

SELECT IMAGES FROM THE EXPEDITION:

The ubiquitous Lada, along Issky- Kul LakeThe last road sign....

The Jetim Bel Range

The team after first descent of Sari Tor (behind)

Molly Speed racing down a glacier Jaime relaxing Molly descending one of the many unnamed glaciers View of Jetim Bel Jaime ascending
View of camp and the slide that sympathetically released in camp from valley bottom

Crown of slide The facets kept getting bigger and bigger...

Molly and horses heading over Sueok Pass

News

2010-04-25T23:20:00.000+06:00

Part of my designation as a Fulbright Grantee is to promote exchange and knowledge between the United States and Kyrgyzstan. The recent events have brought attention to this little landlocked country, but not in the most positive light. Many people, especially in my home valley of Montana, were highly interested in the events unfolding. I hope in my relaying of information about the violence and disorder that occured I was still able to convey the incredible hospitatlity of the people here, the beauty of the land and the young nature of the country. It is too early to say what the new government will bring, but there is already talk of the same corrupt tactics just with different players. Russia's involvement and comments continue to be an source of interest as a new great game continues.

- The Daily Inter Lake Front Row to Revolution
- The Flathead Beacon Amid Political Upheavel, Solace in the Mountains
- I also did an interview with Emilie Ritter of Montana Public Radio which aired on April 11th

Bye Bye Bishkek!

2010-04-13T08:32:00.000+06:00

We are headed to the mountains! After consulting with the U.S. Embassy yesterday we have decided that the safety situation has improved to a level that we are comfortable with. Today we will travel from Bishkek to the small village of Barskoon, on the southern shores of Issyk-Kul Lake. The following day we will head into the Jetim Bel Range!

Images From Bishkek

2010-04-10T15:59:00.001+06:00

April 10th- (Above) Mourners gather in front of the White House laying tribute to the 76 killed

With the central square filled with mourners, Friday and Saturday have been declared official days of mourning in Bishkek. Rings of flowers encirle the final resting locations of the 76 protesters killed by the violence on Wednesday. The opposition, with interim leader Rosa Otunbayeva, are claiming complete control. However, many questions remain with the former president Kurmanbek Bakiev stating he is unwilling to abandon his duties and he remains in the southern part of the country. He lays blames for the deaths on the opposition, however sources have indicated it was the president's brother and sons who issued the orders for violence. Bakiev's family was highly intertwined with the corrupt government. For many locals, it sounds as if a majority of looting that occurred following the revolution was targeted at businesses owned by or affiliated with Bakiev's family. For now the banking system remains frozen as it is believed the president transferred a majority of the country's funds elsewhere. Only a mere $21 million dollars remain in governement accounts. As we spoke with people at the ongoing funerals in front of the White House the mood was somber but anger still lingered at the former president. However, people seem optimistic about the future.

It is unclear how the new leadership will be able to meet the concerns that brought about this conflict to begin with. The recent spikes in electricity rates and widespread corruption throughout the government seem difficult to confront with a meager bank balance and destroyed infrastructure. This is also the second revolt in recent Kyrgyz history. The 2005 Tulip Revolution that put now ousted president Bakiev in power was a people's revolution centered on the same issue of an increasingly corrupt government. Bakiev's administration proved to be even more authoritarian and continued to promote widespread corruption. In asking locals how they know the new government will not continue in the same direction, one kyrgyz woman noted that revolutions might be part of Kyrgyzstan's future until "the government got it right".

April 10th - (Above left) Kyrgyz women describe hope for Kyrgyzstan's future under the new leadership (Above Right) Flowers circle the resting spot of a killed protester

The U.S. Embassy remains closed and the Manas transit center, the U.S. Airbase outside Bishkek, has yet to resume normal operations. Looting has mostly ceased as groups of citizen militia have taken to the streets at night and the military has joined forces with the new leadership. Slowly but surely, daily life is resuming with many small stores opening during the daytime and schools and businesses planning to be open on Monday. For now with banking shut down and rural travel still limited, we continue to sit in limbo in Bishkek waiting for a more clear picture on the security situation.

Different Kind of Storm Day: The 2010 Kyrgyzstan Revolution

2010-04-09T16:26:00.000+06:00

THE PLAN WAS… Molly Tyson and Jaime Musnicki, both of Victor Idaho, arrived at the beginning of this past week to join me for an exploratory ski expedition into the Jetim-Bel Range. With support from the Hans Saari Ski Exploration Grant, we were planning to spend 14 days pursuing ski mountaineering objectives in this remote range of the Tien Shan. We planned a departure from Bishkek on April 8th, which provided us a few days for final organizational chaos after Jaime and Molly’s arrival to Kyrgyzstan. From Bishkek we were to travel to the village of Barskoon, on the south shore of Issyk-Kul Lake before traveling via jeep over two 3,500 meter passes to our drop off location at 3700 meters in a high steppe valley just north of the Jetim Bel.

WHAT HAPPENED WAS… On Tuesday April 6th, the day Molly landed in Bishkek, demonstrators took over several government buildings in Talas, located in the far northwest corner of Kyrgyzstan. Via my network of local friends I heard about the events in the early afternoon but it took several hours for word to spread to the streets of Bishkek. The opposition party, Ata-Meken (Fatherland), were calling for protests in Bishkek and across Kyrgyzstan the following day. That evening, as I was riding a bus back to my apartment, dark skies threatened rain and I heard one local say if it rained people probably would not find the motivation to protest.

Wednesday- April 7th

Our day began as any other as protestors started gathering in Bishkek. Mid-morning Molly and I conducted an interview on the impacts of climate change with Dr. Kochumkulova, a local cultural expert. It became clear that things were escalating when the interview was cut short when Dr. Kochumkulova needed to move her car to protect it from protestors. Still, local people were going about their days, so I continued running last minute errands, including buying 2 kiddie sleds for hauling expedition gear from a seven year old Russian boy. Returning to my apartment in the city center banks were closing, the streets were clogged with traffic and my taxi driver starting speaking louder and louder into his cellphone. Turning onto Kievskaya, one of the main streets, our tiny little silver taxi was suddenly the only vehicle insight and we found ourselves facing hundreds of oncoming protestors. My driver pulled over, turned around at told me “Shass, shass (just a minute)”. He hopped out of the taxi, locked the doors and headed into the crowd shaking hands and greeting various protestors whom he clearly knew. After the crowds passed, he drove me the final two blocks home. From the apartment windows, Jaime and Molly witnessed the same crowd pass. My flatmate arrived home within a few minutes. Within an hour smoke from burning buildings filled the sky and gunfire filled the air. We gathered pieces of information about the conflict growing violent from coworkers, friends, local news and the occasional sounds of gunfire. At one point looking down into the street, we watched a group of young boys surround a police car and throw rocks through all the vehicles windows. A shaking policeman with an automatic weapon in hand finally exited the vehicle and temporarily halted the oncoming mob before the car drove away.

April 6th 16:00 - Armed Policeman disperses a crowd of violent protestors

April 6th 16:30 - Smoke billows skyward from the Ministry of Defense

Shortly after darkness, looting began on the streets below. We watched crowds of men smash into all the stores on the streets below us. As crates of oranges spilled onto the streets, new furniture was being pulled out onto the sidewalk and small boys ran by with new stereos. Mobs would move on from businesses but within minutes new mobs would appear to continue the plundering. A thin line seemed to exist and in our neighborhood the looting never transcended into homes. Feeling relatively safe on the 4th floor, we headed to bed as people on the street headed home with new refrigerators and bags of stolen groceries. Jaime awoke in the middle of the night and peered out the window. The streets were swarmed with people taking as many things as they could get their hands on – refrigerators, chairs, desks, skis, huge bouquets of flowers. While earlier in the evening there were mobs of men and very few vehicles, now there were cars lining the road to transport the bounty of the looting. People had shifted focus from destruction to removal.

April 6th 21:35 - (Above)-Protesting turns to looting shortly after dark

Thursday – April 8th

Morning light revealed the extent of the looting. Discarded good and building debris were strewn about the street with wilted roses from the flower shop down the street and orange peels highlighting the mess. As people scavenged through piles for any valuable remains, a group of men took celebratory vodka shots at sunrise, occasionally yelling out “Bakiev is dead” in Kyrgyz. With daylight, the streets started to slowly fill with people stepping out to survey the damage. The first sign of normalcy was sidewalk cleaners making their rounds sweeping their long grass brooms in wide arcs across the streets. The opposition had declared their victory and had placed Rosa Otunbayeva as the interim leader. This seemed by the flight of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the president, had fled to his home in the south. Our planned departure time for our expedition passed. With roads and all local transport shut down leaving was not only foolish, but also impossible. After establishing that the violence had ended, with some local friends we left the apartment to walk through the neighborhood taking in the extent of the looting. Grocery stores were stripped bare, storefronts destroyed; several government buildings completely destroyed by fire and many businesses around the center were riddled with bullet holes. Other store owners were emptying their inventory preparing for the possibility of another night of looting.

^{April 7th 11:35 - Scorched to the skeleton, nothing but papers remain at a government building downtown (above left) and debris from looters are all that remain at Narondni, a local chain supermarket (above right)}

^{April 7th 12:35 - (Above) A man looks throw broken shop windows in downtown Bishkek}

At the White House, the building that holds the country’s president and parliament, we stopped to observe both the growing crowd and the numerous vehicles that had been rammed into the front gates before being burned. Local Kyrgyz and Russian families walked the streets with us, snapping photos with their cellphones and seeming just as stunned as us. Control of the new party seemed questionable as burning continued at the White House and papers continued to be tossed out the windows of this and other government buildings. By early afternoon, we returned and settled back into the apartment. In our neighborhood things remained quiet through the night, as a citizen militia group patrolled the streets for looters. However, other parties of Bishkek experienced continued violence and gunfire through the night.

^{April 7th - (Above) Men stand on an abandoned tank to see over the crowds gathered around the Whitehouse}

April 7th - (Above) Crowds inspect burned cars in downtown Bishkek

Friday April 9th

Taking the advice of the U.S. Embassy and other knowledgeable locals, we find ourselves still in Bishkek. Our current plan is to hold off at least through the weekend on making any moves towards Barskoon and the mountains. We, along with everyone else, are interested to see how the new government manages re-establishing order and security in the country. From most appearances, on the street, people are continuing on with their lives. Rumors abound about what the weekend will bring. There is speculation the president is attempting to rally support, but there is also talk that soon he will announce his resignation. In the mountains, there is often bad weather that we must sit and wait out in the safety of camp. On this expedition, our ski plans are on hold as we sit in Bishkek waiting out a different type of storm days.

Historic Photographs

2010-03-24T14:43:00.001+06:00

Glacier Inventory of the USSR

Published by the Soviets in 1974 as part of an inventory of all the glaciers in the USSR , these historic photographs are of glaciers in the At-Bashy Range. Reference numbers of the glaciers correspond to maps and estimates of size. This summer, I plan to reproduce many of these through repeat photography to provide visual documentation of changes in ice cover. Additional data, including area estimates, from the USSR inventory will aid my analysis on quantifying glacial retreat in the At-Bashy Range. It took a while to find these historic inventories tucked away in local office, but I was thrilled to finally find them. For future work, I will be scanning all of the inventory that covers the Tien Shan and digital copies will be inventoried with The University of Central Asia.

Source: Katalog Lednikov SSSR [Glacier Inventory of the USSR](in Russian) 1974 Centralnaya Aziaya [Central Asia], Tom 14 V 1 Kyrgyzstan Part 6 Katalog Lednikov SSSR [Glacier Inventory of the USSR]

Historical Maps

2010-03-24T12:44:00.000+06:00

Glacier Inventory of the USSR
Published in 1974, these historic maps indicate glaciers in the At-Bashy Range, as part of an inventory of all glaciers in the former Soviet Union conducted from 1964-1974. Reference numbers correspond to estimates of size and a few selected glaciers have photograph documentation. Click on the maps to enlarge them.

OVERVIEW MAP

Source: Katalog Lednikov SSSR [Glacier Inventory of the USSR](in Russian) 1974 Centralnaya Aziaya [Central Asia], Tom 14 V 1 Kyrgyzstan Part 6 Katalog Lednikov SSSR [Glacier Inventory of the USSR]

Skiing Arslanbob

2010-03-19T08:19:00.000+06:00

Spring was in the air as I returning to the Uzbek village of Arslanbob in Southern Kyrgyzstan to do some more skiing with children and the local CBT (Community based tourism) guides. Green pastures and grazing animals dotted the landscape on the drive down. I befriended my taxi driver and upon arriving in Arslanbob, tea with his family turned into a four hour dinner, finished only when his wife wrapped me up in her finest headscarf.

My first days rainy weather deterred skiing, but better weather finally got us out with local children. I was joined by several of the guides, as well as Kjartan, a Norwegian telemark skier who spent over a month in Arslanbob this winter working with CBT. With the kids, we headed up into the agricultural fields and walnut forests to work on basic ski skills. The enthusiasm and pride of the children is contagious. Despite their old equipment and having to walk uphill for every turn, they skied the entire day.

Kjartan and I, along with our friend Toby organized a three day winter camping trip for the rest of the week. Local Uzbek guides, Hayat and Mischa, joined us for their first winter camping trip. Several local guides accompanied us as carrying some extra gear. Using horses, with skis strapped on the sides, we rode up through the village of Arslanbob. Passing a game of ulack (like polo but with a dead sheep) dark skies turned into rain. We stopped to drink tea in a manger and let the rain pour down around us. Clearing skies encouraged us to continue up out of Arslanbob into the mountains and to Jaz-Jarym. Here we set up camp in a Shepard’s hut as the rain turned to snow.

Socked in the following morning, Mishca set off for home with his umbrella protecting him from the continuing snowfall. With no visibility we drank tea until lunch time when parting clouds urged us to go explore. Despite the flat light we managed to ascend and ski off one of the main ridges. We then sought out terrain with more features, including a beautiful chute that we skied twice and marked Hayat’s first couloiur descent. Temperatures dropped as the snow continued…

The next morning clear skies beckoned us from our sleeping bags at first light. We managed to eek out enough fuel for tea, water and breakfast during the most incredible sunrise. Completely enclosed by the mountains of Babash Ata and Jaz-Jarym, the ski potential was almost hard to fully grasp. We first headed south, north aspects were holding 30-50 cm of new snow. Stability tests reconfirmed my confidence in the snowpack. We skied two beautiful ridges off the southern ridge of Jaz-Jaryn, working higher each time before crossing the valley and heading up a beautiful unnamed peak. Toby and Hayat skied off a north slope, while Kjartan and I ascended the summit of the peak and skied an aesthetic line of powdery bliss. From our descent, we traversed and boot packed to follow the tracks of our group down into the gorge and back to camp.

The descent to the village took just over an hour, before we gorged ourselves on plov (rice and mutton) and bread. The following day, we said our goodbyes and headed south to Osh where trees were budding, flowers blooming and birds singing. Nestled into the agriculturally rich Fernanga valley, Osh is the heart of southern Kyrgyzstan. Over three thousand years old and it has a distinctively less soviet feeling than the northern part of the country. From Osh, Kjartan flew home to Norway and Toby reunited with his family. I spent two days exploring the city before flying back to Bishkek on a rickety old plane. En-route back north, we flew directly over Arslanbob and Jaz-Jaryn. Once again, but this time from the air, I was overwhelmed by the unbelievable ski terrain which bodes well for fledgling ski guide program in Arslanbob.

At Bashy Map

2010-03-18T13:57:00.000+06:00

A newly produced map of the At-Bashy Range, where I will be spending May-August working on my main research project. Click to enlarge...

Uchitel peak

2010-03-08T08:21:00.000+06:00

This past weekend with a truly international team (British, German and American) four of six of us made an incredible winter ascent of Uchitel peak (4526m) in Ala-Archa Park south of Bishkek. Although not a technical peak, the snow and elevation gain amounted to two longs days. Mammut has done a wonderful job helping to restore the Ak-Sai or Raztek climbing hut we used enroute. Wow! The mountains here are amazing!

Adygine research station

2010-03-08T08:04:00.000+06:00

Spent a day out with local researchers breaking trail up towards Adygine research station in Ala-Archa National Park. We dug some full snowpits, they certainly have some different techniques here. Last year, two of the field assistant were caught in an avalanche and partially buried. Now they walk with long strings attached in the event they are caught, they can be found via the string. The mentality of avalanche safety here is still developing and has a long way to go.

Snowpack Synopsis

2010-02-22T16:16:00.000+06:00

From my touring and digging in the snow around the country,
here is a discussion I wrote of this season's snowpack in Kyrgyzstan.

Kaindy

2010-02-22T15:48:00.000+06:00

Photographs and a summary from a week of exploratory ski touring in the Chong Kemin Valley above the village of Kaindy. The trip started with a marshutka off the road and cold temperatures. With Ryan and Abre of The Kyrgyzstan Plan, we left the village of Kaindy and climbed over 1000m to set up base camp overlooking the KungeyAla-Too Range. Despite the ranging winds at the beginning of our 5 days out, we toured through incredible terrain and managed to find many protected pockets of powder. We remotely triggered a small hard slab avalanche bootpacking a ridge our last day (click here to read my discussion of this season's snowpack).

Back in Bishkek it feels like spring. As the Kyrgyzstan Plan prepares for the arrival of the rest of their group, I am back to making maps and excel spreadsheets for the time being.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOGRAPHS

Winter Storm

2010-02-11T17:46:00.000+06:00

Snow has come to Central Asia, but not without causing it's fair share of problems. Temperatures in Bishkek are barely above freezing after a large winter storm moved through last week. The slides we observed in Altyn-Arashan are nothing compared with other avalanche activity in the region. Parts of Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and India received between upwards of two meters (that is +6ft) in the past storm. Over 160 people were killed by avalanches on Salang Pass in Afghanistan on Monday February 8th (read BBC article).

Ichke Jergez

2010-02-11T16:21:00.000+06:00

Crammed between huge backpacks in the backseat of stifly hot marshutka, I recently joined up with Ryan Koupal and Abre Brutsche of Colorado who are here as part of a project called The Kyrgyzstan Plan. Back for the second winter in a row, Ryan is leading the exploration of initiating a yurt based backcountry skiing operation that incorporates local families. They are also creating a film telling the story of winter tourism in Kyrgyzstan and highlighting their journey. The three of us left Bishkek and headed to east via marshutak to do some exploratory ski touring above the village of Ichke Jergez, located at the far eastern end of Kyrgyzstan.

We stayed in Karakol enroute, which is the base of the most developed ski area in Kyrgyzstan and also home to one of the larger mal baazars (animal fairs) in Kyrgyzstan, which happened to be the day after we arrived. Quite a site, as thousands of people and animals (and lots of vodka) flow through the bazaar every Sunday. It was certainly the first time I have ever seen a cow stuffed into a car.

From Karakol, we traveled further east to the tiny village of Ichke Jergez to stay with a local family before heading up into the Terskey Ala too and setting up a winter base camp from which we toured from for four days. Amazing terrain that has never been explored via skis in the winter is located just above village. Unfortunately, the snow conditions did not match the incredible potential of the terrain we found.

We were pleased there was snow at all, as this season has been particularly dry. But despite the shallow depths, breaking trail was incredible difficult as there was an unsupportive crust halfway through the snowpack. Conditions did not improve at higher elevations; huge facets were mixed in with multiple melt freeze crusts. We experienced widespread cracking and whoomping. Sticking to ridgelines, we were able to find some good powder turns on northern aspects. Each successive day we managed to get higher and explore more. After four days and with an impending storm, we headed back to stay in Ichke Jergez to eat mutton and warm up as it started to snow.

With snow falling, we headed up to the Altyn Arashan canyon outside Karakol for some rest and relaxation at the local hot spring. Our jeep ride there was ended just after it started by avalanches blocking the road. After a few shots of vodka and whiskey, the locals accompanying us headed up the road on foot. Let but with little choice we followed them traveling beneath multiple avalanche paths, most of which had just run full path in the past day. Local Kyrgyz men were already on scene chopping trees out of the debris for firewood. After skinning 16km through heavy snow, we arrived at Altyn Arashan (winter population: 2) just before dark. The next day brought more stormy weather and wicked winds at higher elevations. We managed a short tour up valley before soaking in the hot springs and imbibing in several breakneck scrabble games. After our "R&R" we skiied all 16 km back out, en route crossing an enormous slide that crossed the creek and covered our tracks in with over 3 meters of debris. The storm continued for the next two days as we returned to Bishkek to truly rest and relax.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS
CLICK HERE TO READ RYAN AND ABRE'S REPORT ON ICHKE JERGEZ AND ALTYN ARASHAN

ARSLANBOB

2010-01-27T21:10:00.000+06:00

I just returned from a week and half in Arslanbob, a tiny Uzbek village tucked in the world’s largest walnut forest in southwest Kyrgyzstan. The purpose of my trip to Arslanbob come as a guest instructor for a fledgling backcountry ski touring program initiated by Hayat Tarikov, the head of Arslanbob Community Based Tourism (CBT). Community Based Tourism originated out of a women’s cooperative that was started in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan in 1999 in conjunction with the Swiss Development Company Helvetas. CBT came to Arslanbob in 2001 and Hayat became the head, with 18 homestays in the village and 25 guides working for him. The basis of CBT is to connect tourist with locals to provide services ranging from homestays to horseback riding. Kyrgyzstan has the most expansive networks of this type in Central Asia.

Hayat’s interest in ski touring is dual fold. He is most interested in promoting winter tourism as he would like to see a more steady influx of money through the year. Currently almost all tourists come in the summer. This past year, Hayat said over 1500 tourist came through Arslanbob, but only 36 of them came in winter. Beyond tourism development Hayat is also genuinely interested in teaching locals, especially children to ski. Although I had met Hayat about a month ago in Bishkek I was approaching this experience with a great deal of flexibility. I had planned a little curriculum but I was also keen to observe their current backcountry practices.

I was accompanied to Arslanbob by my friends Ryan Willis and Toby Wheeler with Toby’s family. We took two days to drive there, crossing two 3000+ meter passes en route just before a huge winter storm moved across Kyrgyzstan. We managed to get a little skiing in the Susamyer Valley, but found the 40 cm snowpack to be unconsolidated and baseless. We arrived in Arslanbob late at night after a long second day of driving complete with a flat tire, which was repaired for about $1 in 30 minutes on the Uzbekistan border while we ate shashlyck (kebabs) and drank tea.

Arslanbob is a mostly Uzbek village of about 15,000 people nestled against the 4000m+ Babash-Ata Mountains. Considered quite conservative, there are almost 20 mosques in the village. Hayat arranged for us to stay with one of the his CBT homestays in a very nice house tucked amongst a fruit orchard.

We brought the cold weather with us and it dumped 35 cm of snow in Arslanbob our first day. The previous week had seen a lot of rain and the temperature had stayed above freezing. Hayat gave us a tour of town, his office and all his equipment. He has a few decent pairs of skis with ski touring bindings and skins but mostly a lot of old heavy equipment. Acquiring skis here, especially touring skis is not the easiest undertaking.

Our first tour we skied up into the agricultural fields and walnut forests above town with a group of eight. Lacking any visibility we traversed and skied several mellow slopes. There was a wide range of skills among the guides. Several of the guides have decent skiing and travel techniques but most of the guides are beginning skiers and several days we had first time skiers out with us. What I was most impressed by in Hayat and all of his guides was their enthusiasm! It became apparent that what I had to offer was just providing basic tips for winter travel and encouraging good ski skills. All of the guides speak Uzbek and Russian, but only a few speak English. However, Kyrgyz is similar to Uzbek and my basic Kyrgyz vocabulary was understood and very helpful.

The next day brought beautiful clear skies, which allowed us to venture to Toguz-Bulak Jailoo (Nine-Springs Summer Pasture) in more advanced terrain against the base of Babash-Ata Mountain. Again the group was large, twelve of us, as many of the guides were very eager to join the group. It made for lots of rotation breaking trail through the 40 cm of new snow the rapidly warmed through the day with the intense solar radiation. We spent lots of time talking about little things such as travel etiquette, picking routes and basic avalanche rescue. Picking a lunch spot seemed very important to all the guides, and we ended up shoveling a meter of snow off a huge boulder. In true Uzbek/Kyrgyz style we sat around a center cloth covered with breads, jams, cheeses and tea. In the afternoon I showed some very simple stability tests (jumping on small slopes and digging hand pits). We were able to find some great powder skiing on a mellow north slope which many of the guides were unable to appreciate with 190cm straight skis.

The following day it drizzled and again we only ventured to the walnut forests. Hayat and I shared several long discussions about the changing winters in Arslanbob. Rain is becoming more and more prevalent each year according to Hayat and it was interesting to listen to him and the guides discuss about their childhood winters and current winters.

The next week brought a repetitive weather pattern of rain, snow and sun. We stuck to the walnut forests in the rain and snow working on ski skills and just enjoying being out. A Norwegian skier who had worked as a ski instructor, Kjolton, joined us mid-week. With his help, we set up a ski skills obstacle course one afternoon and spent lots of time talking and working on skiing technique. Every day lunches were elaborate and laughter widespread. The enthusiasm of all the guides was contagious and admirable given their equipment and lack of resources.

Hayat hosted a large dinner party for us one evening, complete with plov and a few too many shots of vodka. I presented him his first avalanche probe and a new hat. As the week wore on it became apparent that many of the guides needed to rest more and take care of blisters and sore feet, so it was good that Friday the holy day arrived. Most guides took the day off to pray and Toby, Ryan, Kjoltan and I returned to the base of Babash-Ata. With a smaller group and good weather we were able to climb and ski Green Hill, a smaller peak that sits just above Arslanbob. Incredible terrain and fantastic skiing! The end of the week brought more rain and Toby and his family departed.

I prepared some material for Hayat to use for reference to continue his education in winter recreation. Topics I covered included basic rules of safe travel, recognizing avalanche danger, basic equipment lists and basic information about avalanches. Kjoltan will hopefully translate the documents into Russian, so that non-English speaking guides can utilize the handbooks as well. Also as a favor to a friend, I aided Hayat is writing up a description of his ski tours for advertisement. From what I observed ski touring in Arslanbob has great potential but any visitor that comes to Arslanbob to ski should be flexible in a multitude of ways. To only come for the snow and the mountains would be a disappointment, but to enjoy the company of the local skiers and the cultural makes for a unique experience. But it seems that rain is not uncommon, punctuality is not emphasized and the ski skills of the guides is still developing.

Ryan and I returned to Bishkek in one long day in a shared taxi. It was hard to leave Arslanbob, as there were many mountains and jailoos I wanted to explore further. I am certain I will return again to teach and enjoy the hilarious company of Hayat and his guides. In the future, I would really like to aid him in getting more ski equipment, especially cross-country ski equipment for kids in Arslanbob.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS

KARA-KOO

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For New Year’s I traveled with my Kyrgyz friend Bakyt and German friend Frieder, to Bakyt’s home village of Kara-Koo, on the south shore of Issy-Kul Lake. Arriving late at night we were warmly welcomed into Bakyt’s family home and fed fresh laghman (noodles, meat and peppers) upon arrival. This time of year all of the livestock are giving birth, so dozens of hour-old nursing lambs and baby cows filled the yard. The first day it took Frieder and I some insistence to convince Bakyt’s parents that we wanted to help with chores but quickly we were put to work. I took on many of the more traditional female chores: milking the cows, helping cook manty and bread and scrubbing the floors. But I also joined Frieder and Bakyt to help with the “male” chores such as herding animals and cutting up compressed animal manure to dry as fire burning material. I finally made it to Lake Issy-Kul, Frieder and I hiked the dozen kilometers down from the village.Incredible clear water! The lake is quite large, over 182 km (113 miles) long. It is the second largest highest mountain lake in the world after Lake Titicaca.

Our days settled into a bit of a routine. We would wake before dawn and stoke the fire. As the Bakyt’s mother started boiling water and milking the cows, his father would go and prepare the animals to go to pasture. All the animals from the neighborhood are grouped together to make a herd or flock. Daily sheparding duties are rotated through the owners. After the animals have headed out, morning tea and bread was served before starting daily duties. Women are responsible for all things in the household and men most things outside. Especially in the winter, it seems that women bear the grunt of the work: preparing food, cleaning, getting water and tending to males. Most winter duties revolve around maintaining life, food and shelter. Bakyt’s family is almost entirely self-sufficient with their food besides salt, sugar, rice and flour. Bread is baked every few days in an outside kiln, dairy collected daily, animals are occasionally slaughtered, carrots and onions stored in a root cellar and other fruits and veggies are canned for the winter. In the afternoon, the animals would return from the pasture splitting off from the herds to their respective homes unaided. We would feed they some hay as the winter pasture is insufficient before penning them up for the night. Outside work would continue until it was dark upon which dinner and tea was served. After eating a starch heavy meal, Bakyt’s family would usually would watch an hour or two of television before heading off to bed.

Bakyt had many friends to visit as he does not often make it home. In Kyrgyzstan no one just drops by and says hi. To come into someone’s house involves a lengthy stay often centered around tea and food and is know as “guesting”. Basic rules include never arriving empty handed, always removing your shoes and eating lots to compliment your host.

With Bakyt in Kara-Koo, the pattern of guesting became apparent after a few visits. Upon entering the home and

removing our shoes we were always ushered to the table where heaps of candy, breads, jams, salads, cakes and dried fruits sit. Piles of boorsuk, little fried bits of dough, are heaped around all of the food. From the moment you sit your tea mug and your plate will and should never be empty. The first few guesting experiences I had I

would eat upon arrival until I was full at this point. I quickly learned that this is the wrong approach. Because the initial table spread is usually just the beginning. At least one more course, sometimes three or four main dishes will be served. Soup is followed by plov (rice and meat) and/or besh-barmak (noodles and meat). I never seemed to do a good job pacing myself and always ended up overstuffed. I found the best technique for dealing with the pressure to eat to be leaving some food on my plate as whenever it was empty it was refilled. My “jok, men toidum” (No, I am full) never seemed to be heard. Tea is continued to be served until the guests or the elder initiate the end at which Amin, a Muslim gesture of thanks, is conducted. We were always sent away with a goodie bag filled with candies, fruits, borsok and bread. Being with Bakyt entailed guesting multiple times a day. I have never eaten in the quantity, never felt that kind of pressure to eat and never put on weight so quickly.

New Years Resolution: Try to take things in as slow as I can. Cheers!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS

Transportation

2010-01-27T20:24:00.000+06:00

Transportation in Kyrgyzstan is an humorous and often length undertaking. Most people do not own cars, so public transportation dominates. Within Bishkek and other larger towns, people make their way around via buses and marshrutkas. Within Bishkek I find marshrutkas to be the quickest form of transport as they pick people up and drop them off anywhere. This is compared with buses that only stop at fixed bus stop locations. The downside of marshrutkas is that routes can be difficult to figure out and people are often stuffed in like sardines. There are moments when I am certain not one more person could possibly fit inside but somehow they do. Often I find myself half hunched over, with my face pressed into some woman’s purse and my ass blocking half of the drivers view as I try to catch a glimpse of where we are.

Outside of the cities, transport is via long-distance marshutkas, shared taxis, buses, hitch-hiking, horses and walking. Although Kyrgyzstan is not a big country, the winding nature of the roads, all of which are in very poor condition, mean that it can take several hours to travel a hundred kilometers. For long distances, I have often opted for shared taxis as they are often the quickest and most comfortable. For many rural areas they are also the only option. Departure depends on the ability to fill the taxi with other passengers, unless you are willing to pay for the whole vehicle. Speed of travel is contingent on many things: weather, road conditions and most importantly the driver. The driver decides where, when and how often to stop. Without a doubt there will be a stop for a meal in roadside cafes. Most of my trips have involved stops for multiple mechanical repairs, visiting families, delivering packages, fixing flat tires and on one occasion stopping to do a couple shots of vodka.

Driving safety is not highly emphasized. Passing occurs at the driver’s leisure and the passenger’s terror. Curves, oncoming traffic, or the shoulder of the road… no condition seems unsuitable for passing. This driving style coupled with the poor road conditions can make for a quite dangerous combination. I am certain that being in a vehicle is one of the most dangerous things I subject myself to in Kyrgyzstan.

ABOUT KYRGYZSTAN

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Officially known as the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzstan is a former soviet republic landlocked in Central Asia. In addition to general information below you will find information about Kyrgyzstan based on my personal experiences.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Population: 5.4 million
Government: Republic
Area: 199,900 km² or 77,181 sq mi (about the size of South Dakota)
Land: High Steepe and Mountains (94% of the country is mountains!)

Lowest and highest points: Kara-Daryya 132 m and Pik Pobedy 7,439 m

Neighbors: Kazakastan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Languages: Kyrgyz and Russian
Ethnicities: over 40 different groups including 68.9% Kyrgyz, 14.4% Uzbek, 9.1% Russian
Religion: Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5%

Interesting facts:
- Kyrgyzstan has the largest walnut forest in the world

MORE ABOUT

Happy Holidays

2009-12-27T19:43:00.000+06:00

Happy Holidays! Christmas was just another work day here in Kyrgyzstan as it is not celebrated nationally or religiously by Muslims. However, Bishkek is decorated in tinsel and neon as Kyrgyzstan gears up for New Years, which is the big holiday here. It snowed on Christmas Eve so it was a crisp, white Christmas in Bishkek. I enjoyed several holiday parties with a mix of locals and foreign friends. Christmas dinner was a huge feast served traditional style on the floor atop a Kyrgyz shyrdak (felt rug). This past holiday weekend I had the pleasure of skiing at several small ski bases outside Bishkek. They may be small, but it is still wild Kyrgyzstan... Untracked slopes with the occasional piece of steel and ancient tow-rope-lifts that lift you several meters off the ground and carry you over obstacles. All mixed in with stoic aggressive Russian skiers, out of control kids and picnics in the parking lot. This week I will be translating my interviews for my social research project and finally finishing preparing my GIS data for Kyrgyzstan. I am looking forward to making my own maps! Mid-week I will head to the west to celebrate New Years with my Kyrgyz friend Bakyt and his family on Lake Issy-Kul!

Ala-Archa Skiing

2009-12-22T16:45:00.000+06:00

Just returned from several days skiing in Ala-Archa with my friends David (a Brit living and studying Russian in Bishkek) and Frieder (a German attending medical school in Bishkek). The trek in was long, the last 2 km took us over 6 hours and we arrived well after dark. We camped out in an old abandoned ski lodge situated at 3500 m (that is over 11,500 ft) at the head of the Ala-Archa drainage. Although the snow was shallow, weak (check out snow profile) and windblown we had a great time exploring, skiing mellow runs at the base of several glaciers and dreaming of returning when there is more snow and longer days.

PHOTOS (click to see more photos)

SNOW PROFILE (click to enlarge)

Food

2009-12-22T16:24:00.000+06:00

Food is not the highlight of Central Asia, but still a tasty and often fatty experience. Food in Kyrgyzstan is a combination of the traditional diet of meat, dairy and bread mixed with regional influences from Dungan Chinese, Uzbek and Turks. Meat is king, and fatty mutton is the most esteemed ingredient of any meal. People also eat beef, chicken and at weddings and funerals horse meat. Daily food is based on potatoes, bread, rice, noodles and often some various combination of them mixed with mutton and load of fat. Bread products abound from street stalls into everyone’s home. Produce is seasonal, I look forward to spring and summer when the markets will fill overflowing with apricots, peaches and apples (did you know apples are from the Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan area?). In the winter, all fruits and vegetables besides potatoes seem to be more decorative than nutritional.

Meals are usually served on a dastarkhan, a large cloth laid on the floor. In some homes people sit on the floor around a small table as well. The meal usually starts with tea the breaking of bread, torn apart and distributed across the table. Then the main meal is served and it seems to be a free for all. As a guest a more elaborate setting of food is usually present. You can read about my experiences of being a guest in Issy-Kul.

BELOW IS JUST A SAMPLE OF KYRGYZ CUISINE

MEAT DISHES

BESH-BARMAK- Translation means five fingers, which is a literal meaning as it is usually eaten with the hand. Not just a dish, besh-barmak is a entire process from the slaughtering of the sheep to the distribution of who gets what piece of meat.

SHASHLYK- Kebabs of fresh marinated meat cooked outside over an open flame. Most common is mutton but you can also find beef, chicken and liver. Delicious!

LAGHMAN- Noodles served with mutton and a few vegetables in a broth. Everywhere, seems to be the go to item for most people.

MANTY- A steamed dumpling filled with meat and onions.

PLOV- Rice pilaf made with mutton, lots of fat and few pieces of carrots and onions all cooked in a kazan (large cauldron).

GAMBURGER- Found only on the streets of Bishkek, it is like a hamburger but it is not. Westernization of mutton packaged up with lots on mayo.

BREAD PRODUCTS

NAN (Kyrgyz) and LEPYOSHKA (Russian)- Bread usually baked in a tandoori oven. Everywhere in many forms and served at every meal. Did I mention it is everywhere?
SAMSA- Meat and/or veggie pie made with pastry dough baked in a tandoori oven.
PIROSHKI- Deep fried meat or potato pies. Different from a samsa because it is a heavier dough and deep fat fried.
BOORSOK- Square pieces of fried dough. One of the most preferred and respected types of bread. Heaps of boorsok often decorates the table for quests.

MILK PRODUCTS Central Asia offers the best dairy products I have ever tasted in my life.

Kaimak is a heavy cream, scooped of the top of sitting milk.
Yogurt takes on many forms here. There is plain yogurt best in rural areas when it is fresh. Aryan or kefir is a salty yogurt/water mixture. Katyk is a thinner version of Aryan. And Kurut! Kurut are small balls of dried salty kefir (yogurt). Often an acquired taste, kurut is one of my favorite snacks. Kymys is alcoholic fermented mare’s milk that is the national drink of Kyrgyzstan. Despite all the dairy, there is not too much good cheese to be found.
Ozz is my favorite, the thick sweet milk only produced by a cow in the first 10 days after giving birth to a calf

DRINKS

Tea and vodka are the drinks of choice...

Chay (TEA) Tea is of the utmost importance and as a guest your piala (round tea mug without handle) is tended to diligently and never left empty. Both black and green tea are common.

VODKA Despite the fact that most people are Muslim, drinking is not a light affair in Kyrgyzstan. Vodka dominates every drinking affair I have been involved with. The pressure is heavy to drink, the toasts long and the shots often. In Russian “chut chut” just a little bit is often the preface. But just one is not really an option. I have found it to be all or none.

The Alpine Fund

2009-12-17T18:18:00.000+06:00

This past weekend I spent teaching skiing with The Alpine Fund to local children who work at Osh Bazaar, one of the large street markets in Bishkek. The Alpine Fund (www.alpinefund.org) is a local non-profit that works to connect at-risk youth from orphanages and street markets with the mountains. Through hiking, climbing, skiing, education programs, mentoring, and scholarships The Alpine Fund allows the kids a chance to have fun while promoting education and helping them prepare for life. I have been attending Alpine Fund meetings and plan to be active with them throught my entire time here. There is a wonderful group of volunteers and locals involved and it is great to see an organization where the money all goes towards the kids and their education.

It was an education in my language skills to spend the weekend with the kids! I can barely speak Kyrgyz like a toddler. But through many smiles, lots of body language, the help of David and Frieder's Russian (the two other volunteers) and some new vocabulary words we spend Saturday and Sunday skiing outside Ala-Archa. The kids loved every minute of it. They had no fear tearing up the barely snow covered slopes on decade old ski gear. Saturday evening we played some games and spent some time pondering the world map.

Snow Profile: Ala-Archa

2009-12-14T17:55:00.000+06:00

Early season conditions near ski base at entrance to Ala-Archa Canyon outside Bishkek.

Publications

2009-12-11T18:10:00.001+06:00

WRITTEN BY ANN PIERSALL

Snowpack Discussion of Kyrgyzstan - The Kyrgyzstan Plan

EXTERNAL PRESS

High Places- The American Alpine Club Library Blog
Kyrgyzstan Community Based Tourism Blip
Profile Article - Daily Inter Lake Newspaper - "Love of mountains takes researcher from Kalispell to Kyrgyzstan"
University of Montana - Brief article on Ann
Alpine Fund Blog- Teaching skiing to Kyrgyz Youth
Montana Kaimin - Article on University of Montana Fulbright recipients
Univ. of Montana TGIF News
American Alpine Club Research Grants
Rock and Ice
Outdoor Industry Association

Snow Profile

2009-12-11T17:25:00.000+06:00

Click on image to enlarge.

My first snow pit of the year!

GOALS

2009-12-11T16:27:00.000+06:00

SUPPORT

As U.S. Fulbright Student Scholar, my main funding is from a Fulbright Grant through the United States Department of State. My research is also supported by an American Alpine Club Research Grant and a Nikwax Alpine Bellwether Grant. I have research affiliations with The University of Central Asia and Dr. Sarah Halvorson of The University of Montana. Numerous other companies and organizations have provide invaluable support and assistance.

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PROJECTS

1. Interdisciplinary Study of Glaciation in the At-Bashy Range
This research is a unique combination of local physical data on climate change, exploratory mountaineering objectives, and a social analysis of climate change knowledge among the semi-nomadic Kyrgyz livestock herders utilizing the range’s high mountain pastures. The social research will be a field Based assessment of traditional knowledge of glaciers and contemporary perspectives of climate change. This research will be conducted in jailoos (summer grazing pastures) and small mountain communities around the At-Bashy Range, a constitute range of the Tien Shan. These communities rely on snow melt and glacial melt to sustain their semi-nomadic, livestock-based livelihoods. Despite numerous studies dramatic decreases in the Tien Shan systematic studies of what local people know and think are lacking from scientific literature. This research will then be paired with historic precipitation and temperature records, satellite imagery analysis and photography to provide an interdisciplinary approach for evaluating climate change. Exploratory mountaineering during the summer of 2010 will allow for detailed observation including collection of photographs and GIS data to enhance the research and highlight the area.

2. Inventory Work
I am organizing an inventory of information including maps, historic records, climate information and photographs of the At-Bashy Range. The entire At-Bashy inventory will be cataloged with The University of Central Asia, the American Alpine Club and several non-governmental organizations for use in future research. I currently in the process of searching across Kyrgyzstan for historic photographs suitable for use in a repeat photography project to complement ongoing investigations based on remote sensing. This work will be across the Tien Shan and will not be limited to the At-Bashy Range. Photographs will be submitted to the Global Photograph Collection at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.

3. Community Involvement
From a personal and professional level I am interested in becoming involved in local organizations and community projects. My current involvement is:

Volunteering with The Alpine Fund in Bishkek - a local organization that works to connect local youth and the mountains

Teaching avalanche safety classes: Winter recreation is in its infancy here, but developing quite rapidly. I am not interested in the tourism development aspects of this progression, but I am interested in increasing awareness of locals who work as guides. At this time I am planning to spend a couple weeks in Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan teaching basic avalanche awareness classes to local CBT (community-based tourism guides) that will include terrain management, assessing instability and rescue skills.
Collaboration with The Kyrgyzstan Plan to explore ski-touring possibilities and grassroots development of ski lodges in multiple regions in Kyrgyzstan.

Volunteering with local and international research institutions and individuals: There are many projects currently ongoing in Kyrgyzstan regarding glaciers and mountain geography. This summer I will be assisting with research regarding biological activity and dust retention on glacial surfaces in Ala-Archa Park.
Development of a "Mountains and Glacier program" encouraging interest in geography and the local mountains. I will present the program at elementary schools around Kyrgyzstan including The International School in Bishkek and public schools in At-Bashy and surrounding communities.

4. Contributions
I will be documenting my final inventories, research and expedition reports with The University of Central Asia, The University of Montana, the American Alpine Club library and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. I am also interested in sharing information and increasing general awareness about Kyrgyzstan with the public through the publication of articles in magazines, newspapers and other sources, such as this blog. Although I am most interested in promoting knowledge about the mountain places and people of Kyrgyzstan, I also look forward to sharing information about daily life in Central Asia. On my blog, I will be posting information ranging snow observations to the local gastronomical delights. Following the completion of my research I also expect to submitted articles for publication in scientific journals. Upon return to the states, I will present my work and experiences to whomever is keen to listen.

5. Mountain Goals
From a personal level I am very very excited by all the mountaineering and skiing possibilities that exist in Kyrgyzstan. Some of these excursions may benefit my research specifically and some may be purely recreational. I plan on sharing these adventures through my blog and other alpine related publications.

At-Bashy Range Mountaineering. I will be joined by Ben Logan for the summer of 2010 to pursue mountaineering objectives in the At-bashy Range. The range is approximately 120 km long and 30 km wide, with dozens of 3000 and 4000m peaks. The first documented expedition to explore the area was by Pat Littlejohn and a group from the International School of Mountaineering in 2003 (American Alpine Journal, 2003). Since then several other parties have climbed in the area, including repeat trips by Pat Littlejohn and ISM. However, most the range is not well explored and many of the peaks do not have documented ascents. Our multi-month commitment will involve multiple trips. The range and the nomadic nature of the Kyrgyz living around the range allows the opportunity to use small villages and jailoos (summer grazing pastures) as rest and resupply locations. All climbing will be alpine style. Due to the little know nature of the range, it is expected that most ascents will be Class III to Class V, often involving steep snow travel and some glacial travel. More aggressive mountain objectives with harder technical requirements are expected to develop as we learn more about the range The mountain objectives will highlight scientific research that I currently have underway.

6. Language Skills
A personal goal of mine is to develop a working proficiency of the Kyrgyz language and develop a basic knowledge of Russian. I am currently studying Kyrgyz with hopes that by spring I will be able to engage in conversations and communicate my needs.

Research

2009-12-07T19:57:00.000+06:00

After three weeks, I am finally starting to get a bit of a grasp on my goals for my time in Kyrgyzstan. I am currently living in Bishkek and just acquired some office space (see above photo) with one of my collaborators, University of Central Asia. I am taking Kyrgyz language classes in the morning. I spend my days getting lost and found again as I make my way around Bishkek in search of historic photographs, old maps and key informants on glaciers and mountains. I have also been making many new friends and getting out experiencing Kyrgyzstan (check out the photographs). It is amazing how quickly I have already developed a sense of community. The first snows are settling in the mountains and I am looking forward to skiing. In the near future you can expect to see a more outlined plan for my time here.

Photographs

2009-12-07T18:47:00.001+06:00

KAINDY

ICHKE JERGEZ

ARSLANBOB

KARA-KOO and ISSYK-KUL

ALA-ARCHA SKIING

BISHKEK and SURROUNDS

AT-BASHY

Just click on the photograph or link to be taken to that photo gallery
Or you may access www.tienshanglaciers.mugshot.com

At-Bashy

2009-11-24T18:11:00.000+06:00

As exciting as it was to get to Kyrgyzstan, the initial excitement was greatly surpassed by the excitement of finally seeing the At-Bashy Range. From Bishkek, it takes about 6-10 hours to get there by shared taxi, which is the most practical form of travel.

Leaving the smog of Bishkek last week, I was finally given my first real view of the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, starting with the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range, just south of the capital. Mountains cover 80-97% of the country depending on which source you consult. But what a unique landscape! Badlands give way to towering red cliffs and mountain range after mountain range of snow capped peaks.

The At-Bashy Range sits just north of the Chinese border. Running east-west they loom above a large high steppe valley which holds the town of At-Bashy and the Torugart Pass "highway", which is the only road linking central and eastern Kyrgyzstan with China. The road condition varies from potholed pavement to horrendous single-lane washboard gravel. The dusty town of At-Bashy sits just a few kilometers off the highway at 2370 meters (7800 feet). Lonely Planet describes it as a frontier town at the very far end of populated Kyrgyzstan, but it must be taken with a grain of salt as it still is in the guidebook. The ethnicity of people in this region are almost entirelyKyrgyz and they are quite proud of this fact. The population is around 14,000 according to a government official I spoke with. However this is difficult to say because of the semi nomadic nature of many of the residents. More than half of the population leaves in the summer to tend to livestock in high summer pastures called jailoos. From spring into fall, families live in yurts and move to follow the best grasses to graze their sheep, cows, yaks and horses. In the winter, most people return to At-Bashy and several smaller villages scattered throughout the valley and unemployment is extremely high in the winter. There are some permanent jobs with the government and schools, but wealth is based on livestock and cash. From my questioning it seemed that average salaries were about $20 US a month. The first important thing to note is that not many people are going hungry. Food security is decent, given the fact that many people grow and slaughter their own food. This is not to say that there are not nutrition issues. The other interesting thing is the high emphasis placed on looks. All the people in Kyrgyzstan, from the capital of Bishkek to the tiny town of At-Bashy, take great pride in their appearance. Daily dress is suits for men and fur and high-heels for women. My rubber mud boots have not been winning many fashion fans here.

Arrival

2009-11-15T22:47:00.000+06:00

Kyrgyzstan! I arrived three days ago to Bishkek, the capital city. My travels here went as smooth as imaginable. I and all of my things, most importantly my skis, have arrived safely. I have put my skiing and mountaineering equipment into storage at a friends and am now free to travel about with only my small backpack for the next several weeks.

I have been spending time walking, getting lost and then finding myself again. I also have been meeting many of my contacts and friends, both Americans and locals who live here. Bishkek is a city stuggling to find its identity as it gains foothold in the years following over 70 years of Soviet Rule. The corropution, conflict and poverty that I was warned of are all clearly visible here but are shared with emerging modern technologies, fast food and hoards of fashionably dressed students.

Tomorrow I am headed out to At Bashy and Naryn and then onto Karakol next week. I plan to be back in Bishkek for Thanksgiving for turkey, stuffing and cranberry with some friends.

Departure

2009-10-26T06:58:00.000+06:00

The time is finally here... 10 days to departure from the states. I will depart from Kalispell, Montana on November 5th 2009. I will arrive in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, November 11th after taking in a few days of vacation in Istanbul, Turkey. I am looking forward to settling in for my first winter in Central Asia.

Welcome

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This project is an exploratory evaluation of glaciation, mountain culture and climate change in the At-Bashy, a remote mountain range of Tien Shan, located within the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. Research will provide one the first empirical assessments linking the social and physical processes of glaciation. Quantitative data compilation and exploratory mountaineering will organize a local inventory and database of climate and mountains, glaciers and climate in the At-Bashy. Qualitative social data analysis will address the perceptions and knowledge of glacier retreat and climate change held by local people.

Funded by a Fulbright Grant and the American Alpine Club, the project is organized by Ann Piersall. Research will begin in November 2009 and run through the summer of 2010. The interdisciplinary field based approach of this project will promote awareness, encourage international collaboration and engage local communities of the At-Bashy in this unique assessment of mountain geography and culture.

Exploration

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PAST TRIPS INCLUDE:

Hiking with The Alpine Fund - AlaArcha- May 2010
Women's Kyrgyzstan Ski Expedition - Jetim Bel Range- Hans Saari Ski Exploration Grant - April 2010
Arslanbob-Guest Instructor- Ski Exploration, Winter Camping and Youth Skiing March 2010
Winter Ascent Uchitel Peak (4526m) - Kyrgyz Ala Too Range- March 2010
Exploratory Ski Touring/Winter Camping - Chong Kemin-KungeyAla-Too Range- Feb 2010 in collaboration with The Kyrgyzstan Plan
Exploratory Ski Touring- Ichke Jergez - Terskey Ala Too Range February 2010 in collaboration with The Kyrgyzstan Plan (http://www.thekyrgyzstanplan.com)
Arslanbob-Guest Instructor- Teaching Winter Safety Classes January 2010
Ala-Archa Ski Tour December 2009
Teaching Skiing with Kyrgyz Youth with The Alpine Fund - December 2009

FUTURE PLANS INCLUDE:

At-Bashy Range Mountaineering. I will be joined by Ben Logan for the summer of 2010 to pursue mountaineering objectives in the At-bashy Range. The range is approximately 120 km long and 30 km wide, with dozens of 3000 and 4000m peaks. The first documented expedition to explore the area was by Pat Littlejohn and a group from the International School of Mountaineering in 2003 (American Alpine Journal, 2003). Since then several other parties have climbed in the area, including repeat trips by Pat Littlejohn and ISM. However, most the range is not well explored and many of the peaks do not have documented ascents. Our multi-month commitment will involve multiple trips. The range and the nomadic nature of the Kyrgyz living around the range allows the opportunity to use small villages and jailoos (summer grazing pastures) as rest and resupply locations. All climbing will be alpine style. Due to the little know nature of the range, it is expected that most ascents will be Class III to Class V, often involving steep snow travel and some glacial travel. More aggressive mountain objectives with harder technical requirements are expected to develop as we learn more about the range. The mountain objectives will highlight scientific research that Ann currently has underway.

Many other mountain trips oriented towards kids will occur through collaborations with The Alpine Fund (www.alpinefund.org) a local organization that works to connect local youth and the mountains.

TIEN SHAN

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Ann Piersall, 2008

OVERVIEW
Stretching over 1800 km east to west the Tien Shan mountain range extens from the Xinjiang province of Western China across southern Kazakhstan and the entire country of Kyrgyzstan to the border of Uzbekistan. North-south the Tien Shan are as wide as 500 km in some locations. The Tien Shan separate the Junggar (Dzungarian) Basin to the north and the Taklimakan Basin in the south. Their geographic location is between 40°N and 45°N and 67°E and 95°E. The Tien Shan cover approximately 100,000 square kilometers (Rowan, 2002). , 2008

In Chinese, Tien Shan means “Celestial mountains” or “Mountains of Heaven”. This name is in reference to the appearance the mountains often take from the distance of appearing to float in the heavens above the dust of the surrounding deserts (Graetz 2008, Rowan 2002).

The Tien Shan are part of the Himalayan orogenic belt which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. The eastern Tien Shan is mostly crystalline and sedimentary rock dating back to 540 million years ago. The western Tien Shan is younger softer rock formed under heat and pressure about 245 million years ago (Rowan, 2002).

A majority of the Tien Shan sits within the political boundaries of the country of Kyrgyzstan. Approximately 94% of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous, with half of the country above 3000 meters. The stark and rugged landscape makes livelihood very difficult. Many different ethnic groups call the Tien Shan home. The largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz. The Kyrgyz are a group that originated from a mix of tribes including Mongols and a tribe that migrated from the Siberian Yenisei River. Uzbeks, Uighur, Kazaks and Dungan (Muslim Chinese) are other ethnic groups that live with in the Tien Shan. Starting in the mid 1800’s a strong Russian presence developed into 150 years of Soviet rule over the area. During this time the nomadic ways of most ethnic groups were suppressed. Soviet Rule ended in the Tien Shan in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR and the Central Asian republics declaring independence. Today, a large Russian population along with some Ukrainians and Tajik refugees are found among the many ethnic groups in the Tien Shan. Many mountain people of the Tien Shan are now once again semi-nomadic pastoralists, often spending their winters in small villages (Rowan, 2002). Despite independence, the countries and peoples of the Tien Shan are struggling politically, economically and culturally.

PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE TIEN SHAN
The extensive mountains of the Tien Shan can be geographically organized in many different fashions. Generally, references are made of five main orographic areas. It is important to note that the Tien Shan hold a total of 88 constituents chains with fourteen peaks towering over 6000m. The five main areas of the Tien Shan with their most prominent ranges are: the Central Tien Shan (Kakshal-Too, Sary Djaz, Koolyu-Too), Norther Tien Shan (Kyrgyzskii, Talasskii, Kungei Ala-Too), Internal Tien Shan (Susamyr-Too, Naryn-Too, At-Bashy), Western Tien Shan (Ferganskii, Chatkalskii) and South Tien Shan (Alaiskii, Turkestanskii) (Azykova, 2002).

The ranges of the Tien Shan culminate at the Central Tien Shan, which the locals refer to as Muztag meaning “Ice Mountain”. Within the Central Tien Shan is Kokshal-Tau which contains the highest mountains of the Tien Shan and the most extensive network of glaciers.

The Inylchek Glacier is the largest glacier and centerpiece of the Central Tien Shan. Extending 62 km in length with a width of over 3 km, the Inylchek Glacier is the third longest glacier outside the polar regions. It is estimated that the glacier holds enough ice to cover the entire country of Kyrgyzstan in three meters of melt water (Stewart, 2002). The first outside to travel into the area and visit the glacier was the European Piotr Semnov in 1857. Climbing in the area began in the early 1900’s and continued through the 1930’s. Under Soviet rule, the permitting system restricted foreign access. It was not until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 that foreign climbers began to climb in the area (Stewart, 2002).

The two tallest peaks in the Tien Shan, Jengish Chokosu and Khan Tengri, are both located in the Central Tien Shan. Situated on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan Jengish Chokosu (7,439m), also called Peak Pobeda or Victory Peak, is the highest summit in the Tien Shan. A sprawling and bulky mountain; it is also the northern most true 7000m peak in the world. It was first climbed by Soviet climbers in 1938 (Stewart, 2002).

Located just north, on the border of Kazakstan, is the towering pyramid of Khan Tengri (6,995m). Khan Tengri means the “Prince of Spirits” or “Lord of the sky” in Uighur. The Kazakh name for the mountain is Kan Tan meaning “Blood Mountain” referring to the brilliant sunsets that fall upon the peak at night (Stewart, 2002). With its ice cap Khan Tengri rises above 7000m, making it the northern most 7000m peak in the world. The aesthetic beauty of the peak has been noted since it was first summited in 1931 by Mikhail Pogrebetsky. (Stewart, 2002). Currently it is featured on the Kyrgyz 100 som note. Recently in 2004, 11 mountaineers were killed from an ice avalanche on Khan Tengri (Gripped World News, 2004).

CLIMATE AND WEATHER
The Tien Shan are characterized by a dry continental climate with strong seasonal variations that marks most of Central Asia. Temperatures vary strongly according to altitude. Most areas receive strong solar insolation all year with little annual precipitation or cloud cover. However, weather in the mountains in continuously changing and violent storms often enclose the Tien Shan for weeks.

Meteorological data indicates that the western and northern peripheries of the Tien Shan have a more mild and temperate climate than the inner regions (Solomina et al., 2004). The northern Tien Shan generally receive more precipitation as they are the first mountains intercepted by winter storms crossing the plains of eastern Europe and Central Asia. The presence of the Tien Shan contributes to the arid nature of Central Asia including the Taklamakan and Tibetan Plateau (Koppes et al., 2008).

HYDROLOGICAL FEATURES
Over 30,000 rivers and streams mostly originating from glaciers and over 2,000 lakes are spread across the Tien Shan. The largest lake is Yssyk-Kul located in the eastern regions of the Tien Shan. The most prominent river is the Naryn river which flows east to west to join the Kara Darya in the Fernaga Valley of Kyrgyzstan forming the Syr Darya (Azykov, 2002). Glacial melt water make up the majority of the water in the region, which is why the mountains as aptly referred to as the water towers of Central Asia.

GLACIERS
The Tien Shan hold thousands of glacier ranging from sprawling dendritic valley glaciers such as the Inylchek Glacier to numerous small hanging glaciers. In discussing glaciation, a basic understanding of glacier dynamics is crucial. Glaciers are dynamic, moving masses of ice formed by layers of compacted snow that deform and flow in response to gravity and pressure. A common term used in describing glacier is mass balance, the difference between accumulation and ablation. Accumulation on a glacier occurs at higher elevations through snowfall, wind deposition, rain, frost, hail and avalanches. Ablation generally takes place in warmer season on the lower elevations from ice melt, wind, calving and sublimation. The line on the glacier that marks where the ablation zone turns to accumulations is called the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). The very bottom of the glacier is referred to as the terminus. (Harper, 2007)
Glaciers move through two processes; ice deformation and basal sliding. Basal sliding can be defined as the entire mass of ice sliding on the bed surface. Deformation occurs as glide on a basal plane, grain boundary slip and recrystalization. Glacial flow originates at the top of the glacier with submergent flow. Here annual layers of snow are deposited and begin an intrusive flow that continues in the middle of the glacier where the flow is typically rectilinear. Below the ELA the flow transitions to emergent flow. Variations in topography and the bed surface can cause changes in an individual glacier’s flow (Harper, 2007).

The mass balance of a glacier is continuously responding to climatic changes, however due to the mechanics a time delay exists in the response. It often take decades for a climatic event to become very apparent (lag time) and often centuries for the evidence of the event to disappear (memory time) (Harper, 2007).

It is also very important to understand the different types of measurements used to quantify glaciers and changes in glaciation. Measurements can be divided into two main categories: direct and indirect. Direct measurements offer the most accurate information; however they are spatially limiting, time consuming and expensive. Direct measurements of mass balance require measuring both the accumulation and ablation of a glacier. Accumulation or input can be measured by digging snowpits and measuring annual layers of accumulation or by probing. Ablation or output can be measured through ablation stakes that must be monitored to determine melt. Direct measurements of area require extensive time with GPS to accurate map the margins of the glacier to determine area (Harper, 2007).

Due to the limiting factors of direct measurements, indirect measurements are typically used. Many different methods exists including; remote sensing, hydrological methods, climatic methods, lichenometry and ground truth data (Harper, 2007).

Remote sensing, the use of satellite and aerial photographs can be used to determine the area of glaciers. If historic images are available, changes in glacial area and terminus elevation can be determined from comparing past to present images. Often historic images are difficult to find due to the remote locations of many glacier and the relatively recent advent of satellites.

The hydrological method estimates mass balance by equating the amount of precipitation in an area against the runoff and predicted evaporation to estimate accumulation and ablation. This requires some type of measurement of stream runoff and the presence of meteorological stations to determine input making it very difficult for remote locations. Similarly, using climate data requires meteorological stations. Two different methods in determining mass balance can be used with climate data. First the degree day method calculates melt by measuring the amount of time the temperature was high enough for melting to occur. Second, energy balances can calculated by measuring the albedo (shortwave radiation), the longwave radiation, the sensible heat the latent heat and the precipitation to estimate heat.

Lichenometry is identifying the age of lichens present on rocks below the terminus of a glacier to estimate when that location was last covered with ice. Similarly, remnant moraines can often be aged to estimate the greatest extent of the glacier and when it occurred (Harper, 2007).
GLACIATION OF THE TIEN SHAN
Currently the accepted estimate of total glaciated area of the Tien is between 6,000 and 8000 square kilometers (Aizen et. al, Bolch 2006, IRIN 2008, Solomina et al. 2004, Stewart 2002). The Inner part of the Tien Shan have over 3700 glaciers covering 3400 square km. Historically, the Tien Shan have been heavily glaciated. Remnant moraines provide evidence for extensive and repeated glaciation during the late Pleistocene (Koppes et al, 2008).

The earliest historical descriptions of glaciers in the Tien Shan date to the late 19th century from exploration by Semenov in 1858, Kassin in 1915 and Korzhenevsky in 1930 (Solomina et al., 2004). Although earlier travelers did not penetrate the Tien Shan travelers on the Silk Road often made notes of the snow and ice of the Tien Shan such as Xuan Zang, the seventh century Chinese traveler-monk, who wrote of the Tien Shan: These mountains stretch for thousands of leagues: among them are several hundred tall peaks which reach to the very sky; the valleys are dark and full of precipices. The snow that has accumulated here since the creation of the world has changed into ice rocks that do not melt either in spring or summer. There is a strong cold wind and travelers are molested by dragons.

Due to the limited access to the area during Soviet rule research and current primary literature on glaciation in the Tien Shan in limited. Little research has involved direct measurements. This coupled with the large number of glaciers and remoteness of the area has only allowed recent studies to focus on small specific regions within the Tien Shan. A majority of glaciers in the Tien Shan are unnamed and many potentially unvisited. Information of glaciers and glacier retreat for the entire Tien Shan are generalizations based off of scientific extrapolations from smaller studies and regional patterns. Specific quantitative information cannot be applied to all glaciers.
Equilibrium line altitudes of glacier is the Tien Shan varies from 3500-3600 meters on the Western Tien Shan to 4440 meters in the Central Tien Shan. (Solomina et al., 2004). The lowest ELAs are found on the northern ridges of the Tien Shan as they receive the most precipitation from winter storms. Traveling south the ELAs rise rapidly (Koppes et al., 2008).

Historically glaciers in the Tien Shan have appeared to respond primarily to changes in precipitation rather than small regional variations in temperature. However recent increases in temperature are strongly tied to glacial retreat (Bolch 2007, Koppes et al., 2008, Solomina et al. 2004).

GLACIAL RETREAT IN THE TIEN SHAN
The areas of glacial ice coverage with the Tien Shan are decreasing in similar fashion to other parts of the world (Aizen et al. 1997, Bolch 2004, Bolch 2007, Cao 1998, Khromova et al. 2003, Solomina et al. 2004). Evidence from lichenometry suggests that retreat began at the end of Little Ice Age (Solomina et al., 2004). Although glacier retreat is not homogeneous a decrease in glacier extent of over 30% is the consensus for the Tien Shan (Aizen et al. 1997, Bolch 2004, Bolch and Marchenko 2006, Bolch 2007, Cao 1998, Khromova et al. 2003, Niederer et. al. 2008, Solomina et al. 2004). The magnitude of the decrease for each individual glacier depends strongly on the size, location and weather regime at the glaciers’ location (Bolch, 2007).

Research indicates that glacial retreat started at the end of the Little Ice Age, approximately 150 years ago (Aizen, 2005). The estimated linear retreat from the end of the 19th century to the 10th century was in most cases less than 100 meters (Solomina et al., 2004). In the northern Tien Shan a more pronounced disintegration has been noted of glaciers since 1979 (Vilesov and Uvarov, 2001). This apparent acceleration in glacial retreat in the past several decades appears to be true for a majority of glacier in the Tien Shan.

One of the most extensive studies in the Tien Shan included 293 glaciers and using aerial photographs and lichenometry determined that even in the most general terms glacier retreat was occurring both in linear distance and retreat in terminus elevation. Average linear distance retreat was calculated to be a retreat of 989 ± 540 meters from the glacier terminus to Little Ice Age (LIA) moraine over the past 150 years. The average difference in elevation of the terminus and the LIA moraine was 151 ± 105 meters (Solomina et al., 2004).

Although research is limited in scope, similar patterns have been found in all studies. Given the limitations the magnitude of glacial retreat can only be estimated, but there is clear evidence that glacial recession is occurring. It appears that retreat both in linear distance and frontal elevation rise is most prominent in the Northern Tien Shan. The effects of glacial retreat also appear to greatest for large compound-valley (Solomina et al., 2004). There most significant trends associated with glacial retreat is a strong correlation with increased temperatures (Bolch 2007, Koppes et al., 2008, Solomina et al. 2004). It is important to remember that little ground truth data exists for a majority of research in the Tien Shan making additional studies warranted. Future research would quantify the amount and rate of glacial change.

OTHER CLIMATIC CHANGES
Evidence over the past 30 years permafrost has been warming in the Tien Shan. (Bolch and Marchenko, 2006). Modeling indicates a retreat of the lower altitudinal boundary of permafrost retreating upward by 150 meters since the end of the Little Ice Age. Additionally, it is estimated that the area of permafrost distribution has decreased by 16% (Marchenko et al., 2007).

IMPORTANCE
Glaciers are a key indicator of climate change as they react sensitively to climate. Research indicates that glaciers in the Tien Shan are receding in extent, volume and elevation. With current conditions it can be assumed that glaciers will continue to retreat in the Tien Shan creating and intensifying many environmental, social and political problems.

Most importantly, the high mountains of central Asia serve the crucial function as the primary water supply and water storage for over 100 million people Reductions in glacial extent and increased melt will inevitably change river runoff regimes. Although initially the volume of discharged water could increase, the overall stability of the water supply will be reduced as glacial extent is reduced. The large reduction of glacier area in the Tien Shan has many downstream implications for food production, energy development, the articulation of water policies and regional security (IRIN, 2008).

Increases in air temperatures and the melting of glaciers will also impact lowland desertification and glacier outburst floods (Aizen et. al., 2007). It is predicted that slope instability will increase, increasing the probability of landslides, thermokarst and mudflows (Bolch and Marchenko, 2006).

Local, regional and international research is warranted in light of the limited scope of data available on the Tien Shan. Future studies will provide a key incremental links to more complete future assessments of the impacts of glacial recession in the Tien Shan as glacial retreat intensifies with anthropogenic warming. Additionally, empirical assessments linking the social and physical processes of glacial recession and climate change in the Tien Shan will promote dialogs to promote additional research and development of solutions to global climate change.

WORKS CITED

Aizen, V.B., Aizen, E.M., Melack, J.M., Dozier, J., 1997. Climate and hydrologic changes in the Tien Shan, central Asia. Journal of Climate 10, 1393–1404.

Aizen V.B. et al., 2007. Glacier changes in the Tien Shan as determined from topographic and remotely sensed data. Global and Planetary Change 56: 328-340.

Azykova, E.K. et al., 2002. Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Book published in Bishkek. National Center for Development of Mountain Regions of Kyrgyzstan and National Academy of sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Bolch, T., 2004. Using ASTER and SRTM DEMs for studying glaciers and rock glaciers in northern Tien Shan. Proceedings of the Conference Teoretièeskije i Prikladnyje Problemy Geografii na Rubešje Stoletij, vol. 1. Kazakh State University, Almaty/Kasakhstan, pp. 254–258.

Bolch, T. and Marchenko, S., 2006. Significance of glaciers, rockglacier and ice-rich permafrost in the Northern Tien Shan as water towers under climate change conditions. From Assessment of Snow, Glacier and Water Resources in Asia in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 28-30 November, 2006. UNESCO-IHP.

Bolch, T. 2007. Climate change and glacier retreat in northern Tien Shan Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan) using remote sensing data. Global and Planetary Change 56: 1-12.

Cao, M.S., 1998. Detection of abrupt changes in glacier mass balance in the Tien Shan Mountains. Journal of Glaciology 44 (147), 352–358.

Dyurgerov, M.B., Mikhalenko, V.N., Kunakhovich, M.G., Chaohai, L., Zichu, U., 1994. On the cause of glacier mass balance variations in the Tien Shan Mountains. Geological Journal 33 (2/3), 311–317.

Dikich, A.N., 2004. Gletscherwasserressourcen der Issyk-Kul-Region (Kirgistan), ihr gegenwärtiger und zukünftiger Zustand. Schriftenreihe des Zentrums Internationale Entwicklungs- und Umweltforschung, vol. 19. Giessen.

Graetz, R., 2008. High Asia. Class. Geography 495. Class. Spring Semester 2008. The University of Montana.

Gripped World News, 2004. Death on Khan Tengri. World News. Gripped. Accessed on November 24th, 2008.

Harper, J., 2007. Glacial and Alpine Processes. Geology 395. Class. Spring semester 2007. The University of Montana.

IRIN, 2008. Kyrgyzstan: Melting glaciers threaten livelihoods. IRIN: humanitarian new and analysis. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 17 September 2008.

Koppes M., Gillespie A.R., Burke, R.M., Thompson, S.C. and Stone J., 2008. Late Quaternary glaciation in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Quaternary Science Reviews 27: 846-866.

Marchenko, S., Gorbunov A., and Romanovsky, V., 2007. Permafrost warming in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia. Global and Planetary Change, 56, 311-327.

Niederer P. et. al. 2008. Tracing glacier wastage in the Northern Tien Shan over the last 40 years. Climatic Change 86:227-234.

Oerlemans, J., 1994. Quantifying global warming from the retreat of glaciers. Science 264, 243–245.

Solomina, O.N., Barry, R.G., Bodnya, M., 2004. The retreat Of Tien Shan glaciers (Kyrgyzstan) since the Little Ice Age estimated from aerial photographs, lichenometric and historical data. Geografiska Annaler. Series A 86 (2), 205–216.

Stewart, R and Weldon, S., 2002. Kyrgyzstan. Norton and Company: New York, NY.
Vilesov, E.N., Uvarov, V.N., 2001. Evoljutsija sovremennogo oledeninja Zailijskogo Alatau v XX Veke. Kazakh State University, Almaty. (in Russian).

Ann Piersall

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Growing up in western Montana, I gained a strong appreciation for mountains early in life and have always been highly motivated to explore and learn about mountainous regions of the world. I have many personal goals for this project but they all centered around my interests in mountains and mountain people. I am looking forward to engaging local people in my research, partnering with skiers and climbers to explore the Tien Shan, as well as contributing to the local and international scientific community and the popular press through publication of my research, explorations and experiences.

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ANN PIERSALL
-Vitae-

EDUCATION
- University of Montana B.A. Biology:Ecology and minor in Geography
Graduated December 2008 High Honors
-Wilderness EMT certification still current

WORK EXPERIENCE
- Geographer, U.S. Fulbright Student Scholar, Kyrgyzstan
- GIS Technician/ Research Associate -Montana Audubon
- Cartographer- private contractor
- Glacier National Park Trail Crew
- Ski Guide, Boulder Hut – Ptarmigan Tours, Purcell Mtns, British Columbia
- Assistant Avalanche Course Instructor – AIRIE and USFS/FNSP
- Glacier County Avalanche Center Volunteer Snow Observer
observations may be viewed at www.glacieravlanche.org/observations.cfm
- Exhibit Intern -Montana Natural History Center, Missoula, MT
- Wildlife Technician- Lost Trail NWR
- Glacier Nordic Skate Ski Instructor, Whitefish, MT
- Glacier Wilderness Guides - West Glacier, MT
- U.S.F.S. Bob Marshall Wilderness Trail Crew

OUTDOOR TRAINING
- CAA Advanced Weather Skills 2009
- AAA AvPro (Professional Avalanche Course) 2009
- Wilderness EMT May 2005 (still current recertified 2007 and 2009)
- Attendee 2008 NACIS Cartography Conference
- Attendee/scholarship winner- 2008 MT Intermountain GIS Conference
- Swiftwater Rescue 2005
- Professional Rescuer CPR/AED recertified yearly 2003-2009
- Avalanche II Glacier Country Avalanche Center 2004
- Avalanche II National Ski Patrol 2004
- Glacier County Avalanche Center Snow Observers Course 2004
- Mountain Travel and Rescue I and II National Ski Patrol 2004
- Crevasse Rescue Course 2007
- Outdoor Emergency Care National Ski Patrol 2005-2009
- Wilderness First Responder March 2003

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
- Flathead Nordic Ski Patrol
- Glacier County Avalanche Center Snow Observer
- USFS Volunteer Avalanche Instructor Field Courses
- Raptor View Research Institute-bird banding/migration research
- Snowbowl Ski Patrol
- Snowbowl Ski Patrol secretary and Board of Directors
- Montana State Science Fair Judge
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Intern
- Glacier National Park Volunteer Loon Observer Summer
- U.S. Fish, Wildlife and Parks Game Check Station Volunteer
- Kalispell Regional Medical Center
- Dream Adaptive Ski Program

RELATED COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
- Glacier Mountaineering Society 2002-2009
- American Alpine Club Member2008-2009
- American Avalanche Association Member Affiliate 2004-2009
-The Hockaday Musuem of Art Member and Artist 2003-2008
-Glacier National Park Member Affiliates Life Member

AWARDS
- Fulbright Grant 2009-2010
- American Alpine Club Research Grant 2009
- Nikwax Bellwether Grant 2009
- Scholarship recipient MT Intermountain GIS
- Recipient of Haynes, Morrelles, Osborn, CB Nelson
Scholarships, Univ of Montana 2008
- Dean's List University of Montana 2005-2009

The Project

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Funding for these projects is through a U.S. Fulbright Grant, an American Alpine Club Research Grant, a Nikwax Alpine Bellwether Grant and the support of several companies and organizations.

GOALS

1. Inventory Work
I am organizing an inventory of information including maps, historic records, climate information and photographs of the At-Bashy Range. The entire At-Bashy inventory will be also be cataloged with The University of Central Asia to encourage future research. I currently in the process of searching across

Kyrgyzstan

for historic photographs suitable for use in a repeat photography project to complement ongoing investigations based on remote sensing. This work will be across the Tien Shan and will not be limited to the At-Bashy Range. Photographs will be added to the Global Photograph Collection at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.

2. Qualitative Research
I am currently finalizing my research methodology for my project "Field Based Assessment of Traditional Knowledge and Contemporary Perspectives of Glaciation ". This research will be conducted in jailoos (summer grazing pastures) and small mountain communities around the At-Bashy Range. These communities rely on snow melt and glacial melt to sustain their semi-nomadic, livestock-based livelihoods. Despite numerous studies dramatic decreases in the Tien Shan systematic studies of what local people know and think are lacking from scientific literature.

3. Community Involvement
From a personal and professional level I am interested in becoming involved in local organizations and community projects. My current involvement is:

Volunteering with The Alpine Fund in Bishkek - a local organization that works to connect local youth and the mountains

Teaching avalanche safety classes: Winter recreation is in its infancy here, but developing quite rapidly. I am not interested in the tourism development aspects of this progression, but I am interested in increasing awareness of locals who work as guides. At this time I am planning to spend a couple weeks in Arsalanbob, Kyrgyzstan teaching basic avalanche awareness classes to local CBT (community-based tourism guides) that will include terrain management, assessing instability and rescue skills.
Collaboration with local research institutions and individuals: There are many projects currently ongoing in Kyrgyzstan regarding glaciers and mountain geography. I am interested in volunteering with some of these projects and learning from local researchers. Potential work exists with researchers at The University of Central Asia, The Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences and The Kyrgyz Russian Slavic University.

Development of a "Mountains and Glacier program" encouraging interest in geography and the local mountains. I will present the program at elementary schools around Kyrgyzstan including The International School in Bishkek and public schools in At-Bashy and surrounding communities.

4. Contributions
I will be documenting my inventory work and research with The University of Central Asia and other organizations such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center. I am also interested in sharing information and increasing general awareness about Kyrgyzstan with the public through the publication of articles in magazines, newspapers and other sources, such as this blog. Although I am most interested in promoting knowledge about the mountain places and people of Kyrgyzstan, I also look forward to sharing information about daily life in Central Asia. On my blog, I will be posting information ranging snow observations to the local gastronomical delights. Following the completion of my research I also expected to submitted articles for publication in scientific journals.

5. Mountain Goals
From a personal level I am very very excited by all the mountaineering and skiing possibilities that exist in Kyrgyzstan. Some of these excursions may benefit my research specifically and some may be purely recreational. I plan on sharing these adventures through my blog and other alpine related publications.

6. Language Skills
A personal goal of mine is to develop a working proficiency of the Kyrgyz language and develop a basic knowledge of Russian. I am currently studying Kyrgyz 2-3 hours a day in hopes that by spring I will be able to engage in conversations and communicate my needs.

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Detailed description of my research interests and goals

The Research Problem
The high mountain glaciers of the Tien Shan act as the main water reservoir to millions of people in Central Asia. The World Glacier Monitoring Service and the United Nations Environment Program estimate that the total glaciated area within the Tien Shan has decreased approximately 25-35 percent in the 20th century, in a similar manner to patterns observed worldwide. The downstream effects of seasonal water scarcity due to glacial recession have local and international implications for food production, energy development, the articulation of water policies, and regional security.

Objectives
The main goal of this proposal is to analyze the socio-ecological dimensions of glacial retreat at the local scale in remote mountain-based communities of the At-Bashy, a constituent of the central Tien Shan, located in the southern portion of Kyrgyzstan. Quantitative data compilation will organize hydro-meteorological data, remote sensing data and historic records to create a local inventory and database of climate and glaciers in the At-Bashy. Qualitative social data analysis will address the perceptions and knowledge of glacier retreat and climate change held by local people.
My project will provide one the first empirical assessments linking the social and physical processes of glacial recession and climate change in the Tien Shan. The development and organization of a local glacial and climate database is warranted in light of the limited ground-validated data available. It will provide a key incremental link to more complete future assessments of the impacts of glacial recession in the Tien Shan. The database will be archived and made easily accessible locally and internationally to be employed by researchers and communities. Additionally, no studies have incorporated or addressed local perceptions of climate change. Incorporating analysis of local traditions, knowledge and views of glacial recession with the development of a simple mountain geography education curriculum will engage local people into my project.

My personal goals include linking my interest in mountain geography with mountain people in the Tien Shan, engaging local people in my research, intensively studying Kyrgyz and gaining a working knowledge of Russian as well as contributing to the international scientific community through publication of my research in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and compiling data to be archived in online-accessible databases.

Study Site

The study area is located within the At-Bashy Range, a constituent of the central Tien Shan, located in the southern portion of Kyrgyzstan. Numerous small communities within the At-Bashy Range utilize the mountain environment and glacial melt to sustain their semi-nomadic, livestock-based livelihoods. The town of Naryn will serve as the central base for this study. The University of Central Asia and Naryn State University has expressed support for my proposal and will provide institutional support and language support while I am carrying out my research. This affiliation will build upon an existing partnership between The University of Montana and Naryn State University as well as the existing Montana-Kyrgyzstan State Partnership Program. I will facilitate these partnerships with my plans to promote civilian-to-civilian and institutional scientific exchange. Furthermore, Dr. Sarah Halvorson, one of my faculty collaborators has working knowledge of the area as the result of her involvement in research on water issues in the Naryn Basin. The Alpine Fund, a local nonprofit in Kyrgyzstan that promotes youth education and involvement, has also committed to supporting my project. These pre-existing affiliations will provide me links to numerous contacts and allow access to resources and information on the area.

Methodology and Timeline

In the fall of 2009, when I arrive in Kyrgyzstan, I will begin intensive tutoring in Kyrgyz and Russian in Bishkek. I will continue my language study with tutors or local classes through the entire duration of my stay, focusing on gaining strong conversational skills.

My research methodology will include two main components: quantitative data compilation and qualitative social data analysis and. To investigate the physical dimensions a compilation of existing quantitative data will be conducted. This inventory is warranted given that no accessible local databases of climate and ground-validated glacier inventories exist. The database will be a compilation of local weather records, climate history, hydrologic data, remote sensing analysis from international researchers, data from the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space project, maps, historic glacial photographs and local information regarding glaciers of the At-Bashy Range. This inventory will be aided by my affiliations with Naryn State University, faculty collaborators at The University of Montana, international researchers who have worked in the Tien Shan and contacts within Kyrgyzstan. Additional analysis, including repeat photography and ground-validation of glacier recession could be incorporated if adequate historic data is recovered. Field work will be conducted during the summer of 2010. The primary goal is to assess current levels of data availability and organize a final database that will be archived and made accessible locally and internationally through a website, webserver or larger database. This compilation will provide a fundamental step to the monitoring and assessment of the impacts and mitigative strategies of glacial retreat in the Tien Shan.

I will begin my qualitative social analysis in the spring of 2009-2010. This will be facilitated by my relationship with The University of Central Asia, Naryn State University and contacts I have through the Montana-Kyrgyzstan State Partnership and the grassroot organization, Community-Based Tourism (CBT), that links foreigners with a wider network of local homestays. Once I have spent several weeks in a village, I can begin to conduct interviews, compile historical information, and make observations about the impacts of glacial retreat on communities. Systematic interviews will be conducted and recorded with community leaders, household water managers, agriculturalists, religious leaders, teachers, and school children. The interviews will address multiple aspects including: oral traditions and religious values regarding glaciers and water; historical uses of water; and local knowledge of glaciers, glacial recession and climate change. Emphasis will be placed on compiling children’s understanding of glacial processes and climate change through interviews in schools and within homes. Working with teachers, community leaders and The Alpine Fund I plan to help develop school lesson plans on mountain geography, emphasizing glaciers and climate change. During the spring of 2010 significant amounts of time will be necessary to translate, transcribe, and organize information gathered from interviews and community observations to be prepared for a research paper for publication.

The interdisciplinary field based approach of this project will encourage international collaboration and engage local communities of the At-Bashy in unique assessment of the socio-ecological dimensions of glacial retreat. The products of the quantitative and qualitative research will further identification of local, regional and international vulnerabilities to and mitigative strategies to glacial retreat and climate change.

Tien Shan Glaciers and Mountains Project

EurasiaNet.org

Preliminary Findings

Repeat Photography

At Bashy Mountaineering Part II

Ak Tash

ABOUT AT BASHY

Tradition of Nomadic Pastoralism: The Kyrgyz Herder

First Ascents

At Bashy Mountaineering Part I : THE NORTH

Bishkek Lassitude

Circumnavigation of the At-Bashy Range

Introducing....

The Walk

Intern Training Trip

THE SOUTH

Life in the Jailoo

Three Hundred Cups of Tea

Rural Life

At-Bashy

FUN RUN

The Alpine Fund Dacha Weekend

Stable Instability

Spring Plans

Historic Data

National Geographic

Jetim-Bel Range- Women`s Kyrgyzstan Expedition

News

Bye Bye Bishkek!

Images From Bishkek

Different Kind of Storm Day: The 2010 Kyrgyzstan Revolution

Historic Photographs

Historical Maps

Skiing Arslanbob

At Bashy Map

Uchitel peak

Adygine research station

Snowpack Synopsis

Kaindy

Winter Storm

Ichke Jergez

ARSLANBOB

KARA-KOO

Transportation

ABOUT KYRGYZSTAN

Links

Happy Holidays

Ala-Archa Skiing

Food

The Alpine Fund

Snow Profile: Ala-Archa

Publications

Snow Profile

GOALS

Research

Photographs

At-Bashy

Arrival

Departure

Welcome

Exploration

TIEN SHAN

Ann Piersall

The Project