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!
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.
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 PRODUCTSCentral Asia offers the best dairy products I have ever tasted in my life.
Kaimakis 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. Kymysis 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 “chutchut” 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.
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.
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.
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-BashyRange, 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-BashyRange. 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-BashyRange. Photographs will be submitted to the Global Photograph Collection at the U.S. National Snow and IceDataCenter.
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.
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.
