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jefffski
May 3, 2004, 6:10 AM
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i hope to go there summer of 2005. so far what i have read is about commercial climbing expeditions. i am interested in organizing a private unguided trip with porters if necessary.
i would be thrilled to hear back from anybody who has been there and can share some info.
thanks
jeff
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jayteefiveseven
May 3, 2004, 6:13 AM
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krygystan da changak pokaranab. mechi mechi pa chun li dang phrenaksa, etk braki brakut mea jharna na pang chus. pla nam djerizak etk zarenka plataj snak. songalaj mon juppi lutek snan.
amatak,
zubsan
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jefffski
May 3, 2004, 8:33 PM
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ok. i'm stymied. at first i thought it was indonesian or dutch. a check of babelfish proved me wrong. then i tried an online guessing site which guessed both croatian and slovak, using different phrases.
but both those failed when i applied them in various translators.
maybe its krygz language.
maybe ya trolled me. you win.
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jhump
May 3, 2004, 8:36 PM
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Check out "over the Edge" by Greg Child. The story of Rodden/Caldwell/Smith/Dickey kidnapping by IMU rebels. A good description of the climbing as well as the political climate of the area.
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drrock
May 3, 2004, 8:46 PM
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edit
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chrisharkness
May 3, 2004, 9:03 PM
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hey man,
well, searching for info on Kyrgyzstan has been my life for the last few months. I'll be spending two months there starting this June, so I'll be more than happy give you the exact beta after I get back. It seems to me that most local travel agencies will work with you right out of Bishkek (not too expensive either, though I'm still finalizing that--nothing like pakistan or something though). You can hire a 4wd vehicle there (or in Osh if you prefer) and they'll take care of transport, permits (you have to get a border permit, tourist visa, and ecological permit--but they'll take care of that for you). I'd get a 6 month visa to be safe. I'm working with an agency called Dostuck Trekking. I'll let you know in a few months if they're cool or not. Getting past military outposts sounds tough, bring bribe money. Situation is safe. State Dept. is being paranoid as far as I've been told. Anyway, I'll be in touch with you if you'd like. My email is
chrisharkness@hotmail.com
by the way, you ever think about doing a trip to pakistan. I'm determined to climb Nameless tower one of these summers...
later
Chris
24
Duluth, MN
p.s. oh yeah, you could also be a pansy and rent helicopters, and if you're loaded, go for it.
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jayteefiveseven
May 4, 2004, 6:31 AM
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In reply to: ok. i'm stymied. at first i thought it was indonesian or dutch. a check of babelfish proved me wrong. then i tried an online guessing site which guessed both croatian and slovak, using different phrases. but both those failed when i applied them in various translators. maybe its krygz language. maybe ya trolled me. you win.
juppi juppi lutek
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tempestwind
May 4, 2004, 6:39 AM
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In reply to: ok. i'm stymied. at first i thought it was indonesian or dutch. a check of babelfish proved me wrong. then i tried an online guessing site which guessed both croatian and slovak, using different phrases. but both those failed when i applied them in various translators. maybe its krygz language. maybe ya trolled me. you win.
I think it is "Elvish". :mrgreen:
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atg200
May 4, 2004, 7:22 PM
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start working on getting your visas right away. it can be very difficult if you arenīt on a tour or working. apparently kirghizistan is a bit easier than uzbekistan(which is where i was), but the whole region is challenging and you iwll be turned bak at the border if your documents arenīt in order.
the caldwell stuff happened down in the border region with uzbekistan and tajikistan. anywhere near tajikistan is bad news. i doubt youīll have any trouble in most parts of kirghizistan.
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lightandslow
May 4, 2004, 8:42 PM
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I lived/travelled in Kyrgyzstan for 4 months back in '96. I lived in an apartment in Bishkek with a local taxi driver and travelled/trekked/skied up in the Ak-Su and the Karakol areas, as well as travelled to Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Almaty in Kazakhstan. I didn't have any particularly unusual troubles while there, but I had good local contacts that assisted me with details. Local folks were extremely gracious, friendly and helpful, and the Kyrghyz and Uzbek hospitality was unending where ever I went. Of course, just like travelling in other developing nations, you need to keep your head about you as there are people who'd like to take advantage of you, but I never experienced it (other than getting pick-pocketed on a regular basis by sneaky little street kids...but that never bothered me too much). In rural areas you are much more at the mercy of the local people, (which usually just means protecting yourself from being smothered by hospitality), but you do need to be careful of rebels and "gangs" that live in mountainous regions (away even from the villages) they aren't regulated by either population density or police. I was told about this on several occassions when I was there, but never experienced it. Local village folks and the nomadic country folk usually knew what was going on in their area, so you could get a good picture of the safety from them. If they said "rebels" had been around you didn't go, if they didn't then you went. This was in '96, so it may be different now.
At that time, in order to get a visa you had to either have a written invitation from a local organization stating that you were working for them (which is what I had), or they let a few organized tours in as well. I believe that it is a little easier to get a visa now a days, but I'd start working on that first up. Maybe look into some organization that you can volunteer with for a month and then you can extend the trip for a couple more months beyond that and do some climbing. That'd get you a visa, get you connected with some local people, and give you a homebase...of course, that's if you have that kind of time. It would be most helpful if you spoke a little Russian or if you had a contact that did, when I was there it was difficult to find English speakers, not only in the country, but also in the urban areas (I'm sure it's better now, but still not like most other parts of the world). Even if you don't you'll get by, but you may get screwed a few times (i.e. paying too much, missing busses, etc). Even back then I never had any trouble getting around, and I hear that it is easier now, as far as taking buses and minivans to where ever you want to go. I would recommend flying directly into Bishkek and be careful in Osh, there is much more political/civil unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan so it's probably better to avoid or be wary if possible. As far as getting to climbing areas, you can hire a local car to get you to some, but some you have to be flown in to (or make a really long hike), and I don't know how to arrange that.
Anyway, I don't know if that's at all helpful? As far as general safety, my folks live in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) at the moment, and they go to Bishkek about once a month. They report that everythings "as usual" in the area (which is relative, but still they feel safe). They live in a little apartment, walk around at night, shop in the market, etc, etc. and they've never had trouble. It's just like anything, you have too keep your head about you and be smart, but it's not unsafe.
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highcountry
May 4, 2004, 9:18 PM
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The people at Sea and Summit Expeditions have experience in Kyrgystan. You might want to contact them and see what beta they can give you. www.seaandsummit.com
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jefffski
May 5, 2004, 6:35 AM
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terrific info. thanks
jeff
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