DURATION OF THE TRIP: 7 days
DISTANCE : up to 600 km
ROUTE: Bishkek-Tiu Ashuu- Susamyr - Bishkek
SEASON: December-March

This adventure takes skiers and snowboarders to the Susamyr valley, which backs the Kyrgyz mountain range from the south. This area gets 1.5-2 meters of snow per winter season. We will be skiing from the Tiu Ashuu pass (3,586 m). The slopes drop nearly 1,000 m from the top of the pass to the buttom of the valley. The pass is located 130 km to the west of Kyrgyz capital - Bishkek. One of the busiest motorways of the country runs thru this pass. This thread of road asphalt connects the south and the north of Kyrgyzstan - the settled cultures of the Ferghana valley and the nomads of Northern Tien-Shan, following the medieval trails of the Great Silk Road. The highway went thru a capital rehabilitation project and is now maintained in an excellent condition.

As a lift and a transport vehicle of the expedition, the skiers and snowboarders get to drive in an all terrain, full-wheel drive, former army vehicle GAZ-66. The vehicle is equipped with the systems of self-sustainability. The tourist group is supported by ski instructors and an expedition doctor. All travelers are provided with avalanche transceivers and ham radios.

Up on Tiu-Ashuu the group will be hosted by the High Altitude Clinic of the Bishkek Medical Academy, which is located by the top of the pass. The place boasts a hot shower, a kitchen fascility and single or 2 and 4 persons room.

From here the group decides on day trips, files their plan with a program manager in Bishkek and checks on weather forcasts and avalanche warnings. Several other
passes of the picturesque Susamyr mountain valley are waiting for their first descenders. Together we can look for places where a GAZ-66 can ascent to and the travelers can be hosted by the true nomads in their winter yurts or have a chance to stay in an autonomous tent camp, isolated

by Peter Kollar, reprinted from Couloir Online, September 2001

In 2000 I was a member of a small team that wanted to climb Peak Lenin. We had to stop at 6,700 meters, and in my mind I still saw the beautiful north face of this peak. Dream? Maybe, but on the 27 of July 2001, my dream came true. I and my five friends boarded a plane and started one big adventure. Kyrgyzstan, a country from the former Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan, a country where poor people give you what they can. Kyrgyzstan, a country of beautiful mountains.

Our Slovak expedition started from Lukovaya Polana at base camp. Between the small hills are wonderful small blue lakes. There are sheep and goats on the steep slopes. There we hired horses to carry our equipment to camp one. They said one kilogram = one dollar. We didn't accept and after few minutes we agrees on 0.7 dollar per kilo. Nice people, these natives.

For five hours we built tents right next to our Czech friends, who cooperated with us on this expedition. Over the next few days we worked on the high camps. Very soon we split into two groups. Six people wanted to ascend using the normal route through Peak Razdelnaya and the rest of us chose the north face route.

After a few days camp two and camp three were built and we were preparing to try to reach the top. On August 9, 2001 eight people moved to camp 2, and the next day to camp 3. Evening came quickly, the shadows were longer and the air was colder. There was silence, only noise of stove. Everybody was waiting for tomorrow. These evenings are the reason why I love mountains and always come back.

August 11: morning, the weather is excellent. I drank a lot of tea and got started. Into my backpack I put gloves, glasses, hot tea, two power bars, skis, an ice ax and a small Slovak flag. My toes were frozen, but the weather was working for us and the rising sun helped me. A thousand steps, a thousand intakes, a thousand times I must convince myself to continue. Again and again I stop and continue. After long nine hours five of us were on the top. GPS shows 7,134 m, it is 5 p.m. We were very happy, took the pictures and started to slowly ski down.