Kyrgyzstan 2024
Introduction Roughly 1000km south of Russia, squashed between China to the southeast, and Kazakhstan to the west, lies a small country called Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is a poor country; the average annual salary is around £2500. However, what it lacks in economic power is compensated by its natural riches; Gold, Silver and Uranium are all mined. Aside from the economic value these provide, they are found in and form part of many large mountain ranges that are of interest to me as I enjoy climbing. In soviet times two valleys in Karavshin gained popularity for their solid rock climbing. These are the Kara su and Ak su valleys . In December 2023 I received a message from a friend of mine (Gordon) asking if I would be keen to visit these. Left: climbing on Perestroika crack. Top right: Pik 4810 (Odesa) Bottom right: Russian tower from camp. Journey to Kyrgyzstan It was in this capacity, that at 12pm on Friday the 5 th of July, instead of working on excel sheets I found myself boa...