Fuori dalla porta - avventure e non, tutto outdoor: Virgin peaks of Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan - ISM expedition 2013

Last part of the Kyrgyzstan adventure post...

Leaving the advanced base camp gave a sort of sad feeling. We spent 5 nights up there and it started to feel like home in a way. Even the routine starts to kick in. But the idea of leaving for a warmer place and especially for the possibility of getting washed was "irresistible" :). Unfortunately on our last day at ABC we did not climb anything because the weather was rather bad in the morning. So we just waited for the snow to stop, packed the tents and rucksacks and hiked back down to base camp.

Bad weather was firmly convinced not to leave us so we had to wait for very short windows of decent weather to get a wash in the river. Having no sun and cold winds made the washing an extremely refreshing experience. The evening goes on with everyone sitting in the common tent, chatting, drinking and eating. It's nice to be all together again in the same tent. And it's also very nice to see the truck that fell off the bridge standing again on its six wheels. It looks quite badly bashed, that is true, but these vehicles seem to be really resilient.

Dismantling base camp

Trying to save the truck underwater...not quite there yet

intermediate camp before Son Kul

In the morning we start driving towards the Son Kul canyon, but we already know that we are not going to make it there in a day and we'll have to camp somewhere on the way. We cross again that river where the other truck was stuck half underwater and again the same bloody bridge. Once again our driver decides to cross the river in the water rather than risking the dodgy bridge. After several hours on the go and lots of bumps and holes in the road we reach our camp site for that evening. An idyllic spot, kissed by the warm sunset sun and at the same time gently refreshed by winds. It's strange to feel somehow warm after 7 rather cold nights, two at base camp and 5 at ABC.

Finally the day after we reach the Son Kul canyon shortly after 2pm. Just the time for a quick lunch and off we go to have a look at the canyon and to decide which routes we are going to attempt on the following two days. Some people of the group (naturally including the guides) have already climbed here before and some routes have already been opened. If such a place was in Europe it would probably have several dozens of routes. So it's easy to imagine the excitement of being there and knowing that basically most of these awesome rocks had never been touched by a human hand.

Me and my rope partner pick up a line that looks doable, rather close to the line that one of the guides has chosen. This way, even if we climb on our own the guide will still be able to hear us and, hopefully, give us some help if needed. However today is too late to start climbing so we go back to the camp and enjoy a sunny afternoon.

Camp at Son Kul

Typical landscape of the canyon

Early start is not a must anymore...rather the contrary. We are not going to leave the camp before the sun hits it, which is happening around 7:00 am. Backpacks are this time much lighter than they used to be in the high mountains and also clothing is much more basic. I'm even taking a fleece with me, but that won't be needed. To get to the climbing spot we need to cross a river and since this is rather deep we end up taking off shoes, socks and even trousers. Cold water on the feet in the morning is a good way to wake up. More walking and scrambling through bushes and stuff and finally we get to the beginning of the route. Starting an unclimbed route is an unusual experience, at least for me. We have no idea if it will be possible to get to the top or if we will have to abseil off at some point. Naturally the route is all done on trad gear and, very interestingly, it will be the first time I'm going to lead a route on trad. I've used trad gear before on mountaineering routes, but on grades not tougher than AD+. This route does not look that difficult from the bottom but having the first lead on trad on an unclimbed route is something really exciting.

The first pitch goes on without problems, but very slowly. Climbing unclimbed rocks one must always be careful not to knock anything off...and especially not on the belayer, you know...On the second pitch is my time to lead. It starts with a long traverse with lots of nice horizontal cracks where the cams are getting in nicely. Unfortunately straight after the traverse the route gets steeper and then the rope drag is too much to continue. So I'm forced to set up and anchor and stop here. The beginning of the third pitch is probably the most difficult part of the climb, even though the route cannot be called difficult. Me and my friend reckon that this must be a 4a/4b...what the swiss would call plaisir! I make a little mistake in setting up the anchor and the end of fourth pitch and pulling up the two ropes is much more tiring than the whole climb. And to make things worse, when I start belaying the leader on the fifth pitch we manage to tangle the rope in a way that the two are tied into an overhand knot. How the hell did that happen??? No worries, just remember the 3 golden rules of mountaineering:

Look cool
Shit happens
If shit happens...look cool anyway!

and so I do...keeping my cool look on my face I untangle the rope and follow the leader. We take a short break to drink something because it was getting too hot and then I start what is going to be the very last pitch. The feeling of getting to the top of an unclimbed route is really....really...I don't know, can't find the right word for it. It's just a weird feeling, a mixture of happiness and somehow sadness at the same time. Happiness because we made it and sadness because it's already over and because in the end we did not have to push too hard for it. Since the route looked more difficult from the distance but it was actually rather easy we are going to call it "Scotta". This is an italian word that means the opposite of "al dente", and which sounds very similar to Scottish. The route would have been "al dente" if it had been tricky and tough, but since it was not it was "scotta". And my climbing partner was scottish, so that is a very good name for it. My first route leading on trad is also a new route...I don't know how many people are lucky enough to get that.

Overview of the route Scotta

Beginning of the first pitch

On the very last pitch!

Back at camp...relaxing

There is not much to say about the second day unfortunately. We were planning to attempt another new route but getting to the bottom of it involves a massive walk and we realize this only once we try to get there. So we end up repeating one route that has already been done during last year's expedition. This route is on a ridge and is called the swiss ridge because it really looks like an alpine ridge in the swiss alps.

Morning of the following day we pack our stuff and the tents for the last time and off we go...back to civilization! Once back in the hotel is not possible to feel to edge of heaven by looking at the shower and the toilet...how cool is that! After two weeks of rivers and squatting (you know what I mean) this is one of the best thing I could think of.

This has been probably the best trip I have done so far. Lots of new experiences and lots of excitement. And this kind of experience is difficult to get somewhere else. For sure I could have joined some trips where higher and more difficult mountain had to be climbed...but nowhere else I could have get to try the experience of getting into the unknown, the real feeling of exploring. Definitely worth trying. And actually...I'm seriously considering joining this trip also next year!