A trek in the Afghan Wakhan Corridor

In the very northeast of Afghanistan is a strip of land tucked away between two massive mountain ranges: The Wakhan Corridor. Far away from violence, this is probably the only safe place for travelers to visit within Afghanistan. Yet only a 100 people, primarily trekkers and climbers, make it out here every year. In September 2010 I did a trekking deep into the Wakhan towards the Lake of Chaqmaqtin. The trek report follows, here's a selection of photographs of this spectacular end of the world.

Expedition report Pik Korzhenevskaya (7105m)

Of course I knew climbing a peak over 7000 metres wouldn't be easy. What I forgot was getting back from the mountain is the part where (at least in my case) was absolutely the toughest thing I have done so far. You're already completely knackered and then you are supposed to walk to same bloody distance back. No cook who has your dinner and tea ready. Getting back in the tent means melting snow for cooking and rehydrating.

No complaints here, we had excellent views over the Pamirs during our summit attempt.

We climbed the mountain expedition style. We set up tents at 5300m, 5800m and 6300m before making the final climb to the top. After setting up the camps we got back to basecamp to rest, eat solid food and drink RC Cola (the local drink of the Gods, in this context). The biggest obstacle up is basically from BC to camp 1. 1000 altimetres on shit terrain. Lot's of loose scree, steep and rather ugly. From camp 1 things are more beautiful, but still hard work. Ironically the higher you get, the nicer and more gradual the climb. From high camp it's "only" 800 metres up. Check out some pics!

More trekking adventures in the Fann Mountains

Yesterday our expedition heard that the helikopter to basecamp Ismoil Somoni (the mountain we intend to climb) was cancelled. That gives me an extra day to update this blog and chill out a bit more after the 8 day trek in the Fann Mountains.


It's been another great trek. One of the highlights was meeting up with the expedition group who was doing a trek as well in the same area. For them a surprise, for me planned. The photos say enough!


From tomorrow (Inshallah) I'll be on the mountain for 5 weeks. So no blog for a bit. But do check the expedition site that is being updated regularly: http://www.dutchpamir2010.nl/.


Enjoy the photos!

I'm a Fann! Finally some trekking in Tajikistan

Finally I have found time and a decent internet connection to do a little update of my Pamir adventures. Well, actually I'm in a different mountain range, although you could consider it a sub-range: the Fann Mountains. Less than a 100 km north of Dushanbe as the crow flies, this small mountain range has massive peaks well over 5000m. I started out in Hakimi, near Dushanbe and walked in three days over the Mura Pass (3760m) to the famed Iskander Kul. The past three days I did a three day trek along deep blue lakes guarded by jagged snow capped mountains. Tonight I'm in Penjikent to watch my fellow countrymen win the World Cup football, tomorrow (12th of July) of to the Fann again! Here's some photographs, enjoy!

Away from the hotzone called Osh

I dreamt my room mate was playing a war game on his computer. Why would he do that in the middle of the night? I woke up and the sound of gunfire remained. It dawned to me the shooting was actually happening outside. Did war break out?

Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan and is located in the very south of the country on the border of Uzbekistan. Half the population is Uzbek and generally this group run the more successful businesses. The guesthouse were staying in is Uzbek owned. There are different theories about the cause of the violence. In Kygyzstan it is believed it was arranged by the dismissed president Bakijev. Others think the outbreak of violence is caused by the class differences between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Unofficial reports claim more than 2000 people have been killed in the clashes. Half a million people fled the country and are cut off from water and food.

The gunfire kept on going, helicopters flying low over the city and we could see plums of smoke very close from where we stayed. There was even shooting in the street. How on earth are we getting out of here? Luckily myself and a few cyclists had enough food and camping equipment to ensure food for a number of days.

Meanwhile one of our fellow travelers Mike, an American who is married to a Kyrgyz woman, started an evacuation plan. Lot's of calls but no clarity yet. The next morning suddenly a car was arranged and we had to pack quickly and go. In front of our car was another car to escort us out of town. What we saw was worse than we imagined it would be. Many businesses were burned down, cars as well. Groups of young men with guns and improvised spears dominated the street. A dead body. It only took 10 minutes to get us out of town but they were long. There were still some hurdles to take but we got out of the warzone and were on our way to Bishkek where things still remain stable (tomorrow 26 June the referendum will be held).

Return Jiptik Pass

After having to change the itinerary of the Pamir Alay trek (due to snow expectations and insufficient border permit) I took off with 35kg on the back. Following the course of Ak Bar Suu the green rolling hills suddenly change in jagged, snowcapped mountains. The river is big this time of the year and brown coloured due to all the soil that's being disposed. The map showed a number of side rivers, but dispite the large amounts of rainfall no side river to be found. I struggled with the weight of the backpack, and water was running out. Just before dusk I found a place to stay with a Kyrgyz farmer and his daughter. The legs, shoulders and hips hurt...

The next stage was going up gradually. I passed villages that result inevitabily in invitations for tea. People are very generous and hospitable. The last bit of dirt track goes up steeply and finally I walk into the wide valley of Kojo Kelen. The first inquiry about places to stay was a lucky shot: the lady is the English teacher of the village and invites me to stay. The family is clearly rich: lot's of land, big house for themselves and many beautiful blankets. The meal later that night (a rice meal called plov) was excellent. Her husband teaches me to pray muslim prayers. May come in handy some time...

Day 3 was going to be a tough one. The plan was to camp at 3200 metres which means an altitude gain of 1100 metres. After Kojo Kelen the track narrows and not long after there's no habitation anymore. Alpine marmots announce my visit, yaks are lazing around on the jailoos (summer pastures) and the 4000m peaks become clearly visible. Man, there's a lot of snow on the summits. I climb up to 3200m and pitch the tent. Finally I get to sleep in my nice little crappy Chinese tent. And then it started raining, pooring I should say. Is the tent going to hold or not? The rain remains for a good 12 hours and the inside of the tent is completely dry. Sweet! I spent my time talking to myself until I fall asleep.

The next morning is dry. Without a pack I'm walking up the path to have a look at the pass. Last night tons of snow were dumped on the higher bits of the surrounding mountains. The path up the pass is invisible. It would probably mean a lot of ploughing through deep snow to get to the other side. I decided to go back: being alone and carrying a rucksack that's very heavy was to much risk to make an attempt. I descended 1400 metres and stayed another night with another family. The next day I took an early morning taxi back to Osh. Back to cold beers and juicy sashlicks. Things would turn out slightly different...

A trekking packlist

Last night I arrived in Almaty, at the foothill of the Tien Shan. I unpacked my stuff that all together already weighs around 28kg. And I have to add food, petrol and water....

Here's the complete list I'm dragging along on the treks.


Packlist Trekking in the Pamirs project

Packing
Mammut Haute Route Rucksac 95 litres
WX Tex daypack waterproof 20 litres
Drybags (30L, 15L, 10L, 7.5L, 2.5L and waterproof Event compression bag)
Document pouch waterproof

Clothing
Haglofs Rugged Mountain pants
Quicksilver boardshort (cause you never know...)
Mountain Designs thin merinowool top
Mountain Designs merinowool underpants
Icebreaker 260 merinowool top
2x Icebreaker merino wool 190 t-shirt
2x t-shirts
4 pairs light weight hiking socks
1 pair Icebreaker midweight hiking socks
1 pair Teko expedition weight hiking socks
2 Icebreaker thermal boxers
4 pairs normal underwear
Haglofs fleece gilet
Mountain Hardwear light fleece jumper
Gore Windstopper jacket
Patagonia Stretch Element waterproof jacket
Peak Performance Black Light Down Jacket (EU 750+ fill)
Salamon midweight fleece jacket
Light weight cap
Bolivian beanie
Warm Barts beanie

Other protection against the elements
Lowe Alpine gaiters
Berghaus waterproof mitt shell only
Fleece gloves
Merinowool liner gloves
Windstopper gloves
Barts Balaclava Windstopper
Julbo Cat. 4 sunglasses
Hypothermic rescue blanket (foil)

Walking
Mammut Mt Trail GTX XT walking boots
Crocs (fake)
2 Leki Makalu walking poles
Walking axe 75cm

Sleeping
Rab Quantum 250 sleeping bag (-2 comfort temp)
K2 Summit trekking tent (2kg)
Kaikialla inflatable sleeping mat
Mammut Bivi Bag
Cocoon mummy liner
Ear plugs

Hydration
Sigg water bottle 1L
Nalgene water bottle 1L
Camelbag 1.5L
Thermos bottle (0.5L)
Katadyn Hiker water filter
Chlorine water treatment tablets (72x)
ORS

Cooking
MSR whisperlite petrol stove (kerosine and petrol)
Large fuel bottle (970ml)
Small fuel bottle (650ml)
Lighters plus water/windproof matches
MSR maintenance kit
Mug
MSR 2 piece stainless steel pan set
Lightweight cuttlery and spork
Plastic storage jars, different sizes
10 pack 1 person freeze dried food, Adventure Food
2 pack 1 person freeze dried food Mountain House
2 packs Lavazza espresso!
Small pergulator

Tech stuff
Samsung netbook
16gb USB stick
16gb Memory card
2gb Memory card
Integral card reader
Solio Rocsta solar charger
Garmin Extrex Legend GPS
SPOT satellite messenger
Trackstick mini GPs tracker
Nokia (no clue what type)
Panasonic Lumix TZ5 plus spare battery and mini tripod
6 Duracell AA batteries
4 Energizer Lithium batteries
2 universal adapters
Suunto Altimax wrist watch

Other trekking essentials
Thermometre
Silva Field 7 compass
Gerber multitool
Petz Myo XP headtorch
(Wire) lock
2 Bever Zwerfsport straps (150cm)

Repair
Ducktape
Sports tape
Tie rips, different sizes
Seam tape plus goretex repair patches
Pair spare laces 180cm
5 metres prusik (3mm)
5 metres nylon cord
Sewing kit

Body care
2 sunscreen sticks factor 30
Lip balm factor 25
Desinfecting gel
Tooth paste (2 small units) and mini tooth brush
Neutrogena hand cream
Tail clipper

Staying healthy
Paracetamol (24x)
Ibuprofen (24X)
Multi vitamine pills (90x)
Augmentin (21x) (anti biotics - bacterial infections)
Ciprofloxacin (14x) (more anti biotics - bacterial infections)
Imodium (6x) (blocks diarrhoea)
Fucidin Cream (anti biotic cream for skin infections)
Sterilon
Plenty of plasters, band aid, injection needles etc

Read, write and talk
2 notebooks plus pens
Trekking maps (7x) plus aditional info
Lonely Planet Central Asia
LP phrasebook Russian
LP phrasebook Central Asian languages
Novel Call of the Wild and Wild Fang by Jack London

Not to mention the stuff I squeezed in an XL TNF duffel bag for climbing expedition this summer! Did I forget anything? I'll find out the hard way then!