Advertisement
Donkeys screeching, sheep baaaing, cows mooing, dogs barking, ducks quaking. These are not the sounds that bring skiing to mind. And only 3 years ago, here skiing was unheard of. If you ski here in the next few years you could be classed as a pioneer. I was the 25th person this year and one of the first 50 people ever in the history of the world to ski the mountains off Arslanbob.
4 hours from Osh after a series of shared taxis it is a place that is known locally as a pilgrimage. It is said that the Prophet Mohammed charged a modest gardener to find paradise on earth. When it was found the Prophet gave him fruit and nut seeds to plant around the mountaintops.
Now, Arslanbob has the largest walnut grove in the world - 11000 hectares and each year 1500 tonnes of walnuts and 5000 tonnes of apples, pistachios and cherry plums are harvested in September. Meaning in April those delights can’t be tasted. So to are the trekking routes so cross country skiing was the only option to do anything - I felt.
Known for its quality trekking, 3 years ago its local
CBT decided to give skiing a go. First year was 2 people, 2nd year 8, this year 25. I would assume I would be the last for the season as I came here in the middle of spring. Using skis with its late 1980’s, early 90’s design and fluoro colours. It was a great experience to have.
Cross-country skiing is the only option here because there are no lifts and no easy ride. I really wanted a rifle straddling on my back so I could be a bi-athlete. But it was not to be. March/April is high avalanche season so we were unable to head to the top so we skied down in which I am sure I have claimed the title of the worst skier to ever ski in Arslanbob. I am always bad the first two runs but after that I can ski. So after 3 hours hiking and ski walking the one run down was a highlight reel of classic falls.
The snow cover sometimes went up to the knees but it was too powdery and soon after it was thin. Trees and boulders pop up through the snow so the concerns of falling on
a hidden rock did cross my mind. One fall was lucky it was just snow, otherwise my face would have been smashed in. The guide said that one of his friends lost his teeth on a rock. At lunch his teeth had thawed up near our picnic rock. When we first started I asked the guide how many times have you skied here? He said, “Once, this is my second time.” I would love to try cross-country skiing again but would not do it with a mountain trek. Although the views were good.
The previous day I walked to the panoramic viewpoint and on the way back I got lost in the maze of the short lanes with more dirt than stones. Kids saying “Hello!” and the noises mentioned above. I asked “Kooda Tscentr?” (Where’s centre) and got told every which way and couldn’t find it for over 2 hours. When I found it, a drunken schoolteacher offered to kill a sheep for CBT guy, and me, he was told that that was unnecessary. I soon realised that I walked past my home stay. So right there, at that moment, I felt like the worst backpacker in the world.
Before Arslanbob I arrived in Osh after crossing over from Tajikistan. I had some great scenery changing from Northern Territory type to Mexican desert to Siberia to Mars. At the Tajiki border crossing at the peak of a mountain I had to go through all my bags. There the officers found my DVD collection - one CD was the Aussie movie Black Balloon, which on the cover of the CD has Gemma Ward and whatsisname in a sultry image. They go “Ooohh porno?” So out it goes and into the DVD player and to their disappointment it was a normal movie and even worse no Russian subtitles or voiceover so I was able to keep my DVD collection.
When I got to Osh I didn’t particularly like it much. There’s Solomon’s Throne a Muslim Pilgrimage because Mohammed once preyed here (supposedly). A gigantic rock that dominates the landscape. Osh is a major transit city between one of the worst border boundaries in the world. It involves Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Because of the location on the edge of the Islamic World Stalin wanted Tajikistan to become a full republic but that required 1 million people so he topped
it up with some Uzbek cities. So now the borders are all mixed. Tajiks living in Uzbek. Uzbek living in Kyrgyz etc.
This area is highly Uzbek although Osh is slightly more Kyrgyz. Because of the mix it saw a violent war between the two groups in June-July 1990. No matter which group you look at it is surprising how un-Russian Central Asia is. I came here expecting a slight resemblance to the Baltic’s (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) but instead I am getting a very Islamic culture and a very Asian look (close to the Mongolian-Chinese look or slight Persian.)
Like with Tajikistan - This part has no bus service so to get anywhere it’s a shared taxi. From Arslanbob to Bishkek I was forced to argue with the driver who wouldn’t take me any further. After 20 minutes I got him to drop me off at a corner in the rain near my accommodation forcing me to negotiate the dark damp lanes, with dogs barking and a drunken man showing me the way.
But that was nothing. From Murgab, Tajikistan to Osh a 14-hour bus ride (but waited 4 hours in the cold) I reached probably my
greatest backpacking feat. I arrived in Osh with the taxi driver saying he cant go any further because his car is not licensed in Osh. 6 blocks away at midnight I walk to my accommodation, which the guidebook says, “the apartment can be hard to find.” Pitch black from a blackout the only lights are the few generated lights from shops on the main street.
With my 1990’s Nokia mobile flashlight switched on I look to my guidebook again. These are the instructions: “Take the alley by a row of kiosks, take a diagonal right by the rubbish dump and turn left at the second apartment building. It’s the third entrance on the left, top floor.” I have to say very few times I have felt unsafe but here I did. Drunks are stumbling along, if I were wrong after one go I don’t know what I would have done. No local currency. I start my walk up the steps and get to the top floor… and scrapped onto the white door in brown rusty writing ‘Osh G.H’ I Ring the bell and the worker there says surprised “How did you find us?” and it was at that moment,
for that one second, I felt like the best backpacker in the world…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.848s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 25; qc: 112; dbt: 0.6467s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb