International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2023 Kyrgyzstan Trip Report

[Mattadvproject]

Heading to Kyrgyzstan!

Well this trip came out of the blue..... I'm heading to Kyrgyzstan in just over a week with my good friend Gary (@Big Salad) for a recon trip. I was invited out to Kyrgyzstan (that is a hard country to spell) for a week to check out their emerging ski industry and their resort, backcountry and cat skiing options. I was contacted a few weeks ago by the founder of Ryce Travel, a Dutch non-profit tour company that specializes in setting up guiding infrastructure in emerging ski destinations. They operate in several countries including Kazakhstan, Georgia, Serbia, Lebanon and a few others. How they found me, I do not know (will find out), but they invited me out to come and experience their services as they want to start offering Kyrgyzstan to the Western market next winter. We'll see how it goes!

I finalized my travel arrangements on Monday I'll be heading off on the 21st March. I'm flying to Istanbul and then onto Bishkek. I had enough miles that I could fly to Kyrgyzstan pretty cheaply and there were some good specials in business class if I was flexible with my dates. So I will fly to Istanbul first and stay there for a couple of nights> I have 1.5 days to check out some of the sights. I'm pretty excited to visit Istanbul as I've been wanting to go there for a long time. It will be a nice preview for a ski trip to Turkey I am planning in 2025. I have a connection in Istanbul who will be showing me around which should be awesome, then I head to Bishkek.

I'll have a full day of exploring in Bishkek (will try to find a local, English-speaking guide to show me around) and then Gary and I head to the mountains. We have a day in Karakol to explore the resort and sidecountry there, then a day of cat skiing in Jyrgalen, then 1 day of ski touring in the Jyrgalen pass staying in a yurt and then some vehicle-assisted ski touring in the Chon Assu pass area. We'll be staying in a mix of guesthouses and yurts, so it will be a fun and diverse adventure. Being late in the season, I don't expect to be skiing any deep powder, but if we can get some nice corn skiing in and even just some great views and an amazing cultural experience, then I will be more than happy.

I'll finish with a couple of nights back in Bishkek and then back to Colorado on the 3rd April, exactly 2 weeks away. As always, I'll be blogging here and let you know what it all looks like. Here's a little video from Kyrgyzstan to show you what it looks like.....





I still have plenty of video's that I'll be editing for the Japan blogs, I haven't forgotten about those, but I'm really excited for this new adventure Kyrgyzstan as it is another former-Soviet country that I have been keen on visiting for a while and it should be a great experience. We had such an amazing time in Uzbekistan last winter and I hope we can find more magic in Kyrgyzstan. Fingers crossed!

- Matt

 

[dbostedo]

Wow... what a thing to get to do suddenly/unexpectedly. Hope it goes well!

 

[Mattadvproject]

Wow... what a thing to get to do suddenly/unexpectedly. Hope it goes well!

Thanks David! Yes, it was quite unexpected. I was quite content with just having the time in Japan and perhaps organizing a last minute group to Georgia, but with the lack of snow in Gudauri this year, I wasn't too upset that I had nothing on the books in March. A recon trip to Kyrgyzstan definitely was too tempting to pass up though and should round out the season nicely. Then it's off to Bentonville, AR for a month of mountain biking when I get back, to stay in shape during mud season, before mountain bike season and all the other fun summer activities kick off in Granby. Should be feeling good for August and heading back down to Chile......

 

[Rod9301]

I spent some time in kyrgistan and kazakhstan, climbing.

Great mountains, but be careful, the avie danger it's off the charts.

 

[Mattadvproject]

I spent some time in kyrgistan and kazakhstan, climbing.

Great mountains, but be careful, the avie danger it's off the charts.

Yes, definitely aware of the continental snowpack and persistent weak layer/faceting problems they can have there. Hoping to keep it mellow, doubt we'll be skiing any steep lines!

 

[chris_the_wrench]

o I will fly to Istanbul first and stay there for a couple of nights> I have 1.5 days to check out some of the sights. I'm pretty excited to visit Istanbul as I've been wanting to go there for a long time. It will be a nice preview for a ski trip to Turkey I am planning in 2025. I have a connection in Istanbul who will be showing me around which should be awesome, then I head to Bishkek.

We were in Istanbul the year before covid and I LOVED it!! Have fun, eat a ton, see the sights, eat more baklava, try a fish sandwich off one of the boats.

 

[locknload]

Wow...amazing Matt! What an adventure. Stay safe in those wild mountains and I will be looking forward to your blog/trip report posts.

Trying to picture how your English accent plays in Benton, Ark! Lol. I love the adventures that you are always on. Be well, mate!

 

[Mattadvproject]

We were in Istanbul the year before covid and I LOVED it!! Have fun, eat a ton, see the sights, eat more baklava, try a fish sandwich off one of the boats.

Ha ha! Yes, will definitely be eating a lot of food! I have a new friend from Istanbul showing me around so we'll see where he takes me. Excited to see it all (and eat it all!).....

 

[Mattadvproject]

Wow...amazing Matt! What an adventure. Stay safe in those wild mountains and I will be looking forward to your blog/trip report posts.

Trying to picture how your English accent plays in Benton, Ark! Lol. I love the adventures that you are always on. Be well, mate!

Thanks Randy, plenty to come. Not sure how much internet reception we'll have, so the reports might not be live, but will keep a diary and post when I can.

 

[Mattadvproject]

Bags are packed, everything is in place. Off to Denver I go! Today is Denver to Frankfurt, about 6 hours in Frankfurt and then off to Istanbul. I'll be touching down around 10:15pm on the evening of the 22nd, local time. Then on the 23rd, I'm meeting up with a new friend (Mert) who lives in Istanbul and he's going to be showing me around. Can't wait!

- Matt

 

[Lauren]

Bags are packed, everything is in place. Off to Denver I go! Today is Denver to Frankfurt, about 6 hours in Frankfurt and then off to Istanbul. I'll be touching down around 10:15pm on the evening of the 22nd, local time. Then on the 23rd, I'm meeting up with a new friend (Mert) who lives in Istanbul and he's going to be showing me around. Can't wait!

- Matt

Good luck on your travels! I'm eagerly looking forward to hearing your reports.

 

[James]

Frankfurt is small but has some decent shopping and eating options.

 

[Mattadvproject]

Frankfurt is small but has some decent shopping and eating options.

Just staying in the airport, only have 5 hours. Falling asleep in the Lufthansa lounge, have been successful at that so far.....

 

[James]

Lol. The airport, not the city!
You want some good kitchen pans go to the Fissler store. It’s absurdly expensive here.

 

[Mattadvproject]

Good luck on your travels! I'm eagerly looking forward to hearing your reports.

Thanks Lauren! Plenty to come...... stay tuned!

 

[Mattadvproject]

Lol. The airport, not the city!
You want some good kitchen pans go to the Fissler store. It’s absurdly expensive here.

Yeah, don't quite have the extra luggage capacity for pots and pan...... However, if they are selling kitchen sinks, then I'm all in!

 

[Mattadvproject]

March 23rd - Istanbul

Definitely walked a few miles today! Thanks so much to @internationalmert and his lovely wife Maria for showing me around Istanbul. Had an amazing time visiting the Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Galata Tower and all of the little nooks and crannies that only a local could show you. Had plenty of delicious Turkish foods and a few Turkish beers. Was a lovely day! Back to the airport tomorrow and off to Bishkek..... In 2025 I'll be launching a new Turkish ski program. Can't wait!



Hagia Sophia - didn't get to go inside as the queue to go in was about 1km long. I didn't get in till 1am that morning so getting there for 8am proved to be too difficult.


Medusa


Underwater reservoir of the Basilica Cistern





Mert, my friend from Istanbul and an amazing local person who showed me all the sites of Istanbul


The Grand Bazaar


One of many similar looking mosques in Istanbul




The view from the Galata Tower


Galata Tower


Will try and add more photos of Istanbul tomorrow when I get to the airport..... awesome trip so far!

- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

March 24th - Arrival in Bishkek

I think it's the 24th..... that was a long day! I left the hotel in Istanbul at noon on the 23rd and arrived at the Istanbul airport at 12:45pm. It's quite a drive to get to the airport and I guess a lot of the locals don't understand why they built the new airport so far away. The old international airport is much closer and still in use..... I did get to see a bit more of the city on the way out though, so that was nice. Overall, the hotel (Han 1772 and yes, it was built in 1772!) was excellent. The staff were super friendly, spoke great English, breakfast was amazing and it's in a great location. I would definitely stay there again.

Check in was pretty easy. You have to go through a metal detector and baggage screening just to gain entrance to the airport and then inside, the terminal is huge. I have Star Alliance Gold membership so I could use the business class check-in and that is a sea of relative calm. Thank heavens for that as it was pretty hectic otherwise. You also get priority access to security so that made for a quick transition. Then I headed to the Turkish lounge for the 5 hours I had to kill. That have good food there and a lot of seating, but it was very busy. It took a few strategic seat changes before I had a comfortable couch and power outlet.

I nodded off a few times, but the time went relatively quickly. Then I had a 15 minute stroll to get to the gate. I thought the flight was going to be quiet but it started to fill up in the waiting area. Gary arrived about 10-minutes before boarding and he was looking pretty exhausted as he had just come the US. Boarding was a little late but we made it onboard and the flight was pretty much full. I had an emergency exit row window seat so actually had some leg room and the seats in front did not recline, so all was looking good with a free seat in the middle until Elbows McGhee decided to come through from the back of the plane and give himself a free upgrade.

Anyway, thankfully I only had to elbow him back a few times and then relative peace was restored and I could watch a movie and a few TV shows on Turkish's excellent inflight entertainment system. It was a 5 hour flight and we arrived in Bishkek at about 2:30am local time (with a 3hour + time change from Istanbul). The airport arrivals area is pretty small, but they quickly stamped the passport and then the luggage was out straight away. I grabbed a free trolly and by the time I had done that, all our bags were out. There was a big scrum to get through customs. I thought everyone was being told to go through the red (something to declare) line and there was a massive queue, but we waved to the customs guy and said nothing to declare and he just waived us on through.

He was super friendly and asked us if we were going skiing up to Karakol and we said yes and he wished us a great time. Then our taxi driver was waiting for us and were off straight away. He was speaking Russian and knew a few words of English. Google Translate definitely helped (actually have AT&T roaming here in the City) and then it was about a 25 minute drive to the city and Novotel Bishkek. The driver asked for a tip and I just had $USD so I gave him a $10 (smallest I had) and he was very happy with that. Check-in was smooth, the staff were expecting us and were very friendly and spoke decent English. It was 4am when I finally got my head down.

Then I was up at 9:20am for breakfast. It was a great spread, with plenty of Western and Kyrgyz dishes. I had to have some horse meat (have to get acclimatized asap!) and a bunch of other things. Next, Gary and I will head out for a walkabout and try and find some electronics stores and then scope a place for dinner tonight. Definitely want to try some local food. It feels very similar to being back in Uzbekistan. The language is similar and I believe they have a lot of the same foods, so the transition here should not be so abrupt. We have a 5am start tomorrow so I will be trying to get an early night and catch up on sleep as I haven't had more than 5-hours each night.....


Almost got it right! I've been called worse things, so this is close enough!


- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

March 25th - Exploring Bishkek

After arriving at the hotel early in the morning and not getting to be, we still had to be up early for breakfast at 930am. The Novotel puts on a good spread and there were lots of different options. After brekkie, Gary and I went on a walkabout. I had strategically left my deodorant at the hotel in Istanbul and Gary needed a bunch of cables and charging devices. Thankfully there are chemists everywhere so toiletaries are easy to find and electronics stores are also everywhere. First mission was a success.

Next up we went to see some sites. We could see a large square and some official looking buildings in the distance. They turned out to be the Philamonic Hall at the Toktogul Satylganov Philharmonic Square with a large fountain (drained for the winter) and statues of Manas. Opposite that is the International University of Kyrgyzstan and then the City Hall on the opposite side of the road. We took the underpass to get there and they have little market stalls inside, just like I have seen before in Georgia.

Overall, my feeling is that Bishkek is very similar to Tashkent. The architecture is pretty much the same with a mix of Soviet brutalism, French and modern. I still find it interesting just because it's different. Walking around on a sunny spring day with temps in the mid-60's F, on the weekend, was quite pleasant.

We finished the day in a Kyrgyz restaurant recommended to us by the hotel staff and they had a huge menu and thankfully a server who spoke some English. We went on a bit of a feeding frenzy and had somsa (pastries filled with different meats), tomato salad, huge lamb kebabs and then munty (dumplings), plus a beer and a fermented milk drink. It was a little expensive (for Kyrgyzstan) at $40 but it was a lot of food and we couldn't finish it all. I'd call it a successful food mission.

Tomorrow we have to be on the road by about 530am and we have a big drive to get to the mountains and then cat skiing on the 27th hopefully. I'm not sure if we are going to have internet in the next couple of days, so if not, I won't be blogging again until the 1st March, so don't panic if I go quiet for a while. Looking forward to getting into the mountains and hopefully some skiing. Here's some pics of the day.....


International University of Kyrgyzstan (which must have been getting renovated as the roof was missing and tons of windows broken)


University



Manas - ancient forefather of Kyrgyzstan from the 10th C



Molodezhnyy Teatr Tunguch



Bishkek City Hall


Bloke with Beard



Munty - meat dumplings



Somsa - meat pastries



Shashlik - lamb kebabs


- Matt

 

[Mattadvproject]

March 26th - Travel to Jyrgalen

This was a big day! We drove 450km from Bishkek to our new base in Jyrgalen where we will be cat skiing for 2 days. We started early in Bishkek with a further exploration of the city before hitting the road. Our first stop was the impressive Burana Tower, a beautiful minaret with a stunning mountain backdrop.

Next stop was a thermal pool complex on the side of Lake Issyk, the second largest salt lake (by circumference) in the world at over 6,236km2 and 7th deepest at 270m and 10th in volume. Let's just say it's an impressive body of water!

Then we had a quick stop in the city of Karakol which is the 4th largest city in Kyrgyzstan with a population of over 84,000 and the regional capital. It's only 93 miles from the Chinese border. We are definitely out there!

Then it was a further 60km to our base in the village of Jyrgalen. So, we drove most of the day but got to see some amazing sites. I wanted to sleep on the drive but there was too much to see. Skiing tomorrow!




- Matt