Tours in Mount Terskey Ala-Too.

“Nature is wise. You can learn everywhere and from everything”

Leonardo da Vinci.

Travel in mountains of Kyrgyzstan.

The Tien Shan mountains are the most distant, unknown and captivating, in Russia - a boundless expanse of peaks, many of which have never been explored. The immense fertile and virtually unknown valleys are populated only by flocks of sheep and shepherds on horseback.
Most of the valleys have no tourist facilities or even villages, and in some cases there are not even any roads. Maps have not been made of some of the areas, and hiking there is an adventure. The rough-hewn product of what geologists call the collision between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, continuously crushed and pushed upwards by the pressure of the Indian subcontinent against the imposing mass of Eurasia (which grows about 5 mm a year in altitude).
Tien-Shan is an endless region that lies between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyistan and China, like a sort of foreign body, as if it had a life all to itself. In like manner, the inhabitants of Tien Shan are original and utterly different from both the Russians and the Chinese and came under the dominion of these two powerful nations only relatively recently.
Many nomadic Kazakh have difficulty in understanding Russian, and one of the issues raised by the ever growing nationalist movement is the refusal to learn this language because it is the mother tongue of their conquerors.
This region lies on the northern buttresses of the Terksey Alatau range, the slopes of which run down to Issyk Kul Lake, The Karacol alpine camp is on the banks of a river with lovely clear water that is shaded by blue fir trees, at the end of a practicable road from the town of Przhevalsk.
The camp is dominated by an amphitheatre of mountains with two splendid peaks over 5,000 meters high - Kara-colskly (5,281m), with seven routes rated from 4B to 5B, and Dzhigit (The Horseman, 5,170 m), with twelve routes, ten of which are rated 5 and 6.
These routes all take from three to five days to climb. Terskey Ala-Too ridge is located in the northeast part of Kyrgyzstan and closes from south the hollow of Lake Issyk-Kul. Average height of the ridge is about 4500 m.
Terskey Ala-Too ridge is stunning in its variety of landscapes. In one day it is possible to enjoy beauty of red sandstone rocks, wild wood and snow peaks high above the alpine Issyk-Kul Lake. Each gorge is unique in its execution.
The most interesting and varied area is considered to be the Eastern Issyk-Kul region.  The Lake lies at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level. Its dimensions are 180 km in length and 70 km in width, depth in the deepest point-702 m.
The lake basin is surrounded on all sides by powerful mountain ranges. The western part of droughty, rains are rare, snow almost falls out. All air masses are carried by the winds to the East, to Karakol. Here, the high mountains prevented further advancing clouds, and a large.
The western part of the basin is arid , rains are rare, snow almost never falls. All air masses carried by the winds to the eastern side, to Karakol town. Here, the high mountains prevent further advancement of clouds, and most of the precipitation falls on the northern slopes of Terskey Ala-Too chain.
Climate combined with mountainous terrain creates ideal conditions for skiing. A weak infrastructure opens up endless possibilities for ski touring and freeride enthusiasts. Issyk-Kul lake Basin is located at an altitude of 1600-1700 meters, with the height of the main ridge of more than 4500 m average length of valleys is 25 - 30 km.
Only some of them (about ten valleys) are longuer, to 100 km. The most interesting ski area lies at an altitude between 2500 and 3700 m. They are ideal for day backcountry tours. Winter weather also contributes to a comfortable journey.
The proximity of a large lake creates a warm microclimate without strong winds and extremely low temperatures. The number of sunny days prevails over the bad weather. Large cyclones are rare and short enough.

Authority:
http://mountains.tos.ru

Photos
Alexander Petrov.