Kyrgyzstan hillwalking.

 "Tomorrow we, at last, are leaving, - told Przhevalskiy at Zaisan place. - We shall get rid of the prison in whiсh we have been three months. An indescribable pleasure"

Przhevalskiy Nikolay Mikhailovitch.

Alpine tourism in Kyrgyzstan.

Everything seemed to be wonderful, but a processing of expedition materials tired him, а high life of Petersburg irritated him. А frantic passion attracted him to start оп his journey again and again ... And soon be developed а plan of his second two year travel to Tibet, which obtained positive opinions of Ministries of Military and Foreign Affairs and the Geographic Society Council.
Тhe august Chairman of the Geographic Society, the Grand Prince Konstantin Nickolaevich, applied with а request to allocate for Przhevalskiy' s expedition the amount asked by him from the funds of the State Тtreasury and expressed his confidence that the "expedition оf Przhevalskiy will  bring abundant fruits to the science and honour to such institutions which will show concern to its soonest implementation".
And soon (August 1876 - December 1879) during his next journey Przhevalskiy having passed а desert Takla-Makan, саmе to а mysterious Lobnor Lake and marked it оn the map. But the lake, which other travellers mentioned as а salty оnе, appeared to have freshwater. And it was located not at the place which they thought it "has to be located". That is why Przhevalskiy was even accused that be simply hadn't been at the lake.
Only later it was proved that the lake shifted around а vast depression between two ridges because it fully depended on the position of rivers, providing it with water. Not only its shape but а chemical composition of its water changed.
In the course of the century Lobnor Lake several times changed its defined area of water until it disappeared, may be, forever. During this expedition Przhevalskiy, being already а well known traveller, opened Altyndag mountains in West China, "shifted" а border of Tibet highland by 300 km to the north.
Jungaria was another object that attracted him - а desert in West China, covered with ridges of sand and massive sand-dunes. Mongolian simooms or tebbads (dry hot winds and sand-storms) gloomily known, mortally dangerous for caravans, pass through Jungaria. Camels, feeling their approach, roar, fall оn knees and try to dig their heads into sand.
Having defined astronomically main points and having made а survey of Lobnor Lake Przhevalskiy thought that his task was fulfilled adequately to his abilities and started his return to Kuldja town. Here he received letters from his mother, who congratulating her son with а rank of а colonel expressed her hope that upon his return from the expedition he will be а general.
"All generals sit оn their places, - added she. Don't torture yourself and don't torture те. What are you missing? When I recollect you, your destitution оf all life conveniences made те suffer and I did really grow older, as if I became 10 years older during this period, and I will not see you during two years more", - wrote his mother and informed him оп the death of his favorite uncle. 
During his second Central Asian travel Przhevalskiy intended to go to the mysterious Tibet. Until now а European scientist has never trod in its capital Lhasa. А travelIer was in а hurry, because English scientists also strived to get there, but Przhevalskiy wanted to be the first.
Оn August 28, 1877 be wrote down in his diary: "Оnсе more I start to travel in remote deserts оf Asia. We are going to reach Tibet and will return to our motherland only in two years.
How many new hard work and dеstitutiоns had we to endure" But his plans were not to be implemented. On the way there he fell sick with some skin disease, about which he wrote as follows: "Starting from Kuldja I fell sick with some foolish but unbearable disease: I have а strong itch.
Without any doubt, we became infected somewhere from bad water. Salty dust constantly available in the air оf Lobnor could also be the reason оf this disease". As he could not recover from this disease, Przhevalskiy had stop his travel and go to the nearest Russian town for treatment.
On December 20, 1877 the expedition came to Zaisan, having made а route with а total length of more than 4,000 km. Local physicians start to treat а well-known geographer with all provenance and diligence. Recovery was very slow. Przhevalskiy felt the burden of forced inactivity; his soul strived to reach the open spaces of steppes and mountains. Though he really did not stop his work even here, he went on excursions to the mountains, made some notes in his diary, maintained daily meteorological observations. In 1879 he made а note: "Let the God help that a new forthcoming year will be happier for me, that a fanciful fortune again will patronize те and will give те а possibility to finalize successfully this expedition.
А lot of work and health was sacrificed by me for the sake of the perished goal, let this goal be well achieved not for the sake of the empty fame, but for the sake of the science”.
"Tomorrow we, at last, are leaving, - told Przhevalskiy at Zaisan place. - We shall get rid of the prison in whiсh we have been three months. An indescribable pleasure".  That day received а sad telegram from his brother Vladimir. "On June 18 last year our mother died".
Przhevalskiy received the instruction not go to China but to return to Petersburg. Не took advantage of the opportunity to visit native places and to bow to the remains of his dear mother. And his health which though rather stronger, became worse again. Having left camels and all equipment of the expedition at Zaisan post be went to Petersburg in order to start for Tibet at the beginning of 1879.
Upon his arrival at Petersburg he found out that he was awarded with а golden medal for the previous expedition by Parisian Geographic Society and with а large golden medal named after Gumboldt by Berlin Geographic Society.
This medal was established by the Society on the occasion of Gumboldt' s jubilee and Przhevalskiy was the first person who was awarded with it. The Chairman of the Society baron Richtgoffen in his brochure describing .the activity of Nickolay Mikhailovich praised his geographical feats.
А survey of the lower reach of Tarim and Lobnor Lake made by Przhevalskiy absolutely changed what has been known on these areas. Przhevalskiy' s researches forced to change previous outlooks materially and, naturally, his daring outcomes met with critics of scientists, who relied оп Chinese sources and different theoretical considerations. Thus, Richtgoffen, based оп the fact that plains surrounding Lobnor, were saturated with salt, found it impossible to coordinate this fact with Przhevalskiy' s evidences, that water in the lake investigated by him was fresh.
Оn this account Richtgoffen supposed that Lobnor found by Przhevalskiy was not а genuine Lobnor, which had to be located а little to the west; and that water in the genuine Lobnor Lake had to be salty; that local natives did not know the name "Lobnor" and called this lake Chok-Kul ....
"Contrary to theoretical considerations, - he told, - and historical news we find out from the first European Who visited Lobnor and who is distinguished by uncommon keenness of observation that this lake is freshwater and not salty" ...
Nevertheless, Richtgoffen did not dare to refute openly the opinion of Przhevalskiy, but only cautiously criticized him from а theoretical point of view. Nickolay Mikhailovich could not leave this criticism without objection.
А description of Altyndag made by Przhevalskiy, according to Richtgoffen' s opinion, was one of the most remarkable discoveries. Summarizing the results of two travels of Nickolay Mikhailovich in Central Asia, he stated, "that by means оf one person our knowledge on Central Asia is significantly extended".
Having arrived at his native village Nickolay Mikhailovich left all studies and devoted summer а complete rest in order to restore his health. Не swam daily and spilled over himself cold water, for hunting, and when the weather was too bad, sat and wrote his objections to Richtgoffen' s statements and after that he worked on  development of the plan of his future expedition to Tibet.
At the end of September, 1878 Nickolay Mikhailovich arrived at Petersburg and here he understood that а question connected with his new trip was very important. he Geographic Society invited him to give а lecture on his last trip to Lobnor, which took р[асе оп October 11.
Nickolay Mikhailovich at the burst of applause finished his lecture with the announcement that after he had restored his health he was ready to start his travel to Asia, namely, to Tibet.
This expedition was in principle already settled at the government level but its final approval depended on the Tsar. The Chairman of the Geographic Society, the grand prince Konstantin Nickolaevich personally solicited for allocation of the required amount. “One cannot but acknowledge, - he wrote to the Ministry of Finance, - that colonel Przhevalskiy is one of the most important figure of our time in the sphere of investigations of the Central Asia.
His scientific institutions, he was conferred with several most honorable awards in the West and without any doubt deserve all possible encouragements and supports by the Government. The Academy of Sciences and the Imperial Botanic Garden selected him their honorary member”.

Authority:
«N.M.Przhevalskiy.Issy-Kul memorial complex. Writers Ploskih V., Mambetov D. Bishkek «KRSU». 2005.