Photo tours in mountains of Kyrgyzstan.

"Nature is the house in which man lives"

Dmitry Likhachev.

​Walk from Bishkek to Ala-Archa gorge.

Ak-Sai podkova is located at an altitude of 3320 (tongue of the Aksai glacier) to 4895.4 (Semenov Tien-Shansky peak meters above sea level, in the upper reaches of the Aksai and Uchitel gorges east of the main Ala-Archa gorge, on territory of natural park Ala-Archa, on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Ala- Too in the Alamudunsky district of the Chui region.
The glacial zone of the Ak-Sai podkova is closed by the high Ak-Sai spur (Aksai podkova). In its ridge are the highest points of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too: Semenov-Tien-Shansky peak, Korona peak 4860 meters above sea level, Svobodnaya Korea peak 4640 meters above sea level, Teke-Tor peak 4441 meters above sea level, Ak peak -Too height of 4620 meters above sea level and others.
Within the gorge there are many viewpoints from which a majestic panorama of mountains opens, eight to ten peaks of which rise above 4000 meters above sea level. Ak-Sai podkova is the highest uplift of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too with powerful glaciation, protected by latitudinal ridges from warm southern winds, the place is harsh and cold.
These are young mountains, rich in steep slopes, bizarre peaked peaks. The walls, interspersed with stripes of sintered ice, are reddish and gray, almost devoid of the sun. The summit towers of the silent giants delight with their savagery, unbridled fantasy of dawn colors, blind strength and power of rumbling plumb lines.
The climate of the Ak-Sai podova is sharply continental, not much different from the characteristic regions of the Northern Tien-Shan, and good weather here is as rare as bad weather in the southwestern Pamir. If the northern walls of the peaks were characterized by a geologist, he would say that they are composed of granitoids, massive and large-block, resistant to weathering, with rare crushing zones.
For a climber, this means endless smooth slabs, cut by wide cracks where you can’t pick up a hook, cornices and crevices with sharp edges, like a knife, cutting hands. Sometimes, suddenly, a strip of a collapsed stone vein cuts through the monolith, along which it is scary to walk, not being afraid to cause a whistling stone fall.
This is during the day. And at night, when you must rest, you cannot find a single place suitable for this, and you spend the night in a state of drowsy stupor. It should be noted that the geographical concept of "Aksai podkova" is also in Kazakhstan. The Aksai podkova is located in the Aksai gorge, on the northern slope of the Zailiysky Alatau ridge, not far from Almaty.
Geographical coordinates of Aksai podkova in mountains of Kyrgyz Ala-Too: 42°29'59.47" ​​E74°33'27.51"

Authority:
A. Kuznetsov "Alaarcha". “Defeated peaks. 1973 - 1974 ". “Mysl”. Publishing House, 1976.
Alexander Petrov.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.