The Celestial Heart
Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan
In February 2018, the BACKDROP crew stayed in a remote backcountry yurt camp.
A terrifying rough 16km skidoo ride, from Karakol, led us to a palatial yet isolated camp. I’d sat happily, tucked in behind the driver, while all the skiers got towed at alarming speeds along the rutted track, sometime it pays to be a boarder.
Sitting in the heart of the silk route, Kyrgyzstan is a clash of cultures, where old wooden churches sit cheek to yowl alongside stone built mosques.
Our week long base was the Ak-Suu valley, where 4,000m peaks rose from the valley floor. Many unclimbed or descended by boards or skis.
Despite the help of two Russian guides, who smoked constantly and often sped off in different directions without telling anyone what the hell was going on, we climbed high and rode deep snow everyday.
The yurts we’re not only warm, but the ramen style stews - all cooked on a wood-burning stove - were fantastic. Before dinner each evening we even had a hot tub and sauna to boot.
We battled out thousand metre plus climbs each day, through a strangely soft snowpack, that you sank into like powder but rode like cement.
