WOW! Amazing! Awesome! … I’m sure everyone says the same thing when they go for their first trip to the mountains surrounding Bishkek city. And as a new volunteer to Alpine Fund, I was no different!  On Saturday morning five kids from Osh (ranging in age from 14 years  to 17 years old), two staff members (Arianna – the Director and Salavat – an intern) plus myself set off to the waterfall at Ak-Say. It was a typical summer day in Bishkek when we left: sunny, warm.. and getting warmer every minute! After about 1.5 hours drive in the mini van we arrived in the car park at the foot of our climb. For the kids and I it was our first time to these mountains and to this waterfall. We were all very excited and full of energy to get going. The walk, or should I say hike, took about 3 hours. Although none of the kids had visited this area before we quickly divided into two groups. One was definitely faster than the other, and not surprisingly I fell into the slower group. However it gave me time to look around and also get to know some of the kids I was hiking with. After their initial shyness, at a new face, they really opened up. I’ve only been learning Russian for a week and whilst their English was better than my Russian or Kyrgyz Salavat was a great interpreter and helped us get to know each other a little better. The older boys were perfect gentlemen helping me across slippery streams and up steep paths and we all took lots and lots of breaks. It was hard work walking up in the increasing heat but they had me laughing all the way up and everyone did really well with a lot of encouragement from Salavat telling us “We’re nearly there … It gets easier soon” – for the last 1 hour. It also gave me time to take 100’s of photos and really appreciate the amazing scenery all around me. Finally we arrived at the waterfall where the rest of the group was waiting for us, especially as we were carrying lunch! Five minutes of silent, rapid eating and then the kids started really enjoying themselves. They reminded me of animals – some like cats curling up and sleeping in the midday sun whilst others were like mountain goats climbing all over the rocks with amazing speed and agility. Me? Well I was more like a cow in the shade, quietly enjoying watching everyone have fun. All too soon we had to leave and go back. It took us about half the time to go down the mountain than to come up although surprisingly it was just as hard work. And by the time we’d all descended to the car park we were happy but exhausted.  Photos can’t really communicate the beautiful scenery, the smells of the flowers and herbs or the sounds of the crystal clear river as you get closer to your final destination but they do help us to share the experiences.  One of the kids told us on the climb: “ Nature is my Mother, Water is my Father, Wind is my brother, Light is my Sister, the Earth is my Grandfather, the Mountains are my Grandmother … and the animals are also my brothers”. “You have a very big family” I said. “Yes, and you are part of it” he replied. I think that was the highlight of my day. What a wonderful first trip with the Alpine Fund staff and kids but definitely not my last!! 

By Juliette McDonald

Early morning, Saturday the 3th of July, a fancy van filled with ten kids from Osh and Dordoi bazaar, three interns (Abdibek, Adilet, and Salavat), five volunteers (Gaetan, Nargiza, Frieder, Anoeshka, and Maik), and four alpinist was ready to set off to Chong Kurcak for a climbing trip.

The four alpinists, two from England and two from the US, joined us this weekend. They were getting ready to go on a climbing expedition in Kyrgyzstan. Abdibek will be their porter and cook, so this weekend was a way for the alpinists to get to know the Alpine Fund.

At Chong Kurzak we met up with Arianne who came with a van full of climbing and camping gear and David who came by bike.

Chong Kurzak is a valley with outstanding climbing possibilities. The rocks offer climbing options for everyone; beginner and advanced climbers. So it’s an ideal place to go to for a climbing weekend with the kids.

When we arrived at the place where we wanted to camp, we started with a small meeting; the tasks were divided and the rules were explained. A group of kids helped to set up all the tents, another group helped preparing lunch, and the last group helped to alpinists with the climbing robes. For me it is always special to see that it takes only a short time if everybody is involved in setting up a camp. For the kids is it also a perfect moment to learn how to set up a tent, how to create a fire place, and of course that it is important to work together as a team.  After all tents were set up, we have had a great lunch and we were ready to start climbing. The kids climbed enthusiastically several rocks and some of them over and over again.

The kids improved their climbing skills during the weekend and enjoyed to learn more about climbing from the alpinists. Some of the kids are really talented; they already knew how they have to use their legs and where the best routs are.

Climbing was the main activity during the weekend and everybody has had fun. But we also went for hikes to the nearby waterfall and in the evening we gathered around a campfire to sing Kyrgyz, Russian, Dutch, and English songs. Especially at that moment it was possible to see how happy the kids where during this trip. Everybody enjoyed being together.      

After a night in the tents the kids went climbing and/or hiking again and at the end of the day most of the kids fall asleep during the ride back to Bishkek.

Maik

The Alpine Fund organized a two day Intern training trip to the Ak Say Glacier in Ala Archa National Park. Ala Archa is located just an hour south of Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Mountains and is Kyrgyzstan’s most accessible and popular hiking and mountaineering location. 

Volunteers Maik, Anuska and Margreet acted in place of unassuming tourists while Salavat and interns Abdybek and Aidylet acted as the guides and porters.  The group was rounded out by David, Ben and myself (Ann) who were already spending the week mountaineering in Ala Archa. Numerous requests are directed towards the Alpine Fund regarding guiding and hiking especially around the Bishkek area. The purpose of the trip was to provide interns with the necessary skills to fulfill basic requirements if they wish to pick up additional employment through future inquiries.

   We selected the Ak Say Glacier trail for the training trip as it is the most popular destination in the park and a likely trail for future trips. The trail to Ratsek Hut and the Ak Say  Glacier winds up through a beautiful green valley bypassing a large waterfall before climbing straight up a glacier moraine for several hundred meters to series of small flat benches just above the tongue of the Ak Say Glacier at 3200m (10,560 ft).

Our hike up went smoothly, light summer clouds kept the temperatures pleasantly cool.  Abdybek and Aidylet hoofed up a majority of the weight in their packs refusing to redistribute any weight. We stopped near the large waterfall to enjoy a hot lunch of noodles and tea which was not disrupted even by stove malfunctions and a small gas explosion. With full bellies we scrambled our way up the steep scree of the glacier moraine for another hour and a half.

We set up camp just beyond the Ratsek hut, pitching our tents beneath the incredible collection ice glazed summits.  Even though temperatures in Bishkek have been sweltering hot, in the mountains nighttime temperatures had been dropping below freezing. The interns prepared an incredible dinner of gretchka and veggies as a small rain squall moved through. The weather cleared for dinner. After eating  everyone’s gazes turned skyward to witness the sunset. Peachy clouds were set alight against a deep blue sky as each peak took on a fiery pink alpine glow that grew more intense by the moment.     

As darkness fell everyone retired to their tents. Morning came faster for those that stayed warm through the night, a few had underestimated the amount of clothing to bring. A hot breakfast and tea cheered us all up in the morning. Half of the group ascended a ridge of Uchitel Peak while other relaxed in camp before reconvening for lunch and descending back to the trailhead. Beyond just being plain fun, the weekend was good preparation for the interns for mountain adventures and potential future work as guides and porters.

Ann Piersall

Certainly there could be no possible connection between the stunningly beautiful Tien Shan Mountains south of Bishkek and the Dordoy Bazaar located north of Bishkek, one of the largest markets in Central Asia.

The Tien Shan Mountains embody peace, untouched natural beauty, and a sense of tranquility that would make a zen master take in an extra OM just at the sight of them. Then there is the exact opposite, the Dordoy Bazaar, a crush of crowds and maddening chaos that produces sensor-overload within minutes. But a weekend with five smiling faces would show me the amazing connection between these two extreme environments.

The Dordoy bazaar is a haven for child labor.  Tight family budgets often send children into dark corners of Dordoy, selling drinks or finding other work, adding what little extra money they can. These kids didn’t have the chance to experience the beauty of a mountain range that is hauntingly close to Bishkek until an American climber, Garth Willis, established the Alpine Fund.

In 2000 Garth’s commitment elevated Bishkek kids from the confines of alleyways into the alpine. The commitment continues today in large part because of the dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, interns and sponsors. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this inspiring bunch and tag along for a weekend getaway.

Although I knew the majority of the weekend would be spent hiking with kids, I still felt out of the loop Saturday morning as I sat shotgun in a jacked-up 4×4 minivan. A quick glance over my shoulder had me locking eyes with five preadolescent children. They sat quietly whispering and giggling during the drive up to the dacha, or country house.

Supplies safely tucked away in the dacha, the kids along with me and another volunteer headed for the mountains just as the sun reached its crest. Full of pent up energy, the kids ran ahead, blazing up the steep green slops without a care in the world. They collected wildflowers, they splashed around in the icy glacier streams, they rolled down the hills like human pencils, crashing into each other then bursting into laughter.

My oversized camera in hand quickly established my identity for the weekend. I was there to make each kid feel like celebrity, snapping photographs without hesitation, documenting every smile. I considered it a huge honor to be Alpine Fund’s official Paparazzi.

Our time together passed in a flash. Preparing the meals, cleaning the dacha, a handful of hikes, and capturing all the laughs on camera made short work of the weekend. Of course I remember nature’s beauty, I remember the mountains, but what sticks with me are the smiles. Whenever the kids would look at me, with or without the camera and throw me one of those giant smiles I sensed a profound connection between them and the essence of happiness.

It was a quiet ride back to Bishkek. The children made it clear they wished they could stay at the dacha longer. Goodbyes were hurried before the kids piled into a marshrutka, or local bus. I made certain to shake each of their hands, thanking them for all they had given me.  When I approached the youngest boy I noticed he was crying.

Long before he created AF Garth Willis once wrote, “In every trip there is that one moment that justifies everything”. I found my moment on that smoggy, concrete street corner surrounded by an unforgiving city. Realizing the boy’s tears were an expression of every beautiful moment spent in the Tien Shan Mountains.     

 -Brad Myers

Buttercups blanketing the hills, herds of sheep…….it is spring in Kyrgyzstan! This past weekend we took full advantage of the beautiful weather while staying at the dacha, the Alpine Fund’s lovely mountain house located at the base of Ala-Archa Canyon just outside Bishkek. A group of eight teenagers from Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage joined Salavat and volunteers David, Kevin and myself (Ann) for the weekend. Besides hiking and getting out in the mountains this weekend held a special purpose. From this group of kids, one will be selected to be Alpine Fund interns for next year. Selection criteria for an intern includes financial need but also motivation and interest to take on responsibilities involved with the Alpine Fund organization such as assisting in mountain trips and helping with meetings. After arriving Saturday afternoon and having lunch in the garden, we hiked up the east side of the valley. Everything is green, green, green! We were rewarded with excellent views of Ala-Archa and the Aiygene Glacier. Dinner that evening was plov (traditional rice dish) cooked over an open fire in the yard. As the embers died, all the kids filled out sheets indicating their future plans, financial independence, and other questions that will aid our selection in selecting interns.

On Sunday after a hearty breakfast in the garden we spent some time pouring over a world map talking about geography. One of my favorite questions is to ask where in the world people would like to go to. All the kids had different answers to this question and some of them even said they would like to see the entire world! As the sun climbed into the sky we set off and hiked to the top of the Alpine Fund peak, a small mountain located on the west side of the valley. The climb up was hot, but a steady breeze kept us cool on the summit. The kids were thrilled to look north into Kazakhstan. Overlooking Bishkek, we were all grateful to get out of the city and into the mountains for the weekend. Returning to the dacha, we strolled through herds of grazing animals and groups of Kyrgyz families picknicking. After a late lunch, we all headed back to Bishkek renewed from a weekend of activity, sunshine and spring.

Ann

What supposed to be a climbing trip with the kids from Dordoy bazaar ended up as a teambuilding activity.  It was Saturday morning when we met each other at the office. We planned to go outdoor climbing with the kids. Unfortunately they were not allowed to join us. Probably the parents are still a bit anxious because of the revolution, they are more careful and don’t want their children to go out.   But we are ready to organize activities! We really want to take the kids to the dacha and go climbing with them. Especially at this moment, I think it is essential to have attention for the kids. I noticed that the unrest in the country has had an effect on them. I teach English at the Dordoy bazaar, and by talking with the children I got more insight in their views and worries. Here, I realized that it’s important to organize activities for the kids in order to create an atmosphere to talk about the situation, relax, and get away of the daily routine.Although it was a pity that the children didn’t come last Saturday, we have had a nice time with a part of the team. The morning started a bit chaotic, since it was hard to find diesel for the van in the city. The borders with Kazakhstan are still closed, that’s why there is no diesel import and this has led to shortages at all tank stations. In the end we found a place to get fuel and we were able to set off to the mountains. We have had a very nice, relaxing, and refreshing (it started to rain) day in the mountains. After a beautiful walk along a river we went back to the van and have had a picnic. It was a nice teambuilding day and hopefully next time there will be kids as well.

  Maik

I’m a new volunteer with the Alpine Fund. I arrived in Bishkek on March 28^th and have been here about three weeks now. When I first arrived, I had nothing but time to kill for a week, so on my second day I called Frieder, told him I’d arrived, and asked him about the climbing wall. He was already planning to go for a walk around the same area with a friend, so I met him at an intersection nearby and he took me to it personally. I was really impressed by how he seemed to converse freely in Russian. Many of the other volunteers I met afterwards also speak Russian well—much, much better than I do—and have really inspired me.

So far, my volunteer work for the Alpine Fund has consisted in teaching English classes twice a week close to the Osh Bazaar. The place where I teach, called CPC (Child Protection Centre) Osh, is a centre for kids whose parents work at the bazaar. I think most of the kids themselves also often work at the bazaar.  The centre has three classrooms, a television and computer, and there’s always a social worker there when the centre is open.

My classes usually consist of about ten kids from (roughly) 8 to 18, but mostly on the younger end of that spectrum. Most of them speak very little English, so it’s a challenge to teach them. It’s difficult even to play games when you can’t explain the rules simply enough! But it’s a rewarding challenge. When I shared a class with Gaetan, he suggested we play ‘Simon Says’ and that’s really caught on. I play one or two rounds of that at the end of every class now.

Really, although I’ve been here three weeks, I haven’t taught too many classes yet. On Wednesday the 7^th, my class at 2:00 was canceled. I didn’t realise it at the time, but at that point protesters had already clashed with riot police on Ala-too square. The next classes on Friday and the next Wednesday were cancelled as well.

Now, everything at CPC Osh is back to normal and my classes are the same size they used to be. It’s great to see that many kids come regularly and I’m struggling to learn names. Trying to keep Kyrgyz names in my head is like trying to hold water in a leaky bucket. I’m getting better with time. Most girl’s names start with ‘ai’, like Aika or Aidai; and lot of male names end in ‘-bek’, like Nurbek and Mirbek.

This weekend, were planning to take a group of kids to climb at a crag just outside of Bishkek called Chongerchuk (I think). I’m really excited about that. I’ve haven’t climbed outside since I left Canada last fall.

Kevin

After an exhilarating drive through hailstorms the kids piled into the
Dacha in very high spirits. After all the teenage girls had got over
laughing at my Russian accent, we settled down to some warming soup.
We introduced ourselves (in English) over cups of tea, and someone
made the error of trying to get out a sleeping bag. In this sleeping
bag were 5 absolutely tiny mice (who can’t have been more than a few
hours hold) who fell out, each one to new screams (mainly from the
volunteers, who were much more scared than the kids!). After a lengthy
discussion about what to do with them we decided to put them in our
shed with a cover round them while the kids went for a walk.

When they returned we gathered all the kids up for a discussion, part
of our new Dacha programme, while Maik (volunteer) and Abdibek (intern
and excellent cook!) made the dinner. Salavat lead the discussion
which centred around alcohol. We were able to take full advantage of
the slightly older group of kids (around 14/5) to have a really
rewarding and frank discussion, all the of kids getting involved
thanks to the probing questions of Salavat. I was also pleased to
provide an outsiders view of alcohol use in Kyrgystan, which sadly
often tends to be very destructive.

After Abdibek’s fantastic dinner, we played card games (most of which
I didn’t really understand, but the kids seemed to love), and enjoyed
more furiously fast paced discussions on pretty much everything!

The next day, Abdibek had prepared the porridge for our breakfast
while we all slept which meant we got a very efficient start and left
for our big hike around half 9. There were beautiful conditions, with
completely blue skies and about 20cm of new snow! We headed up to the
mini summit of Polytex ski base (which wasn’t operating), and spent
around 4 hours walking through the snow up ever steeper hills. It was
interesting to see the changing dynamics of the group as the day
progressed, with some children who didn’t believe they had a chance of
getting to the top starting to motivate others to get there towards
the end of the climb.

After a fast and hugely enjoyable series of plastic bag descents down
the ski slope we tucked in the to the tasty Plov and went home in very
high spirits, and already looking forward to the next weekend!

David