A ski trip of epic proportions
Keen Skiing the Silk Road followers will have noticed that it’s been quite a while since our last update- but we are not still in Georgia, nor have we hung up our Silk Road hats just yet! In FACT; we have been very busy. This means: – We were in NZ Skier Magazine Thanks to [...]
Flying was a disconcerting form of travel after so many months and miles of overland adventures, but it became our only option to get further west thanks to the totalitarian Turkmenistan regime trying to hold “elections”. Arriving in Azerbaijan was like stepping into the clean, ordered future. Oil money has made for an impressive metropolitan capital [...]
Ok, so it’s a bit late. But hey – this is supposed to be a holiday right? Part 4:
We entered Iran under headlines of threatened Israeli airstrikes, the EU announcing full scale oil embargos and carrier groups from the US 5th Fleet steaming through the Strait of Hormuz. However, on arrival I instantly felt at ease. Mr Mousavi, probably the most helpful hotel manager in existence, sent his identical twin to pick us [...]
The third installment, just for you. Dave talks about his stoke on the trip. Nick C gives us a modern speal on this ancient “road.” Following this, we meet a self taught ski touring legend in southern Kyrgyzstan . Finally, Pete gives us a few yarns about the factors that have made this trip interesting, [...]
With our time in Uzbekistan suddenly shortened by visa dramas with the Turkmenistan Government (long story, but it wasn’t a convenient time for us to visit), we came down from the mountains a little early to make sure we could still visit its ancient Silk Road cities. Place names like Samarkand and Bukhara have summed [...]
They do things differently in Uzbekistan. Things didn’t start off well, with a 400km journey across the border taking 14 hours, due to pot-holed roads and 4 hours spent in queues for LPG. I wanted to find out why the queues were so long, but tried 6 different internet cafes in the capital Tashkent, and [...]
Southern Kyrgyzstan had not featured in our extensive pre-departure planning or dreaming. Indeed due to ethnic violence in 2010 it comes with a ‘do not go’ rating on safetravel.govt. However, on the advice of Ryan from 40 Tribes we decided to make the 10 hour mission south traversing 3000m passes through the mountainous landscapes of [...]
Its been a while aye? Sorry about the wait! Here it is though – get a cuppa while it loads, sit back, and have a watch! A quick look at the antics that have been going down since leaving China. Some skiing from the resorts around Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Karokol (Kyrgyzstan) plus the 40 Tribes [...]
Before we left for the Silk Road, one of the things that everyone was super excited about was the skiing out of a yurt near Karakol, run by 40 Tribes Backcountry. 40 Tribes was founded by Guide Ryan Koupal, a Colorado native, and over the last couple of years he has set up a backcountry [...]
Part 3: Pillow Lines and Plov..
Our third episode.. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
Part 2: Disco Taxis and Vodka..
The second installation.. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
Part 1: Chopsticks and Trains..
Here’s the first of our webisodes.. China
Intro: Skiing the Silk Road..
Intro to our epic adventure
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