Western Arabel Summits Expedition
Kyrgyzstan, 2014
Final Report
Expedition to the summits at the western end of the Arabel
Plateau in the Djetim Bel range of the Tien Shan in
Kyrgyzstan, August 2-24, 2014
Expedition aim: ascent of the summits of the area, finding of suitable routes
and their documentation
Report written by Edith Kreutner and published in September 2014.
Contact details: Edith Kreutner, 21 Woodland Road, BS81TE, Bristol,
edith.kreutner@bristol.ac.uk or hundenase@gmx.at
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Contents:
Abstract
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Map
2
Expedition Members
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Administration and Logistics
3
Expedition Write-Up
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Conclusion
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Route map
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Route details
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Abstract:
This report sums up the facts and outcomes of a mountaineering expedition to a so far hardly
explored area of the Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan. It covers a general introduction as well
as a map with the routes and a list with the details of each route.
Map
Map 1: Location of expedition area. Source: Google Maps
Expedition Members
Stefan Kopeinig, Edith Kreutner, Markus Postl, Stefan Schmid.
Administration and logistics
The following should give insight to our planning and how we executed the project.
 Destination area:
We decided upon the area after researching expedition reports and because of the advice and
suggestions we were given by our Kyrgyz trip organiser. Deciding factors were: BC accessibility by
4x4 or short walk, assumed difficulty of ascents, ease of access to climbs from BC, no special permits
necessary.
 Research materials and information sources:
We used old Russian Army maps that we found on loadmap.net and then compared with various
satellite images. Printed maps of the area are hard to come by, even in the country itself and thus
we printed our own maps off the internet and they served us well.
 Permission and permits
The ease of access due to not having to apply for visas or permits was a real delight.
 Finances
The expedition was paid for by those taking part. Our local partner was paid in cash (Euros) on the
day we were picked up in Bishkek. We could have transferred money in advance but decided to pay
on arrival. Cost of living in Kyrgyzstan is very low and additional costs could be kept to a minimum.
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 Insurance
We all used the Austrian Alpine Club insurance. We contacted the insurer before setting out and
were given a certificate informing whoever it might concern that we have insurance cover. This was
necessary for the Kyrgyz mountain rescue, who also need passport copies in advance of those going
to the mountains.
 Travel, transport and freighting
We chose Pegasus Airlines because of costs and flight times. From Bishkek to BC, the tour operator
used 4X4 vehicles of various makes, they were all in good condition and reliable. Because of all our
equipment, we paid for additional weight with the airline and tried to keep weight down as much as
possible. We each had a 20 kg allowance from the airline and paid extra to have 25kg/person.
 Food and accommodation
We only brought high quality energy/endurance bars with us and bought all the rest in Bishkek. The
capital has everything you might want in terms of food. There are excellent markets and bazaars and
in the big supermarkets, many western brands can be found too. Once we were in the hands of our
local organizer, we were supplied with local dishes, dried and fresh fruit and nuts.
Water in BC came from a nearby lake and we boiled most of it.
Accommodation en route to BC and back to Bishkek was in local guest houses or small hotels which
were all of good standard with shared facilities. It is recommended not to drink tap water but to go
for bottled instead.
 Communications
We used a Thuraya satellite phone for communications with friends and family. We texted or called
a contact person in regular intervals who then forwarded our messages via email to all those
interested. Thuraya’s free internet-texts to the satellite phone did not work for us as these texts
only arrived broken and were not reliable by any sense of the imagination. We also had troubles
with the solar charger for the phone as the plug-in was quite loose and charging thus problematic.
Fortunately, we had several charged extra batteries for the phone, which we used instead.
 Medical arrangements
All members of the expedition were first aid trained. Our medical officer is a member of mountain
rescue and trained in remote emergency medicine (Casualty Care for Mountain Rescue). We brought
emergency equipment, such as neck collar, splints, Israeli dressings etc. with us, also medication
against diarrhoea, infections, upset stomachs, high altitude sickness, headache, etc. and also made
sure that all expedition members were up to date with the required and recommended inoculations.
A detailed medical form was filled in by every member of the expedition before we set of, copies of
which were carried and also left with the contact person back home.
Before setting off, we got in contact with the local mountain rescue and sent them our plan; they
requested passport copies and proof of insurance cover.
Fortunately, we had no major medical issues. Two members had headaches due to the altitude
during the first few days; another member injured a rib in a crevasse-fall but could continue the
expedition after a few days of recuperation and rest in a nearby town.
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Expedition Write-Up
On August 2nd, a four-strong expedition left Europe and arrived in Bishkek in the early hours. The
first day was used to get accustomed to the time difference of four hours, to acquire dried fruits,
nuts and other delicacies on what proofed to be a magnificent and large market: Osh Bazaar in the
west of Bishkek. Finding gas canisters for a possible ABC was slightly trickier but achieved during the
morning of August 4th, before we got picked up by our Kyrgyz tour operator Misha from
kyrgyzland.com. We reached Tamga Guest House, our abode for the night, after a 6 hour drive
through first the flat, largely agricultural, and then the gorges of Kyrgyzstan before we reached Lake
Issyk Kul and also took a dip in its supposedly curing waters. We left Tamga and thereby the benign
altitude of 1600m for the high plateau of the Arabel early the next morning, August 5 th. The two offroad vehicles reached the proposed BC site around lunchtime and after deciding where our tents
should go, BC was erected with the help of the two drivers. Our spot was as central to all the
mountains that were of interest to us but in retrospect, it could have been more protected from the
wind which seemed to have taken a particular liking to our BC.
Our expedition was housed one tent per person and we also had a mess tent. Food was prepared by
our cook, a young Kyrgyz woman who works for expeditions and treks in the summer months and
who looked after us with local dishes, lots of salads and a warming porridge in the freezing
mornings.
After lunch, the expedition party went on a 2 hour reconnaissance hike to get a first look at the
mountains which we had thus far only been able to explore on Russian Army maps and via satellite
pictures. An icy storm with graupel showers gave us a good introduction to the changeability of the
weather and to the fast moving systems that usually come from the west but are mostly restricted
to the afternoons on days with good weather.
Basecamp was at N41,81562⁰ E077,67891⁰, 3844m, and as there were enough opportunities for
ascents in our area, we decided against an ABC camp. Temperatures at BC ranged from several
degrees below zero to relatively mild temperatures in the low teens during the day when the sun
was out.
With the exception of August 16th to 18th, when a wet weather system had settled in brought the
area prolonged periods of partly heavy snow and wind, the expedition members managed to
venture out and explore the mountains to the south and north of BC. Moving north meant crossing
range of hills just north of BC, an ascent of app. 150m, which we usually did via Cwm Da Loch, the
lowest saddle between the two valleys and also a scenic route linking several mountain lakes.
Ventures south were usually done via a dirt-track down into the next valley. From there, we then
climbed into smaller valleys, all of which are dominated by glaciers.
Tour 1 on August 6th lead us to the glacier that dominates the range north of BC. Because of its
intriguing shape, we named it “whirling glacier” back home. Glacier retreat, however, is also taking
place in Kyrgyzstan and nothing of its whirling action around a central rock formation, which is
shown to be completely covered by ice on our maps and the satellite pictures, remains and it is now
a glacial system of two separate glaciers, the northernmost of which has a large glacier lake at its
end. Interestingly, there is a surprising array of wildlife in the lake, amongst it wild ducks and
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frogs/toads. After a 3km hike along the glacier-fed river that meanders through the wide valley we
ascended the mountain via the glacier. We named this summit Pik Sepp, in memory of the father of
one of our members, who had recently died unexpectedly.
On August 7th, we went south and went up the western ridge of the glacier nearest our BC. Because
of their make-up and also because they are exposed to extreme temperatures and freeze-thaw
action all year round, the rock faces were extremely brittle and we returned to BC soon after lunch.
After a rest and recce day, one of our members visited local herdsmen on the 9th and went for a
horse-ride, the rest of the expedition had another successful mountain day.
On August 10th, the expedition climbed the highest mountain of the area which they knew had
already been climbed, evidence of which could be found in the form of a small cairn on the summit.
We reached the summit via the glacier. Unfortunately, one of us hit her side on the ice when she fell
through the snow into a crevasse and had to pause the next day and eventually decided to leave BC
to recuperate her rib, which we presumed had cracked. She re-joined the group on August 17th after
spending three nights in Karakol.
With weather on our side, ventures to different valleys and summits could be undertaken every day
until August 15th, when a weather system with prolonged and heavy precipitation (snow and
graupel) together with strong winds moved in and forced the expedition members to stay in BC.
Weather improved considerably by Tuesday, 19th of August and due to the amounts of snow that
had accumulated over the past days, a certain avalanche risk had to be taken into the planning
process and the group climbed a peak with a very low risk and without having to venture onto the
glacier.
Wednesday, 20th of August saw a big project: Connecting several previously climbed peaks via a long
ridge-route. The weather played its part and even though not all summits could be connected within
that they due to a hard ridge leading to the summit of day 4 and the lack of time to set up ropes and
return in daylight. It was a mighty endeavour, undertaken by three members of the expedition whilst
the member with the injured rib decided to tick off the last summit on the northern half of the
territory, which was technically easy, just a long slog.
The next day started with an early breakfast and we then took down BC. Because road conditions
had deteriorated due to the bad weather in the previous days, the people carrier 4x4 could not
come to BC, so the expedition left on foot, all our equipment had gone in and on a sturdy 4x4.
Before leaving for Bishkek and the airport, we enjoyed a half a day in Karakol and a dip in the
refreshing waters of Lake Issyk Kul.
Conclusion
The expedition achieved its aim of climbing as many peaks of the area as possible. The mountains of
Kyrgyzstan offer many routes of all difficulties and are a true Dorado for alpinists. The country itself
is very welcoming and easygoing, organisation of the expedition was easy and with the help of our
local tour operator kyrgyzland.com, we found no problems in the organisational process. Everything
went according to plan, careful planning paid off and we encountered no unexpected difficulties.
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Route Map
Map 2: Overview of area in relation to main track A364 and routes taken by the expedition team. Source: Loadmap.net
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Map 3: Close up of routes, Source: Loadmap.net
Route details:
Tour I: 06.08.2014, E, S2, S3, M: Summit I „Pik Sepp”, 4450 m, ca. 900hm of ascent, 8h 52‘, WS/PD
Tour II: 07.08.2014, E, S2, S3, M: no summit, returned to BC due to tiredness and fatigue, 4300m, ca.
810hm of ascent, 7h 45‘, WS/PD
Tour III: 08.08.2014, S2, M: recce tour, several small summits of up to 4012m, ca. 360hm of ascent,
4h 26‘, L/F (hike)
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Tour IV: 09.08.2014, S2, S3, M: Summit IV “Tiroler Köpfl”, 4522m, ca. 820hm of ascent, 6h 07‘, ZS/AD-
Tour V: 10.08.2014, E, S2, S3, M: Summit V „Hoch Misha“, 4627m (highest summit of expedition), ca.
1205m of ascent, 7h 15‘, WS/PD
Tour VI: 11.08.2014, S2, S3, M: Summit VI „Hinterer Roßkopf“, 4542m, ca. 1330m of ascent, 7h 24‘,
WS/PD
Tour VII: 12.08.2014, Elli, E, S2, S3, M: Summit VII „Pik Cevedale“, 4442m, ca. 860m of ascent, 7h
28‘, L/F
Tour VIII: 13.08.2014, S2, M: Summit VIIIa „Vordere Längenschneid“ and VIIIb „Hintere
Längenschneid“,4510m, ca. 1030 m of ascent, 6h 16‘, WS/PD
Tour IX: 14.08.2014, S2 S3, M: Summit IX „Eiskogl“, 4470m, ca. 1065m of ascent, 6h 59‘, two routes:
ZS+/AD+ ( S2, S3), ZS/AD (M)
Tour X: 15.08.2014, S2, M: no summit reached, had to call it a day due to weather and fatigue at
around 4100m, ca. 940m of ascent, 5h 20‘, L/F
Tour XI: 19.08.2014, E, S2, S3, M: Summit XI „Pik Arco, 4450m, ca. 920m of ascent, 6h 37‘, L/F
Tour XII: 20.08.2014, S2, S3, M: Summit XIIa „Vorderer Roßkopf“, Summit VI „ Hinterer Roßkopf“,
Summit XIIb „Zwischenkopf“, Summit IX “Eiskogel”, Summit XIIc „<Pik Stefan> (only S2, S3), max.
4542m, ca. 1450 m of ascent (without Summit XIIc), ZS-/ADTour XIII: 20.8.2014, E: Summit XIII Pik Dittiw, 4386m, ca 980m of ascent, 7 h, L/F
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