Pik Lenin

Our travel reporter Zach Paley, a.k.a. Mr. Worldwide Skibum, spent the spring in Kyrgyzstan taking in the mountain air, drinking vodka, freezing in his tent, carrying his skis over scree for hours on end and experiencing so much more. Here he reports on a special kind of ski adventure: ski mountaineering near Bishkek, in Karakol and on Lenin Peak.

Old love rekindled, Kyrgyzstan, a country of contrasts. While the north of the country is characterized by the urban influence of the capital Bishkek, which often manifests itself in rampant alcoholism and corruption, in the south we find what we had hoped for: Semi-nomads who are close to nature, full of joie de vivre and who welcome us with warm-hearted hospitality.