We're going to be burning a serious amount of calories during the three weeks we spend exploring the peaks of the Djenghi-Djer, and what better way to replace some of those calories than with chocolate! But we didn't just want any old chocolate. We wanted proper chocolate. Real chocolate. Chocolate from a company that really cares about its products. And The Raw Chocolate Company have been kind enough to provide us with just that. In less than three weeks time our mid-climb treats will be a selection of raw chocolate coated fruits, nuts and ginger. And being Fairtrade, Organic and Vegan it's going to make us feel pretty fantastic too.
We can't wait to get out to Kyrgyzstan now when we can crack open those boxes. They've had to remain securely closed for now otherwise they would probably never even make it onto the plane! Thanks again to The Raw Chocolate Company!
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When going on a four week expedition to a remote country one of the most important factors in our success is our food. With roughly three weeks planned at base camp to be spent climbing and exploring the area, six people are going to get through a lot of grub! We plan to buy most of the basics when we get to Bishkek, but when we don't know exactly what we are going to find out there we need to take some food out with us that we know is nutritionally balanced and will give us the energy we need to keep on climbing. This is where Wild Trail come in. The snack bar company, who are based in Wales, are very kindly packing us off with a selection of their tasty bars, which, with their balance of carbs, protein and healthy fats, will be just what we need to keep us going while exploring the peaks of the Djenghi-Djer. We can't wait to get out to Kyrgyzstan and get munching on them now!
Thanks Wild Trail! "At Wild Trail, we make our delicious fruit and nut bars from just five simple and natural ingredients that are nutritionally balanced to give you SIMPLE. OUTDOOR. ENERGY. As part of Brighter Foods, we make all our bars in Tywyn, Wales, and every bar is gluten and dairy free, no added sugar, high in fibre and vegetarian/vegan. What inspired us to create our tasty bars? Our own wild trail of course. Looking out from our factory is Snowdonia’s Craig yr Aderyn (Bird Rock). Four generations of our family have grown up here and our love of the great outdoors can be tasted in every bite. That’s why we make snacks that encourage you to get outside, get active and enjoy your own Wild Trail… whatever or wherever that may be." With exactly four weeks to go until we will be jetting off to Kyrgyzstan the support from companies is now coming in thick and fast. We don't want to reveal all just yet, so for now we are very happy to announce that we are being supported by DMM Climbing. The lovely Wales-based company have very kindly sent us six bomber 100l Void duffel bags, which will be invaluable in transporting all our precious kit out to the mountains. And if Connor is able to fit inside, we're sure they will stand up to the task just perfectly! We have also managed to acquire a small list of food companies who are sending us out with some tasty grub to keep us all going, so watch this space for more announcements...
But for now, it's many thanks to DMM Climbing!! We have been pretty quiet for a while now. So here’s a bit of an update of whats going on. First off, funding. We have been writing lots of applications for funding for the trip and have been lucky to be awarded a few. So far we have funding from the John Muir Trust, the British Mountaineering Council, and the Mount Everest Foundation, and we are still waiting to hear back from more in the next couple of weeks. Second, partnerships. Going on a trip like this needs some specialist clothing and equipment. We have been lucky to get some technical clothing from Jöttnar and are looking forward to putting it to the test in Kyrgyzstan. For a good night sleep have been able to get hold of sleeping bags from PHDesigns which will keep us nice and toasty while camping out for three weeks. Lots still to sort out for the trip; climbing gear, tents, stoves and satphone are just some of the things we need to get hold of, so there’s plenty to be done before we get on our way in less than three months time.
We’ve done it. We have booked our flights to Kyrgyzstan and there is no going back now! We are flying out of Edinburgh to Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan, on the 31st August. This is the starting point of our trip to the mountains. We will have a couple of days in the city to sort out food, gas, last-minute logistics and enjoy hot showers.
From Bishkek we will drive for a day to reach Naryn. Another two days of driving and trekking with the assistance of pack horses up the Dzhilanach River will take us to our base camp in the heart of the Djenghi-Djer mountains. We’ll then have 19 days to acclimatise, find objectives and climb in the beautiful and remote mountains. Between then and now there is a lot to be done: plan logistics within Kyrgyzstan, apply for funding grants and sort out exactly what kit and supplies will be needed. We’ve got a busy few months ahead of us! We started thinking about this trip back in late 2016. First of all was to get a team of us together that would be keen for a month of climbing and exploring in a remote mountain region, no showers, poor food and an adventure. Should be easy with the group of friends we have. The keen people that where up for such a trip turned out to by, Sally our leader and the one that planted the seed in our minds. Safe to say she is keeping us in line with jobs to do and the driving force behind the trip. Next was Connor who had been on a numbers of trips like this before to the Atlas Mountains. Then there was James and Will, both looking to explore new places and have a wild time on the way. Myself (Mark) as it seemed like a nice place to go on holiday with some fun going on too. This meant that there was five of us and an odd number is not ideal for climbing teams. So the hunt for one more was on for our sixth and final team member. This lead us to Simon, always keen to get stuck in to any adventure. So this led us onto the planning, here we had previous expedition reports to help us. Looking over the reports we found the Djenghi-Djer Range had a good number of potential objectives with unclimbed 4000m peaks. And for now we have the fun job of sorting the in-country logistics, applying for funding, sorting what gear we will need and making it happen. We will keep the blog updated with all that’s going on.
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AuthorSix climbers. Four weeks in Kyrgyzstan. Here is our story. Archives
August 2017
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