Tien Shan Expedition 2008
The Tien Shan mountain system extends for over 2000km running through Kyrgyzstan, the southern edge of Kazakhstan and into the Xinjiang Uiyghur Autonomous region of China. Our exploratory expedition aims to travel to the remote Borkoldoy range
in Kyrgyzstan, one of the many small mountain ranges that make up the Tien Shan system.
Located just north of the Kyrgyz-chinese border, Borkoldoy has only been visited by western mountaineers since the late 1990’s. The summits are typically 4600-5170m high, with the main valleys into the range at an altitude of ~3300m. While the northern side of this range has been relatively well explored over the last decade, the southern side is virtually untouched. We hope to explore the southeast corner of this range, and make some first ascents of the as-yet unclimbed peaks in the Cholok-kanchigai valley.
Part of the particular appeal of the Tien Shan is that many of the unexplored small ranges contain mountains that can be climbed by those without a high level of technical ability, while their remoteness still poses a great personal challenge and an extremely rewarding experience,perfect for a team such as ours which has mixed levels of experience. In order to help us work as a team and ensure we all gain the neccesary mountaineering skills, we have arranged a training package which ranges from weekends in the Peak District to a week in the Alps.
To see more about the expedition and team members please visit our website.
