"The definition of insanity is doing
the same thing over and over and over
and over again, but expecting a
different result."
- Albert Einstein
"The toughest part of getting to the
top of the ladder, is getting through
the crowd at the bottom."
- Anonymous
Kyrgyzstan
A chance meeting with a Russian
geologist alerted Fraser to adventures in a part of the
world he had not visited, Kyrgyzstan, deep within a
remote part of Central Asia, a part of the world that
has been off limits to travellers for many years.
It is a land of harsh beauty and stark contrasts. A wild
and majestic country, rolling grass plains, miles of
pine forests, and high fertile valleys lead to range
after range of snow capped mountains, reaching higher
and higher as they approach the border with China.
Six miles from the border, severe reminders of the
tension that once existed between two great empires
remain on guard. Rolls of barbed wire, crumbling
concrete fortifications, and forlorn watchtowers mark
the ‘no-mans land’, still standing sentinel over some of
the most spectacular untouched scenery in the world.
Beyond the wire and the concrete,
across the rivers and across the high plains are the
areas to which we will return. Magnificent unclimbed
mountains, snow covered jagged peaks, wide glaciers dip
into unexplored valleys. Silence reigns, eagles and
vultures sit and watch, as herds of Ibex graze
peacefully.
It is a spiritual, serene paradise, vast lakes lay in
isolation, hidden between virgin summits.
