Greetings! Saluti amici!
Forgive the English post! I speak Chinese and some Spanish, Russian and Kyrgyz...but no Italian.
We are 2 years into the development of a community-supported backcountry ski touring and avalanche education program in rural Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. The project was founded by a group of splitboarders from Colorado, USA, so we're excited to spread the word to Italian splitters via this site.
You can check us out at 40 Tribes Backcountry, http://www.fortytribesbackcountry.com/p/index.html.
Kyrgyzstan is literally halfway around the world from the US, but quite accessible from many points in Europe.
First and foremost, we are looking to network with EU-based skiers/riders who have been to Kyrgyzstan or anywhere else in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc), and invite them to the 40 Tribes Forum to share about their adventures. There are a few other forums out there (diesel.kg, risk.ru, etc), but they are for Russian-speaking users only. Ours is the only universal forum, and because there’s such limited information available on skiing in this part of the world, we are really excited about developing this resource.
Second, if you love to travel to far-off places to ski/ride, you should know that our huts are open for self-guided stays!!
We will have a yurt set up this season in the Lake Issyk Kol region (between Karakol and Dzerghalan - 2 known resort/heli skiing destinations), and it will be available to private groups of skiers/riders whenever a guided program is not taking place. Our village partners host the stays - i.e. they prepare traditional meals for the group, make tea, keep the fire while you’re out skiing, etc. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience and an amazing way to connect with the local culture, not to mention the mountains.Third, if you’re a qualified, English-speaking backcountry guide or avalanche educator, take a look at our Voluntourism Program and join us in Kyrgyzstan this coming winter to help us develop and run our first year of programs.
Finally, photos from Kyrgyzstan below!! Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you soon if you’re interested or if you’d like to know more.
Ryan Koupal
Colorado, USA
ryan@fortytribesbackcountry.com
More images here!
