Driving out of Osh in the early morning, the view quickly passed from farmlands to mountain ranges, and after 5 hours we reached the small town of Sary Mogul where the enormity of our approaching 8 day trek started to set in. We were surrounded by +4000m peaks still covered in snow! The joys of doing the first trek of the season!
The town of Sary Mogul lies in a the valley separating the Pamir and Alay Mountain Ranges. Waking up early on the first day of our trek we caught the sun as it rose over the Pamir peaks including the 7000m+ Lenin Peak. As the sun drove the clouds from Alay behind us, our destination for the day was revealed, Sary Mogul Pass at 4300m! Starting at 3000m I was full of energy, running around to find compositions, barely putting the camera down. But within a few hours, steadily gaining altitude, I came to the realisation that just finishing this trek was going to be tough… let alone keeping up my drive and creativity for photography!
Bad altitude sickness was compounded when we hit the snow line and visibility went down to 5 metres at best, so it was just one foot in front of the other (including some time on a horse) until we reached the top of the pass. No visibility and no photos from arguably the most scenic spot of the whole trek! The walk/slide down the other side was arduous and once we finally arrived at our yurt camp that afternoon I felt defeated, and this was just day 1. My camera felt like a 3kg brick in my bag…
We went to bed with snow beginning to fall, exhausted and internally battling whether to set an alarm to get up for sunrise. Thankfully I did! The pre dawn pink and purple hues lit up the snow covered yurt camp around me as the yaks grazed throughout the valley. Truly the worst was behind us now! The following few days were spent traversing up and down valleys, past local villages and cresting mountain passes.
As most days consisted of 15-20km hikes I became grateful for my camera as it forced me to look up from my feet, and each time I did it never disappointed! The landscape was breathtaking and constantly changing as the sun moved across the sky. The fatigue continued to grow though with each downhill shooting pain through my knee, members of our group pushing through sickness and a severe lack of appetite thanks to the altitude. My pauses to take photos left me at the back and I think everyone was grateful for the little extra rest time at each break as I caught up!
Our last major hurdle was Jiptick Pass at 4,185m. Deep snow and high avalanche risk meant that the horses could not pass, meaning we had to carry it to the waiting horses on the other side. So with each of us carry an extra 15kg we began the climb in knee deep snow. Only half way up, an avalanche come down directly in our path sent us scrambling madly to the left, narrowly missing the entire group, but the adrenaline hit (and the local porters sprinting up and down taking the extra weight off us!!!) did make the rest of the climb a lot easier.
The final few days were then spent across in the Pamir Mountains at Lenin Peak Basecamp. Snow this time prevented us from making Travellers Pass, and the dominating peak was moodily hidden away behind the clouds, but it was such an amazing place.
An unforgettable 8 days with a fantastic group of people! Our guide Musa and his team went above and beyond to not only help us, but share their local experience. We will be back! If you are looking to do a similar trip, this is our tour.
