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Pik Lenin: Exploring a country with a window into the past
In the Fall of 2013, Mountain Madness was coming up on it’s 30 anniversary. We wanted to do something symbolic of the company’s legacy and tradition. We wanted to do a unique expedition on a big mountain in a remote location. Pik Lenin: a true adventure.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=95ec8e1fbc7958721b982c324965c49e 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=fc50f08a686072f7b7b2a0b8685d227f 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=159f1f99f4cc780753f6feb03a253934 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=3ca11a55ba6bc90c8a57b3d78e4a19e2 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=ed8c040b54ce2852b6feb79731442b3c 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=0e745740055135f1444947db9997a985 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=03e2750f9cfea69f040a75568d2f8f2d 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_160320739_HDR1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=849bdbe8ad920ad6f8e435b880104a67 1024w)
First glimpse of the mountains from Osh. Tino Villanueva photo
Fast forward nearly a year and there I was emerging from customs, after 2 hours of waiting, in the Osh Airport, Krygyzstan. It was the middle of night. It seems all flights in and out of Osh revolve around the air traffic schedules of other more desirable destinations. Any flight going through Osh places you in the airport at a forsaken hour of the night.
Luggage claim involved picking up my rain soaked luggage from a loading dock. Exiting the terminal, I was plunged into a narrow gaunlet through the bodies surrounding and choking the exit. With a duffel bursting at the seams, a carry-on filled with food and a messenger bag containing all my electronics, I was forced to roll my wheeled duffel over the feet of every person in Osh. As is standard in these situations, my prearranged taxi ride was nowhere to be found, leaving me in the vulnerable situation of arriving in a new country, tired, with a very foggy idea of where I was, where I was going and what exactly that exchange rate was.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=32bbcc33d15f7d335aee0dbf7778bf87 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=cb7ab620585f5013cb887e0a44d3ae39 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=2ec3db65981fcc19473d76fe63b0afa6 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=1d475c2eae57493d7e17118f404f39d6 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=4da931eee2894da843f9326311c8ee5c 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=096e4f9b64718e393cd8a508e1e8b341 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=3fc8b7fb42f78bfda11bb92961ef6ea0 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_145731004_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=266eaeda3789ff3a13b71388ba08590d 1024w)
Sacred Mt. Sualyman and one of its mosques. Tino Villanueva photo
The travel drama is simply the price of admission to an incredible experience. Kyrgyzstan is a country caught in the past. Osh is referred to as the capital of the south and, at a population of only 250,000, is the second largest city in the country. Though over 3,000 years old, the settlement was not realized as a city until the Soviet occupation during the middle of the 20th century. Modern industry was brought with the Soviets but, even now, has largely collapsed after Kyrgyz independence and the fall of the USSR in 1991. However, Osh had long been a center of trade, connecting the Silk Road from China though Central Asia.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=e6d658f95ae8ef307f32b51a7c343ce3 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=89a5b865b5ba6fd1a4a183277e3b65ad 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=2fa73a75fdab840b64931967eddd5453 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=009b8ceebdc35a67033a904be73cc387 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=ba334e1313f7f7c120e6688cb3514b25 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=18586ecde8fcb57c6e4a90f7d026fae3 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=5463a6fc88295e80240a322f9f661bb3 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_163927929_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=b71228684e9faf4ad7ce74e3fc854036 577w)
The steps down to the market entrance belie its significance. Tino Villanueva photo
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=5b0dc5c39e2ee851ac425241228dfd9d 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=7cd552b6616b628c1fb1d0a765fd01bc 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=0e46c16e769ceaf07caa9b319ab0f6f6 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=b5768bca455e84592c8a4102f7194300 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=88617c70f19a0994388f3c74cd034f2a 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=c1389237df04c5ab305323534def8950 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=09273183cdd05546750f3503d2a0ea92 577w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_164728468_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=e5bd8a067cb7afe24927aa7e935c8792 577w)
Tino Villanueva photo
Visiting the country is a window into the past. The Kyrgyz are a historically nomadic people, the omnipresent yurt (even stylized onto the national flag) a constant reminder that instead of cities, the Kyrgyz are accustomed to grazing their animals and moving on. In Osh, the Great Silk Road Bazaar stands as the largest outdoor market in Central Asia and a reminder that trade, as opposed to industry, remains a dominant part of country’s economy. The bazaar is over a kilometer in length, running along side the Ak-Bura River. The market has stood in the same place for over 2,000 years, and though intrusions of “modern” society have entered the marketplace (mobile phones, music CDs, digital storage), the market is still a bastion of ancient times. Spices, silk, kalpak (the felt Kyzgyz hat) and clothes dominate the goods for sale.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=babf7105c380a400513d1ec20b2e7acf 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=aa0b5068f6e773e783b4127ebe6471ad 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=791e11a58e83c009597142277e7f1548 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=5c2ae78128ee60290e74b619f07d2e96 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=0a6b8cfbc3e0df98fadc1f78470f9404 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=22a33a04bd9e3998fd93f129f1878371 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=ba864b095df8fc9c5f88ee7da87539b2 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_165952478_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=fbb6e489872793262ad10ded5d072d2e 1024w)
Spices for sale at the Great Silk Road Bazaar. Tino Villanueva photo
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=2ae4b9d4059474ec477203854e1bab6a 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=62f18fa25c61e298d23a295425fd7561 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=b7f5e8b5b20ee0bc5296387c33b99902 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=aba4972af1248617b29b80e2c5ef34ab 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=3d30d16934504898d0208dee56c7c9ec 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=a83cb672f57b4fb73d8b6d4947748292 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=22871a1797937c97acec78f68c64145f 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FIMG_20140817_170147176_HDR.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=db40451e6343ed1110c0cadefc041e9f 1024w)
Tino Villanueva photo
Soon, though, it was time to leave the city for the mountains, passing endless yurts on the long drive to Pik Lenin Base Camp at Achik-Tash. Driving the unimproved roads as modern day mountain nomads we made our way to the Pamir mountains looking through the windows of the past, the yurts a symbol and the grazing animals the living representation, of a simple life still lived by many. Our own adventure was still just beginning.
~ MM Guide Tino Villanueva
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=cb92e3cea4998ab6f159f7725c2e1d66 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=88567471b65f5b3bbe87a1805e83a801 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=81ba6dad42d90982ce72ba2552b0a4b8 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=68be4e802e262767674c1ae979665a41 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=82e2de7872b12af8d391d4ef26686710 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=a3ccd90de40e14c0ef9b088e25739814 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=ca58865e07a34cec9c99cdcfa3488449 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FDSC01528.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=c9059c1cddc1830d32b2b4f0a21fcdd7 1024w)
Yurts in the Pik Lenin base camp. Tino Villanueva photo
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