A day of extreme shopping and packing. It’s almost 22:00 and the most important man of the expedition, who is actually a woman, Emma, our cook, is still not back from food shopping yet. Perhaps it’s all been too much and she has run away. We’ll be in tents then, but just eating raw carrots and bananas.
Anyway, we’re sure she’ll be here any second. The boxes are all packed and tomorrow morning we’re off into the field to establish Base 1 for Team 1. The picture shows the truck all packed up with (from left to right cook Emma, expedition leader Ronald, scientist Volodya, Aman from Grupa Bars and Shilo from Grupa Bars).
The next diary entry should be with pictures of/from base via satellite phone, but here’s one of Bishkek with our study site in the background for now. Not a bad view for a day’s work in the office.
It’s been two no-cloud, blue and sunny days here in Bishkek. The next three days are forecast to be overcast, but then it’s meant to be sunny again. Mind you, this is on the Bishkek side of the range. The other side sports the coldest place in Kyrgyzstan, where -54 dec C have been measured (in winter). But yes, you’ve guessed it, that very place is quite close to Base 1. Appropriate clothing therefore modelled below. Spot the snow leopard in the background!
From our snow leopard volunteering expedition in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan
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