Tien Shan: Bishkek

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek is hot, dry, sweaty, noisy and oh so Central Asia. On a clear day the views of the mountains are beautiful.

We’re shopping, meeting, talking with partners, doing paperwork, printing out datasheets, filling gas bottles, withdrawing cash, charging up and testing radios, sat phones and GPSs, and doing all the umpteen things that need to be done before an expedition can head out into the field. We have a few days of this still ahead of us until we can head into the mountains on Wednesday to set up base camp for you.

A couple of household points for the team:

There is a Globus supermarket a few minutes walk away from the Futuro assembly point hotel. It is open 24/7, takes cards and has lots of drinks and sweets and more. There will be plenty of food, tea, water and coffee at base, but no shops anywhere around. If you simply must have a can of lager in the evening or are addicted to Mars bars or similar, we recommend you stock up there before assembly (don’t be late tough!). Good luck with reading the labels 😉 Remember we are at base and away from shops for 12 nights.

I hope you have swatted up on the 2024 report, field guide and dossier. If you want to be ahead of the curve (the first two days of training will be tough, with lots of information thrown at you), then have a look at all the documents here, which I suggest you read at some stage or on your flight to come extra well prepared.

Update from our Kyrgyzstan expedition to the Tien Shan mountains, volunteering in snow leopard conservation.