Shymbulak/Chimbulak

No executive summary today Charlie – it’s too short

Today we warmed up our legs by catching the cable car to the Talgar Pass and walking to the summit of Mount Shymbulak. Or Chimbulak if you’re Russian.

Annoyingly the first section of cable car (you have to catch 3 to get right to the top) had broken down so we were bussed up to the second cable car.

This area is a popular ski area in the winter and there was a lot of building work going on where the final cable car terminated. Not the prettiest sight to be greeted with but they are building what looks like a viewing platform to see more of the glacier and the majestic Western Tien Shan range so I’m sure it will be worth it.

We started walking at 3150m and the air felt very thin. My heart felt as though it was going to burst on the first section of incline. It was not an easy hike as the path didn’t have much grip and once up on the ridge, it was an undulating scramble over rocks with a rather frightening drop on the right hand side.

We reached the summit of Shymbulak after approximately 1hour which was slower than the guidance time given at the start of the hike. I’m not sure how anyone would do it much faster unless they are very used to walking at altitude and a mountain goat.

Shymbulak is 3450m high so we didn’t do our usual amount of ascent and we would have walked further but the mist rolled in and we decided to call it a day. Tbh, I was pooped and glad to descend.

Highlight of my day? Having tea in a proper yurt. And I got to try on a traditional lady nomad coat. Oh and I also found a rock that looked like a turtle.

What a day.

Ps forgot to mention Alexander Popov who we met on the bus and the crazy American lady with about 6 kids who interpreted for us. Another time!