MOUNTAIN SAFETY
This pretty field of Karakol wild flowers might look like just that – a pretty field of wild flowers. And your right, it is. But not every mountain landscape is so friendly.
There’s an element of risk in any outdoor activity and the outdoors will never be completely safe. We do our best to minimise the risk as much as possible and to calculate and manage the rest.
We are trained and qualified in the outdoors and operate to international safety standards. We hold current Wilderness First Aid qualifications. In the field we carry up to date first aid kits, communications and rescue equipment relevant to our activity. We don’t operate outside our scope of training.
We register every trip and details of every trip member with a private local rescue service.
We require every client to fill out a medical declaration and a brief experience log before they travel with us.
We require every client to carry travel insurance to the value of EURO 30,000, which covers helicopter rescue, the activity they are participating in and which is relevant to the altitude we will be traveling.
Travel insurance is non-negotiable. NO INSURANCE – NO TRAVEL.
Above all we respect the conditions and environment we are traveling in as well as our group and personal limits. We are not afraid to turn back if we need to.
GEO-POLITICAL SAFETY
Being a “Stan,” Kyrgyzstan is often mis-understood and mis-represnted in western media and imaginations. Stan is simply a Persian word for land, the same like Eng-land, Ire-land, Scot-land. Kyrgyzstan has suffered domestic upheaval in the past, but day to day it is an extremely safe country to travel in. The general crime rate is low.
Kyrgyzstan is a poor, developing country going through a period of transition. It broke from the Soviet Union in 1992 and since then has been trying to re-claim its identity and stand on its own two Kyrgyz feet.
Most recently, in 2005 and in 2010 there were political revolutions. Two consecutive corrupt governments were forcibly overthrown by the people. The 2010 revolution also resulted in ethnic clashes in the south of Kygryzstan. These events were violent and traumatic for those involved, but were domestic and localised conflicts.
Expeditions in mountainous areas at those times were unaffected. Aside from price hikes and electricity cut offs, day to day life at these times was also relatively un-affected.
Today Kyrgyzstan remains a safe country to travel in. People are hospitable and welcoming. The wilderness presents only the same danger and beauty it presents anywhere else in the world.
If you’re unsure, do your research.
If you have any questions please always contact us. We are happy to help.
