After a week of some realxing and some working hours at our host Bianca's place we decided to go hiking in the Fann Mountains, North of Dushanbe. Saturday morning our little group of four (with Daniel and Bianca) took a taxi to lake Iskanderkul from where we wanted to start hiking. It was so hot in Dushanbe that some cooler temperatures in the mountains were very welcome. On our way to the lake it started raining and got pretty cloudy. Nevertheless we decided to start the hike. The rain stopped after a few minutes and the lake surrounded by cloudy mountains looked pretty nice. The weather on day 1 turned out way better than we thought and we had a great time hiking up a meandering valley. Our biggest hurdle that day was a broken bridge that forced us to scramble along a steep rocky scree along the river for two kilometers. In the evening we found a lovely flat area to camp and we ended the day with a lovely time around a small campfire.
On day 2 we started pretty late, thinking that the last 22km would not take us that long. We continued our hike along the valley and it slowly started getting steeper. At lunch time we were close to the climb over the 4000m pass when a group of shepherds invited us for some tea. Wanting to take a break anyway, we glady accepted. After tea and a small snack we started packing up, but the three guys insisted that we stayed for lunch as well. They prepared some fried potatoes with wild mushrooms and it was absolutely delicious. In the end our “short break” took 2h until we got back on the trail and shortly after we reached the spot that was marked on our map as the turnoff to the pass. Looking in this direction we did not see any trail or tracks, just a snowy ravine leading up a very steep hillside. We accepted the challenge, thinking that these 700m of elevation gain over 1.6km could not be THAT bad after all. We were wrong. Dan went ahead, preparing tracks for us to follow through the ankle-deep snow. We only made slow progress and at an elevation of about 3500m we had to stop frequently to catch our breath. Our climb proceeded in snow, along rocky cliffs and over muddy sections, making it the hardest hike of our life so far. We reached the pass after about 2.5h and the scenery was just breath-taking. Being surrounded by 5500m high mountains with no sign of human activity was a special experience.
The next challenge was waiting for us, though. It was already 5pm and the sun slowly started setting already. The trek on our map led down a snowy wall onto a glacier that had no tracks or any signs of other people passing before us. Not wanting to turn around, we carefully checked out the area and found a way that seemed passable. Dan as the most experienced hiker and with experience in passing snowy areas felt confident to prepare a track through the deep snow along the very steep hillside and we trusted him to get us off this pass. After a few dozen meters of contouring along the hill, he started descending straight down. He kicked deep steps into the wet snow and basically created a ladder for us to follow. The adrenaline was pumping through our veines and very carefully we made it down this steep wall. We reached a big snowy flat and from there we could just follow the snow down the valley. Partly walking, partly sliding, we made quick progress descending towards lake Alaudin. The sun slowly set behind the mountains and by the time it was dark, we were still on our way to the lake. We passed it once it was completely black, still hoping to find a ride back to Dushanbe as Bianca had to work the next day. In the little village that is the seasonal hub for all hikers, people told us that there would be no way to leave the valley that night and that it might take until noon the next day until cars would be leaving. It was 10pm when they offered us to sleep in cute little empty trailer and they even gave us bread, tea and watermelon as a quick dinner.
Next morning, Dan and Bianca were lucky to catch a ride back to Dushanbe at 8am already, leaving us time to go back to lake Alaudin that we could not enjoy when we passed it at night. We had a refreshing swim there before returning to the village and waiting for cars to arrive that we could ask for a lift. In the end it was 3pm when we found a guy with his son who were happy to give a ride back to Dushanbe. After 3h we reached the city and this concluded our little adventure in the mountains.
Cheers from Tajikistan,
Vroni, Droni, Dan, Bianca & Jonas
