5K m above the sea level! Is it a lot or not? Probably it’s so, but it’s personal to each other. The experienced climbers can call this altitude to be childish in comparison with the eight- thousand booms. I respect these people but I think they all are a little bit crazy. They differ from hunters because they ascend mountains, driven by dream to reach the place where the usual human being will never reach because of different reasons including health. But hunters always have the definite goal - the trophy, which makes them to climb the heights.
Normal, abnormal.
Your friends who have never been on such height, won’t understand what you feel there. It's much easier for the mountain hunters. We always go to the place where our chances to get the worthy trophy are the highest. Marco Polo is one of them. If the local guides tell you that the worthy trophy is in a definite place you will agree to follow them without hesitations. You go there without thinking what will happen next. But the humans from the plains have to be ready for the difficulties, including health problems, which wait for them there.
I realized a long time ago that hunters are not quite "ordinary" people, not like all other people on the street, in particular, from my circle of friends. There are not many people who can understand the hunters who are always ready to go a dozen of kilometers, to spent nights in the tents or without, in plains and forests all over the world. Not many people, spoiled by the civilization’s benefits, are ready to climb the steep mountains and carry a heavy, about 20kg, backpack. The ascend can take 6 or 9 hours. It often happens at night when you rise and have to do each step by touch.
Most of people twist at the temple, when I tell them about my expeditions to Pamir or to the mountains in Kyrgyzstan.
Last time when I described my adventures on the Roof of the World, what I felt and what I tested on myself when the altitude was 4000masl and more, they treated me as inadequate” person. And they had reasons. I’ll tell you why.
The meeting.
That time we had to drive through the town Osh where I arrived first. My hunter fellow from Kazakhstan Zhaisan Syzdykov arrived later. I flew directly from Moscow while he drove to Bishkek first and then flew to Osh. There weren't direct flights from Kazakhstan to Osh at that time.
The local representative of the company Said met me at the airport and we went to try tasty local cuisine while Zhaisan would arrive. Kyrgyzstan. I want to say some words about the Kyrgyz food service. First time I visited Bishkek was at 90s and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of the local cozy cafe. All dishes were cooked without refinement but tasted really good and cooks used only high-quality products without any GMOs and food additives. The Kyrgyz cuisine is known by its tasty dishes from fresh beef and lamb. Prices were not high. Once we ate in one of the local restaurants and paid just 140 euro for eight men. I could hardly imagine such prices in Russia.
I ate one portion of kebab with gusto and drank a cup of local beer. It gave me strength after a long way from Vladimir to Domodedovo and then 4 hours flight to Osh. Said didn’t drink alcohol and took a cup of tea.
We ate, talked and soon the time to go and to meet Zhaisan became. It was just gone 6 pm when we saw our friend coming to us. We loaded our luggage and drove to the town. The road to the “Roof of the World’.
After a short discussion we all agreed to stay at night in the hotel. It was more safe and much interesting to drive during day that at night. At 8 am our team, which was consisted of three man was ready and moved. Said was the driver while Zhaisan and I enjoyed the sightseeing through the car window.
The way to the Pamir mountains wasn’t light though it was flat enough. The first thing, which made us feel not well, was gaining altitude to 4000 masl. The altitude 2500 masl doesn't suit for people who are used to live on the plains, they feel not well there. But the height from 3000 meters and more are the serious stress for them. I know, that lots of things depend on the individual physiological features of each person. Some people feel better than others because their bodies can absorb oxygen from the thin air more effectively. But some people can lay a week and can't adapt to the altitude even being in a good physical form. I read lots of book to understand more how our bodies function in the highland’s conditions, studied several methods to adapt to the heights more than 4000 masl and interviewed the experienced climbers. I also used my own experience of overcoming altitude sickness which I got when climb the first times. My friend and the partner Jury Matison helped me a lot in it. He told me about the situations when hunters didn’t follow the doctor’s advice, climb the mountains and got serious health problems. They saved some of them with a pressure chamber only. There were several fatal cases too. A short retrograde. When I was studying this question, I learned that 70% of the climbers who died on Everest died not from the mountain sickness, but because of the inadequacy of their own actions. In other words, they died, due to general hypoxia and lack of oxygen coming to the brain. They just "went crazy.” That was the reason of the inadequate actions that led to death. Most of them thought that they were ok and didn’t need to go anywhere. The journalists from the Explorer channel made a show about the American climber and it was showed on TV.
I have learned a lot about the mountain sickness, about its progress and what consequences it has on each stage. How and when you can save a victim. Once I even helped the Polish hunter who had reckoned too much upon his strength during the hunting trip in Kyrgyzstan though the altitude was just 3500m above sea level. We delivered him to the hospital in Bishkek with the first signs of the disease. I was surprised but the doctors who examined him didn’t know how to treat the mountain sickness. Thus, I shared my experience with them and told how to treat the patient.
Over the years, I have accumulated some experience in preparing for hunting at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters, compiled a list of medications and vitamins recommended by specialists for better adaptation at such heights. I confirm, it works. I sent that list to Jaizan same time when started to get ready for the trip.
So, we were on our way to the mountains. We crossed the first mountain pass on the height 4000 masl on the boundary between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Then the road became flat. After we left the last Kyrgyz village Sari-Tash it passes over a flat area. If the weather is fine you can see the Lenin Peak (7134 m). The view is amazing. The panorama is fascinating! It impresses all people who visit that area for the first time. The peaks, covered by snow, stand in a row as if somebody took the icebergs from the ocean and carried them there. They all glitter by blue and white caps with emerald tones. Hello, Gorny Badakhshan.
Soon the ascent to the roof of the world began. First of all we had to pass the border post on the Kyrgyz side - passport control, customs, drug control point. Then did the same in Tajikistan. It was on the height 4 000метров! It wasn't well to stay there long but it didn’t depend on us.
At last it was all over and we enter the harsh Gorno-Badakhshan district of Tajikistan. I called it harsh because of its climate. When I abruptly moved, I felt slight nausea and pain in the temples, it reminded us about the altitude. All the factors of the highlands are already acting on your body there. The first symptoms are the loss of liquid. You often go to the restroom. The main thing is to avoid dehydrations, you need to drink a lot. especially in the first two or three days. Being in the camp we usually drink a lot of green or black tea with sugar. Sugar is an obligatory nutrition component in the mountains. The last settlement we left, was the village Karakul, located not far from the same called mountain lake.
We drove about an hour around the lake and arrived to the place- our camp. The mountain camp consisted of several cabins. There was a garage, a storage and a service cabin. The main building was a lodge for hunters. It was like a five-star hotel, located on the highland. It was really comfortable. There were several bedrooms and a restroom on the first floor. A kitchen and a canteen were downstairs. But all hunters were always surprised by hot shower and a small swimming pool, located in the building. You can seat in the sauna and then jump to the pool filled with the cold water with ice. But you can enjoy all those things only after your body will adapt to the altitude 4000 masl, where the camp is located. Usually it takes from two to four days. The guides won't allow you to carry bags to the first floor if you have just arrived.
The most important thing in the first days is to be patient and don't be active. It’s hard to go up several steps, you will feel breathe shortness, and your temples break with a frantic pulse. But it may not happen. In the first day! If you move actively in a day before, hypoxia will catch you next day. The first day your body will use all oxygen that it can take from the internal organs to compensate the lack of oxygen in the brain and for the heart muscles. So, you can think that you are well. But it's not so and soon you’ll feel it. Later you’ll feel really bad. I saw and not once how hunters ignored our advices and behaved themselves in the usual way, as they are used to do on the plain. Next day they were very sick. Their skin had green color and they looked haggard. They suffered from nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. None of them was ready for hunting. Such people have to come to their senses first, and only then try to hunt. How do you think, Is it a lot or not to visit the Pamir mountains at the altitude 4000 masl, 4 times during the six month? Once I did it and felt what could happen if you did too often. It was worse than to stay on the height for 6 months after the only adaptation.
According my experience I could say that the most important thing for the right adaption is your behavior in the first days. At the same time, you can't just lie on the bed. The best variant is to walk slowly not far from the camp. Thus you give your body to be reloaded and to launch reserves for adaptation to high-altitude conditions. The doctors who work with the climbers say to spend 2- 3 days on a place after climbing each 500 meters. But we ascend 4000 m in one day. It's a outright and sophisticated mockery of our bodies. I came to the conclusion that 2-3 days are enough for me personally to adapt. All that time I have to rest and to walk without strenuous physical activity. It helps me to move actively in other days on the heights more than 4000 masl. I don't like active start in such conditions but sometimes I have to pull myself together and begin active hunting with the clients from the first days. Meeting in the camp. Yuri Mathison.
All staff came out to greet us. I introduced Zaisan to Yuri, he heard a lot about him. He was a man of medium height, with an impenetrable expression on his face at first glance, but with an open, friendly smile. Yuri is my old friend and partner in organizing hunting in the Pamirs. A man with ancestors from Baltic was accidentally occurred in Dushanbe, where he graduated from a medical institute. He fell in love with the mountains already being a practicing doctor in the highland village of Murghaband and then became interested in mountain hunting. That hobby became his main activity later.
I want to say some words about Yuri, whom I know many years but still don’t know well. He is still a mystery man for me. He doesn’t hurry to undress his soul even for the people whom he knows for a long time.
His main feature is his love to hunting and Nature. I noticed it and not once when we talked. Yuri is a person who always surprises me at every time I come to the Pamirs. I’m not sure that there are people who are in love with mountain and mountain ungulates more than Matison. Now he is more interested in making pictures of mountains animals than hunting and sometimes it’s more difficult than to shoot for a long distance. You need to come close to make a good photo. Moreover, the photo-hunters have to carry the heavy equipment which is heavier than a gun. Yuri showed me his backpack. It weights 18kg with the camera, lens and a tripod. And the photographer has to hike dozens of km by the mountain relief, on the heights more than 4000 masl and haul it with him. But the shots, made by Yuri, can win the Grands Prix of any international show. I mean the series of pictures devoted to the snow leopard when it hunts for Marco Polo. He managed to approach the predator, hidden behind the rock, within two meters. None of the camera trap can do it. Yuri made several photos. The most interesting thing was that the sheep could slip away.
Yuri went about 50 km per day, crossing the snow passes, from the one camp to another. You needed to see his eyes when he described it. He gave me a quick glance and told: - Just imagine the White Silence!”.
He is also very professional and can manage and control all aspects of that business. We all heard his famous phrase: “The East is a delicate matter!». It characterizes fully the complexity of local interaction in all spheres. Moreover, he pays attention to charitable activities. I can confirm with all responsibility how hard it is to work for the European on the East. It does him much credit that he hasn’t gave up before the eastern bureaucracy. I’m proud to work with him. There are legends about him. His endurance amazes the imagination of seasoned mountain hunters. Some people called a "Yeti for his ability to hike in the snowy mountains for several days. But his most famous nickname given to him by the Americans is Doctor Poli, which was given to him for his dedication to hunting Marco Polo sheep Ovis Ammon Poli - Latin name. More recently, American scientists named one of the subspecies of the Pamir sheep after him – Matison Argali (Ovis Ammon Matisoni).
The road took us about seven hours. We were tired and wanted to rest, what we did just right after a modest meal. Later in the evening we discussed our plans for the next day. It was always hard to sleep first night on the height. The time spent in bed throughout the night was like fighting hypoxia and its consequences in the form of mild nausea, dizziness, thirst and replenishing water reserves. The regular visits to the toilet and replenishment of the water supply in the body after that didn't give me the opportunity to relax. The whole night passed in a tiresome half-doze.
Hunting.
We all got up at 5 am. Then we had light breakfast and drove to the mountains using the old but robust UAZ. The altitude was a test not only for people but for the cars too. The engine power reduced on 30% because of thin air. It could barely drive on the steep ascents though we used the first speed instead of the third one as on the plain. The weather was fine. The sun was rising. The only unpleasant moment in that paradise picture was a strong wind but it was normal for that area. The large temperature difference was a common thing for those mountains. It was cold at nights at the beginning of October, water in small springs had frozen already. But it became warm during day hours and we could even take off some clothes.
Zaisan admired the Pamir nature in spite of light hypoxia. I had noticed that positive attitude in the hunting team helped to hunt more effectively.
The guides monitored the surroundings before our arrival and we were going to the definite place where the sheep had been recently detected. The animals were still there but grazed too high as our guides and we thought at that moment. But we all were mistaken. Later you’ll understand what I mean. We talked and decided to go and check another group, spotted a day before. We found them. There were several trophy size males.
The group, consisted of 12- 13 sheep males, was going to have rest and we resolved to rise and approach them the shooting distance. Zaisan was keen in long distance shooting and was ready to fire from any distance to 800 meters. Fortunately, he had a 300 Rem caliber carbine Ultra Mag allowed to hit such targets. Soon our romantic mood had faded, though I knew it’d be so, when we followed our guides Ruslan and Mansur. The first one wasn’t tall about 170cm height but had a substantial physique. His for-fathers were ancient alans. He was about 50 years old and had the education of electronics specialist. The second guide was above average height, somewhere about 182 cm, of a dry build, over the sixth decade, a descendant of the warriors of the Golden Horde. They both were different but both could walk in the mountains and did it easily. I hunted with them several times and had a high opinion about their abilities to go in the mountains on such heights. The ability to hike long is the base of successes in the hunting expeditions on the Pamir. I’m sure that most of sportsmen or special forces soldiers won't be able to keep up with those guys in the mountains. The first ascend.
So, these two started to climb. Jason and I tried to follow them. I'd tell you when then happened. We walked about 100 meters on almost flat terrain, even before the first ridge on our first day of hunting at altitude, and we felt like a fish thrown out of the water on the shore I could compare those feelings with my 1,000-meter race in my youth. I ran well and even had 1st category on the run but each time after finishing I almost voided my stomach because of tension. I experienced the same feeling at the beginning of that climb. Feelings were same when I had started climbing but I had to go further more and more. My throat was dry, my chest was tight with breath’s shortness, my heart was pounding like a motor, and my eyes were watering. I opened my mouth and try to find some oxygen for myself. But the body had not yet learned how to do it at that altitude in such conditions on the first day. I tried to give it a rest and try to regain the breath. At first it turned out with great difficulty. Shortness of breath pressed and squeezed the throat. At first Zaisan tried to walk with the same tempo like Mansur and Ruslan but understood soon that couldn’t breath. I had to repeat one of my tips to him again. “We won't be able to move so fast as they go but can spoil hunting because we won't have strength when it’d be necessary. Most importantly, always go at your own pace to give the body a uniform load!” Or the lack of oxygen will effect not only lungs but the muscles too. On the way, we were rescued by a bottle with a nutritious drink prepared by me in the camp. I foresaw what could happen to us, and the vitamin drink in that case helped a lot. I took a flask out of my backpack regularly , and we drank to it, taking two or three sips.
Thus, Zhaisan and I followed our leaders. Fortunately, the guys always looked at us. They even tried to urge us on, which was useless, since the driven horses, which we were on that first ascent on the first day of hunting, it was difficult to spur even with a whip. I couldn’t even say that the ascend was steep or difficult. Those mountains were gentler in the comparison with the mountains in the Northern Ossetia where Zhaisan and I hunted a month and a half ago, but...
The conditions were different. We were moving in the middle of the slope and came to shooting distance. But then the wind changed our plans. It often blows to the one side when you are on the plain but changes the direction in the ravine. As soon as we went into the gorge, where the sheep were lying, the wind began to blow right at our backs, carrying obviously our smell to the animals. Yuri, who remained at the car, corrected our rise. Yuri, who stayed near the car, said the sheep stood up and went up to the mountains. We didn’t have time to go 450 meters to shoot. But I knew that we couldn’t move faster than we went. I experienced that feeling many times when had walked many kilometers in a day, even in the mountains, even on the plain or in the taiga, and approaching an animal at the end of the path something, or maybe someone unknown to you, takes your coveted trophy behind a rock or into the forest. It happens once again. Our trophies went away. And we were absolutely exhausted by "chasing" luck, but were left without it.
We took a little break and wanted to turn around and go down, but Yuri reported that a small group of sheep stopped just 500 meters from us above on one of the ledges They didn't discover us yet but we needed to be in a hurry and to go up as soon as possible. Jason and I obviously couldn't do that. The reality was such that we had to give up the chase. And the sheep moved further into the sky-high heights. We were on the altitude 4500 masl at that time. Our condition was far from good. I felt as if was beaten and kicked. My arms and legs were just wadded up. It was a very strange feeling. I didn't know about Zhaysan, but it seemed to me that my legs were just inflated with air, and there were no muscles there. Such sensation was a usual thing because of the lack of oxygen in the muscles.
We had to have rest, and sat down on the rocks, then got up and started on the way back, it took about five minutes for the leg muscles to start working again somehow. It was a mistake to think that the way back was lighter. Everything was hard for us in the first day in the mountains. At last we came to the car where another guide waited for us. Alick was a Kirghiz and I hunted with him already but in another camp. Empty-handed!
So, the hunting of the first day in the Pamir mountains was over after such an ascent. I preferred to think that hunting luck would come to us later. None of us could even think about food at the first moment of arrival. We drank a little tea and went to bed to recover and try to gain strength for the next day.
It should be noted another feature of staying at altitude. Personally, I always experience it for myself. I'm talking about hyperventilation. The fact is that we constantly lose moisture when exhaling air. In winter, this can be seen by the steam. It's just not noticeable in the summer, but it's there. As we gain altitude, the more moisture we lose through breathing, given that the air at altitude is much drier. I’ve noticed one thing which happens with me in the mountains. Being on the highlands I get the awful congestion in my chest but it’s not a cold. The remedies prescribed for a cold cough didn’t save from this cough. I felt dryness not only in the throat though I drank a lot, but in the bronchi and in the nose. It turned out to be simple to the banal. It was the effect of hyperventilation of the respiratory tract. It's not dangerous but not a pleasant thing. It was that effect that did not allow me to rest normally at night, I had to clear my throat constantly. It also bothered me when I was climbing.
That time I decided to "outsmart" this test sent by nature. I followed Yuri's advice and took with me means for moistening the respiratory tract and nasal mucosa. Nose drops based on apricot oil and an inhaler with eucalyptus oil for the throat helped me a lot to overcome unpleasant sensations. I could subsequently sleep relatively peacefully at night thanks to those means. Rest is the main component of recuperation. Zhaisan also used the inhaler from time to time.
Then in the evening we discussed the day. Yuri and the guides told us that there were a few more groups of sheep at that area. But we should need to rise the highest plateau at that area- Urtabuz. Telling the truth we arrived there to hike the mountains. But we were somehow very cautiously informed that the plateau was at an altitude of 5,000 meters! At the same time, they asked us if the hunter was ready to take the risk and go on such an expedition. They didn't ask me anymore, because all the guys knew about my physical abilities. But that time it was not so simple.
Zhaysan confirmed his readiness immediately, but I wasn't sure that he realized fully what five thousand Pamirs above sea level were and what the price might be for climbing to that height on the second day of his stay in the mountains. I knew because I was able to experience the invisible, but very hard touch of such dangerous heights on one of the passes. It was the Ak-Baytal Pass (or White Horse). Its height was 4 655 masl. I was making video there then realized that I couldn't not only talk but think there. Hypoxia influenced not only my speech system but my mind too. Everything turned out to be very simple with Yuri's explanations already in the camp. "You wouldn't be able to hunt for at least two or three days after 5000m!" he said in the camp laconically, but very succinctly. Nobody knew the consequences after such fast climbing without adaptation and better not to allow them. He said that the hunter could walk to heights of 4,600 m above sea level more or less successfully, but heights beyond that limit could hit the body hard, which Zhaysan and I had personally experienced that time. The second day of hunting everything happened as follows. The next morning, everyone got up before dark. It was interesting that nobody woke us up but we all got up and goatherd in the canteen to drink tea in time. It reminded me the preparation for a serious special operation. When everybody knew what to do and what to be ready for.
Zhaisan and I were fully prepared. I had a very rich experience in the mountain hunting but none of us did such climbing before and didn't know what would be there.
But we tried to look cheerful. How would our body of a plain dweller respond to the challenge of the mountain element? Nevertheless, we looked cheerful. We sat in the car looking military fit and ready for great things and drove. Alik was a driver, Zhaisan sat near him while Mansur, Ruslan and I sat on the back seat. The flocks of migratory ducks were flying up from small lakes, where they stood for a short rest in the way to the south.
We crossed several rivers covered by fresh ice. Finally, the road went steeply up, and our iron horse still stubbornly climbed forward and up the stone, stumbling due to failures in the work of the distributor. That's it! Then we had to walk.
I got out of the car and threw a backpack on myself, and felt short of breath, and what would await us there, I thought to myself and raised my gaze to the top of the Urtobus. Its lifeless, more Martian than terrestrial landscape, did not promise Jason and me anything good on the second day of our stay in the mountains. Rather the opposite. By that time, the sun had already risen over the ridges and was eating us with its caustic rays and harsh radiation. The wind was even stronger there than near the camp. It pelted us with prickly snowflakes. But we had no choice. That’s why we went on to move.
It was hardly believe that such physical trained people, as we were, who hunted and hiked a lot in the Caucasian mountains, could go just fifty meters and then asked to stop for the rest. Then we moved a few meters more and stopped once again. We tried to catch greedy breaths of very thin air to somehow feed your body with oxygen. But the higher we went, the more difficult it was the latter. We fully realized where we were and what was the main problem in such situation. That was hypoxia. The longer we went, the stronger it became. The most difficult thing at that stage was to breathe. Fortunately, all muscles, the heart and the brain still worked more or less well. Probably they still had oxygen. But I felt dryness in the lungs, larynx and bronchi. As the result I was always coughing and had constricted chest. The air pressure on the altitude 5000 masl was 400 mm Hg. Just 400 mm! It’s 760 mm on the plain. But it didn’t make us lighter we felt ourselves very heavy and clumsy. The ascend became even steeper. We had to jump on huge rocks, which took extra strength. Our group was divided. Alik had reached the top already and tried to spot the sheep. We heard the radio and knew that he couldn’t find any.
We were close. I didn't feel the euphorias, provoked by hypoxia and the realization that I had reached such height. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's always nice to be at the top and admire the beautiful views below, on the other hand, the same height constantly reminds you of your physical condition.
We could only use the language of gestures and looks. It was hard to talk. My head was buzzing, and there were circles in front of my eyes. When we stopped for a rest I took out video camera and began to movie. And then something happened, what I had never felt before. I tried to say something about the beauties of nature and feel that my jaw barely moved. It turned out that it had become difficult not only to move, but to speak too. Thoughts got confused and it was difficult to direct them into some kind of information flow. Familiar feelings! I turned to Jason, and we looked at each other, trying to put on a strained smile, laughing at ourselves. He felt the same symptoms, I guessed. He was blinking but very slowly. It looked unnatural. Half an hour later we were already at the top of 5,000 meters above sea level. To get the trophy! Most people will twist the finger at the temple. Do we need trophy at such a price? The landscape around us looked as if we were on the Mars not on the Earth. All we could see was the clay-sandy soil with a mass of stones scattered everywhere.
One example, told to me by Yuri, was indicative. Once they had a French hunter with an companion on a hunt. They also went to Urtobus. The hunter could move somehow around, but his escort was so bad that they had to leave him in one place to pick up on the way back. They did not find him in the place where they left him when they came for him on the way to the camp. They found it by chance and it was already far from the place where he was supposed to be. The reason was the physiological state, so called lapse in sanity. He was in desperation, and forgot that he was just left for a while, and thought that he had been abandoned, and he did not know where to go. And he did something that should never be done in such situations. He left the place. It could have ended very tragically if he had not been found. He was in tears like a child when he was discovered, and began to kiss all those who found him. So, you understand what I mean when talk about these 5000 masl. And that man was a cyclist of a very high level. He was one of those who rode the multi-day cycling Tour de France. The athletes know that moral balance is also necessary there in conditions of huge physical overloads in addition to a colossal reserve of physical strength.
This story can only confirm my thought that hunting at such heights requires not only a good physical shape, but also a high level of psychological stability and self-control.
There was a very strong wind on the top which penetrated easily inside the clothes. We closed everything. But it was still cold. Probably the poor blood supply was the reason why we felt cold. Our blood clotted and flowed very slow that's why it was harder to warm up.
Ruslan, Mansur, Zhaisan and I hidden behind the rocks while Alik coordinated our actions with Yuri, who staid down. We didn't seat for a long. Soon we heard Yuri’s voice. He noticed the group of sheep. We stood up though it was hard to do for Zhaisan and me and moved to the Urtabuz plateau. Walking on the plateau was a difficult task for us though it was flat. It sounded strange but it was even harder to start hiking after the rest on such heights than if we moved without stops. I felt weakness and all muscles seemed to be made from cotton. I made myself to move, to make them active. But we were already THERE, at a height and the sheep have been found, we had to move.
Few times we went the wrong directions and did several We made several empty and unnecessary maneuvers, because the guides misunderstood Yuri. Do you know that the landscape can be different when you stand at the bottom because you can’t see all gorges. The sheep left the place while we were looking for the right way. You could hardly imagine how upset we were. We rose the top and lost such opportunity to get the trophy!
It was painful to look at Zhaisan. I was afraid that we couldn’t hunt next days if failed now. He could feel not well on the second day at 5,000 meters. Nobody could predict how we’d feel ourselves after that climbing.
When it became obvious that the beast was not there, the hunter and I decided to make pictures ourselves at such a height. We prepared the cameras. I slid the camera and made the panoramic picture.
The Karakul lake casted blue sky color far beneath us. It was surrounded by the mountains peaks which I knew well from my previous hunting trips. The landscape was really amazing. The mountain peaks, covered by snow, inflected the full color spectrum. It happened because of the sunny rays which touched them by different angles. We did several shots and were ready to go back. Mansur offered to take my backpack to make me feel better. I refused. Nobody carried my backpack yet, It was me who always helped the clients with the heavy bags. I told him that the problem was not the weight behind my back, but the lack of oxygen I needed in that air.
The long-awaited moment.
So, we went back to the car. At some moment, Zhaysan and I found ourselves only in the company of Alik. Ruslan and Mansur moved to the right. Suddenly Alik turned to us and pointed somewhere down and to the left. We saw the red-gray side of the ram, which stood between two huge stones. It was definitely a ram, since there was no such shade of color at the height anymore. We ducked immediately. The male and other ones were very close, just in 100- 120 meters from us. On the one hand, it was good for shooting, but on the other it was too close, because any careless movement can give us away, and suddenly beast ... began to move.
Zhaysan pulled the shutter quickly and, followed Alik, down. They were bending down to the ground as low as possible, as far as possible. I followed them like shadow. On the way, I took out the camera and turned it on. I wanted to make video how we were approaching the trophy.
The herd, consisted of 35- 38 individuals, stood beneath us in 100 m. They all were males and most of them had good trophy qualities. We had not to miss the chance. Zhaysan began to choose a position for the shot. Alik found a worthy trophy. It was the very last of that group. Then he gave orientation to the hunter. But the herd began to run. They discovered us. Alik shouted to Zhaisan: “The last one! The last one! We heard the shot but the sheep kept running. I tried to follow animals through the camera sight though it was difficult. The sun was setting and shined right to the screen from my back. But I still watched them. Zhaisan missed because he didn’t understand what male was the last one and aimed not the right one. The ram that we needed was the last to run, it strayed from the main group. Zhaysan tried to catch the last of the group, which was very difficult to do. Obviously, that was the reason for the blunder.
We understood what had happened and both (Alik and I) shouted before he fired the second time: “The latest!” A shot rang out. He shot once again and I noted a fountain of dust from the other side of the sheep. But the ram kept running. It clearly stood out among all its fellows with some special strength and proudly raised head with gorgeous horns that could be identified even from such a distance.
I noticed that the ram jerked slightly and slowed down slightly after the second shot, but then it straightened out and continued running after the group.
The hunter fired the third and the fourth times. But those shots seemed were outright misses, judging by the dust raised by the bullets away from the ram.
I need to remember that the hunter has spent more than 7 hours walking on the exorbitant heights till that moment. I thought it was difficult for him to see the rams in the sight. He couldn't calm the breath before shooting and had to fire by the running aim. The second obstacle was that he needed to choose the right male among the running ones but the sheep ran very fast.
The sheep left, or rather, disappeared behind the ridge. To our great regret, we did not find the coveted trophy either at the place or on the way they ran. But Mansur and Alik found blood, after walking a little on the trail of the herd. I was right, he hit it by the second shot. That gave at least some hope that the gorgeous trophy would be in the hands of the hunter. We watched the video once again. It confirmed our thoughts. The second bullet hit the sheep, we pointed to.
It's a well-known fact that argali is very strong on the wound. So, we decided not to pursue, which means not to drive the animal, despite the fact that the hit, according to our assumptions, was correct and on the body, and the cartridge was powerful. I could have gone very far on adrenaline. Moreover it was getting dark. The sun was setting and soon we wouldn’t see anything. We decided to get it tomorrow. If the ram was sure that it was not pursued, it wouldn't go far, but lie down somewhere in a secluded place. And then it was unlikely to be able to get up with a serious injury.
The way back to the car was not so easy as we wanted. We all were tired but Zhaisan and I could hardly go. The most important thing was that we passed the height test and the hunter could even engage the goal. Telling the truth, we wanted to have the trophy when coming back to the camp but hunting had always its own scenario. Feeling of uncertainty began to hurt our hunter. He was worried about whether we would find the trophy or not. But, one way or another, the hunt took place. There was something to remember and discuss in the evening in the camp.
We fell like logs to the beds when arrived to the camp. An hour later, we went down to the dining room to discuss the situation with Yuri and the guides and outline a plan for tomorrow. I even managed to persuade my body to take some food to restore strength. We were not sick or throwing up in spite of the distance we went at that day on such heights. The only unusual thing we all did, we drank 1 L of tea each. The effect of five thousand meters should have to appear later. We were under a certain euphoria from physical overload and emotional impressions.
That night didn’t bring us calm. Zhaisan said me later that didn't sleep a wink that night. I could understand him. The Nature made him a gift - a good trophy. But we hadn’t it yet. The real hunters can imagine what Zhaisan has been going through his mind. The same thing was happening inside me. I also worried because we did everything we could but still didn’t get the trophy. The trophy didn’t lie at our feet. How we got it.
Next day we all got up before the sunrise. At 5 am everybody was ready to go to look for a wounded ram. Yuri and other guides assured Zhaisan to stay in the camp by many reasons. But he wanted to come. The first one was that it was really dangerous to go back to such altitude. The second reason was that Zhaisan and I were the encumbrance for the guides who are used to work and to hike on the heights. We both agreed and went to see off our guides. They were the angels who could bring good tidings. We returned to the room, and began to assume and weigh the chances of finding a wounded ram. It was the usual behavior of people who could not influence the situation but hoped for the best. Zhaisan could not find a place. I had to calm him from time to time and assured that everything would be good.
I thought about it all night and came to the conclusion after the analysis of various situations with wounds of the beast, I could assume that the ram had already passed off at night. It was seriously damaged. I thought it had the internal bleeding and it had not chance to go far.
There was another problem. Would it possible to find the dead animal. But the hunters never forget about their natural helpers. I talk about birds - from crows to vultures and other predators. These nature representatives don't give any chance to waste of high-calorie food. They begin to circle over the wounded animal and to wait when it’ll pass away and then landed to feast. And then they have a feast. Thus, we could determine the location of the beast we shot. It’ obligatory to be in time and not to allow them to damage the trophy. Taking into account that we shot in the evening and the guides left the camp before the sunrise, the chances to find the trophy in a right condition was very high.
The sun shone the tops of the mountains and then the valley with the lake. It also looked into our kitchen with a dining room. It was necessary to keep our strength with a light breakfast. Zhaisan and I went downstairs. I dreamed to drink a cup of hot green tea. Each of us drank about a Liter of water during the night but I prefer tea to water. Tea always makes me more active and warm me up. Everything on the East starts and ends with tea. We did not violate local traditions. The water supply in the body needed to be replenished by constantly being in the mountains, which we did. We didn’t notice how we ate bacon and eggs while drinking tea.
The first news from our guides arrived. One of the radio stood in the kitchen and we could hear what was going on. We listened to Yuri who coordinated Mansur, Ruslan and Alik. Finally, he discovered the group of sheep that we saw. The night before I told Yuri that our male was different from others in the gray skin color and huge horns. The guides replied that there was not the yesterday’s sheep among the group. We were glad but where was it? If the ram was not in the herd, then it was behind. Where was it? The guys lost the bloody track because the animal crossed the wide part of stone cree and it was problematic to find blood there. Yuri made a circle, and closed the area where the beast could lie down, then it remained only to find it. Just find it! It was easy to say to find it in such mountains with many large and small gorges.
But birds helped them, as the guides told us later. The radio battery had been dead and we knew all details later.
The sheep crossed that part with the loose stones and found the place to lay. It couldn't get up and passed away there, then it rolled down to the small gorge where they found it. But they could hardly to find it if the birds didn’t help them. They had already begun to circle above the food and the guides noticed the sign.
The trophy meeting.
You could hardly imagine the hunter's face when he saw his trophy. Zhaisan was shining and his jubilation transfered to all of us. The length of the horns was 148 and 149 cm. It was a great trophy especially for the debutant in those mountains. Some hunters arrived back several times to get such trophy but he got from the first time on the second hunting day. I guess that guy lives in the harmony with nature and doesn't make harm that's why our Mother Nature decided to award him. We couldn’t but make the photo session? Thus, we put the trophy on the hill, not far from the lake and did several shots. I tried to make video but it was windy and it hindered a lot. So that moment complicated the situation, but did not detract from the essence of what was happening and did not spoil the impression that the hunter became the rightful owner of the trophy he deserved.
Everybody in the camp congratulated Zhaisan with the trophy. The Final! It was time to relax. All evening Zhaisan's eyes were burning, he praised the guys who brought him to this trophy, and especially for being able to find the ram. It's a real disgrace to lose the wounded animal. It disappears both for him and for nature. My hunting principal is to get the animal only if you are going to use it as the trophy, for food or for a medicine. Nobody will make me eat meat of the Kamchatka brown bear because 90% of all animals are infected with Trichinella. But the hunter can take its skin and skull or to use its gallbladder or fat for medical purpose.
Our cook Shot prepared super gala dinner to celebrate the successful end of the hunting. He started to do it after getting news by radio. Our team.
It’s time to tell you about Yuri’s team. I can’t say that they work there. They just live by the atmosphere, which they create during the hunting expeditions. There are not identical people on the Earth. We all are different but it’s great because we become stronger when gathered together. It took him many years to create such cohesive team, - said me Yuri. Lots of people left the company. Only men of spirit and real professionals, who loved their jobs, stayed with him. They are far from the families for the most part of the year. How strong do they love their work to sacrifice the proximity of the most loved people - the wife and kids? It's very difficult to explain the families why do they need to work so long and on such heights. A human being doesn’t adapt to live on such altitudes. The best example is the small mountain town Murgab, located further down the road towards Afghanistan. The most widespread diseases among the locals are problems with hearts and lungs. It is difficult for women to give birth there. Murghab is located at an altitude of 3,600 meters above sea level, i.e. even below our base camp at 4,000 meters above sea level. Can you imagine what kind of load carry the bodies of the guys who grew up on the plain during such a long stay on the hunts.
Thus, we spent that evening with great pleasure. Though we were afraid of consequences of taking alcohol on the altitude but drank a few shots to celebrate the successful hunt. And said several speeches, devoted to our friends. Zhaisan and I are still alive, as you can see! These meetings help to understand each other better and to build new contacts. You can analyze what has happen when the tension is gone. Our guides and Yuri told us about interesting cases from their past. They were very experienced hunters and had lots of stories.
The way back.
All good things come to an end. The last evening was over and we went to sleep. We all needed to have rest before going home.
Our old friend Said arrived to the base at night. He said that if we wanted to fly home in time it’d be better to drive to Osh as soon as possible. I woke up at night because somebody knocked to my door. It was strange. I just barely opened my eyes and went to open the door. It was dark and I could hardly recognize Said. He said it was time to leave. Telling the truth, that was the hardest thing which we had to do at that moment. The altitude and alcohol made us felt not well. It was hard to say what influenced more. But we should collect our huge bags and dive. The generator didn’t work and we did all manipulations, using the headlamps only. But hunters, as the military men, are used to act quickly. It took us just thirty minutes to pack and to load everything. All camp staff went to see us off. A very warm farewell and wishes for a successful journey for a long time reminded us of the attentive meeting in Karakul. Such moments are remembered for a lifetime. It was unexpected, but Mother Nature also said goodbye to us and gave us the opportunity to take another look at the beautiful animals. Three young kok-mok, as the locals called them, crossed the road in front of the car. They were young males about 2- 3 years old. The animals almost flew up the slope and stopped that we could admire them. I managed to make video, which Zhaisan was very pleased with. It is worth a lot to have such a gift in memory of staying in this harsh, but very beautiful place.
On the way back we crossed all border points and drove down to the valley. It was filled by OXYGEN and we could take a deep breath! This sweet feeling, when you can inhale all the aromas of mountain vegetation and the moisture of water sources, brings you back to the real life and environment that you are used to on the plain. It always reminds me paradise after the dry and thin air on the height.
But this medal has a second side. Your body starts to rebuild again. You can feel weakness, headache and even nausea. And if you remember where we have been on what? The effects of exposure to such a height affected me for about a week after returning home. Even at home in Vladimir,I tried to understand what was the reason of my discomfort. I was sure that had caught the infection while flew to home. But it didn’t look like virus. I felt sick. I felt weak. But when I noticed that was still drinking lots of liquid and understood what was the reason. That weakness was the result of my being on the 5000 meters above the sea level. I used the veloergometer to train the body and to start the processes which would help me to recover. After a couple of days, I was already in my usual state.
Summing up the results of our mountain expedition, we can draw the following conclusions.
1. It's better to start training to climb such heights in 2- 3 weeks before the trip.
2. The best variant is to adapt 2- 3 days in the camp and not to go hunting. Zhaisan and I were generally prepared both mentally and physically. That's the reason why, we didn't have any big problems at altitude.
3. The hunter in the mountains has to be ready to shoot in any moment. The chance to get the worthy trophy can be just once. If you miss it the luck would leave you. I know it from my practice. The highest level of mobilization is the obligatory thing during the trip. I have to note that Zhaisan overcame all difficulties, endured the trials with dignity and managed to gather and to make the accurate shot. It gives him the right to be called the real mountain hunter. Only a few people will be able to pass the test at this height.
Thank you very much to Yuri Matison and his team for their support and professional organization of that hunting adventure.
