Smoke, Stress, and Nine Days to Kyrgyzstan
”I would rather do one week in Kyrgyzstan and four weeks here in Lima” , Eva said as a matter of fact the other day when we were having our first BBQ for the summer.
I had just shown them the idea I had in my mind as regards to our upcoming summer adventure. A 20–25-day hiking adventure through the tough Tien Shan mountains. We had just done a 4-hour day walk just stepping outside the door here in Lima. Not in Peru, but in the great forests and rivers of Sweden. We had climbed a local hill called Bull Berget (The Bun Mountain). It had some challenges, like all the wet and muddy bogs on route, an overgrown forest floor and a steep climb up to the top. Once up there, with a great view, we immediately got annoying company. Way too many gnats and mosquitoes.
“I like it better in winter” , Dana said and continued: “I thought walking would be easier than on a bicycle. Will it be harder than the walk we have just done?”
“A bit” , I replied: “It will be higher altitudes up over 5000 meters. And that is harder. We also have to carry more weight.”
The girls just looked exhausted by the thought. It has been the same emotions every summer when the time to leave Sweden is coming up. They have just finished school, which is very demanding. They just want to let go and relax. And that is one reason we decided to have a week up at the house in Lima before leaving. And they have spent most of it in bed playing games like Roblox or watching their stuff. Lots of TikTok videos. Again, they laugh a lot and look rested. We watch something together almost every evening. Right now, a series called Arcane. Yet another compromise for everyone to be able to be together. And then we do BBQs. All signs of a holiday, a break of the routines. We all need this. The last two months have been very demanding for the three of us. More than normal. For Eva, this has been her last year in the compulsory 9-year school and she had to push hard to get the grades needed to get into a good reputed school continuing her IB-programme that she has followed since the beginning. This is one reason she quit football, to concentrate on her studies. And even though we don´t know until the first week of July whether she has made it or not, she is well above what is need to qualify. Dana did also pass those grades needed to continue, but she still has 2 years to go. But she has upped her grades to this year and put in more work than usual. On top of that, she trains football at FC Rosengard’s elite academy 4 times a week, plus a game or two every week. So, she´s fit and walks as hard as I do! Eva will need her time to get into shape.
Me, I am as fat as last summer! But not as fit. I had the Greenland Crossing coming up last summer and I was extremely focused, motivated and determined. It was a 33-day tough job. And I came back exhausted. Then, this April, I did Kilimanjaro with a superb team, but, again, it took its physical toll. So, I have tried to preserve what I have, but due to so many demanding work-related stuff, I have started at 3 a.m. most mornings, doing 12-hour days. Including weekends since I came back from Kenya. One reason I ended up in this exhausting and unnecessary situation was the fact I changed venue for our next summer Expedition. From Nepal to Kyrgyzstan.
There were two reasons for this. Firstly, I realized during the Kilimanjaro time that we should have cycled in Kenya and Tanzania instead of Namibia. The reason is that it was really hard to get into contact with local people. Or black Africans. Too many white Africans in Namibia. So I felt we were seen either as local white Namibians or as a potential money source. All which is understandable, but makes it harder to connect. It wasn´t the black Africa I wanted to show the girls. I found that immediately I stepped out of the airplane in Kenya. And whilst researching Nepal, I realized, our hike to Everest Base Camp would be full of tourists and everyone local we would meet, would be adjusted to tourists. Nothing wrong with that either, but my aim is to show them the other side. On top of that, the permits for filming, the huge focus on Everest that exists, including commercialization, there’s very little new knowledge we could off a viewer in the West. So, I just looked at the other side of the Himalayas and found two places which intrigued me, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both post-Soviet societies, which means a world I like and know quite well, great welcoming genuine people, a huge interesting history and great food. And not much is known about these countries. I noticed immediately on the map I was looking at, Pik Pobeda (The Victory Peak) in the Tien Shah Range, 7,439 meters (24,406 feet) above sea level. It was in Kirgizstan, so that is where we will go!
The problem was it meant I had 1½ to get it done. Planning, funding, preparing. The main idea was also that this would be a new documentary. The sequel of the film I am working on now, Through Here Yes, https://youtu.be/8IUnkFir7dM (the first trailer from 2019). Were the girls would do most of the Expedition work. They would narrate the full film themselves, me just behind the camera, but take all the important shots. Where to, how many miles do we walk each day, when to have a break and so on. And involve themselves in the full preparation and planning.
Reality? We are leaving in 9 days. And the girls are still in recovery after a demanding school – and football year. They need their rest. I have been able to find a producer and a co-producer to help me, the project is still way off economically, but you take your chances. In a 100 years we will be forgotten any way, no matter what.
We have a planning week coming up in Bishkek, when we will get most stuff done. Plus we need to get into the groove of how things are over there. We have 40 days before we have to return to the demands of normal society again. If we can walk half it, I am happy! And I know from previous summers, it is always hard to get them going, because they -like all kids- live in the now. And don´t worry too much for the future. Sadly this will change with age and worries will arrive, the tyranny of thoughts!
And once we step on the Bishkek bound plane, the feeling of a great adventure always arrives, but until then, pressures!!!!
Which can be handled with lots of BBQ:s and ice cream!