The New Zealand Kyrgystan Climbing Expedition 1999
We climbed the west ridge of Khan Tengri and then turned our sights to the unclimbed Pik Shipilova (6201m). Walking up the Inylchek Glacier at 2 am, under a full moon and not even knowing what the mountain we were heading for looked like, remains one of our most powerful alpine memories. We summitted two days later after a battle with deep snow and dwindling energy levels, before heading back to the lowlands and vodka, on an enormous helicopter held together with duct-tape. The High Life - A tale set on the west ridge of Khan Tengri
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This was our first international expedition together after years of climbing in New Zealand. Having never even heard of the Tien Shan Range, we found a photo of the incredible Khan Tengri (6995m) on the internet. We decided that it wouldn't be the done thing to ignore such an amazing looking mountain and in 1999 packed our bags and flew to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. This ex-Soviet state in the middle of the silk road was an amazing place to visit and sowed the seeds of an enduring expedition partnership.