Winter ascent to Kungurbuka, Tashkent region, Uzbekistan

Hello, today I would like to tell you about my impressions of the trek to the top of Mount Kungurbuka, which I made at the end of November.

After returning from Boysun the usual question arose - where to go now? Two- or three-day trips to Boysun or Kashkadarya became temporarily unavailable due to the weather. I am not yet ready to go for two or three nights in the mountains and spend the night in tents in the snow, since I am not yet well equipped and I can easily freeze something vital. Therefore, there remain one-day winter ascents and when "Mysterious Uzbekistan" announced the recruitment of a group for a winter ascent to the already familiar Kungurbuka mountain, I signed up one of the first.

I was there just a couple of weeks ago and then Kungurbuka was still an autumn mountain. Now winter is in charge there.

We left unusually late - at six o'clock in the morning and at dawn we were already approaching the starting point. Through the foggy minibus window I tried to photograph the rising sun beyond Greater Chimgan.

We got out of the car, changed our clothes and went upstairs along the knurled track. It was rather cold, but a quick step and a small climb did their job - I gradually began to warm up.

Soon we turned off the track and climbed up the slope. The sun had finally risen and gradually warmed the air. We were very lucky with the weather - not even any small cloud in the sky. Only a bottomless blue sky and snow-capped mountains. Great!

Soon we climbed up and from the height a beautiful view of the Chirchik valley and the surrounding mountains opened up.

To take a shortcut, the guide decided to go straight through a small but dense forest. Or a grove - I don't know what to call it correctly :).

As we gained altitude, our group stretched out and some of the people began to lag behind. So we stopped on one of the hills to wait for the stragglers.

After waiting, we continued our way through the fairy forest.

Gradually the group began to stretch again. Five or six people rushed forward, but a piercing wind was blowing overhead and we could not wait long. Therefore, the guide showed the direction and we climbed further, but he remained to wait for the "tail".

We crawled upstairs. It was already hard to walk - there was more snow at the top and we fell almost knee-deep. The sun began to heat up, and the wind died down and I was sweating all over from the intense walking.

Soon, our group broke away from the main part and the guide invited the "walkers" to climb further to the top, and the rest turned into a small clearing for a halt and lunch.

Unfortunately, we were given a little time - it was already two o'clock in the afternoon and in three hours it would start to get dark. And we should to go down before sunset. Therefore, we tried hard, but did not reach the top a little less than a kilometer.

On such snow, this path would have taken about an hour and a half - and we didn't have that much time. Therefore, we took pictures of the surroundings, had a little snack and went back.

It was much easier to go down, but the tired legs were now and then parted in the snow.

By the time we approached the last section, the sun was already setting, painting the mountains pinkish.

A helicopter rumbled overhead - either the rescuers flew over the surroundings, or rolled the rich tourists ...

We went downstairs to the car. The sun was setting and the temperature dropped noticeably. Since the descent was not as intense as the ascent, and we were walking along the shady side, I was quite cold.

Literally 10-15 minutes later, the sun almost completely set and the moon appeared in the sky.

Shivering from the cold, I changed my wet clothes and shoes and jumped into a warm bus. While we were waiting for the rest of the participants, the driver turned on the stove at full power and shared with us hot tea from a thermos.

Unfortunately, this was the final hike this year. Until the end of the year, the team of "Mysterious Uzbekistan" takes a break to start a new tourist year from the first week of January. In the meantime, we are all resting and buying equipment. Sharof warned that the plans are ambitious and new tours are planned both in Uzbekistan and in the far and near abroad. If only the epidemiological situation in our country and in our neighbors did not disappoint ...