Good afternoon! In my previous post I announced a hike to the summit called "Diplomat".
It is located in the Tashkent region on the Karzhantau ridge exactly on the border with Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, I did not manage to find out why this peak was dubbed "Diplomat". Some sources say that it was named so due to the fact that it is located on the border between the two countries. But the guides were not sure of the origin of this toponym, and I could not find an explanation on the Internet. Well, let the peak remain a mysterious "Diplomat" - this makes it no less beautiful.
In the announcement, "Mysterious Uzbekistan" indicated that the climb will be almost 1500m and we will have to stomp 10 km up and then the same 10 km down. According to my pedometer, it turned out a little more - 12 km in each direction, but apparently the pedometer lied. And even if he didn't lie, the 20-kilometer crossing is a pretty good exercise for me.
I was a little worried - this is my first ascent after almost a month of imprisonment at home due to covid. Moreover, my previous ascent on Khoja Buz Barak it was very hard for me. But I was worried in vain - the route was not the most difficult, and during the time of self-isolation I took up my weight and I finally managed to lose ten kilograms, so it was much easier to walk than a month and a half ago.
The departure was scheduled for 5 a.m. Well, there was some positive moment in the lockdown - we did not go to the mountains so early :). We gathered at the agreed place and hit the road. Traditionally, I sat down in my usual place in the minibus to photograph the sunrise. And ... and I didn't photograph anything, because the sun rises now after six o'clock in the morning and when the first rays just started to paint the mountain slopes pink, we were already unloading from the car and preparing to climb. But I still managed to capture the dawn. However, like the full moon
It was pretty cool - 3-4 degrees Celsius. But from a fast pace, I began to warm up slowly. In addition, the sun, rising from behind the Great Chimgan, began to warm the air.
We covered about a quarter of the way when the sun had finally risen. And we saw the goal of our campaign - Diplomat Peak.
On the way, we met representatives of the local fauna ...
... and flora. In the photo, the so-called "boyarka" - small tasty apples. True, the guide did not recommend us to eat them, because someone from the previous group ate these “boyarkas” and then suffered from stomach. Considering that we still have fifteen kilometers to go, I decided not to risk it and confine myself to the ration I took from home.
We gradually climbed up.
After about two hours, we finally reached the finish line and began to climb up the rocky area.
And here is the top!
A wonderful view of the Charvak reservoir and the Chirchik river valley opened from it.
As we walked, the group stretched out - half of the participants ran forward and the second part came up about half an hour after the first. To my surprise, I was among those who galloped forward. Apparently I missed hiking this month :). While waiting for the rest of the group, we had lunch and wandered around the slopes of the Diplomat taking pictures of the surroundings. Over there, Kazakhstan is already in the background.
And finally, the second half of the group came up.
We had about an hour and a half more to rest, so we all scattered along the mountain. Someone was flipping through the snapped photos ...
... well, someone took a nap ...
After a while we got up and walked back. It was necessary to have time to go down to the car before sunset.
The way back was noticeably easier and faster.
At sunset both the mountains and the trees looked very beautiful.
Tired but happy we went down to the car and drove back to Tashkent. I was satisfied with this hike - beautiful places, great weather and a good physical activity. If the weather does not fail and the crowd gathers, then this weekend I have planned a so-called "mountain half marathon" - a 22-kilometer hike through the Chimgan mountains. The organizers promise an intense climb and drop hike through very picturesque places. I crossed my fingers in anticipation :)
!pinmapple 41.713481 lat 69.830143 long Climbing Diplomat Peak, Tashkent region, Uzbekistan d3scr