Hello! Today I would like to tell you about my rather spontaneous and short trip to Boysun. We usually come to Boysun for the weekend. But this time we decided to arrange a blitz-voyage and make a one-day ascent to Mount Sanjar. It was a rather interesting, but tiring trip format - we arrived in Boysun early in the morning and immediately rushed to the ascent, and in the evening of the same day we left back to Tashkent.
But more about everything. A "normal" two-day trip to Boysun was originally planned. However, as usual, people are reluctantly sign up for such kind of ascents. Therefore, a couple of days before leaving, Sharof offered to go four of us for one day. Of course I agreed – because it is Boysun!
All the previous days we were tormented by an abnormal heat. The thermometer passed over 40 degrees Celsius. These temperatures are typical for mid-July, but not early June. This is due to the cyclone that brought hot air from Iran and literally burned out the whole of Uzbekistan. June didn’t have time to start, and all the vegetation in the mountains had already burned out.
But a couple of days before the departure, the weather took pity on us and we "eased" a little and this made me happy - because it is a very dubious pleasure to ride on a hot train. On Saturday evening we met at the South Railway Station of Tashkent and loaded onto the train.
Much to my relief, there was an air conditioner in the wagon and it even worked. Therefore, the trip to Boysun was very comfortable. I even froze a little in the morning.
And so, according to the good old tradition, in the early morning on the platform of the Boysun railway station, was a smiling Choraka. We hugged, loaded into his car and drove towards Mount Sanjar.
The height of this mountain is 3165 meters above sea level. This mountain is not quite usual for Boysun and has the shape of a peak with steep slopes. And not just steep, but talus, dotted with stones of various shapes. Oh, I was so worn out on the ascent and descent! It is curious, but the Boysun "three-thousanders" are very difficult for me. Khoja Buz-Barak last year and now Sanjar ... At the same time climbing Greater Chimgan - the most popular "three-thousander" in the Tashkent region was given to me much easier.
Sanjar is also an "evil" mountain, which is very reluctant to let tourists in. Sharof was on it several times and each time there were some troubles during the ascent. Our current ascent was no exception. We tried to cross the track, but it turned out to be too deep and the car fell on its side.
I had to get out and dig the exit for the car with a shovel. The train arrived half an hour late, and then there was such an annoying delay.
Finally, the car drove out and we drove on, but before we could drive a hundred meters, we had to stop again - the road ahead was washed out and its width did not allow the car to pass. We have to unload and continue on foot.
We went out and climbed up the slope. For a while, I held on and walked on a par with everyone, and then I began to lag behind. Thanks to the team - they were patiently waiting for me.
We climbed higher and higher. By the way, Sanjar has such an unpleasant feature - until you reach him, you need to overcome several smaller peaks.
So you climb, climb, and it would seem that you climbed to the top. But no - another, even higher peak opens behind it. We have to go down and climb up again. And then it turns out that this is not the end and that one has to climb one more peak.
During one of such numerous climbs, a magnificent view of Khoja Gur-Gur Ota opened in front of me - it has a very familiar "beak"...
By the way, we were very lucky with the weather. Very lucky! Surkhandarya is the southernmost region of Uzbekistan and is usually 3-4 degrees hotter here than in Tashkent. But on this day the temperature was very comfortable. Clouds now and then covered the sun, preventing it from incinerating us. Sometimes it was even quite cold and I wished I had brought my windbreaker.
And plus to everything, the clouds added beauty to the endless blue sky.
Apparently at the height the wind blew with great speed - because soon the clouds turned into rather dark clouds.
At the one moment, they completely obscured the sky. The rain is just last thing we need! The effect of gloom was enhanced by golden eagles hovering in the clouds above our heads.
But, thank God, the clouds passed by and the sky opened above us again. And now we have almost reached the top. It remained to go through a small valley ... And several hefty shepherd dogs blocked our way. In this valley there was a flock of sheep and dogs vigilantly guarded their bleating wards. I must say that the dogs in Surkhandarya are more wild than their Tashkent counterparts and are very aggressive. It is absolutely impossible to walk past them without the accompaniment of a shepherd - they will tear all apart!
And we began to call the shepherd and shouted for a long time. Finally, he got out of the tent and walked slowly towards us. As it turned out later, the shepherd guy was deaf–mute and simply did not hear the barking of dogs.
But realizing what was the matter, he drove the dogs away and led us through the valley. The dogs, meanwhile, continued to bark. Having brought us to the edge of the valley, he mumbled something benevolent and went back. Well, we climbed to the top. For about half an hour we climbed up the crumbling stones.
The last effort and we are at the top (of course, I climbed there later than the others). From above, there was a beautiful view of the surrounding mountain ranges and valleys.
At the top, we had lunch and a little rest. But time was running out for us and therefore it was not worth delaying - we had to catch the return train. Given the unpleasant experience with the dogs, we decided to bypass the ill-fated valley. But alas, all the passages ended in dangerous cliffs. So we were forced to use the shepherd's help again. This time he saw us much earlier and we didn't have to call him.
Sharof decided to diversify the way back a little and we went down the other side of the mountain. The slope was quite steep and rocky. So it was a little scary on the descent.
Finally, we went downstairs, where Choraka was already waiting for us. Tired and dusty, we climbed into his UAZ and drove back. No trouble this time. In the hospitable house of Choraka, we took a shower, changed into clean clothes and dined on a branded pilaf in sesame oil. Despite the fact that I slowed down the group, we still managed to arrive at the station 10 minutes before the train's departure.
Having warmly said goodbye to Chorak, we loaded into a stuffy and hot wagon. Interesting - in the morning we arrived on this exact train, in this exact wagon and in this exact compartment. Even the train conductor was the same. But the air conditioner did not work. And stowaways were sitting in our compartment. Well, we forced to kick them out.
The way back was terrible - it was very hot and stuffy and I didn't sleep well. After three hours of such torment, we decided to spit on all decency and wide open the door to the compartment.
But finally, our torment ended and we arrived in Tashkent. This was the end of our blitz voyage. It was an interesting experiment, but I'm not sure I'm ready to repeat it. While I am resting, I will prepare posts about visiting Shakhrisabz and the Viewing pass in Tashkent region. Well, also I have planned a trip to Almaty city, Kazakhstan – should be interesting :)
!pinmapple 38.445346 lat 67.433600 long Climbing Mount Sanjar or blitz-voyage to Boysun, Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan d3scr