How’s the avy danger aspect? What are the chances of rescue out there? Do people get insurance from those companies that’ll come get you?
Thanks for the questions,
@James . The avi danger is definitely something we take into account everyday, but a lot of any potential avalanche terrain can be mitigated by terrain choice. We ski a lot of stuff under 30 degrees and most of the lines are nice open, isolated ridgetops. Our local guide (Ilya) did a great job at giving us information on previous slide activity and historically, spots to avoid. Feeling around the snowpack in this area, the snowpack feels a lot less continental than I experienced in Kyrgyzstan (a lot less faceted and generally more stable), but my experience is only 2 trips. I'm definitely encouraged by what I am finding so far.
I did see some impressive old avalanche activity either side of the big ridge we skied halfway through the trip and that was consistent with what I witnessed back in 2022. There were some small cornice collapses that did not propagate and some old avalanche activity on some very steep south-facing slopes, but that is not out of the ordinary. I definitely don't want to get into any avalanches in Uzbekistan as I'm sure it would not be a rescue, more likely a recovery. Our groups are equipped and trained for self-rescue therefore. There is a decent ski patrol in Amirsoy resort but Beldersay (closed this season due to the construction of a new gondola) and Chimgan would probably involve the military (there is a small military base/training area in Chimgan).
I personally use and recommend Global Rescue which is a specialized US/overseas backcountry rescue service/policy as some insurance providers don't include insurance for additional backcountry rescue cover.