The Kyrgyzstan Plan

Ryan Koupal ’03 impresses me in my new favorite adventure blog, The Kyrgyzstan Plan, penned by a Midd alum. Can you feel the emotion when he writes:

THIS, Asylbek, is why we’re here. THIS is why we’re standing in your office…in Kyrgyzstan…half-way around the world…armed with splitboards, a thick stack of topo maps, a 3-ring binder representing many months of research, a weather log documenting the accumulated snowfall for the region since early November, and, of course, cameras poised and ready to document this adventure and tell this story.

The picture spoke a thousand words, and it inspired a few from Asylbek in return: “I have never seen this before. An interesting idea.”

THIS is it: An idea that utilizes Kyrgyzstan’s existent resources in the promotion of a new model of winter tourism – one that would so necessarily compliment the commercial “ski base” and helicopter skiing models that are taking hold, with the promise to generate income opportunities at the local level.

THIS is a viable off-season solution for many rural Kyrgyz families, mountain guides, and the agencies that have, since the beginning, stuck to their guns to promote grassroots, community based programs.