The Ghost of the Tian Shan: A Winter Diary from Kyrgyzstan’s High Altitudes

As soon as you drive your truck above 4,000m and head across the immense mountain plateaus, your whole world changes. Bleak, snow-capped mountains fill the skyline. As you strain your eyes trying to peer into the depths of these frigid mountain valleys, you can almost feel the snow leopard living out its life just beyond the ridge.

This is my 6th year coming to this part of Kyrgyzstan. We’ve been to this region over 30 times mapping the terrain, talking to local communities, and, of course, looking for the ghost.