About Arslanbob And The CBT Program

Arslanbob is an Uzbek village (pop 13,000) situated at the base of the Babash-Ata Mountains (4427m) in Kyrgyzstan’s Jalal-Abad Province. The village, accessible from Bishkek, Osh or Jalal-Abad via Bazar-Korgon, is literally at the end of the road, with amazing mountains, pastures, waterfalls, and expansive walnut forests as its backdrop.

Because of its many unique ecological features, Arslanbob was a popular tourist destination during the Soviet Era; however, tourism in the area declined suddenly and sharply with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Only in recent years has the village seen a resurgence in tourism, in large part due to the success of the CBT Arslanbob group, part of the Kyrgyzstan Community Based Tourism Association (KCBTA), who offers a unique home-stay program in addition to guided trekking, mountaineering, horseback riding, and skiing activities.

40 Tribes partnered with CBT Arslanbob in 2010 with the goal of helping them promote winter tourism in the village. The inspiration for our involvement was Hayat Tarikov, the local CBT Coordinator, who is contagiously passionate about skiing and the potential for skiing to alleviate unemployment and affect a positive influence on younger generations in the village.

Hayat [Right], a self-taught skier, brought the first pair of skis to the village in 2003 with the vision of generating alternative income opportunities, as the village has an 85% unemployment rate during the winter. These days, Hayat is working to enlist many of his CBT partners as guides for freeride, cross-country, and snowshoe tours, as well as teaching his sons, their friends, and other boys and girls from the village how to ski.

The CBT Arslanbob group has acquired new pieces of gear over the past few years to help outfit interested tourists and local guides/children, but additional material/volunteer donations are still needed. Please see below if you are interested in making a contribution!

40 Tribes’ Cooperation With Arslanbob Village

40 Tribes has worked to support and promote Hayat’s inspiring vision through the following self-designed initiatives:

• March 2010 - Directed 2 brand-new ski touring setups to the CBT Arslanbob group (skis, touring bindings, skins and collapsible poles), brought to Kyrgyzstan via the Holland-based project, “Gear4Guides“. The goal of Gear4Guides is to outfit aspiring guides in developing countries with reliable technical gear.





• April 2010 - 40 Tribes members visited Arslanbob to meet with Hayat, discuss his needs and goals, and conduct a priceless video interview to be included in the forthcoming documentary film, “The Kyrgyzstan Plan” (www.thekyrgyzstanplan.com).
• November 2010 - 40 Tribes members visited Arslanbob to assess early season conditions in the Babash-Ata Mountains, discuss Hayat’s plans for the winter season, reassess the group’s most pressing needs, and help Hayat and his guides construct a “ski bridge” over a river in the Toguz-Bulak pasture – the exit route from the most popular skiing destination above the village, known as “Green Hill.”





• December 2010 - 40 Tribes launched this page on our website as a means of advertising the services offered by Hayat and his guides, and to help source additional material/volunteer donations needed by the CBT Arslanbob group.

How YOU Can Contribute

1. Donate: The CBT Arslanbob group is in need of good ski/ski touring equipment:

• Adult skis 140-170cm, with bindings and boots – Shaped skis and AT (touring) bindings and boots preferred!
• Children’s skis, with bindings and boots
• Adult ski poles – collapsible preferred!
• Children’s ski poles
• Climbing skins – w/ good glue!
• Avalanche equipment – beacons, probes, shovels
• Adult goggles
• Children’s goggles
• Adult ski pants/parkas
• Children’s ski pants/parkas
• Adult ski helmets
• Children’s ski helmets
• Hats and gloves of all sizes
• Any modern ski equipment welcomed!

2. Volunteer: The CBT Arslanbob group is interested in hosting “ski volunteers” in the village for any length of time during the winter season (January-March). Hayat will organize free accommodation for ski volunteers in a comfortable village home-stay, leaving only transportation and food costs. Hayat and most of his guides speak very good English, in addition to Russian and Uzbek. Volunteers needed include:

• Ski instructors
• Avalanche educators

Contact

Hayat Tarikov
Coordinator of CBT Arslanbob
Kyrgyz Republic
720801, Jalal-abad region
Arslanbob village, Rahim palvan 6
Mobile phone: +996 773 342 476, +996 777 450 266
Email: arslanbob2009@gmail.com, arslanbob_2003@rambler.ru
Website: http://www.cbtkyrgyzstan.kg

Ryan Koupal
Founder/Director
40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures
Mobile phone: +1 303 552 6034 (US), +996 779 464 148 (KGZ)
Email: ryan@40tribesbackcountry.com

CBT Arslanbob Description of Winter Activities

• B&B/home-stay
• Ski-guide services
• Ski-cook services
• 1-day ski tour
• 1-day cross-country ski tour
• 1-day snowshoe tour
• Multi-day ski tour (overnight in shepards’ home)
• Ski rental
• Snowshoe rental (made locally!)
• Skate rental (made locally!)
• Horse-tow skiing
• Horse and sleigh rental
• Sleigh rental
• Picnic

Alpine ski/snowshoe tour description: Alpine ski/snowshoe tour of Arslanbob and surrounding jailoos and slopes.
Duration: 1 day (1/2 day and multi-day also possible)
Level of difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Distance: 15-20 km (more for multi-day tours)
Elevation gain: 600-1000m (more for multi-day tours)
Best season: January-March
Overnight stay: Overnight stay in shepard’s hut possible
Destinations: Possibilities include the “Big Waterfall,” Toguz-Bulak Jailoo, Green Hill, Jaz-Jarym and Jayloo Musabek

Cross-country ski tour description: 1-day cross country skiing with panoramic views of Arslanbob.
Duration: 1 day (1/2 day possible)
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 10-18 km
Elevation gain: 300-700m
Best season: January-March
Overnight stay: None
Destinations: Agricultural fields and walnut forests (Hurmaydan, Kok-Jon)