Thread: Kyrgyzstan – Mid Asian Ibex

Part 2 of 2

It was decided that my hunting partner would be out before first light to head up to an area that they had seen ibex that day. It was a 4 mile journey which included crossing a very wide deep river to get to the foot on the 4500 metre mountain. I would be having a more leisurely day, the plan was to ride out around midday to try for a wolf. Wolves are more of a creature of opportunity, but I wanted to give it a go. In all honesty being on horseback in the most beautiful breath taking scenery I had ever had the pleasure of seeing was enough to get me out of my bunk.

Just after dawn my friends guides spotted some nannies and billies on the top of the ridge, they decided closing the distance was the right thing to do, on foot it took them 1 ½ hours to scramble to the summit. They got to within just 30 metres of some nannies who were unaware of their presence, a few younger billies were seen but nothing mature enough to consider putting in the crosshairs.

The top of the ridge was totally covered in snow as it is for 365 days a year, the knife edge had drops to either side that would have certainly ended critically if the worse was to happen. One of the young guides who has lived in these mountains his whole life started to get headaches and actually went cross eyed, he had a sudden bout of altitude sickness, and needed to descend quickly and as safely as possible. My friend carried on his way taking very careful steps and clinging to the rocks for dear life. Whilst on the summit they looked down and could see two wolves sleeping on the compacted snow on the other side of the valley, fortunately for them they were not in range. After losing 1500 metres and getting back to the valley bottom, lunch was taken from the saddle bags and shared between the group. The altitude sicken guide had thankfully recovered by this point. Whilst the horses had a much needed rest and refuelling. They headed back in the direction of camp along a snaking river. Up on the rock face above they could see a mature ibex, they crossed the river and managed to reduce the distance. It was ranged at 764 metres, there was no way of getting any closer. The Leica HDB made the calculation taking into account, elevation, angle of shot, temperature and distance. There was no wind to speak of, so he dialled 2.6 MRAD on his 5-25 x 56 PM2, pushed a round into the chamber of his 7mm Remington Magnum and held on the shoulder. It was a steep uphill shot, he readied himself behind the rifle and squeezed off a round as he exhaled. The shot felt good, the guides all said “hit” as the goat set off uphill and out of sight. It was only 1 hour from sunset, given the difficulty of getting to the strike in the time allowed it was decided to return to camp to retrieve the ibex the following morning. My friend and guides rode, quietly confident that the billy would be laid not far from where the bullet had struck.

My day was nowhere near as strenuous although I did cover a lot of ground on horseback. Along the valley bottom on the rolling grassy hills we came across a large herd of argali, they had seen us approaching and headed for the high ground. I managed to get my video camera out and capture the moment, there were 2 mature rams in the group, estimated to be 130cm (51”) and 135cm (53”). It was a sight to behold.







We continued our journey to the end of the valley, I spotted some fresh snow leopard tracks in the snow, it would have been astonishing to have caught a glimpse of this highly secretive, supremely camouflaged cat, I did wonder if I may have passed one of these beautiful felines unnoticed during my short time in the mountains. We sat at the end of the valley and waited in hope of seeing a wolf.





Unfortunately none showed, although one of their smaller cousins the fox did make an appearance. It is on the extreme left hand side of the below photo.



Whilst sitting in the sun we spotted the same herd of argali at the top of the highest peak around, one of big boys was silhouetted against the skyline with his harem of ewes laid around him, it was of course the argali rut.



The 7 mile ride back to camp was remarkable, just over half way back we came across half a dozen of our horses, they are left to roam and graze but are brought back to be saddled up when required. As they were nearly 4 miles from their home my guide and I rounded them up and got them back to within a more manageable distance for the morning should they be needed. I arrived back at my lodge to be told the events of the day from my friend. It was a sleepless night for him wondering if his animal would be found close to where the strike was.

The next morning we saddled up the horses and set off to where the ibex was shot, the young guides had a 2 hour head start on us, by the time we arrived they had already made it up to the carcass and had taken it down to the river. My friend was relieved and overjoyed that his ibex had been found, celebrations all round.





The gralloch was performed, again saving all the delicacies the guides favoured.





We fortunately had a spare horse, after the initial field caping had been completed the head, horns, skin and meat was strapped to the horse.





I had now spent many hours in the saddle the previous 2 days, I wanted to put my new found skills to test. The track was relatively flat, mostly covered in small gravel and dust, with some gentle persuasion from me my horse setoff at a gallop which we continued for 2 miles until we reached the river. By the time the rest of the group had caught up my horse had a breather and was ready to cross the river en route for home.

The hunt was approaching the end, we had an incredible mind blowing time but I did feel a little sad that I would not be able to spend more time in this wondrous country. My only option would be to revisit in the not too distant future for another ibex hunt or maybe for argali in a few years’ time, or maybe even to take my son for the same adventure I have experienced when he is old enough, one thing is for certain I will be back.

A 10 hour drive back to Bishkek along the same rutted bumpy roads taking in the landscape for one last time.

We checked into our hotel, it had a swimming pool, sauna but more importantly for us putrid smelling men, a hot shower. We spent a day in the capital city, visiting the bazaar and city centre.













Our translator who was with us for the whole trip recommended a steak restaurant, he had been very good to us for the whole duration so was naturally invited. A little unusual for us Brits, horse steak was on the menu so as well as the enormous t-bone and ribeye steak we had selected for our meal we had a cheval steak on the side, I had dined on horse a couple of times in France but my friend had not, he was surprised how delicious it was.

A visit to the airline office that was on the outskirts of the city, we were able to bring our flights forwards by a few days so we could get back home to see our friends and family, I was also able to get back to work a few days earlier than planned which given my newly announced responsibilities was a blessing in disguise.

My buddy and I truly had the hunt of a lifetime and would thoroughly recommend this hunt to anyone, although being in good physical shape is a prerequisite. It was professionally organised from start to finish.

Since my return I have a few friends that have expressed an interest in this hunt so maybe I will accompany them on my next trip to the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, we may even put a group together so if you feel up for it drop me a message if you may be interested.