Sledding
Two weekends ago we went to Chimgan to go sledding. Chimgan is the highest mountain in the closest mountain range to Tashkent. It is a popular destination all year round, and you can ride up the ski lift to the top any time of year, ride horses, and in winter, ski, snowboard, and sled. We even saw some extreme skiers at the top of the hill slaloming down through the powder - although I have no clue how they got up there as the ski lift does not go there, and there were most definitely no helicopters dropping them off. The boys were so happy to have snow, as this winter we have had almost none in Tashkent. I was happy to be able to finally use the purchased snow pants! Here you can see the gorgeous view we had - and notice the fantastic, sunny weather!
We, however, greatly enjoyed the sledding. We traveled there with a large group from school. All in all, there were 15 people in a mini bus and 5 people in a car. The group consisted mostly of teachers and their families. There were a total of 9 kids among the group. It was about an hour and a half drive.
The sledding started with inner tubing. The inner tubes were brought over from the US by some young Uzbeks who had figured out how to set up a winding sledding hill and had set up a tow rope to pull up the tubes. You didn't have to pay for the tubes, but for the ride up on the tow rope that attached to your tube. The trip down was high speed and a bit scary, as you tended to fly off the tube into the air at the end. One of the guys would stand at the end and try to "bump" into the tube to lessen the impact... The boys went down a total of 4 times.
We ate lunch in a space provided by the hotel. You actually pay for a seat and can bring your own food. We had planned to eat shashlik on the spot, and to our dismay we had to wait for over an hour and a half for the food to arrive. Although the wait was long, and some people were past starving, the conversation was good, and we had a good time anyway.
After eating we headed over to the other hill. This hill had hundreds of people on it. Some where sliding down kurpachas (homemade matresses used on tapchans) that were wrapped in plastic. There would sometimes be up to 15 people on these mattresses flying down the hill from the steep angle at top speed. Then there were the heavy metal old Soviet style sleds that you could steer with steering wheel and brake with a piece of metal at your feet. We rented one of those and the boys happily rode down the hill - albeit slowly - quite a few times. The area we were avoided the crazy mattress riders.
The day ended well enough in the mountains for everyone. My only difficulty was while sitting in the back seat with the boys I found myself getting a combination migraine, car sick thing. Once we arrived in Tashkent I had to divest myself of the entire day's food, and crawl into bed. The boys ended up putting themselves to bed not too soon after that, at which point I woke up to check on them. I promptly turned around after having more water and some aspirin, and crawled back into bed.
I woke up in the morning knowing I just would not be able to go to work, and called in sick. The boys were also not feeling well, and we all spent a day home. Being sick, it was a much needed day to recuperate, and luckily Monday, because the rest of the week would turn out to be crazy.
We, however, greatly enjoyed the sledding. We traveled there with a large group from school. All in all, there were 15 people in a mini bus and 5 people in a car. The group consisted mostly of teachers and their families. There were a total of 9 kids among the group. It was about an hour and a half drive.
The sledding started with inner tubing. The inner tubes were brought over from the US by some young Uzbeks who had figured out how to set up a winding sledding hill and had set up a tow rope to pull up the tubes. You didn't have to pay for the tubes, but for the ride up on the tow rope that attached to your tube. The trip down was high speed and a bit scary, as you tended to fly off the tube into the air at the end. One of the guys would stand at the end and try to "bump" into the tube to lessen the impact... The boys went down a total of 4 times.
Waiting in line for the tow rope with poltari or 1500 soum.
The tow rope.
The boys' Russian teacher, Miss Natalya.
Didzis' classmate Kate, and my soon to be history colleague in the High School, Alex.
Namejs enjoying the ride?
Didzis...avoiding the powder.
We ate lunch in a space provided by the hotel. You actually pay for a seat and can bring your own food. We had planned to eat shashlik on the spot, and to our dismay we had to wait for over an hour and a half for the food to arrive. Although the wait was long, and some people were past starving, the conversation was good, and we had a good time anyway.
After eating we headed over to the other hill. This hill had hundreds of people on it. Some where sliding down kurpachas (homemade matresses used on tapchans) that were wrapped in plastic. There would sometimes be up to 15 people on these mattresses flying down the hill from the steep angle at top speed. Then there were the heavy metal old Soviet style sleds that you could steer with steering wheel and brake with a piece of metal at your feet. We rented one of those and the boys happily rode down the hill - albeit slowly - quite a few times. The area we were avoided the crazy mattress riders.
The Uzbeks renting the sleds. Notice the picnickers in the background setting up blankets on the snow, and settling for their lunches...
Didzis and Namejs riding down the mountain.
Oh no, now we have to drag it back up!
Carol and Alfie who came along for a walk in the snow. Poor Alfie garnered a lot of attention as the cute pooch he is.
The day ended well enough in the mountains for everyone. My only difficulty was while sitting in the back seat with the boys I found myself getting a combination migraine, car sick thing. Once we arrived in Tashkent I had to divest myself of the entire day's food, and crawl into bed. The boys ended up putting themselves to bed not too soon after that, at which point I woke up to check on them. I promptly turned around after having more water and some aspirin, and crawled back into bed.
I woke up in the morning knowing I just would not be able to go to work, and called in sick. The boys were also not feeling well, and we all spent a day home. Being sick, it was a much needed day to recuperate, and luckily Monday, because the rest of the week would turn out to be crazy.
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