The Zagari Mud Festival

As we agreed the eve before, we headed to the summit at 07:00 am sharp. I joined the guys and we put my bike at the back of the truck. The gravel road to the summit was fine but the conditions at the very top were daunting. Nothing but mud, water streams and mud holes. We got stuck three times at 2.600 meters of altitude. Luckily, a professional rallye driver from Dubai was also up there at this time and helped us. We did a lot of digging and used the sand boards. Two times it went well. However, the third time the truck got stuck with a real bad tilt angle. There’s no way we would make it out this time. After five hours up there, it was high time to call support. Of course, there was no reception up there. So I got my bike, cycled all the way down to Ushguli and went to some locals who called the police right away. Afterwards, I cycled back up and informed the guys that help was coming. Two hours later, three guys from the mountain rescue came up with their pickup and inspected the situation. Their looks I will never forget! There’s no chance to get a heavy machine up there today. It was already late at that time. So the guys headed back to Ushguli and I was allowed to cross the Zagari Pass after the mountain rescue took a photo of me and my passport (I don’t know why, maybe because in case I got lost).

It was truly a nerve-wracking experience up there. We were lucky that the weather was stable without too much sun or rain as there’s still the chance of land slides and avalanches. But anyway, 30 hours later I received a message with a video that the truck was rescued. What a relieve, I danced of joy! The way downhill on the other side was still challenging because of the mud and the descent to the right.

I think that was only a small glimpse of what I would still experience along my journey and the Pamir Highway in Kyrgyzstan in particular.Read more