MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Fall / Winter 2017

94 MLCM FALL/WINTER 2017 Kyrgyzstan sits between Kazakhstan to the north and Uzbekistan, Tajiki- stan and China to the west, south, and east respectively. Almost 70 per cent of the country is covered in mountains and 90 per cent of the land is 1,500 metres above sea level. The mountains and rugged terrain seem to have preserved the ancient culture and ways of life for thousands of years and this is what attracted Rafael to lure us here for five weeks of climbing and snowboarding in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Rafael “Rafa” Pease is known for overly ambitious ideas, but when he puts his mind to it, he pulls them off. He first rode a snowboard five years ago, but learned quickly and is now a professional rider travelling the world over in search of remote mountains and wild cultures for his film Connections . For Kyrgyzstan, Rafa’s plan was to “figure it out when we get there” so af- ter two full days of travel to the capital and largest city Bishkek, we finally touched down at the Manas International Airport. The airport is named after Kyrgyz national hero, Manas, who is said to have united the 40 tribes of the region to protect their homeland against the invading Chinese in