The mountain ridge of the Big Balhan in the west of Turkmenistan is a favourite place of rock-climbers of the Balkanabat mountaineering club “Mert”. Here each weekend subjugators of mountain tops mastering new routes come with great pleasure.
Head of the mountaineering club “Mert” Begench Mamedov in conversation with ORIENT told about how climbers train and from what it is necessary to start with in rock-climbing.
It appeared that climbers the big workers, and train 5 times a week.In everyday life the team is engaged in a sports complex of the city stadium in which territory a specialised rock climbing wall is located.
And on weekends mountaineers come out to nature where there is a possibility to master perspective sites for dry-tooling (one of the disciplines of mountaineering, meaning climbing to not icy surfaces with use of ice equipment).
Climbers have time to conduct interesting videos blogs in which they tell about the travel on the country, and also aspire to popularise mountaineering and rock-climbing among the youth. And as in Turkmenistan two mountaineering clubs function Ashkhabad “Agama” and Balkanabat “Mert” their members are in constant contact with each other.
To start with mountaineering the desire and patience is necessary only. For example, I take for my e team children from 7 Begench Mamedov says. Our trainings are divided into physical exercises that are climbing to the rock climbing walls and sports where we play table tennis. But basically, of course, we are engaged in rock-climbing.
In mountains in the territory of Balkanabat clubmen of “Mert” do a big work on a punched hole of lines of various categories of complexity.Places for bouldering (a rock-climbing version on low rocks) and via ferrata (the rocky sites specially equipped with a metal design) are found.
We prepare for release of a guidebook on rocky areas of Turkmenistan which have been already bolted, that is are suitable for climbing with bottom and top belay.
Not only the rock-climber, but also big fan of travel Begench Mamedov submitted different mountain tops.One of the most remembered campaigns took place in 2020.The Turkmen national made a skiing and pedestrian walk across the lake Baikal.
In detail he told about his travel in his blog, having put to the story the impressing photos made in those places.
The same year the magazine “Rock-climber” telling about the most interesting events from the world of rock-climbing, under the heading Friendship of people, published an interview with Begench Mamedov.
The climber told about natural beauty of Turkmenistan, and also invited foreign colleagues necessarily to visit canyons Yangi -kala and, to look at traces of dinosaurs in in the Koytendag.