Ann Piersall - U.S. Student to Kyrgyzstan
Field: Geography
Home Institution: University of Montana
Grant Dates: November 2009 - August 2010
Ann Piersall with her Kyrgyz Host Family
Many situations evoke feelings of foreignness. Some of us feel out of place standing in a forest, others feel alien walking through a busy city. Regardless of the situation, the qualities of being foreign—utter bafflement, disorientation, incongruity—remain the same. For those of us who thrive on the learning that comes with uncertainty, the most satisfying experience is extended periods of complete immersion in a world other than our own. It was these experiences I sought out when I moved to Kyrgyzstan, a small rugged mountainous country in Central Asia.
The physical landscape has sculpted the cultural landscape of Kyrgyzstan. With peaks cresting 23,000 feet, the complicated terrain of the Tien Shan Mountains creates immense cultural, political and economic challenges for locals. However the high mountains serve as a source of Kyrgyz ethnic identity, and natural resources are the basis of all livelihoods. For skiers and alpinists, the mountains provide unlimited opportunities. As a geographer and ski mountaineer, I was personally and professionally fascinated by everything Kyrgyzstan had to offer.
I arrived in Kyrgyzstan just as winter was setting in. Snow blanketed the country as I began studying the language, diving into my background research and making local connections. Throughout the winter, I explored the country, often on skis. I was fortunate enough to have many great backcountry skiing partners, locals and internationals. Word of mouth presented me with an invitation to a small Uzbek village in southern Kyrgyzstan to teach basic avalanche courses to local hiking guides and ski lessons to village children. In the early spring, two friends from Idaho joined me for an exploratory ski mountaineering expedition to the Jetim Bel Range. Our trip was delayed, however, as the Kyrgyz government was violently overthrown immediately upon their arrival. A few days later we were able to travel and were safely in the mountains, which were blanketed in one of the scariest snowpacks any of us had ever seen. We completed several long tours, climbed and skied several peaks, but refused to commit to any of the steep and exposed terrain. Our hesitations about the snowpack were confirmed on one of our final days when an avalanche was remotely triggered on the slope above our camp. The avalanche stopped within an arm’s throw from our carefully placed tent and solidified our decision to be cautious.
As spring came the true pastoral identity of Kyrgyzstan emerged with the greening hills. Despite the drastic social transformations over the past two centuries, livestock and the landscape continue to define Kyrgyz identity and livelihoods. Pastoralism continues to be the main livelihood for many rural Kyrgyz as topographic and climatic constraints limit crop cultivation. Many herders utilize a semi-nomadic system, traveling into remote, high mountain regions in the summer to live in yurts and graze livestock.
With the change of season, I was able to begin the field work for my case study. My research sought to address ways in which quantifiable and observable changes in glaciers are having an impact on livelihoods in the At Bashy region. Additionally, I wanted to understand how local people perceive glaciers and mountains in a physical and cultural context. My research was based on interviews, focus groups and extended field observation. I had the privilege to live in a small community with a local family. From here I was able to conduct field interviews with the help of a local translator, as my Kyrgyz skills were insufficient alone. In addition to interviews, I spent several months exploring the region. This included an almost 200 kilometer circumnavigation of the At- Bashy range on foot and three extended mountaineering trips in the range, which included first ascents of unclimbed peaks. Through these travels I gained invaluable insight into local geography, land use patterns of herders and specifics of the At Bashy mountain environment.
Local observations of change vary in the At-Bashy region, but residents show a unanimous personal and cultural pride in the mountain landscape. Kyrgyz communities have demonstrated their great capacity for resilience through great social and economic changes, which may greatly aid them with potential future environmental changes.
By the end of the year, being foreign wasn’t so foreign. I grew familiar with the uncertainty of a new place and new partners. While there were some hair-raising moments during my backcountry exploits, the collective experiences caused me to adapt my sense of safety and enhanced my sense of humor. My navigation of a new physical and cultural landscape offered me great learning opportunities and increased my self sufficiency.
Ann Piersall is originally from Montana and currently lives in Girdwood, Alaska, where she is a Denali mountain guide and professional ski patroller at Alyeska Resort. From November 2009 through September 2010, Ann lived in Kyrgyzstan as a U.S. Fulbright Student investigating local perceptions of glacial retreat in addition to learning Kyrgyz and becoming a kymyz (the traditional Kyrgyz drink of fermented mare’s milk) connoisseur.
To the U.S.-Kyrgyzstan Fulbright Program
