I went on a beautiful hike from the top of Amirsoy Ski Resort over to the Kumbel Weather Station. We had clear blue skies, verdant green hillsides and of course, the Tien Shan mountain peaks! What a day! I enjoyed the companionship of my friend Aaron and his two lovely daughters, Chloe and Bibi.
I was most interested in reaching the Kumbel Weather Station. The weather radar system was set up by the Soviets, probably in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I learned that the white fiberglass sphere is called a “radome,” which protects the radar antenna inside. The USSR government built an extensive network of hydrometeorological stations throughout the Tien Shan mountain range. They monitored snowpack and glacial melt feeding the Amudayra and Syrdayra Rivers, two rivers that were key to the cotton industry in Uzbek SSR.
The weather station has seen better days, and I wonder if it is still in operation. There was a caretaker on site coming out of a different building on the site when we approached. Considering the rust and dilapidated state, I don’t think it is working anymore. I guess there are more modern and automated systems tracking weather, including satellites. The Soviet system was heavy on infrastructure and grand projects that have not been maintained by Uzbek officials after independence more than 30 years ago. We were the only people there and had a delightful picnic lunch, and of course, I took my afternoon snooze on the grass. It was quite warm out of the breeze.
We struggled on the way back, going down steep ridges through wild fennel bushes. The hike was over 11 kilometers and I was very tired by the time we got back to the parking lot at the resort. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic at times on the 70-kilometer trip back to Tashkent. Obviously a lot of people were enjoying the mountains on this long Eid al-Adha weekend.
I finished the evening by joining Nadia and friends for a delicious Serbian dinner. It was my first time in the Mirabad Residences so I took a few photos of Mirabad Avenue from the 7th floor balcony.
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