Suzy Madge to Lead All-Women Afghanistan Mountain Trip

Wednesday, 20 Mar, 2010 0

Lipstick Blonde will lead all-women team to some of the remotest mountains of Afghanistan to aid responsible tourism and local communities

The expedition will help raise money for Mountain Unity, which aims to support local communities through developing mountaineering in the area to provide employment and income for them. Her sister Carole Madge and Italian ice-climber Anna Torretta will join the team as they undertake a ski mountaineering venture into the remote area in the extreme North-East of the country. Writes John McHale in grough.co.uk

The expedition will go deep into the Wakhan Corridor, a thin mountainous strip of Afghanistan jutting eastwards which separates Pakistan from Tajikistan. The Qala-e Hurst Valley, venue for the trip, is a glaciated valley east of the main Hindu Kush range in Afghanistan.

The area has largely escaped the war ravages for which Afghanistan is better known.

A spokesperson for the expedition said: “Suzy and her all-female expedition team are keen to promote the fact that there is more to Afghanistan than Helmand Province and the Taliban, and they are combining their next personal challenge with wanting to raise awareness about the beauty of a war-torn country which boasts some of the most dramatic and breathtaking mountain landscape in the world.

“The tourist trade in this area is starting to slowly redevelop, with responsible exploration and the pioneering of new routes helping to create a sustainable tourism industry while improving the quality of life for the 13,500 people that exist in poverty in the Wakhan corridor.”

The expedition team plans to leave London in May, flying to Dushanbe the Tajikistan capital. A 20-hour bus journey will take them to Ishkashim, from where they will cross the river Oxus and the border into Afghanistan. From Qala Hurst Village, a two-day walk will take them to base camp at 4,500m.

The next 10 days will be spent ski mountaineering the Qala-e Hurst Valley which very few outsiders have ever visited. A visit to the Kezget valley is also possible. Many of the peaks in the area are unclimbed and even unnamed.

Film-maker Suzy Madge’s Skiing the Sky Below formed part of the Best of the Fest at last year’s Kendal Mountain Film Festival. She has also taken part in the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara. She was also the first British woman to ski from the summit of Cho Oyu.

She formed the all-woman adventure racing team Lipstick Blondes in 2004.

Mountain Unity International is looking for any spare good quality mountaineering clothing they could have to take out to Afghanistan this year? looking for jackets, trousers in size small and medium, expedition sleeping bags, bivy bags and boots. These will be used for Afghan Porters who currently have very limited clothing and most do not have appropriate footware.

Please email [email protected] for the address t send clothes

Valere Tjolle

Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite, special offer at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1141006.php

Valere

Home to America’s Best Beaches, a vibrant arts community and amazing outdoor experiences, St. Pete/Clearwater is a sunny destination that...

Virtuoso is the leading global network of agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with more than 20,000 advisors. We...

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s assortment of adventures awaits you. Whether you want to relax on the beach as the sound of...

ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, is an annually held B2B trade show and convention for the travel industry; it is designed...

Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in...

Global Hotel Alliance brings together a unique collection of independent hospitality brands for GHA DISCOVERY, a multi-brand loyalty programme. GHA...

The State of Michigan is blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the nation’s longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like...

Located in the heart of the Northeast and within easy driving distance of a third of the population of the...

At Wilderness Safaris we believe in creating life-changing journeys and have been doing so for over 39 years. Our purpose...

The Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is responsible for planning, organising, financing and delivering the...

From the beginning, ATI’s philosophy has been “innovation, not duplication.“ Developing specialized technology solutions to connect over 30,000 accommodation, attracti...