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Lake Issyk Kul Swimming Federation (yes, seriously)
IronMike
Northern VirginiaCharter Member
OK, so I've formed the Lake Issyk Kul Swimming Federation, for all those marathon swimmers out there who are interested in swimming in the second largest alpine lake in the world. The elevation of the lake is 1607m and the lake is special in that it never freezes (thus the issyk which in Kyrgyz means hot). It really is a beautiful location.
There are three routes currently, but the lake is big; options abound for more routes.
We have a FB presence, so feel free to join us if you're on FB.
I am here until summer 2016, so I can help anyone who wants to come out and swim in the lake. After August next year I'll be close to Kyrgyzstan, so can still help a bit. I hope to have the Federation more established after summer 2016 so that anyone will have contacts (English speaking) with whom they can communicate for crossings of this most beautiful lake.
For those not on FB, I'm posting the three routes and notes on them below.
So this is the shortest route, 13km, linking the villages of Kara-Talaa in the south and Toru-Aygyr in the north. This route is based on a Kyrgyz myth about a very famous horse, named Toru-Aygyr. You can read about him here.
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This route is the (current) only successful crossing done on lake Issyk Kul. Akhmed Anarbaev, Kyrgyz Olympian, completed this 33km route in 1982 in a time of 10:42. This route connects the villages of Ananyevo and Kyzyl-Suu.
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This 60km routing is the longest crossing in the lake. Anarbaev attempted this solo in 1985 but was unsuccessful. He formed a 4-person relay and in 1991 they completed this crossing in a time of 18:00.
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Any questions, let me know.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Comments
I guess autumn would be the best time to swim, summer would be too hot? Is the best way to the lake still to fly in via Tashkent? Twenty year ago I drove from Tashkent to Issyk Kul..... in winter.....
See... I told you this would happen:
" Just think - in 20 years when Kyrgyzstan is the predominate world power in marathon swimming, the natives will say "Yes, it was due to IronMike's swim in 2015 that we took a interest in the sport..."
Keep me in mind for vice president if there is any serious money to be made via corruption and bribes - I would excel at this.
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
It's the former USSR. Seems like there is plenty of money to be made in bribery.
Oh God no. Come in the summer. Not too hot. Water in the 20-21C range in July. Sure the air temp is hot, but not too hot. Once it hits September, the air temp at the lake is about 10C cooler than in other parts of Kyrgyzstan, like in Bishkek. The water at the very end of August was 15-16C and in September was 13C. In January it was 5-7C.
Best way is to fly into Bishkek, then drive 2-4 hours (depending upon where on the lake you want to stay). You could conceivably also fly into Almaty and drive down. Not sure how long that'll take. Rental cars are hard to find around here, but not unheard of. Even better is to hire a driver, which is not too expensive, then he can deal with the police graft.
It's so hard to get into Tashkent now. I think visas are very expensive, $160 or so. Plus you need a letter of invite from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If you stay fewer than 15 days and travel before Dec 2017, you can travel to/through Kazakhstan w/o a visa (US and a few European nations). If you stay fewer than 60 days, an American citizen does not need a visa for Kyrgyzstan. Same with many EU nations.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
The Federation is pleased to announce the next Issyk Kul crossing attempt: Sarah D'Antoni, peace corps volunteer and former collegiate swimmer, not to mention awesome crewmember for my crossing, will attempt the "historical" crossing on the western side of the lake.
Her window opens 23 Aug; she will swim either that morning at around 07.00 Kyrgyzstan time (21.00 the previous day eastern time in the U.S.), or the morning of 24 or 25 August. All depends on weather. So keep your eyes on the tracker and cheer her on!
http://track.rs/sarah_dantoni/
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Sarah did it! Unofficial time, 4:43.38!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I couldn't be there unfortunately. Already moved to Moscow by the time she did her swim. Her observer is certified (by me) and the notes will be scanned and published on the LIKSF website soon.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Sarah D'Antoni, @IronMike, and the Lake Issyk Kul Swimming Federation in a story on NPR: "Peace Corps Volunteer Is As Strong As Legendary Horse Of Kyrgyzstan."
Nicely done!
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/10/01/495195521/peace-corps-kyrgyzstan-swimmer
We are pleased to announce we have our first Kyrgyz swimmer who has expressed interest in swimming across lake Issyk Kul's "historical route" next year! Nursultan Sulaimanov is a Kyrgyz swimmer who has been training and consulting with Sarah D'Antoni, who still holds the fastest time for that route (4:43).
I hope to continue reporting on more and more swimmers taking on this beautiful lake! Also, soon to be released: The No BS Guide to Swimming Lake Issyk Kul!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
As promised above, the everything-you-need-to-know guide to swimming Lake Issyk Kul is here.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I am so excited. I found out today that a pod of five swimmers will be duplicating my crossing this month, 16 July! I am in the process of finding out more info on the swimmers and will start a new thread soonest.
(One of my local docs on my crossing has recently gotten a job at a new World Class Fitness center in Bishkek, and from her talking with triathletes and swimmers there, has persuaded these guys to cross the lake!)
N.B., if you're on FB, search out "Lake Issyk Kul Swimming Federation" and ask to join. I'll add you asap.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Great no BS guide Mike. Will sign up for your FB group shortly.
On 6 August, four swimmers duplicated my swim from the southern shore of Issyk Kul at the village Kara Talaa to the northern shore village of Toru Aygyr. I'm still gathering data on their swims, but it looks like the times were 4:50.03; 4:51.05; 5:07.45; and 6:42.24. One of the swimmers wore some sort of technical suit that covered his legs and chest, but the other three wore "approved" suits.
I'll update the list of crossings at the Lake Issyk Kul Swimming Federation page on FB as soon as I get more info. I'll also do a blog post. Meanwhile, here's a picture of the swimmers.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
~60km. There are certainly people here who could do that.
One of them is swimming in Vermont/New York at the moment.
Yep, not me!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I got pictures recently from my doc from the 6 August Issyk Kul Swimming Challenge. There are some beautiful ones there in a blog post I wrote. Go take a look. Here's a teaser:
Damn, I miss that lake.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Well, I am proud and honored that my little swim in lake Issyk Kul in July 2016 has turned into a "thing" now in Kyrgyzstan. Besides Sarah's and my swims in summer 2016 and the pod of four swimmers last summer, there will be another pod of swimmers crossing my route tomorrow, 26 August! Apparently, they will hold a conference on swimming in the lake, as well.
Info from my friend there is coming in and I'll update here and do a blog post soon. Good luck to the swimmers tomorrow in the world's second largest alpine lake! Удачи всем!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
The swimmers have swum, and 3 of the 4 starters finished. Complete details at my blog.
And in other news, there is serious interest in completing a solo width-wise (52km) crossing of the lake by a few swimmers. I've got my fingers crossed that they see this process through and swim it!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Incredible news all the way from Kyrgyzstan. Tomorrow is the third iteration of the Issyk Kul Swim Challenge, with 22 starters, including one female swimmer from Kazakhstan swimming without a wetsuit. More on my blog tomorrow. (Link active at 8am eastern time tomorrow.)
Edit: two women are swimming w/o wetsuits!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Came across this and thought of you @IronMike and of this thread:
https://astanatimes.com/2020/08/fifty-six-kilometres-in-13-hours-kazakh-athlete-swims-across-issyk-kul-lake/
So the long route across Issyk Kul has been broken in! Vitaliy Hudyakov from Kazakhstan, in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics... In wetsuit, but it's a start, and Olympians are skinny
. Crazy time: 56 kms in 13h18mins, at 1600m altitude.
Milko
https://db.marathonswimmers.org/p/milko-van-gool/
Ok, Milko, this is not the one I was thinking about. I thought you were talking about this guy, who swam the length (180km). He stopped and rested on the boat during "weather." Hudyakov at least didn't take a break on a boat.
I searched Russophone press and I've seen times between 13:13 and 13:18. Great time for the distance and, more importantly, the elevation.
For those wondering: I've lost my contact there in Bishkek. She got her green card and has been in the U.S. since late 2019 (just in time!) so I no longer have someone I can reach out to to get the ground truth.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams