Words and images by Epic Expeditions founder, Chris Lininger
When you look back on your own journey, what are the moments that actually changed the direction of it and had the most impact? I’m talking about the fork in the road, where you followed your instincts instead of the easy, safe option and it turned out to be the right call. And do you still listen to that instinct now, or did you stop somewhere along the way?
During the long, sometimes steep days of trekking in the Karahsvin Valley this summer, these are the questions I had swimming through my head, and I could not help but smile.
Let’s rewind a little, first.
In 2019, back when Epic Expeditions was still in its infancy, I went to southern Kyrgyzstan to research an area with so much legend and mystery around its reputation that I simply had to see it for myself. It was Epic’s co-founder, Ralph Cope, who first put a place called Karavshin on my radar.
We were still cutting our teeth back then in the business of building badass adventure trips. A few cameras, two local guides, some horses, a couple of massive backpacks, and a desire to soak it all in – this is what we had to work with.
Almost no photographs of the area existed and very little in the way of solid beta in English. Most serious adventures in the past occurred here during the Iron Curtain era of Soviet Union Alpine Clubs and rough maps in Russian.
Fast forward seven years. I have just come back from leading our first-ever Karavshin Valley expedition with a full team.
A gap that long between a research trip and putting something into the Epic catalog is unusual. It has never happened before in our history.
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This one was a full-circle moment for me.
On one hand, nearly a decade of doing this meant Epic was finally ready for a trip of this caliber. On the other, I stepped way out of my comfort zone to lead it, in a place I had set foot in exactly once, seven years ago.
These days I find myself returning to the same mountains year after year. There is a lot to be said for that, and knowing a place deeply makes me have more confidence as a leader. But leading a trip somewhere I don’t know super well was a breath of fresh air, and it put me right back in the headspace I had as a young man running my first few trips in Pakistan. This deep in the game of leading trips in challenging environments, this trip was a test, and one that I embraced.
The Karavshin was the perfect backdrop for it to be honest.
Let me paint a picture. Granite walls on par with Yosemite and Patagonia cut down into deep green river valleys, and we trekked well over 100 km into the heart of it. We had our campsites to ourselves nearly every night, save for the occasional herd of sheep or cattle wandering in to check out these strange human creatures.
My first impression of the place in 2019 was that it was too wild, too remote, and too logistically challenging to bring a group into. It took seven years of marinating on that problem and working out how we could actually pull it off. This was the year, and boy was it worth the wait.
With all the hype and attention other parts of Kyrgyzstan are getting these days, this one still feels exactly like the wild, untouched country we walked into back in 2019.
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Places like this tend to attract special people, and this year’s team was exactly that.
To the 2026 Karavshin Expedition team: thank you for bringing the positivity, the patience, and the appetite for a real, raw adventure. It felt like a refined “early era” Epic trip in the best possible way. Speaking for my fellow leaders, Andrey, Joce, and I loved sharing this one with you all.
Over every rock, pass, river crossing, and weather system that rolled through — these are the trips and the shared moments that it is all about for me. I appreciate you all for being a part of it.
Special thanks to my fellow trip leaders, Jocelyn and Andrey, for always bringing your A-game and for your leadership in these mountains.
Cheers too for the “Andrey special” fruit teas, delicious hot meals, never-ending bag of Snickers and cheese, and to our local horse porter team for making it all possible. Extra special shoutout to the Kyrgyz bakers cooking in base camp ovens for delivering quite possibly the most gratitude for a loaf of bread ever experienced by an Epic group.
This corner of the world has left a big mark on me over the years, and the Karavshin Valley especially is one of those places that is going to have a strong magnetic pull on the Epic family for a long time to come.
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Here are some of my favorite photographs I shot in the field, and what it felt like on the ground in the Karavshin this year.
If you’re reading this and want to get out there with us, check the trip page for available dates.
Cheers all from the Turkestan Range!y
