The Power of Spring Snow
Water rushed down the rusting iron half-pipe to the turbine wheel which spun wildly in a shower of spray. Installed in Soviet times, before transmission lines reached Ghilon, it still provides the village with a modest but reliable 6kW of power.
This water then flows into the Aksu River and on to the huge Hisorak reservoir and dam. Built in 1987 at the entrance to the valley, the dam generates around 80 million kWh of electricity each year. It also provides irrigation to the surrounding land: fields of cotton, potatoes, vegetables and melons, and millions of fruit trees.
On our way up to Ghilon we were struck by the state of the road — a relentless, potholed bump-fest. No fun in particular for the mountain guide and his herniated disc. The reason soon became clear – Central Asia’s “new friends” have been contracted to build three micro-hydroelectric plants, harnessing the same water that ultimately feeds the Hisorak reservoir and adding a further 24MW of generating capacity. The China National Electric Engineering Co. Ltd. is busy at work, trucks (made in China of course) churning up the old road.
Above Ghilon, and our second base in the village of K’ol, the land rises in terraces of small fields bordered by tall, elegant poplars. Orchards of apple, cherry and apricot trees flourish here with apricots especially well adapted to the poor soil and the altitude of more than 2000 metres. Impressive 4000m+ peaks form the backdrop.
We skinned up through these fields and orchards to the upper slopes, dotted with fragrant juniper trees through which we carved turns on the descent. The skiing was good but it was unseasonably warm so the snow was already melting fast – ensuring power generation and irrigation for another year.