On 2 April Bert and Kiki will fly from Brussels to Prague and continue via Moscow to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Instead of flying from Ulaanbaatar to Moron, they will drive the 700 km distance by car, and drive further from there to Khatgal where Joël, Bayana and the dogs will be waiting for them. Map courtesy of dogsledexpedition.blogspot.com (click to enlarge)
Kiki Nárdiz and Bert Poffé (Spain and Belgium). Image courtesy of dogsledexpedition.blogspot.com (click to enlarge)
Joel Rauzy and Bayana (France and Mongolia). Image courtesy of dogsledexpedition.blogspot.com (click to enlarge)
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Mongolian dogsled expedition
Posted: Mar 31, 2009 10:08 am EST
(ThePoles.com) Bert Poffé from Leuven, Belgium and his Spanish wife, Kiki Nárdiz, together with Frenchman Joël Rauzy and his Mongolian wife, Bayana, will embark on a dog sledding expedition around Lake Khuvsgul in Mongolia in April. The team also plan to climb a mountain, Munkh Saridag, they told ExplorersWeb.
The team
Background about the team according to their blog:
“Bert Poffé and Kiki Nárdiz have done many adventurous trips and winter expeditions both in Canada and in Europe. In the past they spent some time with the Canadian Atikamekw First Nations and were lucky to meet some inspiring people of different First Nations. In August 2007 they spent one month amongst the Anishnabe in Quebec.” The couple has two children, Guillermo (8) en Nacho (3).
Bert and Kiki saw a documentary on television about Frenchman Joël Rauzy, who introduced dog sledding to Mongolia. They contacted him and a dream was born.
“Three years ago Joel Rauzy came on an exploring dog sled adventure and fell in love with the country and his future wife Bayana. He comes from a village near Toulouse in the south of France, noted for its balmy climate rather than snow and ice.”
”Joel had been involved in dogsled racing in various parts of the world, and saw the potential for dog sledding and the sort of racing Alaska is best known for.”
”Bayana was born and raised in Ulaanbaatar. After her studies in both Leningrad and St Petersburg she became a teacher in Russian and English. When she met Joel, Bayana’s life changed completely. She left the capital and together they lived for 4 straight months in a Ger, just as a start! Thanks to Joel she became an outdoor enthusiastic and eventually she became very much interested in the Nomadic people of her beloved Mongolia.”
”The couple became the first and only Mongolian dogsled outfitters.”
The plan
The team plans to circle Lake Khuvsgul, also known as "the blue pearl of Mongolia", during a 15-day dogsled expedition in April.
On 2 April Bert and Kiki will fly from Brussels to Prague and continue via Moscow to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Instead of flying from Ulaanbaatar to Moron, they will drive the 700 km distance by car, and drive further from there to Khatgal. Bert and Kiki expect to drive at a speed of 100 km in 3 hours. In Khatgal they will meet Joël, Bayana and the dogs.
On the trail they will meet and stay with the local Mongolian nomadic people, they say on their blog, and they will “pay tribute to and learn from their knowledge and wisdom to survive in these typical, sometimes harsh circumstances.”
The team will also attempt an ascent of the mountain, Munkh Saridag (3492 meter). They said to ExWeb the mountain is special to the local nomads.
After the expedition they will return to Ulaanbaatar by plane.
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