Pittarak Expedition: A crossing of the Gobi desert

Over a year ago, while in the comfort of our homes (and a good bottle of scotch) we gazed over an atlas. As we scanned the world map in search of a new location to kite, we came across Mongolia. My only knowledge of this country was that it was the home of Ghengis Khan and the Gobi desert. Shortly after came the idea, why not try to cross the Gobi by kite buggy? And here we are, covered in sand and dust, waiting for the winds to pick up.

After spending 5 days in the capital city packing out food, we started our three day drive to our start point, the town of Atlai. We waved goodbye to our driver, filled up 90 litres of water and loaded up our buggies with 30 days of food. Ahead of us lay over a 1100 km stretch of desert.

Our first obstacle was to get past the foothills into open kite-able terrain. We hauled our buggies up and over the foothills, kiting when the terrain would allow it. The winds were gusty and unpredictable. Dust devils that looked like mini tornadoes swept through the valley, and would occasionally lift us out of our buggies. It was slow progress, but we kept trucking forward. Yesterday after eight days of hard work, we cleared the mountain pass, in front of us flat rolling terrain. With our 4 metre Flows in the air we cruised forward covering 51 km. After days of hard work, it feels great to finally be making miles forward.

Sarah

http://pittarak.com/

To keep a track of their progress, check the blog here