Ep. 160 Back in the ussr

I believe it was at the tail end of 2018 when Ben Staley came through Utah and I told him a few stories. This one, about two trips to the former-USSR I took in 1990 and 1991, was meant to be part of a larger piece that included a Zine and one or two podcast conversations on the subject. We got distracted by other ideas, and while I am not saying that the USSR multimedia project won't happen, it hasn't yet and this conversation is too good to let languish any longer. Trevor Thompson joined us for part of it, and we covered some good ground, focused mainly on a summer trip to the Pamirs with Ace Kvale in July 1990, and then another to the Tien Shan range, again with Ace and also John Falkiner and Michel Fauquet. We were hosted and joined on both trips by Alexey and Nicholai Shustrov (among others), both extraordinary climbers and adventurers in their own right. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a rather fun interview.