Mongolia in Winter

Terelj National Park

By Johnny Graham

June 1^st, 2017

The first thing I noticed after stepping out of the plane was the cold.

The first thing I noticed after stepping out of the plane was the cold. Mongolia is a land of extremes and I have landed smack bang in at the lower end.

Winter.

It is somewhere down in the region of -40C

After a nights stay in Mongolia's capital city Ulaanbaatar which includes photography duties at a Consular Scottish Burns Night complete with whisky, haggis and lots of Mongolian vodka. I discover that Ulaanbaatar is a suprise to me, it is metropolitan, a cultural melting pot of influences from Soviet architecture to Western & Chinese brands. This is a shock when you are visiting the least densely populated country in the world at 1.9 people per sq km renowned for its nomadic pastoral people. The city is also sadly heavily polluted due to the extreme cold temperature not letting the pollution from coal burning, industry and car emissions escape the valley that Ulaanbaatar nestles in.

The next morning we travel roughly 50 miles Northeast of the capital into Terelj National Park and leave the road network behind. Rock formations erupt out of the snow and ice against a backdrop of pine covered mountains flowing down to valleys dominated by frozen rivers, this winter wilderness is only occasionally interrupted by small communities of gers and their livestock.

I am there primarily to photograph the Inaugural Genghis Khan Ice Marathon on the frozen Terelj River and after it to document Scottish Ultra Athlete & Merrell Brand Ambassador Dr Andrew Murray during his 11 hour 104km run in -40C in Northern Mongolia. Theses are stories for other days.

Dr Andrew Murrary during 11 hour 104km solo run.

Part of the activities planned during the trip include a dog sledge ride along the frozen River Terelj. During this I manage to find the only stretch of thin ice and find out just how much fun it is to fall into a frozen river. Water luckily flash freezes literally at -40C so no water gets through my layers and I was quickly back in action and enjoying the beautiful scenery as we traveled. (Luckily the gopro was on during this and the video is down at the bottom of the page) The dogs themselves are stunning to look at it and there was quite a variety among them for the different positions and setups. One really caught my eye, he was a gnarly gray hair touched veteran who looked like he had seen it all before, while the others were busy kicking up a fuss and howling, he just settled down and saved his strength.

Mongolian Horseman, Terelj National Park, Mongolia.

The Mongolian gers we stay in during our trip are a wonder: they are all simply adorned, unassuming and small looking from the outside, especially when they are nestled in the epic Mongolian landscape. This is a trick, they are the Tardis from Doctor Who. Inside they open up into a large living space dominated by a wood burning stove that doubles up as a oven/hotplate and the heating. The heat inside them could be just a tad intense sometimes which meant you had to quickly lose your winter layers pronto. The beds are placed to the outside along with a limited amount of furniture or seats. One ger we where in slept eight of us comfortably with space to spare.

A Mongolian Horseman and several of his herd arrive at our last ger camp just after we finish our dog sledging. He is as impressive a character as is his horses. The Mongolian horse is unchanged for millennia and it’s the warhorse that let the Mongol Empire stretch from Asia to Europe. It is small, sturdy and unassuming. They are also the distant ancestors of Northern European breeds like the Shetland Pony and the Icelandic Horse via early Scandinavian traders.

Star Trails & The Milky Way over Ger, Terelj National Park, Mongolia.

Dawn's Light over Ger, Terelj National Park, Mongolia.

The Milky Way over Ger, Terelj National Park, Mongolia.

Mongolian Horseman chasing away Bull, Terelj National Park.

We head back to Ulaanbaatar for one night in the most non-Irish themed pub/hotel I have ever set eyes upon before setting off the airport the next day.