600 Miles to Friendship Peak
Rolling through high desert with a herd of camels on the horizon, it was hard to believe we were going snowboarding. Our driver, behind the wheel of a mid-70s Russian military van, held his steady gaze, 4x4 yet to engage. We called him “Tokyo Drift” because he took his job quite seriously and had the skills to match. We still had several days of travel ahead of us before reaching the mountains—it’s 600 miles from Ulaanbaatar to western Mongolia’s Altai Mountains.
Filmer Yannick Boissenot had organized the trip alongside snowboarder Camille Armand. We were joined by Chamonix guide and freeskier Pierre Hourticq, photographer Soren Rickards, and a local fixer nicknamed Pajo. It was mid-April and we’d stay until mid-May. The destination: Altai Tavan Bogd National Park.
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