I was watching the picture and shook the head from time to time. I was shocked by what I’d seen and could hardly pronounce a phase: I couldn’t believe it!
There was a sheep Marco Polo on the photo. It's horns were more than 182 sm. I can't judge what other people, who are not fond of mountain hunts, feel when hearing such figures. Probably they are not surprised. Another thing is hunters who know that the actual world record, which belongs to the famous American hunter of Iranian origin Hussein Golabchi is just 178 sm. He got it after many hunts in that remote area in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. He visited those countries several times before could get the record trophy.
I took my eyes off the picture and looked to its author Yuri Matisson , then shook my head one again and smiled. Everything was clear without any words.
Yuri is known among mountain hunters as Dr. Poli. He sat in front of me in the Base camp, located on the shore of the Karakul lake and kindly smiled. He is very interesting and exceptional man. I traveled a lot around the world and had met lots of people in different countries and continents. Most of them were nice, some were talented hunters but some were not but Yuri made a lasting impression on me. There was the article about him in the Safari magazine ( #3/2000) but it was so long time ago and I want to write about him once again. He works as outfitter on Pamir from the end of 80’s and have succeeded to build the company which meets all requirements of hunters from different part of the world. It was a tough task in the conditions of chaos which was there at that time and locals were not always ready to change their habits and work style.. Some people consider him to be a poacher the other ones admit his organizing skills but they all agree that Yuri Matisson is a brand in Tajikistan. All outfitters and agents who send their clients to Tajikistan know him. His name is passed around by hundred or thousand hunters who have visited that harsh place.
Yuri and his parents lived in Tashkent where he was keen by mountain huntings. After the graduating the Leningradsky Medical Institute he asked to assigned him to Tajikistan. His specialization was neurosurgery but there was not enough doctors in the area where he started to work and he was forced to master all other medical skills and specializations. But he never betrayed his Great love - Pamir and mountain hunting there. The years has left and USSR doesn't exist anymore but Yuri is still there. His heart and body belong to Pamir. He spend from six to seven month in the mountains organizing hunting trips. He’s managed to create the net of hunting camps located in the different part of the country and has collected the group of professional guides and most of them work with him more than twenty years. Yuri , by his nature, is a very modest and calm person. He solves endless problems which happen on the regular base because of the local unstable situation and treats them like new challenges. I’m sure that his balanced character helps to find the right decisions in the tough conditions. Being a 53 years old he is in a great physical form and hikes for long distances looking for the best samples of Marco Polo.
The trophy with 182 sm horns was taken by him. I asked why he didn’t rank it but he replied that didn’t need it. He isn’t ambitious at all. But I think, this is different. Six of the world top ten Marco Polo trophies, including the world record, belong to Hussein Golabchi . The article about him you can find in the "Safari" magazine (#4-2000). Hussein ( the friends call him Sudi) hunts in that area during many years. There were periods when he visited Pamir two or three times in a year and these two became real friends. He is 74 now and I’m sure that Yuri doesn’t want to upset his friend pushing him out of first place. It's very noble of him. But the sheep, taken by Yuri, is unique.
Thus Yuri became the outfitter who organized our trip to Tajikistan.
It was my dream to visits that place. First of all I wanted to get the trophy of the most famous sheep in the world. Secondly, I’m fond of mountains hunting and had never been there. Thirdly, I’d booked it a year ago and felt excitation when the date came. Forthly I’ve alsmost reached the goal to get 12 sheep whihc allows me to get the prestige award of Ovis Assosiation “Grand Slam”. The turn of Marco Polo had come...
So, on the roof of the world.
The plane of the Siberia airlines delivered my and Sergey Uspensky to the Kyrgyzian town Osh. Then we flew by hellicopter to Tajikistan to the lake Karakul area. The Base camp was located on the shore of the salted mountains lake. The alltitude there was 4200 masl. We were accommodated in the comfortable cabins with hot batteries and toilet what looked unsual for the highlands camps. The main purpose of such camps is to give hunters time for adaptation for the lack of oxygen and low pressure. It’s an obligatory requirement to avoid problems in future. It took us one day and then Sergey and I moved to the opposite sides hoping for the hunting luck. The guides drove us to two different gorges where big males had been detected.
Yori joined me. Our UAZ driver was his longtime associate and my namesake Edward. Four hours while we were driving I enjoyed the majestic mountain landscapes. Then we had to go two hours more before arrived to the end of the gorge where set the mobile camp.
I set my proven single person tent and took out the sleeping bag, with the comfort temperature - 20C. It was November and the average night temperature dropped to -18C. Fortunately the sleeping bag passed the test and I slept well.
Next morning we two, accompanied by three more guides went to the mountains and started from the climbing the gorge covered by snowfields.
Soon one of us noticed the group of mountain goats, about two dozen of animals. There were several trophy size males and I decided to get one of them. We approached the group one hundred meters from the leeward and I made the only but accurate shot. In any case I could hardly to fire for the second time. The inflated cartridge left in the chamber and it took me some time to correct it.
Yuri left us and went ahead looking for the sheep. Soon he connected with us by radio and told that spotted the group of males and there were several good ones. The guides found and monitored that herd from the June checking from time to time if was it still grazed together because wolves could dispersed it. We noticed one wolf when crossing the river.
Yuri gave us coordinates and we began to ascend. It was the long and tough climbing. Few times we met mountains goats but fortunately the wind was on our side and they didn’t prevent us from approaching of sheep.
We went and went taking rest for few minutes several times. It was 4800 masl when we saw the group of males which had rest after feeding. There were not less than 20 males in it. They laid in one km from us. There was no any possibility to come closer. The herd of females pastured between us. The ladies would warn their “husbands” if noticed humans. We should have to wait.
Later we detected two more groups of sheep, peacefully grazed on the snowy slopes.
An hour passed and females left the place, that's why we could try to come closer. We set off together but mountains surprised us as usual, the air gradually warmed up and changed its destination to the adverse for us. We could creep just to 550 meters. How we shoot in the mountains. Some hunters think that they have to approach the potential trophy not less than a hundred meters. The others are ready to shoot for much longer distances, but keep in mind the critical limit. They are sure if you exceed it, the possibility to wound the animal is much higher. I can fire for the long distance and a half a mile is not the limit. I was embarrassed by the fact that should have to use the rented rifle but I tested it before and it worked well.
I took the comfortable position using the folds of the terrain and stones which put under the elbows.
But I have some rules or so called taboo. I never shoot to the lying sheep. There are several reasons for it and later I’ll write about them. So, I should have to wait when males stood up for the evening feeding. I didn’t move for about an hour and a half and got frozen. It was more than 5 pm but sheep didn’t stand up yet. But I had enough time to examine my future trophy. It differed from the others though I saw only its back. Yuri was somewhere down in the valley and monitored the group through the scope. He also marked that male.
At last they began to stand up one by one. But my male still laid and was not in a hurry at all. Soon all group were on feet and waited for my one. It was the leader who continued to rest not paing attention to the others who were ready to move. It waited for a pause and then stood up.
It took him a few seconds while it stood in the position which I needed and the roar of a shot broke the silence of the valley.
Aksakal fell and rolled down by the stones. Sheep were very strong and endurance animals and that one was not the exception. It leapt to its feet and run up losing its strength by each step. I didn't have time to blink as it disappeared behind the rock....
Yuri saw that the animal wouldn't gonna be breathing long but it reached the top of the ridge and got lost among kins.
Day hours came to the end and we should have to go down. The searching expedition would go on next morning.
It took us two hours to go down and the last forty minutes we walked in the deep darkness. Later in the camp Yuri took that decision that two guides would stay in the camp and begin searching in the gorge next morning. The rest of the group would move to the opposite gorge in case the wounded male passed the ridge.
I’ was sure that the wounded sheep would pass away soon. I had no doubt that it did not pass the ridge and we would find it not far from the place it was shot. All wounded sheep behave in the same way. They try to climb as high as possible and to rest. It had no sense to pass the ridge and to go down. It’d rest on the top. into account how much blood it lost and how cold was there, the male would die soon. But I didn’t insist on my opinion.
Everything happened as I predicted. It was 7.30 am when guides called us and said that found the trophy. It died and rolled down to the bottom of the gorge.
It was a worth male with horns 156 cm. Of courst it was not 182cm but I remember Yuri's words when he described me nice trophy, taken by Gollobchi with 168 sm horns. There was a snowstorm and the friends could die in the mountains that's why they should have to leave the trophy to safe their life. And Yuri said: I’ not sure that somebody can get such size arkhar soon. My trophy had not have record horns but it was good in any case and more important it allowed me to come closer to the award.
It was a lucky hunt because it got two trophies in one day. By the way my fellow Sergy was lucky too. He got the male with 153 cm horns.
We knew in the camp that Hussein Gollabchi arrived to Pamir. He was in another camp located not far from the Chinese border. It was a pity because I wanted to see and talked to him. First time I met that guy was in 2007 when we both flew from Moscow to Petropavlovsk - Kamchatky. I didn’t heard about him yet but when he told me about his passion to hunts we talked all the way to the place. World hunters have to separate nationality. They always have common themes for conversation most of them heard about each other though never met and we all are ready to help each other in the difficult situations. A lot has changed since we met each other at the first time. I was lucky to found new friends and contacted with many famous hunters. I’m proud of it. It’s not easy to enter the elite club of mountain hunters. When we arrived to the Base camp one of the French hunters recognized me. He was the member of the French delegation of CIC and personaly knew my friend Bernard Lohse. The hunting world is small.
I want to say warm words to Yuri Matisson and his team. Thank you for your hospitality. I’m ready to visit Tajikistan once again and hunt one more wonderful trophy inhabits there. Hopefully I’ll write about it on these pages.
