The Scottish Kyzyl Asker expedition has more or less returned (half are home, half stranded in Kyrgyzstan) after a pretty successful trip.They abandoned the initial objective (Kyzyl NW face) early on as the truck couldn´t get to the basecamp due to deep bogs.This was probably a good thing as it looked less steep than anticipated, and consequently pretty dangerous given the amount of snow falling. Guy Robertson and Ez Tresidder concentrated instead on the SE face, getting about halfway up the steepest alpine ice route either had ever seen on their second attempt.Both attempts were thwarted by dramatic thawing whenever the sun hit the ice, making it unclimbable slush. Meanwhile Blair Fyffe and Neal Crampton climbed two new alpine routes on peaks around Kyzyl Asker.First up was the North face of Pic Babushka (c5300m), a beautiful alpine snow/ice face with about 700m of climbing up to Scottish V, climbed in a day.They then moved to the glacier below Kyzyl Asker and climbed the North ridge of the steep point 4850, making the first ascentof the mountain and renaming it Cathedral Peak (can´t remember what it was in Russian).This again gave about 700m of climbing, the crux being well protected VI.They climbed the route in two days and abbed the same way back down The team then returned, by a very big truck, through lots of bogs, to Bishkek, where some overenthusiastic partying meant half the team missed their flight home. The team would like to thank the following people: MEF, BMC, MCofS, Lyon Equipment, WL Gore, the Nick Estcourt award and the Liam Elliot award. 
Kyzyl Asker SE face after a storm.The route takes the central ice couloir, Right of the biggest couloir. 
Kyzyl Asker SE face.The route can be seen more clearly as much of the snow has cleared from the rock. 
A big avalanche coming down the couloir to the left of the one we attempted.
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