40 Tribes Backcountry

40 Tribes Backcountry are pioneers in tours to exotic and untouched destinations for ski touring and splitboarding. 40 Tribes are specialists in backcountry touring adventures in Kyrgyzstan, where the outfit originated. 40 Tribes Backcountry now also runs ski touring and splitboarding trips in La Grave, Georgia, the Pyrenees, Svalbard, Greenland and Chile.

The name “40 Tribes” is a reference to the Epic of Manas, a traditional poem that describes the origin of the Kyrgyz people. As the story goes, the warrior and now national hero, Manas, united the original forty tribes who occupied the region to defend their ancestral homeland against Chinese and Mongol invasion. The tale is a critical part of Kyrgyz ethnic identity and has been recited for centuries by generations of nomadic families. Today, a 40-ray sun representing the original 40 Tribes is the central emblem of the Kyrgyz national flag.