Weather in the mountains in July and August?

[velowallah]

'm considering a bike trip in the Tian Shan of Kyrgystan, south of Issyk Kul and towards Naryn and Chatyr Kul, and wondering how much rain I can expect in July and August. The climate charts I've looked indicate minimal precipitation, but most blogs I've read mention seemingly frequent rain and downpours, and I'm not keen on spending days being rained on. The landscape strongly pulls me though. Any comment on what exactly I should expect on most days?

[khaledf]

oh i wish someone replies to this, i will be there at the same period

[jacoblab1]

I spent two months in Kyrgyzstan last summer and found that there was very little precipitation. I actually didn't use my backpack's rain cover a single time.

I didn't make it to the Naryn region, but I wouldn't expect it to be that much different from the rest of the country. I spent a couple of weeks climbing Lenin Peak in the south of Kyrgyzstan, and it only snowed once.

If it does rain, it will almost always be in the afternoon. Get your hiking done in the early morning and set up camp as the afternoon clouds roll in. Mornings were clear basically every day in the mountains.

[Christian77]

I've spent multiple summers in the mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Ignore the precipitation charts you see online. Those are city and town measurements. The mountains make their own weather: sunny in the town of Karakol; a heavy rainstorm up in the Karakol Valley. You can often see the dark clouds in the mountains while standing in the sun at lower elevations.

Half of my trekking trips have included heavy rain, plus snow in mid-August once. Tajikistan is quite dry in the summer, but Kyrgyzstan? Those mountains are green throughout the summer for a reasons.

You can collect single anecdotes from tourists, or you can ask why the guides are, on every trip no matter the weather at the start, packing waterproof pants, a poncho and a rain shroud for their pack.

I've been rained on in every spot you mentioned, from June through August.

[trikolka]

'm considering a bike trip in the Tian Shan of Kyrgystan, south of Issyk Kul and towards Naryn and Chatyr Kul, and wondering how much rain I can expect in July and August.

I cycled in the Tian Shan a few years ago, in july-august. Had a pleasant weather, but often rain at the end of the afternoon. Note that some river crossings between Enylchek and Naryn may be (very) difficult because of rain or snow & ice melting : ask locals. Their advices are not 100% "reliable", as they generally don't cycle themselves, but if they tell you a bridge is broken, it's probably true, and better to know about it...

[velowallah]

So, rain on most days? Did you cycle east of the Barskoon mining road? My plan would be to go up the mining road from Barskoon and west over the Arabel pass towards Naryn. From my initial research that section doesn't seem to have large river crossings. Do you think a traditional setup with four panniers and 700C x 40 tires would be overwhelmed from that terrain?