A strong UK team has put up several new routes in the Karavashin area of Kyrgyzstan. Ian Parnell, Mark 'Zippy' Pretty, Niall Grimes, Donnie O'Sullivan, Sam Whittaker and Dave Pickford ventured to this remote area and established several hard free and boltless trad routes from E4 to E7. This area became famous as the place where a group of American climbers were kidnapped by militants in 2000.