THE TSAATAN REINDEER HERDERS

I have done some crazy trips, but I believe this one beats them all.  If you think Mongolia in Summer is an adventure and tough, try winter… it is 10x tougher ! We were unfortunate enough to experience an arctic cold front, temperatures dropped to -50°C.  We were in Northern Mongolia, but that is level with South Siberia, temperatures accordingly, so nothing for the old, weak and faint-hearted.  But I was ready for an adventure, and dressed up for a polar expedition with 5 layers of clothing. Just the bloody gloves, you have to take them off to properly handle your camera, (those zip things don’t really work) and then you freeze your fingers off. Believe it or not, the locals didn’t wear gloves at -30°C or warmer, boy oh boy…. 

We were there to photograph the Tsaatan people also known as the Dukha. A nomadic tribe living deep within the taiga of northern Mongolia. They are among the very few remaining nomadic reindeer herding communities in the world. Today only approximately 400 Tsaatan individuals, about 70 to 80 families, live in small, tightly knit groups, entirely dependent on their reindeer herds for survival. The reindeer serve as means of transportation, are used for hunting, collecting firewood, seasonal migration and visiting relatives. They use the meat, the very nutricious milk and the skins for cover, clothing and boots.

The millennia old traditions today stand at a fragile crossroads. Without careful balance between cultural preservation, environmental protection and modern realities, one of the world’s last reindeer herding cultures risks fading into history.

Day 1

As I arrive in Ulan Batar the temperature is -27°C. The taxi’s windscreen is frozen from top to bottom, you can hardly see through. Even with the fan on super hot, only the bottom 20cm open up, just enough to see where we are going, luckily there is little traffic at this early hour. Welcome to Mongolia in winter !