Page 36 - RADC 2016

ADVENTUROUS TRAINING
Mongolian Altai Expedition
Maj R. Usmani
Mongolia. Land of the horsemen, a country of windswept steppe, searing deserts and icy mountains. 800 years ago, the nomadic tribesmen who lived there united under the leadership of Genghis Khan and burst forth onto the world scene. Through a series of conquests and invasions he went on to form the largest land Empire the world has ever seen.
This is a place steeped in history and
one that I’ve wanted to visit for many
years. So when a trawl appeared in my work inbox in 2012 looking for a dentist to accompany the legendary explorer Col John Blashford-Snell as part of an expedition the following year I almost applied. But much
to my regret I didn’t because there was a caveat; “potential applicants please note the requirement to be able to ride a horse”.
I can’t ride a horse.
Two years later and another trawl in the inbox for an expedition to the high Altai Mountains in western Mongolia and again the same stipulation. This time, I didn’t
hesitate and a dozen horse-riding lessons later I was con dent that I could start / stop / steer a horse (and make it jump over a small plank of wood should the occasion arise).
07 JUL 16
Ulaanbaatar – Mongolia’s capital city. And it’s hot – 32C. The expedition team meet in the hotel where Col John welcomes us. Smartly dressed and with an impeccable accent, he delivers our brief.
“We’ll be travelling to the remote and mountainous Altai Region in Western Mongolia ... to carry out research (botany, zoology, archaeology) ... and deliver medical aid to the locals” (I’ll be doing their teeth).
I’ve come prepared with the “dental case” – a hard shell suitcase packed with dental instruments, anaesthetics, medication,
PPE, decontamination kit and anything else needed to carry out dentistry in the eld in the absence of a dental operating unit. I’ve also brought an oral health brief and lots of
Yak
toothbrushes, toothpaste and other dental freebies to give as gifts (bought from the British Oral Health Foundation and paid for by the generous donations from friends and family).
The expedition team of 25 is an eclectic mix of company directors, property tycoons, software engineers, nanciers, surgeons, nurses, Army Sappers and me. We’re joined by Professor Terbish and researchers from local Mongolian Universities.
The next day is spent in UB recovering from our jetlag (Mongolia is GMT +8 hrs) then the following morning we y to the desert town of Khovd where our vehicles await us. There are ve Russian built UAZ minibuses and a comfortable Toyota Land Cruiser for Col John (I suppose that rank does have its privileges). The UAZs are quintessential 4 wheel drive vehicles – hardwearing and uncomplicated – they
can be repaired under just about any circumstance (just as well really as they break down a lot). Being the youngster on board (I’m 38) I elect to sit on the rear bench and spend an uncomfortable 3 hours being bounced across the hot dusty desert to the
This is a place steeped in history and one that I’ve wanted to visit for many years.
The horsemen
34 RADC BULLETIN 2016