The Mongolian Altai is one of the most remote and dramatic mountain ranges left on Earth. Ice capped peaks rise above vast steppe, home to an astonishing cast of wildlife: snow leopards, argali sheep, Siberian lynx, wolverines, golden eagles, Pallas's cats, and more. It is a landscape that looks permanent and unbreakable, but beneath that rugged surface lies a fragile ecosystem increasingly threatened by overgrazing and climate change.

This is not a wildlife watching tour. This is hands on conservation fieldwork. You will join Barry Rosenbaum and the Altai Institute's Mongolian field team as they carry out snow leopard trapping, collaring, and monitoring operations in the western Altai. You will help set and check snares, collect camera trap data, and if the team captures a snow leopard, you will observe the tranquilization and collaring process firsthand, assisting with measurements and biological sampling. This is the real work of saving a species.

The snow leopard is a highly cryptic carnivore native to the mountains of Central Asia whose global population is estimated between around 3,000 mature individuals. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and has been given the highest legal protection in the countries where it is found. Despite their protected status, remaining snow leopard populations are still increasingly subject to pressure from habitat degradation and fragmentation, mining and development, retaliatory killing in response to livestock predation, poaching, and increasingly, climate change.  Climate models estimate that by 2070 only 35% of current snow leopard range will remain as stable climate refugia, of which the Altai Mountains is the largest fragment. Global interest in protecting this elusive cat continues to rise, but of the big cats, the snow leopard remains among the least studied as they are challenging to study in the remote and rugged mountain habitats in which they live.

The Altai Institute has studied snow leopards in western Mongolia since 2014. Their camera and collaring program is generating critical data on snow leopard distribution and behavior in a region that may determine the future of the species. The Institute has also been invited to lead the central portion of Mongolia's three year national snow leopard population assessment. Their approach is community driven, working alongside nomadic herders to promote sustainable grazing practices that protect both wildlife habitat and the traditional way of life that has defined this landscape for millennia. 90% of grasslands degraded by herders can be recovered naturally within 10 years if they can shift to sustainable rangeland management. But if we can't change the existing management today, it will be too late. After five to 10 years Mongolia's grasslands will be transformed into an ecosystem that will be unusable, bringing an end to native wild species and to Mongolians' traditional way of life.  

Barry Rosenbaum will be with you from Ulaanbaatar to the field and back. He will introduce you to the science, the equipment, the team, and the terrain. Between field sessions, you will explore the surrounding mountains searching for snow leopards and other wildlife in one of the most breathtaking and least visited corners of Central Asia.

The deposit to secure your spot on the trip is non-refundable for any reason. 

The balance of payment is due no later than 60 days before the trip begins. The balance of payment is non-refundable for any reason 45 days or less before the trip begins. 

The meeting point for this trip is Ulanbaatar, Mongolia (airport code UBN). 

You will be staying at a hotel in town on the day of arrival and the night before departing, so your flight times can be any time during the day. We will share more information about the meeting point on the day of arrival as we get closer to the trip date.

To enter Mongolia, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your stay. Please ensure that you carry a visa as well if you require one (tools like passport index can help you assess, but confirm with the proper authorities to ensure easy entry into Mongolia).