 Poster: A snowHead
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My trip to Kyrgyzstan was predominantly for backcountry ski touring out of Jyrgalan village (see thread https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=158581) but also spent a day in karakol ski resort.
To get to karakol you need to first fly into Bishkek (capital of Kyrgyzstan). From there it's around a 6 hour drive to karakol. Taxi from the airport to Bishkek bus station is around £3-4 and then another £3-4 for the bus from Bishkek to karakol. Taxis in karakol are fixed price (100som around £1) so transfer from airport to your guesthouse/hotel in karakol should be less than £10 if using public transport. If you don't want the hassle of so many changes its possible to arrange a transfer (contact destination.jyrgalan@gmail.com for a quote/reservation).
It's possible to rent ski equipment in karakol, I was surprised just how many rental places there were. Didn't go in any so not sure of the quality available.
From karakol city the ski resort (or base/baza as it's known locally) is around a 15min drive. My guesthouse got me a place in a shared transfer - 3 people and we payed 600som each (around £5). Lift pass is 1000-1300som depending on day of the week, plus you will need to pay 300som for a card (if you plan multiple days keep the card so it can be reloaded, you may be able to use an old RFID card ather than pay the 300som in the first place.
The resort is the biggest in Kyrgyzstan, but still pretty small, only 3 working lifts (there is an unused lift with Les Menuires logo still on the side!). They are all slow fixed grip style, it's certainly not somewhere you are going to rack up a huge vertical in a day! There is a piste map here on the resorts official site https://karakol-ski.kg/map. The bottom lift is basically a bunny slope you will spend no time on. The top lift offers a pretty awesome panorama up the karakol valley, these mountains are the Terskey Alatau range, part of the tian Shan. (This valley is the route of perhaps the most famous summer hiking route in Kyrgyzstan, going up to the Ala Kul lake and then crossing a pass at around 4000m and dropping down to altyn arashan in a valley to the east).
I'm really not sure what the purple line is on the piste map is supposed to show (maybe someone with better russian than mine can translate). There didn't seem to be a snowcat/skidoo transfer, and it was not groomed for hiking. You could certainly tour it, but I would have zero confidence that any of that area is actively avalanched controlled so best to take precautions.
Conditions were pretty hardpack and icy. Not surprising as there had not been any recent snow. It was cold, around -10 with a little sun and cloud rolling in.
There is a cafe at the "midstation" on the chairlift on the far right of the piste map. Expect to pay around 50some for a tea/coffee, 120-140som for a bottle of beer, and around 220som for a personal pizza. Don't expect gourmet food, it's pretty basic - I think my pizza was cooked in the microwave  but for £3 for a beer and pizza it's hard to complain.
The slopes were pretty quiet, mostly Kyrgyz, and a few Russians, didn't spot any other western tourists. The level of skiing is pretty mixed, I was definitely a bit cautious of some that seemed to be a little out of control and skiing outside their abilities (perhaps not so different to a normal euro resort it's been too long since I skied a busy resort to really remember).
For non-ski stuff in karakol there is a pretty wooden church, a colourful dungan mosque, a Lenin statue. Plenty of cafes, restaurants, and a few bars. People are friendly, but don't expect English to be spoken by many. Definitely lots of cool stuff in the surrounding area to do - fairy tale canyon and going out with the golden eagle hunters makes for a long but cool day from karakol.
Is it worth coming all the way to Kyrgyzstan to ski karakol? Not really, for a purely ski resort trip you'd be much better served in Europe. However, it's a fun place to spend a day or 2 as a warm up to backcountry skiing, part of bigger trip, or if you happen to be in the area. Kyrgyzstan skiing definitely shines more with its touring/cat options than its resorts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Google Translate app offers the ability to point your camera at a piece of text and have it translated
pointing at the map, the lines are marked:
black - untapped trails
blue - trails for confident ridrer
green - trails for beginners
purple - delivery by snowmobile
orange - snowmobile rides
yellow - lifts
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There was definitely no snowmobile uplifts happening when I was there, so probably don't expect that option. Blue groomed and black ungroomed makes sense.
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