 Poster: A snowHead
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An odd one I know, but does anyone know of lift-served skiing in either of these countries? I'm especially interested in skiing near Bishkek or Almaty.
Cheers 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I know someone who has been touring in the Ak Skirak (?sp) range a couple of times. First descents almost every day, by all accounts, so I don't think skiing is too well devloped there.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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They don't have particularly extensive lift coverage.
What's considered the 'best' ski resort in Kyrgyzstan, Norus about 30 km from Bisjkek, has a lift map many of whose runs are Served by Helicopters
Here's another in Kyrgyzstan: Karakol
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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xyzpaul, borat will be along in a minute 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I once skied in Krakozhia with a guy called victor
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A friend of mine has moved to Kazakhstan, and has snowboarded at Chimbulak a few times. He says it is okay, altho you shouldn't expect the infrastructure or grooming to match the alps. As you might expect, the hire gear is old rubbish so take your own equipment.
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| daehwons wrote: |
| I once skied in Krakozhia with a guy called victor |
Is there a joke somewhere in there? 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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xyzpaul, Hi I skied in Chimbulak for two days about seven years ago. From what I can remember there were about four lifts in total, the highest lift being a single chair, It gives you an idea of how developed it was. They had two restaurants and one hotel which incorporated the only hire shop. The skiing was limited but there were plenty of oppurtunities for small off piste excursions between and alongside pistes. It was very empty, most of those skiers who were there skied with minders wearing long leather coats!
cheers
zzz
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Cheers everyone. I posted the same query on the Lonely Planet bbs and got some more info... ThornTree
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I Havent ever skied Kazakstan or Kyrgyzstan but I have driven through both on the Mongol rally (Mongol rally is a rally from London to Ulanbaatar- Mongolia in a car with an engine less than a 1000cc. So rubbish old fiestas pandas etc) Beautiful countries. I fell in love with Kazakstan. Id love to go out there and ski.
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| Quote: |
London to Ulanbaatar- Mongolia in a car with an engine less than a 1000cc
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Christ, how long did that take Neil??
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You know it makes sense.
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Is that rally the same one I saw mentioned on TV in The Long Way Round?? (Or am I imagining things?!)
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Neil,
That sounds cool, tell us more
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Poster: A snowHead
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xyzpaul, I'm going to Almaty in mid Febuary for a few days & will ski at Chimbulak and the surrounding area- I'll let you know how it goes.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skierguy_75, how was your trip?
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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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xyzpaul,
Very interesting trip. I spent a few days at Chimbulak & also a day heliskiing, before having a final day at the Ak Bulak ski resort.
They have very little snow there this year- the base at Chimbulak was only 10cm or so at the bottom, maybe 40cm at the top. Big changes for Chimbulak next season, a new highspeed 8 passenger gondola is being constructed as soon as the snow melts- that gets you from the Medeu Valley up to the resort. Two new detachable quad chairs will replace the existing 2 double chairs and single chairs. (the world's largest open air speed skating rink is located in the Medeu Valley)
Chimbulak has very nice intermediate terrain. Expert terrain wasn't overally accessible due to lack of proper avalanche control. They currently don't have a proactive approach- they wait for avalanches to occur naturally before opening the pistes. (There have been fatalities inbounds at Chimbulak over the years.)
This will all change for the 07/08 ski season, with the new lift equipement and management.
FYI- if you grab a copy of Warren Miller's "Snowriders" (about 10 years old)- they have a great segment on Chimbulak.
The snow is very light- some of the lightest I've ever skied in, so had there been more of it, I would have really had a good time. I managed to find some good snow heliskiing. I hired a private A-star from a helicopter company called skyservice, as there currently isn't any active heliski operations out of Almaty. I was told that in the past there was more heliskiing when there were more large Mi-8 helicopters available. Post soviet era, all but two in the area have fallen into disrepair, and it's too expensive to run a heliskiing operation with small choppers. The big problem of skiing in the Tien Shan mountain range in Kazakhstan is that most of the terrain is too steep for skiing- but it sure makes for some nice photos!
Ak-bulak is a resort about an hour's drive east of Almaty. Crazy place- 4 pistes and 4 lifts. 3 are for beginner and novice skiers and 1 lift and piste for higher than experts skill class. (ie slope over 70% average) I've never seen anything like it- the fixed double chair is steeper than steep, top to bottom. The top station is shoe horned into the top of an avalanche chute- 3 meters from the unload, you're at the edge. literally. no other way down. They had low snow conditions when I was there, with rocks and stumps showing through, and they wouldn't let me ski the steep run- I could only ride the chair after leaving my skis at the bottom.....grrrrr. If I was there on a powderday with over a meter of snow base, I'd do laps on that crazy lift all day. All in all the poorest designed ski resort I've ever visited, especially considering it was built in 2002. Not a single run for intermediate skiers, and no potential to create one either. But if you're an expert skier, and you happened to be there on the right day....wow.
All and all a very interesting place and country. The city of Almaty would probably not be very high on a tourist's "must see" list of cities. Driving is insane- I've never seen so many car wrecks in one week in my life & the smog was horrendous. The almaty airport was closed due to the thickness of the smog for many days- I was stuck at the airport for 48 hours when I went to leave!
All and all an interesting trip, if I make it back there I'll give you an update.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Nice
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for that skierguy_75, very interesting I suspected the increasing number of wealthy Almations would push the ski industry there, the plans for Chimbulak confirm that. But for Europeans it's far too pricey to get in the ski brochures: Almaty is £450 return flight from the UK, Bishkek £600. Until this changes there is little hope for serious tourist numbers (summer season or winter).
I had a week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in February and took a day trip to a nearby ski base, called Kashkurgan I think. It's about 25km south of Bishkek in the Tien Shan mountains, near to Ala-archa gorge. Nice scenery but unfortunately not enough snow to ski on  Apparently this winter has been a very poor one for snow (familiar story heh?) and abnormally warm. There was a single 2 man chair up the mountain, looked old-fashioned with no foot rest. The terrain was not steep, just hilly. Everything was shut apart from a restaurant, and I couldn't find a piste map. To top it off, I got bitten by an over-friendly dog and had to retreat to the city hospital for a rabies jab!
Despite this, Kyrgyzstan is an interesting country with superb mountain scenery. The Switzerland of Central Asia indeed
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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sorry everyone i havent managed to get on in a while.
the mongol rally was great. heres some pics
this is my forum, i posted pics up for my members. feel free to take a look
http://elmo.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=31
enjoy! feel free to ask any more questions. got loads of stories as you can imagine.
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Happy to inform that the ski season this year in Almaty is apparently one of the best in years, to prove a point it dumped down yesterday again so I can't wait to get out this weekend. there are 4 resorts within an hour of almaty, chimbulak, akbulak, tabagan and saldats ushelia (spelling?) - I've only been to chimbulak so far but plan trips to the others. Kyrgyz skiing is crazy cheap though as indicated a bit thin on lifts, apres ski in almaty is wild, clubs bars and restaurants galore. if clubs are your thing then check out da Freak a great club where 1l of beer costs about 75p and vodka 20p a shot!
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Hey Abuk, and anybody else that could help me...
I am currently researching skiing opportunities in Shymbaluk, do you know if there are any links for info like snowfall, heliskiing... Ultimately best would be if I can get to visit, but I have to persuade the boss first, hence the need for a concrete-ish report to support.
Thanks in advance,
Regards
Phil
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hiya!
well it snowed again yesterday and again today, I'm heading out on Sat & Sun so I'll keep you posted. The locals report this year as good snowfall. Heliskiing abounds though I believe Kyrgyzstan is meant to be better.
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Fantastic news AbuK,
Look forward to hearing about it... enjoy the white stuff
Phil
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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id love to see some pictures
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Chimbulak/6day/top
this is a great site for snow conditions at chimbulak
not a bad place, you can have a fair bit of fun but dont expect anything to challenging, the lines are pretty frustrating, kazaks have quite figured out the concept of a line, dont be afraid to push a bit or youll stand in line all day.
akbulak has nice facilities but other than the very top the reset is a very green run that isnt very wide i cant imagine if the place got crowded the top run is pretty insane but really fun
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| bh1 wrote: |
| daehwons wrote: |
| I once skied in Krakozhia with a guy called victor |
Is there a joke somewhere in there? |
Not sure but this sounds like its from the film The Terminal, Tom Hanks played a guy called Victor and he was from Krakozhia i think.
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You know it makes sense.
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For the best adrenaline, you need to test Toguz Bulak ski resort in Kyrgyzstan. Near Bishkek, around 40km, a little further than Norus. 100% Freeride. And there are many small walk to do to open for free run. Price 8 USD per day, there is a chairlift of 1.8 km long. (also restaurant, rent, instructor, some basic rooms). 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Changgulu
We're planning a trip to Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan for a week of backcountry skiing and ski touring in January/February 2010.
Can you help at all with recommendations of where to go, best time to go (for optimal snow & weather conditions), contact details for local tour operators who can provide assistance with accommodation, travel, local guides? I've not been able to find much information on the www
Thanks for your help
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Try these guys, they are one of the biggest operators in Central Asia:
http://www.tien-shan.com/
They can organise any kind of ski trip, and have a mouth-watering selection of ready-made excursions
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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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I seriously look at Slovakia instead unless you are desperate to go as far away from the norm as you can possibly go.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I am up for looking into these places........don't care too much about the uplift.....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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chrismountaintracks, I could be interested
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| skierguy_75 wrote: |
xyzpaul,
The big problem of skiing in the Tien Shan mountain range in Kazakhstan is that most of the terrain is too steep for skiing- but it sure makes for some nice photos!. |
Wait wait, what? TOO steep?
| skierguy_75 wrote: |
xyzpaul,
Not a single run for intermediate skiers, and no potential to create one either. But if you're an expert skier, and you happened to be there on the right day....wow.
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Thats more like it!
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| chrismountaintracks wrote: |
Hi Changgulu
We're planning a trip to Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan for a week of backcountry skiing and ski touring in January/February 2010.
Can you help at all with recommendations of where to go, best time to go (for optimal snow & weather conditions), contact details for local tour operators who can provide assistance with accommodation, travel, local guides? I've not been able to find much information on the www
Thanks for your help |
Hi there,
I know this guy who owns website and posted some good photos about Karakol ski resort: http://www.shetinin.com/en/art9-gornolyjnaya-baza-karakol-ski-resort.html
With his help we visited the "Karakol" ski base in February 2009 for 2 weeks (our team of 9 persons from Russia, Novosibirsk spent fantastic days there). So you can email him and I am sure he would help. He is really expert about Kyrgyzstan and has a real experience with helping people to find better accommodation, transfers from service providers, not via tour-operators which have an additional price added to services.
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nskman, For backcountry style, you can go to Sussamyr for 2 days, then Ala Archa refuge but you need a full day to reach the refuge. In a half day, you can horseback to the Chong Kyzyl Suu valley near Karakol. 100% mountain for 99% freeride. you can write to my email samuel at elcat.kg
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| xyzpaul wrote: |
| Anyone skied Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan? |
I haven't even tried to spell it, let alone ski it
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FAQ
