Kazakhstan - Powder in the Kazakh Altai

A Lot of Snow in the Early Season

We’ve been visiting the Altai at the start of the winter season for many years. No matter if we’re out and about with the snowcat or touring ski, the masses of snow and the quality of the powder that this region receives in the early winter has never been disappointing. The Altai Mountains stretch at its southern most foothills far into northern Kazakhstan and even has some peaks that reach 3000m. Thanks to the northern location, even early winters, as early as October, see heavy precipitation. Our cosy mountain lodge is located in the middle of a beautiful ski area. The garage next to it houses two snowcats with a heated cabin. 

These snowcats take you exclusively to the surrounding mountains. What awaits us is a beautiful, snow-covered mountain range covered with sparse forests. We can easily reach some of the peaks with the snowcat, others require climbing with skins. The combination of snowcat and ascent with skins is ideal and allows us a very large range.

Itinerary

We fly from Central Europe to Ust Kamenogorsk, on the edge of the Altai Mountains. From here we take the minibus in about 1 hour to our first tour stop, a small ski area with 5 lifts and a typical lodge. In the next 2 days we will put our lines into the area and beyond. Some runs are accessible by lift, others require some skinning. On the second day after skiing, we will be picked up by minibus and after a 2 ½ hour drive we will reach our second tour stop, a cozy ski hut in a hidden Altai valley. After a delicious dinner we head to the preheated sauna. With a welcome vodka we look forward to the next 5 days. A mixture of snowcat and climbing on skins brings us to the best skiing terrain. Most of the runs end in the evening right at the lodge, where a hearty apres-ski snack is already waiting for us.

After 5 unforgettable days of skiing, we start our return journey to Ust Kamenogorsk and fly on to Astana in the afternoon. We have one more overnight stay in Astana before the flight takes us back to Central Europe the next morning.

Our bases

In the ski area we stay in traditional chalets, meals are served in the restaurant next door.

At the second part of the journey we are accommodated in an idyllic mountain hut in a hidden valley. The kitchen offers typical kazhak hearty cuisine: a strong breakfast gives us energy for an eventful day outside. Lunch and tea will be transported in the snowcat. When we come back in the late afternoon a hot soup will be served. Then it´s time to relax in the sauna, which is heated with birch wood. The shower system is kept simple, we mix hot and cold water ourselves and pour it over ourselves from small pots. After sauna, a delicious dinner will be served. Clearly speaking we are accomodated in a simple mountain hut with shared rooms up to three of us.

Snow and Terrain

In the Kazhak Altai huge amounts of snow already fall early in the winter and in the beginning of December usually the snow depth is more than 3 meters. Most of our runs are located at an altitude between 800 and 2000 meters and lead through typical light siberian forest. The trees also give us good contrast on snowy days when visibility is poor. The terrain is about 25-35°, ideal for an early winter snowpack.

The final run of the day brings us back to the lodge, but can be a little challenging in the lower part due to dense trees.  

Our Snowcat

We use Kässbohrer snowcats with a heated cabin. The ascents sometimes take up to an hour. We use this time to drink tea, warm up, chat and look forward to the next run.