Ski tours in Kazakhstan.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving” 

Terry Pratchett. “A Hat Full of Sky”.

Shymbulak ski resort in the mountains Almaty.

Exilaritingly exotic for any ski enthusiast around the wirld, the Zailiyski Alatau, home Shymbulak ski resort, is on the doorstep of Almaty’s residents. Shymbulak, formerly known by its Russian pronunciation "Chimbulak", means "Mountain Spring" in Kazakh.
A 20-minute drive out of the city brings you to Medeu, where you can catch a ride to Shymbulak on the newly built gondola, the third largest of its kind, after the U.S. and France. You sit in a cabin suspended up to 100 metres above the ground, carried by a cable of 4.6 kilometres each way.
As you are transported along, the layer of grey city smog becomes distant and the jagged snowy mountain peaks emerge against a backdrop of royal blue sky. The ride up is a relaxed and picturesque 15-minute crow's flight through the mountains, with a view over Medeu ice skating rink, Schrenk's spruce trees native to the Tian-Shan, and a cluster of privately owned luxury wooden chalets.
After undergoing a serious metamorphosis last year, Almaty's largest ski resort opened its floodlit slopes to the public on the eve of 22nd January 2011 with a night of skiing, eating, drinking and dancing. The new resort is vastly different to what the Chimbulak veterans were used to, and last season it attracted up to 5,000 visitors on a single day during weekends.
The construction took a few years to complete, with a sizeable investment by any standard. The changes were far from easy to implement as the resort had to be virtually deconstructed and then reconstructed. The scale and scope of the project required a very specific set of skills which had to be drawn in from a number of international ski-industry specialists.
In addition to the gondola, marked modifications were made on the slopes. The previous three rickety Soviet-era chairlifts were replaced with two modern ones, now carrying people up the mountain seven times faster. These new combined lifts consist of open chairs and closed cabins.
The cabins enable children to ride safely and pedestrians to take a tour of the mountain without necessarily skiing - although even the skiers are relieved with this option when temperatures are hovering around minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Furthermore, a lot of earth work has been carried out to break the steepness of the slopes in areas and make them wider, resulting in a more colourful spectrum of skiers and snowboarders. It is not uncommon to see the kamikaze skier precariously shooting down the mountain like a stray bullet; the more cautious skier calculating the angle of every turn; the snowboarder covering half the piste on his board and the other half on his bottom; and the series of cute little kids in helmets and big mittens, following their parents down the slope like little ducklings.
For the more seasoned skiers, the whole mountain is their playground. Just a few metres off the groomed slopes, the powder is endless and coming down among the pine trees is a fun alternative. The new resort is vastly different to what the Shymbulak veterans used to.
In addition to daytime skiing, Shymbulak is growing into a thriving nightlife spot. Upon popular demand, the floodlit slopes will be hosting a night skiing event twice a week throughout the season. With their outdoor terraces, the new trendy restaurants and cafes, serving a choice of local and international dishes, mean that non-skiers can also enjoy the fresh air.
On sunny days, there is nothing more rejuvenating than to sit outside, sipping a cappuccino or enjoying a bowl of solyanka. An added bonus for some is that the wooden deck appears to be as accommodating to the famous Almaty stiletto heels as it is to snow boots.
Now, a year later, as Shymbulak prepares to open for its second season, improvements are continuing. In line with its development strategy of making the resort more family-friendly, Shymbulak Development has taken over the snow school, which was independently managed previously.
This season they are starting group lessons with the aim of making the lessons sociable and fun. Experiencing these changes, one Shymbulak old-timer reminisces over how he learned to snowboard. Apparently the first snowboarder of Kazakhstan, he remembers his excitement at seeing a snowboard for the first time on TV in 1992.
A year later, he ordered himself one from a catalogue. Upon receiving it, his anticipation slowly turned to disappointment with the realisation that it was in fact a wakeboard, made for the water, and not at all a snowboard. However, the wrong board was better than no board, so he used it on the snow for several years until he managed to buy the real thing from a tourist on holiday in Almaty.
Shymbulak has come a long way in a short period of time. Historically, Gorelnik, the area where a hot water spring is located approximately a kilometre below Shymbulak, housed a sporting complex, training young Soviet athletes.
During the Second World War, it was converted into a military base to prepare mountain snipers for the Soviet army. After the end of the war, the Soviet authorities installed the first ski lift and the first local ski competition was held at Gorelnik in 1949. This was followed by a Soviet Union ski championship in 1950.
Later, Shymbulak continued to be used as the primary training slopes for the Kazakhstan! alpine ski team. Growing in international recognition, last year it hosted the alpine downhill ski competitions for the Asian Winter Games.
Many believe that the Almaty region will mature into an important tourist hub in the future. Ski industry specialists see many opportunities this region has to offer, with the chain of Zailiyski Alatau mountains visible from most parts of the city, the long winter seasons and all this in close proximity to the country's largest city.
Also, being a long way away from a substantial body of water gives the snow its ideal fluffy texture. Possibilities of growing the ski tourism internationally are also conceivable with neighbouring markets like China, Russia and India.
The future holds promising growth potential and time will tell how long it will take to materialise. One thing is for certain - Shymbulak is establishing a distinct ski tradition. Skis and snowboards were already out, waxed and ready to go with the first few snowflakes in November.
This is the season frequent sick days are called, with people queuing for ski passes earlier than they would arrive at work, and alarms are set to the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings.

Authorship:
Nadine Kassas. Magazine "Tengri". 1, 2012

Photos
Alexander Petrov.