Location
Altay Mountain Lodge is located in the East Kazakhstan region’s southwestern part of the Altay (Altai) Mountains. To be precise, the lodge location is the valley of Bogdanikha river, with an elevation of 700 meters above sea level and surrounded by mountains up to 1800 meters.
This is an entirely new skitouring location on the world map. Our guides discovered the place some time ago, and few of them spent last winter there to get more information before we decided to set up regular operations there.
The lodge is quite accessible. Kazakhstan is open to foreign travellers. A visa is not required for most EU countries and can easily be obtained online if required. Key cities in Kazakhstan have direct flights to major airports in the EU, Middle East and Asia.
Terrain
Our skitouring area is 25 square kilometers, and we plan to increase the zone in the following seasons. And there is nobody else who ski there besides us. Nobody has been, and nobody will. And this is not just private 25 square kilometers and 80+ recorded runs, but the best terrain in the region you only can get. Biggest drops, deepest snow, almost countless runs and terrain varieties. You can start your skitouring right from the camp or use a snowmobile to go deeper into the range and explore remote areas.
No other operation in the country (or even the whole Central Asia region) can match our exclusive terrain’s size, quality and variety.
Being part of Siberia geographically, place get early-season snowfalls that continue till mid-spring. Thanks to the local microclimate and steady, relatively cold temperatures, the region provides excellent powder skiing from mid-November to the end of March.
Most of the time we ski in the treeline zone, with well sparse trees, open glades, and couloirs, but from mid-winter we have access to the alpine zones.
Runs – from 400 to 900 vertical meters, slope steepness from 25 to 40 degrees.
Weather & Snow
The climate of this part of the Altay range is humid continental, with relatively cold winters, warm summers, and precipitations all year around.
In winter, temperatures range from -5 to -20 degrees Celsius; in summer, they range from +20 to +25.
In the winter, with low humidity, no wind, and the strong sun, it feels no colder than winter in the Alps. Even on the colder, shaded sides of the mountains, it is still comfortable for skiing and boarding.
However, this is part of Siberia geographically, and occasionally, morning temperatures can drop to minus 25-35 Celsius. Once the sun’s up it ,gets warmer, and our guides will choose sunny terrain for skiing. Although such days are rare, being ready for these cold temperatures is a good idea.
During snowfalls, skiing and boarding is still very straightforward as we usually ride in the tree-line. There are enough reference points to aid visibility even on big fields and couloirs. Usually, you will ski the best deep and light powder on such days!
Weather forecast for Altay Mountain Lodge & Yurts
Guiding and Safety
We adhere to the highest international standards of the guiding work, established by Canadian Mountain Guides Association. We provide our guests with full guiding services according to international standards. For visiting guides, we provide detailed info on the location, runs, actual weather and snow conditions, and, if required, a tail guide.
In general, the avalanche hazard in Altay mountains, especially early season, is lower than what you would expect in the other mountain ranges. This is due to the specific of local climate, and also we ski with a lot of tree-skiing, you basically stay away from avalanche terrain.
Despite the lower risk, we maintain constant observations of the snowpack, starting from the very beginning of the winter, so we know how it changes with time and can predict avalanche problems in many areas.
We also have all the required safety equipment that might be needed in an unlikely event of an accident in the backcountry, and our personnel is trained to act accordingly in such cases.
