Altay Mountains, East Kazakhstan Ski Touring.

Itinerary

Saturday: Transfer from Ust-Kamenogorsk on afternoon (upon your arrival); transfer to the lodge by bus and snowmobile.
Check in to Altay Lodge early evening. Dinner, Banya, rest time.
Sunday to Friday: Skitouring / splitboarding – 6 full days.
Saturday: Early morning departure from the lodge to Ust-Kamenogorsk, where you will take an afternoon flight to your destinations.

Program dates (arrival to Ust-Kamenogorsk and departure from):

2024/2025 season:

November 23-30
November 30 – December 07
December 07-14
December 14-21
December 21-28*
December 28– January 04*
January 04-11
January 11-18
January 18-25

*Family and non-skiing options are available. Please see details below.



January 25 – February 01
February 01-08
February 08-15
February 15-22
February 22 – March 01, Girls’ Skitouring/Splitboarding Week
March 01-08
March 08-15
March 15-22

Price: 2 280 €

Discounts for group of 6 pax, contact us for details.

Price includes:

  • Organization of the entire trip from Ust-Kamenogorsk airport and back.
  • 6 full days of guiding service and skitouring.
  • Accommodation in the yurts, 7 nights, TWIN.
  • Daily Banya (bathhouse similar to sauna).
  • All meals in the lodge (breakfast, mountain lunch, aprés ski soup and snacks, dinner).
  • Group transfers by bus and snowmobiles – airport Ust-Kamenogorsk – Camp, Camp – Ust-Kamenogorsk.
  • Daily snowmobile support for the approach, if needed.

Extra expenses:

  • International and domestic airfares
  • Personal Insurance
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Personal expenses

INQUIRIES & BOOKINGS

To get there, you should take a flight to Almaty (ALA) or Astana (NQZ). There are some direct flights from Europe, including flight from Frankfurt to Almaty by Lufthansa and many options with connections.
There are a few flights per day from Almaty or Astana to Ust-Kamenogorsk (UKK / Oskemen) giving a choice of arrival times. We recommend Air Astana flights which arrive at early afternoon and right after we can take a ride towards the lodge.

If you arrive earlier than 14:00 (2 PM), you should wait a few hours in the airport or book a hotel in Ust-Kamenogorsk. If you arrive later than 17:00 (5 PM), we may not be able to transfer you to the lodge on the same day on shared transfer, and you should arrange a private transfer. For private groups, we can arrange a transfer at almost any time.
Please get in touch with our office before booking the flight to check the transfer time.

From Ust-Kamenogorsk you ride in a comfortable bus for 3,5-4 hours. Final log – 15 minutes ride by snowmobile in comfortable passenger sledge.
Logistic in the camp is based on modern snowmobile Lynx Alpine with passenger and cargo sledges. We also use them to shorten the approach to the remote part of the valley and save time for powderskiing.
If you need a taxi ride while traveling in Kazakhstan, we recommend using Yandex Go or Uber apps. Taxi cost is pretty low compared to Europe. We recommend using higher than standard low classes.

Guiding &Group Size
Unlike many other skitour operators, we keep group size relatively small, to provide best possible skitour and skiing experience. The maximum group size is 6 persons. There is one guide per group, plus a tail-guide if required.

Prerequisites
Because of the nature of the backcountry terrain, we ask our guests to meet a certain level of fitness and skiing ability. To join our groups, you should be:

  • Intermediate or higher level of skiing/boarding, including in deep-snow conditions.
  • Previous skitouring experience, at least one week.
  • Good physical shape – you should be able to skin up at least 1000 vertical meters per day.

Terrain
Most of the time we ski the tree-line zone, long open lanes through the trees, some snow pillows, and peppery lines through rocks.
Runs are from 400 to 900m vertical with slopes from 25 to 40 degrees.
On an average day the vertical drop will be 1200-1300m, but varies of course according to the group’s abilities.

Snow
There is only one type of snow in our location – powder. So, we are definitely looking only for powder skiing/snowboarding, and even don’t think about other snow conditions.

Please service your skis or board before arrival, or bring pocket waxes as there is no ski-service on our base. We have some repair parts and tools to fix the most common problems which might arise, but we do not have equipment for hot waxing.

We advise you to carefully read the following list. You will not be able to buy or rent the equipment on the spot (except limited quantity of skitouring skis), so do bring everything with you. If you have any questions about equipment or items on (or not on) this list please don’t hesitate to e-mail and ask our advice.

Here is an example of set of clothes that we recommend. You can change it according to your preferences, but be sure that your clothes suit the weather and temperature during your trip.

Clothing:

  • Heavy/mid weight socks compatible with your footwear – 2-3 pairs.
    Heated electric socks or insoles is a very good option and highly recommended.
  • Base Layer Top and Bottom, warm – 2 pieces each.
  • Mid-Insulation Layer Top – Polartec 100 or analog.
  • Mid-Insulation Layer Bottom – Polartec/Powerstretch pants or analog.
  • Warm jacket – Synthetic or down.
  • Weather Layer Top – Gore-Tex/Softshell or other waterproof breathable jacket.
  • Weather Layer Pants – Gore-Tex/Softshell or other waterproof breathable pants.
  • Down jacket warm to minus 20-25°C.
  • Hats (warm and light).
  • Light gloves
  • Insulated gloves
  • Insulated mittens
  • High snow boots
  • Slippers for the lodge

Ski gear:

  • Skis or Splitboard. We recommend skis 110mm underfoot or wider.
  • Skins. Glue should be in good condition, renew if necessary. Tail clips strongly recommended. No glueless skins, please, it doesn’t work with low temperatures!
  • Touring Boots
  • Telescopic Poles
  • Ski helmet
  • Binding/Boot/Pole Personal Repair Kit – tools and parts to fix your personal gear
  • Electric ski boot dryer

Avalanche gear:

  • Transceiver (three antennas), extra batteries.
  • Probe
  • Shovel

Personal equipment:

  • Backpack, 25-30 liters.
  • Personal First Aid kit (blister kit, your personal medications)
  • Thermos or insulated flask, 1L. Good idea to have both.
  • Sunglasses (CE rated 3 or 4)
  • Ski goggles, plus extra pair.
  • Headlamp, extra batteries.
  • Sun/Cold and Lip Cream (factor 30+).
  • Personal toiletries.

Being adequately insured is a condition of booking a trip with us. You must have travel and medical insurance, which covers Backcountry skiing/freeriding, skitouring/splitboarding etc. For your peace of mind and to avoid any financial hardship that an unexpected cancellation could cause, we strongly recommend getting Trip Cancellation insurance.

Kazakhstan offers a visa-free policy for most nationalities. See here for the full list of countries included in this visa-free policy.

The Kazakhstan currency is the Tenge (KZT). Cards are widely accepted in cities and towns almost everywhere. In a taxi you should pay in cash or by card via your taxi app.
Because of limited internet connection, in the camp, we accept cash only. If you need to pay for alcoholic beverages or special services you can pay in Tenge, Euro, or US dollars.

We gladly offer special programs if you wish to come with non-ski touring family members, especially on Christmas or New Year holidays. During the day, your loved ones will be busy with many outdoor activities, and you will meet upon your ski program to share impressions and emotions from the day and spend a lovely evening together.

We have several standard non-ski touring activities, but you are welcome to offer or ask about others according to our environment. Examples of standard activities:

  • Snowshoeing in the mountains, with duration from 1 to 3 hours.
  • Cross-country skiing, both backcountry and on piste options(xc skiing piste rolled by snowmobile).
  • Sledging and tubing on easy slopes.
  • Snowmobile tours.
  • Siberian SPA. It includes traditional bath procedures and aromatherapy.
  • Masterclass from our chef on traditional dishes of Central Asia.
  • Ethnography of small local villages.
  • Bird-watching.

Please get in touch with us for details and pricing.

We are glad to cooperate with our colleagues from all over the world. If you are a Mountain or Ski Guide and looking for a trip to Altay Mountains with your private group, contact us and we will be glad to organize your trip.