Introducing Medeu & Chimbulak

These are Almaty’s winter-sports playgrounds in the Malaya Almatinka valley.  Chimbulak, further up the valley at 2200m, is Central Asia’s top skiing centre. The two are connected by road and a cable car installed in 2011. Medeu is always several degrees cooler than Almaty, and Chimbulak is cooler still. Except in summer, rain in Almaty means snow and zero visibility at the higher elevations.

                        

What looks like a dam in the main valley above the ice rink is actually there to stop avalanches and mudslides. The road climbs a further 4.5km from this barrier to the Chimbulak ski resort, which has runs for all levels and a total drop of 900m.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/kazakhstan/almaty/medeu-and-chimbulak#ixzz3YRKExFN0