Shymbulak
Shymbulak, also known as Chimbulak and Chymbulak, is a ski resort near Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is the largest ski resort in Central Asia. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zailiisky Alatau mountain range, at an elevation of above sea level. The resort area is about south of Almaty city centre in the Medeo district.
History
Shymbulak was discovered by amateur skiers in the 1940s. Soon after, it became the first downhill route in the Soviet Union. Skiers originally needed to climb up the mountain tops on foot. In 1954 a 1,500 meters ski tow was built.Starting from 1961, Shymbulak hosted several USSR Championships and the Silver Edelweisse prize skiing competitions.
In 1983 it became the Olympic ski training center for the USSR. During this time, various commodities were built including restaurants and hotels.
In 1985, after a thorough study of the conditions for competitions at Shymbulak, the International Ski Federation approved three local tracks: Shymbulak-Talgar for downhill, Shymbulak for slalom and giant slalom.
In 1995 the school of alpine skiing and snowboarding "Shymbulak" was opened. The school is a member of the International Ski Instructors Association.
The annual "Artyemenko" Prize competition has been held in Shymbulak since 2011. The competition is held in February. Almaty hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games, bid for 2014 Winter Olympics, considered a bid for 2018 Winter Olympics, but decided to bid for 2022 Winter Olympics instead; Shymbulak was a venue for the alpine skiing events, and would have been for the latter.
Ski area information
The Shymbylak ski resort is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range, 25 km from Almaty. The resort can be reach by Gondola cars from Medeu.The weather varies from in summer to in winter and the snow base is about.The average snowfall is around 1.5 m. The duration of the ski season is from November to April.
The ski areas span over 3000 ft of vertical drop and nearly 7.5 miles of ski runs. There are three ski lifts at the resort with the highest going to 3200 meters above sea level. At that level there is also a hotel located at the Resort.
There are three ski lifts, which cumulatively reach Talgar pass, the highest point of the ski resort. The total length of the lifts is. There are 3 stations of them; the first one is Intersection Station, then 20th Prop Station and Talgar pass Station. There is also Snow-Park for snowboarding.
In November 2021, the Shymbulak Ski Resort held an opening ceremony for a night skiing course on the Talgar Pass.