Ski Touring in Turkey:

Upon arrival in Bishkek, typically around 5AM, you’ll be greeted by a driver holding a name board at the airport. A short transfer brings you to a centrally located upscale hotel, where a hearty breakfast awaits. After a few hours of rest, in the afternoon, an English-speaking guide takes you on a tour through the city, unveiling its Soviet-era brutalist architecture and sharing insights into its rich history.

Following breakfast, we embark on a scenic drive to Karakol along the picturesque shores of Issyk-Kul, the world’s second-largest alpine lake. En route, we stop to witness the ancient Kyrgyz tradition of eagle hunting, where the acclaimed master and his apprentices demonstrate feats of archery and falconry. The spectacular show lasts about 1.5-2hrs after which we are treated to a home-cooked lunch before continuing on to Karakol.

The town was founded as an outpost of the Russian empire in late 19th century and today is known for its ski resort. Upon arrival in Karakol, we check into our hotel, check our ski gear, run a safety briefing and enjoy dinner.

Weather permitting, we venture into the Tian-Shan Mountains, exploring routes in Boz-Uchuk, Aksu, or Turgen valley. A minivan takes us to the start of the route in 30-45 minutes. The roundtrip ski tour distance is about 10km with a total vertical of 1,000-1,200m and skiing with great views of Issyk-Kul lake and the surrounding mountains.

In the afternoon we visit 19th century Orthodox wooden cathedral and Dungan mosque styled as a wooden Chinese pagoda. In the evening, we unwind with a refreshing round of drinks at a foreigners-friendly bar in Karakol.

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Karakol and embark on our journey to the charming village of Jyrgalan. Along the way, we pause for a roadside ski tour, skiing the untracked powder of Kyrgyzstan mountains.

Jyrgalan is a cosy mining village with a population of just about 600 residents, with endless possibilities of ski touring right from the village.

We pick out spots depending on the current weather and snowpack conditions. Some routes start right from our lodge while other require 10-15 minutes drive to another end of the village. Most ascents follow gentle ribs up to scenic ridges, while descents are usually on fun 20-30 degree slopes. There are some tree runs as well. Usually we’ll have 2-3 runs per day with total elevation drop of about 1000-1200m.

As a rest day, we enjoy some laidback skiing accessed with about 3hrs of horseback riding — a unique experience that is only possible in Kyrgyzstan. One thing we can promise — no kick turns today! 🙂

If you don’t like horses, a second guide can take you for a day of a conventional ski tour at a different spot.

The yurt camp is located on a snow plateau at 2,900m a.s.l., some 600m above the village and 14km away from it into the mountains enabling exclusive access to high mountain terrain from warm and comfortable accommodation. It takes about 40 minutes of gentle ride behind a skidoo on a rope while our bags travel in sleds. There are a few passenger seats on skidoos for those who absolutely do not tolerate being towed by a skidoo.

The yurts are heated with coal-burning stoves and come with delicious and filling full-board cooked meals and invigorating steam sauna. Thanks to the absence of 4G signal, internet detox comes as a pleasant bonus.

Today we head for a longer run, potentially with views of 7,000m peaks on the skyline!

After a day of ski-touring we enjoy piping-hot meals in the yurts and head back to our lodge in Jyrgalan village.

A private minivan takes us back to Bishkek around the North shore of Issyk-Kul thus concluding the circumnavigation of the lake. On the way we stop for a quick excursion at Nomad Civilization Center near Cholpon Ata. We may also have time to soak at Keremet-Suu/Oruktu thermal pools.