Shymbulak, also known as Chimbulak is a ski resort near Almaty. It is the largest ski resort in Central Asia. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alataumountain range, at an elevation of above sea level. The resort area is about south of Almaty city by Medeo road. It is popular for its mild climate, large quantity of sunny days and great amount of snow through the winter.
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 1500 metersski 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. The annual "Artyemenko" Prize competition has been held in Shymbulak since 2011. The competition is held on 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.
The Shymbylak ski resort is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range, 25km from Almaty. The resort can be reach by Gondola cars from Meadeu. 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. There is also a Hotel located at the Resort, enabling those wishing to ski during the day, have a place to stay at night. It is popular for its mild climate, large quantity of sunny days and great amount of snow through the winter. The resort offers a ski and snowboard school. There is also Shymbulak hotel and ski, snowboard and sleigh rentals. 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-Parkfor the fans of snowboarding.
