Week of Snowcat Freeriding in the Post-Soviet Atmosphere of the Altai Mountains!
What if you left everything behind and retreated to the mountains near Siberia, where China, Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan meet? Imagine living in a remote mountain hut, accessible only by an old soviet car UAZ, without any roads. Picture yourself surrounded by untouched snowy expanses that we’ll explore using a comfortable Pistenbully snowcat, gliding through sparsely forested terrain.
Ladies and gentlemen, we present an adventure into the wild, where you will reconnect with your inner spirit, your snow leopard—an experience like no other!
After a two-year pause, Off Piste returns to Kazakhstan with a new, 100% freeride-focused expedition. Join us in the Altai Mountains, where for six days we’ll conquer the best backcountry slopes by snowcat. This is a truly exclusive location, not just in terms of comfort but also because only 20 people are allowed to ride in this pristine area at one time. After each day of intense riding, we’ll relax in a traditional Russian banya—a wood-fired sauna.
As always, you can expect local delights in the form of homemade Kazakh cuisine, a subtly post-Soviet atmosphere, and the unique Siberian vibe. We’ll kick off and wrap up our trip with a full immersion into the former capital, Almaty, where we’ll spend two nights discovering everything this fascinating city has to offer!
Snowcat
Wilderness
Local Guides
Heli-Skiing (Optional)
Price Includes:
- 7 nights accommodation in a mountain guesthouse, in double rooms
- Full board (4 meals a day) during the mountain stay (7 days)
- Access to the sauna in the mountains
- 2 nights accommodation in Almaty at a 4-star hotel with breakfast
- 6 days of snowcat freeriding with local guides
- Supervision by a Polish team leader
- Guided sightseeing tour of Almaty
- All local ground transfers
- Standard travel insurance including medical expenses, accident coverage, and personal liability. Additional insurance covering off-piste skiing is required. Many of our clients already have year-round high-altitude policies. If you don’t have one, we can provide coverage for the trip at a cost of 370 PLN.
Price Does Not Include:
- Flights
- Lunches and dinners in Almaty (2 days)
- Ski or snowboard equipment – you need to bring your own
- Avalanche safety equipment (beacon, probe, shovel) – available for rent, reservation required
- Extreme sports insurance, including off-piste skiing
- Tips
ACCOMMODATION AND TRANSPORTATION
- We will most likely fly to Almaty with Turkish Airlines
- The domestic flight Almaty-Iskemen will be operated by Air Astana
- In the mountains, we will stay in a hut run by local enthusiasts
- In Almaty, we will stay at a 4-star hotel, close to the city’s main attractions
- Rooms are double occupancy
- The Russian banya (sauna) will be our daily ritual 😉
- For more information, check the TRIP PROGRAM tab
OFF PISTE – Terrain Details:
- Our base is located at 700 meters above sea level, and we ride at altitudes ranging from 500 to 1500 meters (that’s sufficient because it’s quite cold there)
- Our mode of transport uphill is a snowcat equipped with a 12-passenger cabin and comfortable seats
- The daily vertical drop is planned to be around 3500 meters, consisting of approximately 5-7 runs
- This part of the Altai Mountains is characterized by sparsely forested slopes up to 2000 meters in height and an average gradient of about 30 degrees
- Our base is a 45-minute 4×4 (or tracked vehicle) drive from the nearest civilization, offering vast areas of untouched terrain accessible exclusively by snowcat. There are several routes to various points, from which there are multiple descent options, so we rarely repeat the same runs
- We rate the terrain as relatively easy (4/10), providing excellent opportunities for those looking to improve their off-piste technique
- More advanced riders will find interesting tree sections and a variety of jumps, drops, and steeper areas
Difficulty Level: 4/10
- This trip is ideal for intermediate riders who want to improve their off-piste technique with the relatively low effort that a snowcat provides. The moderate slope angles and the fact that we usually ride below the treeline mean that the avalanche risk is relatively lower (though never completely absent).
Trip Profile
- Our daily activities are based on snowcat ascents. There are areas with steeper slopes and more challenging descents that can be accessed with short summit approaches.
SAFETY
- We will be guided by local experts who know the area inside out
- We provide one guide for every six participants
- Depending on the number of participants, we will try to divide into smaller groups to operate more efficiently in the field
- The trip will be overseen by a Polish team leader
- INSURANCE:
- The trip price includes basic travel insurance. Additional coverage for off-piste skiing is required. This can be purchased from us for 370 PLN per person. We do not include this in the base price as many of our clients have their own year-round high-altitude policies.
- There is also an option to purchase Trip Cancellation Insurance, which provides a refund in case you are unable to join us due to illness or other unforeseen events.
- Participants must have avalanche safety equipment and know how to use it
- We also recommend an avalanche backpack, which can be rented from us (reservation required)
VISA
- Not required.
HOW TO JOIN THE TRIP
- Fill out the reservation form
- We will contact you to sign the contract
- Pay a 30% deposit
- We’ll complete the group, handle the formalities, flights, details, etc.
- Pay the remaining amount 30 days before departure
CANCELLATION POLICY
- If you cancel up to 60 days before departure, you can transfer your deposit to any other trip – we will issue a voucher valid for 2 years.
- We recommend additional insurance in case of illness or an unforeseen event preventing you from traveling. You will then receive a full refund for the trip. Ask us about Trip Cancellation Insurance.
- We reserve the right to change the program due to circumstances beyond our control, such as insufficient participants, snow or weather conditions, or political situations. In case we need to cancel the trip (even for reasons beyond our control), we will promptly refund all payments made.
Day 1 (November 29)
We depart from Warsaw with one layover and land the next morning in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan.
Day 2
After arriving in Almaty, we’ll enjoy a “nomad’s breakfast” in town and check into our 4-star hotel in the city center. It’s Saturday, so there’s plenty to do! We’ll visit the Zelenyi Bazaar, a park with a historic church, and in the evening, dive into the rhythms of Barmaglot Club. 😎
Day 3
Around noon, we’ll take a short domestic flight. After landing in Ust-Kamenogorsk, we head to the mountains and our remote hut, which will be our base for the next seven days. In this part of the world, you can always expect a warm welcome with local delicacies and a drink to set the mood. In the evening, we’ll meet our guides, who will brief us on the plan for the upcoming days.
Days 4 - 9
Snowcat days, yay! We kick off a six-day adventure, with the snowcat taking us to the nearby snowy slopes. After breakfast, we head to the mountains, aiming for about 5-7 long descents each day, with a total vertical drop of up to 3500 meters. There will also be time to rest, enjoy some sandwiches, and take a sip from your thermos amidst the untouched nature (except for our tracks, of course). We plan to return to the base around 3:00 p.m., where a warm meal will be waiting for us. Evenings will be spent socializing, which is crucial during winter in these remote regions. 😀
Day 10
After breakfast, we head to the airport and fly back to Almaty, where we will spend the night in the same hotel.
Day 11
We take a morning flight back to Poland, with one layover. We should arrive in Warsaw by the evening.
