Shymbulak is in the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains, inside Almaty’s city limits and within Ile-Alatau National Park. The resort runs from 2,200 metres (7,218 feet) up to 3,180 metres (10,433 feet), with up to 920 metres (3,018 feet) of vertical and 17 to 20 kilometres (11 to 12 miles) of slopes. Ten lifts serve the mountain, and the highest climbs to the Talgar Pass. The season usually runs from November to April.
Shymbulak’s history as a ski area goes back to 1954, when the first All-Union alpine competitions were held there. In 1983 it became an Olympic training centre for the USSR team. The Medeu-Shymbulak gondola opened in 2010, and the resort was a venue for the 2011 Asian Winter Games and the 2017 Winter Universiade. It hosts FIS World Cup moguls and aerials events.
All four cams are live streams. Base Station and Middle Station show the lower and middle lift stations, Bogdanovich Glacier looks toward the glacier of that name, and Kids Club shows the children’s area. Compare the station cams for snow cover and visibility on the way up the mountain. None of them shows the road from Almaty.
From Al-Farabi Avenue in Almaty, drive 13 kilometres (8 miles) south along Dostyk Avenue to the Medeu base station. From Medeu, take the gondola, a taxi or the eco-bus up to Shymbulak. City buses 12 and 21 run to Medeu every 30 minutes through the day. Almaty International Airport (ALA) serves the city.
Shymbulak isn’t on the Epic, Ikon or Indy Pass.