Weekend Tours
It is impossible to stay at home since the real winter has come! Our charming adventure manager - Natasha Zhukova -decided to explore the mountains, and now shares her impressions with you!!
Winter Ala-Archa gorge
We have been waiting for winter for so long, but this year it came a little earlier. In the morning there was a lot of snow in the city and it was so beautiful around. The snowcovered mountains outside the window contrasted vividly against the blue sky. I decided not to waste time and to take a walk with my husband Yegor and our company's guide Alexander Miyusov to Ratseka, a hut situated on the AK-Say glacier in the Ala-Archa gorge.
It is a great success, that being residents of Bishkek, we live near gorgeous mountains. Any free day brings you opportunity to take a walk in the mountains, to breathe in fresh air and absorb all the beauty.
We missed our mountains so much.
To begin with, we drove to the former Mountaineering camp. Until the 90s it was located right in the Ala-Archa nature Park. You can get there by car in just an hour, driving along a good paved road
And there it began- our trekking day. First we reached the waterfall, it is not frozen yet, but a little later it will turn into a real ice fairy tale. There wasn't much snow on the trail, so it took an hour and a half to get to the waterfall. Then we climbed the steep slope to the Ratseka camp. We missed the mountains so much that we didn't even notice the way up. However, in some places it was a little slippery, so we usually advise all beginners to choose mountain boots with a good tread or- here's a live hack: - There are special devices with spikes, put them on shoes and use them on city roads/sidewalks when it is too slippery outside. They are called "City crampons". Ratseka hut is located at an altitude of 3400 m, above sea level. And what a view of the mountains one can admire from this place- Ah! the AK-Say horseshoe, crowned with Korona (Crown) peak; shoveling Izyskatel; free and independent Korea; Tecator and Boxing. You can talk about them for a long time, but you know, picture’s worth a thousand words.
If you live in Bishkek, but have never been to Ala-Archa in winter, then be sure to plan. If you are in Bishkek on a tour, on a business trip, or on vacation, then you definitely have to get to Ala-Archa in winter. Our mountains will give you a huge amount of emotions, cheer you up and energize you. And we are always there to help you to organize everything!
