Almaty in the spotlight as 2022 Winter Olympics D-Day looms

With IOC decision day just weeks away for the awarding of host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Travelmole’s Ray Montgomery ventured to under-the-radar Almaty to see if it is ready for the global stage.

On the face of it, the race to host the 2022 Winter Olympics looks a foregone conclusion. Beijing is a major capital with a global profile and has experience of delivering world class events on a global scale. The 2008 summer Olympic Games was widely regarded as among the very best ever. In fact, it is vying to become the first city ever to host both summer and winter Olympiads. The Beijing bid is well funded but it may well lack a special commodity that no amount of money can buy – real snow.

Beijing’s bid has relied heavily on its ability to provide enough artificially generated snow in the Chongli area where most of the outdoor ski events will take place. While Beijing has assured the International Olympic Committee (IOC) there will be more than enough snow cannons to supplement the real thing, some IOC members are less convinced.

This gives a glimmer of hope to Beijing’s sole rival, little known Almaty in Kazakhstan. Almaty’s bid rests on its true winter conditions with plenty of natural snowfall. Another plus is the ease of travel between venues; Almaty stresses 70% of all facilities are within 30 kilometres of the Olympic Village. For Beijing, events such as cross country skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding and freestyle skiing will be held 160 kilometres away from the Chinese capital.

Almaty and Kazakhstan itself is something of an unknown quantity (notwithstanding the ‘Borat’ effect) but if it can defy the odds, a winning Winter Olympics bid would certainly make people sit up and take notice.

If it came down to a straight beauty contest, Almaty would win hands down. From every vantage point in Almaty, the towering Tien-Shan Mountains are a formidable backdrop, rising to almost 5,000 metres above sea level, with the highest peaks snow-capped year round.

After a day of rest and relaxation following a long flight, I headed into the hills. After a short 25 minute ride, we reached the open air Medeo Ice Rink, where Olympic speed skating would take place, and at 1,691 metres above sea level is reputedly the highest skating arena in the world.

A throwback to the old Soviet era, it dates from the early 1950s and has tons of character rarely found in modern sports complexes. It is a popular haunt for locals for year round skating, although during our visit there was a conspicuous lack of ice on show, instead doubling as a hard surface skate park for young BMX riders and skateboarders.

After a leisurely cable car trip, we arrived at the upper reaches of the Medeo Valley and Shymbulak Ski Station, which in contrast is a modern Alpine style winter resort area at an elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 feet). There are restaurants and a four-star hotel here, and it’s the jumping off point for the main 2022 Alpine events including downhill skiing. There are a couple of ski schools, a snowboard park, and 14 kilometres of skiing trails ranging from gentle slopes to off-piste runs. The ski lift system continues as far as the Talgar Pass – another 1,000 metres up where the air decidedly gets thinner and the views (literally) take the breath away. This mountainous terrain is also one of the last natural habitats for the elusive snow leopard.

While we experienced a balmy mid-June climate of 30C, it was easy to imagine a bustling Shymbulak filled with snowboarders and skiers once the white stuff arrives with a vengeance from December onwards. Both here and Medeo Ice Rink – collectively known as the Medeo Cluster – were prominent venues for the 2011 Asian Winter Games, which Almaty co-hosted with sister city Astana. The bid has planned for temporary stands here for up to 3,000 spectators.

Back to the city. Sunkar International Ski Jump is a positively urban landmark in comparison. It is so centrally located, the ski jumping action can most likely be seen from office blocks and apartment buildings. The nearest shopping mall is just 300 metres away. Set on a grassy hill 900 metres above sea level, there are five jumps in total – K-125, K-95, and training ramps K-60, K-40 and K-20 for ski jump aficionados who know about these things, and a media press centre and seating for over 5,000 spectators. Should Almaty get the nod from the IOC, this complex would also house the proposed luge and bobsleigh track, to be endearingly named the ‘Sunkar Sliding Centre.’

And herein lies another plus point for Almaty over rival Beijing. Besides the bobsleigh and luge track, the city need only build one additional venue from scratch if selected, whereas Beijing would need to construct six new venues. In part this is due to Almaty already committed to new facilities having been awarded the right to host the 2017 Winter Universiade.    

After spending several days in the city, it is clear to see – Winter Olympics or not – Almaty is not yet ready for mass tourism. Public transport options and family friendly attractions are limited for a city of its size, while getting by without at least rudimentary Russian language skills can be a struggle. In some ways this is part of its charm. However the combination of imposing Alpine scenery right on the doorstep and unique (and often quirky) Soviet era landmarks deserve a bigger stage.  

That bigger stage may indeed become a reality if it upsets the odds and gets the vote for the 2022 Winter Olympics. That day comes on 31 July 2015, at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when the host city is finally announced.