An après-ski-season day trip to Shymbulak.

Lucy invites me to join her, Yun Jung, and Kath to visit Shymbulak the day after our tour of the Trans-Ili Alatau.

It’s the ski resort just outside of Almaty, and while the ski season has just ended, the gondolas are running to take you to the top of the mountain. Or so we think.

She texts me a link to where we’re to meet. It’s in front of the Almay branch of the Korean bank where YJ works. She has a meeting at 0900 and so we agree to meet each other at 0930.

It’s less than a twenty minute walk to the bank from my apartment and I take my time. The streets are quiet, the day is warm. The sun shines brightly, but I don’t even think to bring my sunglasses with me, which isn’t particularly bright of me.

I run into Lucy on the street just before crossing over to the bank. She’s on her second cup of coffee, having stopped at two along the way. The coffee culture is so alive and well in Almaty, and I worry that I won’t have enough time to frequent all the ones I like while I’m here. When I’m back for a month I might (might) be able to get my fill.

We run into Kath next and chat for a bit before walking to the Google Map pin for the bank. I was confused when I first saw it as it looks like you had to walk through the building to get there, but we content ourselves to stay where we are, imaginging we’ll see YJ when she emerges.

And we do. She comes out from another entrance and we watch her say her goodbyes before joining us. We order a Yandex Go to the resort and soon find ourselves winding up the mountain out of the city.

The cab drops us off in front of the Medeu High-Mountain Ice Rink, the highest in the world. It sits at 1,691 meters above sea level and uses a sophisticated freezing and watering system to ensure the quality of the ice.

An eco-taxi stand sits opposite the building and we’re wondering what to do. We had passed a gondola on the way up but it didn’t seem to be moving. A number of people are walking up a steep road to the left of the ice rink, and a group of people who look to be on a tour waiting for their bus are standing at the traffic loop that serves as the main intersection.

A tourist cafe in the shape of an A frame Alpine cabin is nestled against the rink and we walk over to see if we can gather any information. A woman sits at a desk set up before the coffee counter and we ask her the best way to get up the mountain. She points back the way we came towards the gondola. It’s a short walk or we can take the number 12 bus.

On the table before her are various maps and pamphlets, beautifully designed. Even thought YJ and Lucy are leaving within the next 24 hours, we all help ourselves liberally to what she has. When we leave the desk is empty; we’ve been like a swarm of locusts.

As we walk towards the Medeu Cable Car, we keep our eyes out for movement, our ears out for the hum of activity. The cars are suspended, not moving. It’s also decidedly silent. Maybe it’s not open yet.

Inside the building nothing looks open. Thankfully, there’s a man standing at a counter. His English is limited but he tells us that the cable car is closed for maintenance. Lucy searches on her phone and finds a schedule of operations:

Cableway: -2
Closed from April 9 to April 30

Cableways: M-1, K-1
Closed from April 13 to April 30

Cableway: KKD-4
Closed from April 16 to April 30

We’ve just missed it, but find ourselves wondering what KKD-4 is.

We walk towards the parking lot and a man approaches with a sign offering tours of the area. We tell him we’ve already gone to the lakes and the canyons and he asks if we want to go to the top of the mountain. We ask him how much. It’s 20,000 Tenge for an eco taxi, return, about a 20 minute drive. The walk is two to three hours. He tells us the cable car is 10,000 Tenge per person. We’re uncertain and then Lucy says we’re already here, we might as well.

The tax winds its way up the mountain road. When we start there are a fair number of people walking but as we climb higher the people thin out. Later, I’ll realize that there are lower viewpoints most people are probably walking to, rather than the resort at the top, notably the terrace at Medeu dam, which we drive right past.

At the top the driver gives us his WhatsApp number, telling us to call him when we’re ready to leave; it’ll take him about 15-20 minutes to fetch us, depending on where he is.

The ski resort is beautiful, one of the nicest I’ve seen. From the main complex there’s a chairlift running to midmountain. It’s KKD-4. We head to the ticket office and buy tickets for 4,000 Tenge each and head to the lift.

I’ve never tried to get on a lift without skis, and it’s a funny feeling at first, feeling the edge of the seat against the back of my knees and then being swept off my feet.

There’s still snow on the ground but you can see rivulets of water where it’s melting. At the base of the ski slopes it’s not too cold, and I’m a little surprised the season lasted as long as it did. A few Indians from our group had gone skiing the day before we left, though the slopes closed the day after.

At the top we hop off the lift and scurry aside, another action I’ve never performed. To the left we can see the final lift to the top of the mountain, still snowbound. I imagine it opens again in the summer for hikers once the snow is gone.

A restaurant sits adjacent to the lift and people in variously appropriate dress do their best to climb up the snowy mountain, some sliding down on their butts. One man in a business suit manages to slide down on his feet, an impressive feat.

At the restaurant we manage to secure a table on the edge of the patio overlooking the resort and the city below. It’s a coup as all the tables are full until YJ notices a table that looks like they’ve finished their meals.. She approaches to ask if they’re about to leave. They appear reluctant at first until they learn she’s Korean. Then they seem happy to relinquish their table to a fellow countrywoman.

I’m not sure who suggests ordering a sparkling wine but I go from maybe just wanting a snack to ordering a full-on meal. We all decide to drink and I propose getting a bottle. Unfortunately, they’re out of the bottles on the menu and bring out two bottles for us to choose from. One is a Laurent-Perrier and, thinking they’re offering the bottles for the initial prices, suggest we choose that until she pulls out a pad and writes down the prices. We go for the cheaper bottle.

YJ pulls out gifts for us. She’s brought Korean candies and written small notes to each of us. It’s an incredible touching gesture and we debate whether to read them then and there or to wait. I feel my eyes dampen as they run over the lines.

The food is fantastic. I’m shocked that this small little restaurant (La Skala) with a somewhat captive audience is making such great food. I order a vegetarian pasta and the noodles are cooked perfectly, the sauce incredibly flavorful.

The sun comes in and out, alternately warming and cooling us. We’ve been given blankets, which help during the overcast spells. It’s such a pleasant afternoon and it’s such a beautiful spot to linger and so we order coffee and dessert.

I notice a phone on the edge of the table and ask Kath, who is sitting across from me, if she has two. She holds one on her hands. She guesses it belongs to Nina, our waitress. A little while later, curiosity gets the better of me and I turn the screen on. It belongs to the Koreans.

We try various ways of unlocking the phone in order to contact someone, but Siri keeps us at bay. YJ does manage to learn that he has a hike scheduled while they’re in Kazakhstan but there’s no way to send a message to anyone. She thinks she’ll drop it off at the Korean embassy. We wait to see if someone calls so she can answer.

During dessert I look up to see the man approach. He’d been waiting for us to come down to see if we had his phone. They’d called the restaurant to ask if there was a Korean woman at the top, but were told no; the locals couldn’t determine our ethnicities. We’re excited to see him; he’s excited to be reunited with his phone. He takes YJ’s number and we wish each other well. As he gets on the chairlift he looks back to our table and waves. We return his wave enthusiastically.

There’s a few hours before dinner and I invite everyone back to my house for tea and snacks. There’s a bakery next to my house where we can pick up things and I have some fruit from the market and a few sachets of Sri Lankan tea from the plantation at which I stayed.

We text Natan to see if he wants to meet up, but he’s still working. He’ll make it to dinner.

On the way down two teenage girls wave to everyone going down. We return their wave and I ask where they’re from Russia! They call out. Where in Russia? Moscow! It’s as much conversation as we can get in before we pass.

We take a Yandex Go back to town. To everyone’s surprise he speaks Korean and YJ and he converse almost the entire way home. He’d worked in Korea for four years in a factory, but had been back for five. He’s always looking for Korean conversation partners, but only finds one in his cab once every six months or so.

He tells YJ that a few days ago there was a high-speed car chase that resulted in a few fatalities. It was all over the local news. It’s why there’s a heavier police presence in the city. I hadn’t noticed but Lucy had.

After we’re dropped off we ask YJ how the driver’s Korean was. To our untrained ears he sounded pretty fluent. About 60% is her assessment.

No one is hungry and so we skip the baked goods. Back at the house I quickly pick up, not having expected guests, and arrange a fruit platter and toast points to go with the honey I bought during our tour.

YJ has to pick up her luggage around 20h before heading to the airport and as the hour draws towards 18h I ask what the group wants to do about dinner. Lucy has been raving about Del Papa pizza and someone suggests we pick up pizza and eat at home. There’s a branch a few blocks away and we pick up four pizzas and two bottles of wine. Natan meets us at the restaurant and follows us home.

A quarter to 20h YJ gets up to leave. Natan has work to do and follows her out. Lucy and Kath linger until Lucy has to get back to her hostel. She had left her Airpods at the guesthouse near Saly and a guide on the next overnight tour has brought them back to the city. He’s given them to a Yandex courier and it’s on its way to her home.

We all part with invites to visit each other’s home countries. YJ had said we could stay with her mom, who has a guestroom. Lucy’s booked her flight back to Melbourne for June, after which she’ll be looking for her next job. Natan and Kath are staying a while longer in Almaty. Natan and I want to check out a jazz club or two. Kath suggests a hot spring tour for the weekend. The group chat promises to remain active. 🇰🇿