My Cat skiing adventure to Ridder was amazing. Serge at Catskiing.kz was super helpful and was fluid to my requests and changes as I received more information on what and where I wanted to go and do. He made sure everything was booked and organised payment for me and he followed my progress during the trip to make sure there were no problems. He knows all the ins and outs of skiing and cat skiing in Kazakhstan and I can fully recommend him. I skied two locations, one based out of Berloga Hotel at Ridder and the other at Eastpole further up in the mountains. The skiing at both was incredible, deep untracked powder every run. From what I saw the terrain at Berloga is better suited to people with less experience in deep powder and there is lots of deep powder. The hotel is new and very nice, it has large comfortable rooms with a restaurant and access to amenities and other restaurants in Ridder. The guides are great and super helpful. Eastpole terrain is perhaps slightly more challenging so better for more experienced back country skiers. Again deep fresh tracks every run. The lodge is cozy and very social. It’s a great atmosphere, more rustic than Berloga. The sauna is perfect after a day in the mountains. There is limited access to Ridder town as you are up in the hills but Dasha was happy to help when I ran out of beer and brought some up for me the next day. Eugene, Dasha and their guides and staff are all super friendly and I left feeling part of the family they have created. I’ll be back.

I’m always looking for the best locations for snowboarding on powder. My work doesn’t allow me the luxury of last-minute bookings based on recent snow falls, so I’m forced to book trips well in advance and hope for the best. This has led me to many disappointing slushy or icy slopes, which is frustrating because these trips still involve spending significant effort, time and money. An obvious solution is heliboarding but this is of course expensive. So, while searching for reliable freeriding locations I was very lucky to stumble upon Catskiing.kz. The more I read about the southwestern Altai mountains the more I was sold. Once winter settles, temperature stays below zero receiving regular snow falls, which builds a deep layer of snow with plenty of powder. Serge Konstantinov was great providing information and options for my trip. Serge is very knowledgeable in all aspects of freeriding: touring, heli and cat skiing in Kazakhstan. I eventually settled in a combination of snowcat (sharing the slope with a 10-strong group) and a few days of snowmobile for private freeriding. Everyday you head to the top of the ridge in your shared cat or taken in a snowmobile. The guides always look for dropping points where one has the immense pleasure to ride on trackless slopes. The conditions were the best I’ve ever experienced: waist-deep powder on 30 to 45 degree slopes with a mixture of open terrain and woods. It was just pure joy riding there! However, the best for us were the Kazakhs. The guides were super professional, competent, and fun. The staff made us feel like we were part of a happy family, and some evenings we stayed late enjoying great conversation and drinks. And for those who might be hesitant about going to Kazakhstan: the country is safe, clean and has very good infrastructure. Ridder and nearby Ust-Kamenogorsk have good hospitals, supermarkets and hotels. All in all, this was one of the best snowboarding trips I’ve ever done – unbeatable conditions, well-run operations and amazing people. Highly recommended.