One thing we were excited for when we decided to move closer into the city was city walks. We thought that if we were living in an apartment that we would want to get out more to get some exercise and fresh air. We are lucky enough to be in a great neighborhood with almost anything within walking distance. The other day after work, Nic and I took one of said city walks, and I took my camera to snap some shots.
The entrance to an apartment building near ours.
One of many neighborhood fruit stands.
There is a lovely park that stretches a few kilometers beginning on the block our apartment is on. Nic and I like to run in this park, and its great for people watching too. On any given afternoon, it is full of people; groups of young adults, young couples with babies, retirees out for a stroll and there's always at least one couple making out on the bench.
The kiddy amusement park. Each block has it's own version.
Cyrillic graffiti.
The ping-pong tables are always busy on a nice afternoon.
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Fall weather in Almaty is just about perfect. The last ten days or so it's really started to feel like fall. Crisp and chilly nights have begun, but the days are still warm. Skies are bright blue and the leaves are just beginning to turn. This weather is limited, and the nip tells us that winter isn't far. Saturday we had professional development at school, so Nic and I wanted to get out on Sunday and take advantage of this time of year. A fellow teacher was organizing a hike so we decided to tag along.
The start of our hike is about 15 minutes outside of the city and skirts around a small, family-owned dairy.
It was the perfect day for a hike.
After the dairy we climb through an apple orchard with only a few apples left on upper branches.
The hike starts steep, and that particular day, it didn't get any easier.
The first view of Almaty.
Cool bark patterns on the way up.
Beautiful, multi-colored aspens.
Can you see the three big rocks on the ridge to the left? Those are the Three Brothers, where we thought we were going.
Leaders of the pack: Nic, Victor and Allen.
So we started in that direction.
This is an old rope tow. We were told that early in the season, before the big resorts open, guys come up and run this. To partake, you must bring a bottle of vodka for the guys, and an 8 mm hook to grab the tow rope.
We were told this by Victor, our local guide. Mike, the teacher organizing the hike, met Victor somewhere along the line and they started scheming adventures together. Victor is an English and German teacher, but likes to explore in his free time. We pay gas and get a local guide, Victor gets a free ride out of the city and gets to practice his English. He's a kind and concerned guide, and man can he hike. Here he is filling up his water bottle from a spring. Yes, that is ice, already forming goblin shapes around the base of the spout.
Victor told us he knows a better way to get to the Three Brothers than the most direct route. We all followed along willingly. Where we ended up is the peak you see in the distance, Kumbel.
After more steep climbing, the views began to open up. These hardy men passed us some kilometers back, and found a fantastic picnic spot. We asked if they were going to the peak, and they responded that they would, after a short rest for some vodka.
There wasn't much of a trail, but as you can see it is pretty barren up there.
Steep climbing, leaving Almaty far behind.
When we finally made it to the saddle, we were all pretty tired. Victor said that this is a false peak, and that the next one is only 5 minutes further.
So I trudged on, and the foothill ridges appeared. I wish I could say those were clouds or even smoke, but that is Almaty's pollution.
It wasn't exactly 5 minutes (more like 20), but it was beautiful at the top.
Kumbel Peak: 10,580 feet. The same as South Sister in Oregon.
It was windy and quite cold at the top. I only stayed long enough to snap a few photos, take it all in, and then I headed back down.
At the saddle we waited for the rest of our crew to come back down. The wind chilled our sweat-soaked backs, and my hands began to go numb. We were not totally prepared for this elevation, as we had expected only to go to the Three Brothers. Victor spoke of a tea house just below the Three Brothers. With total consensus, Nic, Allen, Victor and I decided to head down and wait for everyone there, and thoughts of my hands around a hot cup of tea began to float in my mind.
The Three Brothers. As it turns out, there are actually about six of them, but three large ones, visible from below.
Victor, Nic and Allen head towards the trail around and then down.
We warmed up quickly as we came off the exposed ridge, but the tea house (more a tea tent) was still a welcoming sight at the bottom of a long decent.
The Almaty Alpinist Club sponsored the tea tent. We were in luck, as that day was Tourist Day (which explained the many underprepared college-aged groups we saw slowly stomping up the trail around us). As such, the club set up a fire with a big pot of black tea, and had bags of cookies. All for free! It was such a pleasant way to end a big hike, and gave us enough morale to finish the 5 kilometers back to the car.
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