Almaty welcomes fresh snowfall during Paralympic Winter Games Period

The city of Almaty awoke to thirty centimetres of fresh, natural snowfall in the mountains, which coincides with the city’s Games Concept for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games – real conditions for winter sports. Today’s snowfall is not unusual for this season as Almaty sits adjacent to 4,000 metre-peaked Tian Sian Mountain Range flowing directly into the city. Naturally, the surrounding mountains are a major factor impacting the weather conditions throughout the year. On average, a consistent level of snow mantle is formed in late October with meltdown starting in early April.

Almaty’s climate ideally suited for the Winter Games is unique as varies on different levels of elevation within city boundaries, ranging from 500m to 1750m in the Northern region. The temperature drops 0.6 degrees Celsius every hundred meters when inclining, thus making the local micro-climate a very distinctive one and providing outstanding opportunities for winter tourism and sports.

This is also important due to the fact that this perfectly corresponds with the dates proposed for the Almaty 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

"Our concept offers the Olympic Movement a return to an intimate, affordable Winter Games," said Mr Andrey Kryukov, Vice Chairman of Almaty 2022. He added, "This large amount of snowfall in mid-March is not at all unusual for Almaty and it reiterates one of our key messages to the Olympic Movement – real mountains, real snow. It shows that Paralympic athletes will have plenty of snow for the Games. That is what we mean by "Keeping it Real".

Today in Almaty, the proposed Paralympic Nordic and Alpine venues – both great legacies from the 2011 Asian Winter Games - are still covered in fresh snow, offering athletes perfect conditions for elite Paralympic winter sports competitions.

Vice-President of the National Paralympic Committee of Kazakhstan, Mr Aidar Zhumabayev commented, "Hosting the Paralympic Winter Games will provide a great opportunity to raise awareness, promote social integration and create new disability and accessibility standards across the city of Almaty and the Republic of Kazakhstan."

He continued, "Like the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, the 2022 Paralympic Games Concept will benefit from Almaty’s three big advantages: a super-compact venue plan with all venues within a 30-kilometre radius, state-of-the-art venues, and real snow and ideal climatic conditions for elite winter sports."

Ms Zhanyl Baltabayeva, Sochi 2014 Cross country Paralympic athlete stated, "For the athletes, the Paralympics are the culmination of years of hard work, just as the Olympic Games are for the Olympians. All athletes need venues and courses that provide perfect conditions. As an athlete based in Almaty, I can assure you that our venues and mountains offer excellent conditions, perfect for competition, covered in snow right throughout March. Almaty is the perfect place to host an event at this time of the year."

She went on to say, "Almaty is a hidden gem destination in terms of winter sports. Hosting the Olympics and Paralympics would show the world the beauty of Almaty, the magnificence of our mountains, the kindness of our people and the warmth of our hospitality."

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