Bektau-Ata is a large rock massif 70 kilometers north of Lake Balkhash. It looks like a volcano from the road, but it isn’t. It consists of rough, weathered granite. Due to the constant winds, the rocks have rounded edges, pockets, and all other sorts of other depressions.
All cracks have rounded edges. The bigger the crack, the smother the edges. The sizes range from flaring fingers to full-body chimneys, with all widths—from solid hand jams to improbable overhanging hand stacks—in between. The rock quality is perfect, and the protection is bomber.
Dates: September 30 — October 6 (Monday to Sunday)
During the course, you’ll learn
- How to jam different parts of your body for progression
- install cams and nuts
- build reliable anchors for belaying your lower partner
Getting there from Almaty takes a full day, as the distances here in Kazakhstan are enormous. At the place, we’ll stay in one of the sanatoriums around or will camp. We’ll discuss it later.
Gear. This is the program for those with initial experince in rock climbing. So I suppose you have your gear, such as climbing shoes and a harness. Let’s run through the rest of the stuff:
- Helmet
- Headlamp
- Harness
- At least one roll of 5cm wide medical tape
- Belay device (tube style or GriGri, if both—even better)
- 3–5 locking carabiners
- Cams and nuts. Nuts are rarely to be used. The more cams you bring, the better
- 2×120 cm sewn slings
- Climbing shoes. It shouldn’t be tight, as you’ll be spending a lot of time on every route.
- 60 m rope
Itinerary. Most probably it will look like this, but we can change something due to the weather and participants condition
- Day 1 Drive from Almaty. Climbing of basic training in the evening
- Day 2 Warming up on the rocks and learning basic moves necessary for crack climbing
- Day 3 Climbing on toprope something interesting
- Day 4 Rest day. Hanging around, lying in the camp, and the activities of that sort. No rocks! As your body will need to recover.
- Day 5 Climbing
- Day 6 More climbing!
- Day 7 Happily moving out and driving to Almaty
Cost. The course costs 850 euros per person. This price includes transfers, food, the instructor’s work, accommodation, and gear.
To join, write me a message at kirill@alatau.guide or at Telegram.
P. S. If you support or justify the war in Ukraine in one way or another, we can’t climb together.