Medeu

Medeu sits at 1,691 metres in a gorge above Almaty, and the altitude is the point: the thin air offers less resistance, and after the artificial-ice rink opened in 1972 skaters set well over a hundred world records here, enough that it became known in speed skating as the rink of records. The oval covers over ten thousand square metres of ice, open to the sky with mountains on every side, and it is used for public skating outside competition, with skates hired at the door. Above the rink stands a large mudflow barrier dam built after a catastrophic debris flow threatened the city, and a long flight of steps climbs it to a viewpoint. A cable car runs on up to Shymbulak.

History

The rink is named after Medeu Pusurmanov, who built three wooden huts here for his family's winters and began to develop the tract. A sanatorium opened in 1930, building of the rink began in the autumn of 1949, and at its first competitions, in February 1951, skaters set two world records; 47 more followed over the next 17 seasons (Wikipedia, Medeu).

What to look for

• The open-air oval - the high-altitude ice rink under the mountains.
• The mudflow dam - the barrier above the rink and the stairway up it.
• Public skating - the rink in general use outside competitions.
• The gorge - the Malaya Almatinka valley enclosing the site.

When to go

November to March is the skating season, with ice made artificially and reliable through the winter. In summer the rink is closed but the gorge and the dam walk remain. Weekends are busy with Almaty families.

Good to know

Ice is only available in winter and the rink closes for competitions and maintenance. The gorge road is busy at weekends and parking is difficult. The stair climb up the dam is steep at altitude. Skate hire queues are long on holidays.

Nearby

Shymbulak lies above by cable car; Almaty is down the gorge.

Key facts