Medeu

Medeu sits at 1,691 m and is best known for its outdoor speed-skating oval, which hosted world records through the Soviet era. The trail to Furmanov Peak begins at the bus stop: descend about 20 m below the main stop level and follow the road east into Kimasar Gorge along the Komissarovka River. After roughly 1 km of asphalt the road turns to packed dirt and the gorge narrows. A spring about 2.5 km in offers safe water to top up bottles. Watch for a left-hand fork after the spring — this is the Furmanov ridge route; the right fork continues up the gorge floor and leads elsewhere.

The Medeu stadium complex occupies the flat floor of the gorge at 1,691 m. The outdoor rink covers 10,500 square metres and has hosted over 200 world speed-skating records since it opened in 1951 — locals call it the 'factory of records.' In winter (November–March) the ice is open for public skating; in summer roller skating and walking fill the surface. A short distance above the rink, the mudflow-protection dam rises across the valley. Climbing its 842 steps is a tradition among Almaty residents and takes about 20–30 minutes; the top gives a clear view down the gorge toward the city.

The Medeu anti-mudflow dam stands above the skating complex at 1,691 m, built in 1966 across the gorge to protect Almaty from debris flows. For this trip it is a transit point rather than an endpoint: note the 842 concrete steps on the dam's south face and the wide view down the gorge as you pass. The gondola base station sits immediately beyond the dam. Buy a round-trip gondola ticket to the Shymbulak resort base (2,260 m) here — the first of two stages. One-way tickets are available but the round-trip saves queuing on return when legs are tired.