Kok Zhailyau resort to have freeride tracks

Kok Zhailyau mountain skiing resort near Kazakhstan's Almaty will have kinds of ski tracks and slopes both amateur and professional skiers and snowboarders, Tengrinews reports. The international experts invited by Kazakhstan to help make the resort compliant with international standards, said that the area was reach with various types of slopes: stiff and flat. Claude Faure, President of Trois Vallees (Three Valleys) that operates ski tracks in Courchevel, said that the main goal of the resort was to satisfy skiers and snowboarders of different levels. He added that the area had a great potential for freeride -- riding without a set course, goals or rules on natural terrain. Fans of this extreme sport believe that riding on the 'wild', virgin snow is opening the full potential of skiing and snowboarding. The French expert told Tengrinews that he and his colleagues had been working in the skiing sport industry for 60 years. He admitted that the Europeans made a lot of mistakes during construction of the resorts in the Alps. "60 years ago we were focusing mostly on the construction itself. The ecology and nature were in the back seat," Faure said. Faure explained that the design engineers mainly focused on making the Alpine resorts urban styled. According to him, the Kazakhstan resorts should be made in harmony with the local nature and not harm its integrity. He added that green technologies could be used at the Kok Zhailyau resort. For example, solar batteries could be used to generate power, since the daylight in the area is long. The experts suggested that the resort could operate all the year round. The mountainous area would welcome open to the skiers and tourists after the cableway is constructed. It would enable even elderly people go for a picnic in the mountains. It is planned to construct 4 thousand suits of different comfort classes in the resort villages. The first phase of the resort creation includes construction of 65 kilometers of skiing tracks and 16 lifts. It is expected that the resort will be able to service 11 thousand people a day. A total of 350 million tenge ($2.3 million) has already been allocated for development of the concept of Kok-Zhailyau ski resort in Almaty. By Dmitry Khegay