Skiing / The Altai deep-snow journey
Private powder journey
The Altai Deep-Snow Journey: 10 Days in Xinjiang's Powder Belt
The seven-day Altai week is the shortest complete version of this region. This longer journey is the one for people who came for the snow. It keeps the same three resorts but holds two spare days in the schedule, adds a third night in Hemu, and lets the guide set the mountain order by aspect, wind and where the last storm actually fell. Koktokay opened on 20 October in 2026 — the earliest in China — and the upper Altai can still be skiable in April. Ten days is long enough to stop treating that season as a novelty and start using it.
Ask about this itineraryHemu under two metres of snow — the village the big mountain rises above
Jiangjunshan inside Altay city, Koktokay in the Fuyun granite gorge, and Jikepulin above Hemu — the largest published lift-served vertical in China
Held unassigned in the middle of the week. They absorb storm closures, a road closure into the Kanas basin, or simply a second day on a mountain that is skiing well
Wooden Tuvan houses, single-track ploughed streets and horse-sleds on the frozen river — a destination in its own right for non-skiing companions
Cold Siberian air over the Altai gives low-density powder; Burqin county records an effective snow cover of around seven months in the Hemu basin
Why ten days
Time is the luxury here.
Most Altai itineraries fail on the same point: the mountains are hours apart, the roads close, and a fixed seven-day schedule has nowhere to put a storm. Ten days fixes that. Two unassigned days sit in the middle of the week, and the guide uses them where they are worth most — a second lap day at Koktokay after a reset, a weather window at Jikepulin, or a quiet travel day that keeps everyone fresh for the last two mornings.
The journey is built for advanced and strong intermediate skiers who are comfortable on long, sustained pitches and variable snow. Side-country beyond the resort gates is only ever an option with the patrol rules, a qualified guide and proper equipment; a fatal avalanche on the mountain in December 2025 is a plain reason to take that boundary seriously. The extra days also make the trip workable for a mixed group: three nights in Hemu means non-skiers get a real winter village rather than a consolation afternoon.
Route Briefing
Fly Urumqi to Altay for the city mountain, east to Koktokay for the big vertical, then north-west into the Kanas basin for Hemu and Jikepulin. Two flex days are held between the first and second halves; the guide places them once the forecast settles.
- Day 1Urumqi → Altay cityfly, fitting
- Day 2Jiangjunshanresort
- Day 3Jiangjunshan night skiingresort
- Day 4Flex day — Altayreserve
- Day 5Altay → Koktokaytransfer
- Day 6Koktokay full dayresort
- Day 7Flex day — storm choicereserve
- Day 8Koktokay → Hemutransfer
- Day 9Jikepulin full dayresort
- Day 10Hemu → Altay — departfly on
Day by day
Ten days, six on snow.
An outline, not a promise of mountain order — snowfall, wind and road status decide which resort gets which morning.
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Day 01
North into winter
Urumqi → Altay city
Morning flight from Urumqi over the Gobi rim to Altay. Boot fitting and rental in the afternoon, then an easy first hour on the floodlit lower runs if the group wants it. Dinner in town — this is the only Chinese ski resort where the city is part of the day.
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Day 02
The city mountain
Jiangjunshan
A full day on 460 metres of vertical with wide fall-line pistes, tree shots between the lifts and the whole city below. Two runs certified to international federation standards; the guide sets laps by aspect and snow.
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Day 03
Night laps and a slow morning
Jiangjunshan
A late start after the previous day, then the floodlit evening session Jiangjunshan is known for. Shorter, colder and quieter than the daytime mountain — the useful introduction to what the Altai feels like after dark.
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Day 04
The first reserve
Flex day · Altay
Unassigned by design. If a storm has loaded the mountain, this becomes a second full Jiangjunshan day; if the forecast points east, we move early toward Koktokay. If the group needs it, it is simply a rest morning.
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Day 05
East to the granite gorge
Altay → Koktokay
The drive east along the Irtysh headwaters into Fuyun county and the national park. Check into the resort hotel; an afternoon lift lap if the legs and the weather allow.
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Day 06
1,350 metres of vertical
Koktokay
A full day on the mountain that opened first in China in 2026 — natural half-pipes, steep faces, mushroom fields and birch terrain from the 3,100-metre summit down to the gorge floor. Non-skiers can take the gondola for the gorge views.
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Day 07
The second reserve
Flex day · storm choice
The day the trip is built around. A second Koktokay day after a reset, an early move into the Kanas basin ahead of a closure, or a weather day in the village — the guide calls it from the forecast and the road reports.
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Day 08
Over to the village
Koktokay → Hemu
The winter transfer north-west into the Kanas basin, by road as conditions allow, to Hemu: wooden houses under deep snow, streets ploughed to single track, horse-sleds the practical transport. Three nights here, not two.
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Day 09
The big mountain
Jikepulin / Hemu
A full day on 1,466 metres of vertical — eight main runs exceeding 1,000 metres of drop, with wide alpine bowls off the ridge. Any travel beyond the gates stays with the patrol rules and a qualified guide. Evening back in the village around the stove.
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Day 10
Out through the snow
Hemu → Altay — depart
A slow village morning, a fur-ski demonstration if the village skiers are about, then the drive back to Altay for afternoon flights to Urumqi and onward.
What's included
What is included, and what is not.
The extra days buy flexibility, not more attractions — the value here is the transfer problem solved and the schedule left loose enough to use the snow.
Included
Arranged and paid in your price.
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Ski concierge trip leader plus local guide at each resort
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Lift passes at Jiangjunshan, Koktokay and Jikepulin, including night skiing where open
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Internal flight Urumqi–Altay and all ground transfers, including two flex-day vehicle days
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Accommodation: city hotels, Koktokay resort hotel and three nights in a heated Hemu homestead
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All breakfasts and selected dinners
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Fur-ski demonstration and horse-sled experience in Hemu
Not included
Either yours to arrange, or a question we will gladly answer.
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Flights to and from Urumqi
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Ski and snowboard rental — arranged to your sizes at booking
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Lunches on the mountains
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Ski insurance — required, with winter-sports and off-piste cover confirmed before departure
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Private instruction and any guided side-country beyond the resort gates
Season reality: Koktokay opened on 20 October in 2026 and its previous season ran to 28 April; Jikepulin and Jiangjunshan open in mid-November. Hemu road access closes temporarily during heavy-storm cycles — the two flex days exist for exactly that.
Enquiry
Ask about the deep-snow journey.
Tell us your ski level, board or planks, and target month. We will come back with the snow outlook, a proposed resort order and a written outline with a price.
- Difficulty
- Advanced and strong intermediate
- Season
- Late Oct – early Apr
- Group size
- 2 – 8, private departures
- Cost guide
- From ¥19,800 per person, twin share
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