GENERAL REVIEW
Pros
- The Jyrgalan cat skiing outfit offers the fun of cat skiing with a generous serving of culture on the side and an opportunity to visit this intriguing country.
- Kyrgyzstan Cat Skiing is very inexpensive relative to snowcat skiing in many parts of the world. In comparing 7 nights + 5 days of cat skiing in Kyrgyzstan here are a few examples (current as of 2026): Niseko cat skiing for 1 day (no lodging) is half the price; a SW Hokkaido cat skiing outfit with simple Japanese accommodation for 4 nights + 4 days of cat skiing – costs 2.8 times more; a classic Canada cat skiing outfit for 4 nights + 4 days cat skiing – costs 2.9 times more
- Central Asia is recognised for receiving dry powder and Jyrgalan is renowned for scoring the most snow in Kyrgyzstan due to lake effect storms. To the west of Jyrgalan is Issyk Kul which means “warm lake” and this massive alpine lake doesn’t freeze due to its salinity and the presence of hot springs in the area.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- Assumedly you’re not a princess or prince if you’ve decided to travel to Kyrgyzstan, so you’ll probably love its rawness and the great sense of adventure it provides.
- Staying in the yurt for a night is a unique experience.
- The snowcat does its job in getting you up the hill, although the comfort of the cabin differs somewhat from the fancy snowcat cabins that you might find in BC Canada as an example. As above, you’re there for a great time, not a cushy time.
- Whilst the guides are experienced and cover safety aspects, if you want a safety briefing then you might want to ask for it.
- It takes a long time to get to Jyrgalan yet this is half the adventure, and the journey provides plenty of opportunities to soak up Kyrgyzstan.

We’ve provided more detailed ratings of the Jyrgalan cat skiing against various other cat skiing outfits around the world (we’ve reviewed 35+ cat ski outfits) on our cat skiing ratings page. Even though we thought that the cat skiing in Kyrgyzstan was amazing fun, no company is absolutely perfect for everyone. Our ratings cover different aspects of the operation and hopefully you can determine if cat skiing in Kyrgyzstan is likely to align with your priorities. To put it into perspective, the cat skiing ratings are against the gold standard of cat skiing which is in BC Canada with respect to exceptional safety standards, terrain diversity and snow, whilst the absolute gold standard for snow is in Hokkaido Japan. Note that one of the factors not included in the ratings is cultural immersion, which is one of the great aspects of Kyrgyzstan cat skiing.

OUR EXPERIENCE
We checked out 2 days of cat skiing as part of the Ski Adventure Kyrgyzstan. It was plenty of fun! This was in February 2026 in the location of the new Jyrgalan Ski Resort, and for 2027 Ryce will move the cat skiing to a nearby spot with similar terrain.

As a precursor to the comments below, it’s my job to critique ski experiences and analyse the nuances so as to set your expectations appropriately. As alluded to above, this cat skiing is not like typical BC Canada outfits which commonly have luxury lodging, highly refined safety practices, decades of experience in building perfect snowcat cabins, and diverse terrain including challenging tree skiing. Don’t let that deter you from going cat skiing in Jyrgalan. The overall experience was fantastic and unique, and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go back again.

TERRAIN
All the terrain we skied was in the alpine and sub-alpine with sparse vegetation, so there wasn’t much true tree skiing like you’d find in North America or Japan, and similarly there weren’t any steeps.

Many of the runs were really long, although the lower parts were rather flat and whilst still fun, they were in no way exhilarating.

It’s worth noting that the minimum ability level for the Ski Adventure Kyrgyzstan is lower than for the week-long cat ski trips, so at times we skied mellowish runs to cater for all. As some skiers sat out runs, the challenge of the slopes increased somewhat and the lines were perfect for advanced skiers and snowboarders. The video hopefully provides a good concept of the terrain.

SNOW
There was plenty of snow in the tenure and most of the terrain was at a good elevation. The guides had lots of aspects to work with and sun-affected slopes were not really a problem. Wind was another matter and in the absence of tight tree zones, the guides had to work really hard to find some decent snow that was protected from the wind but they did manage. Many of our runs had wind crust for the top third, which even the fattest skis didn’t always deal with. It was still plenty of fun; just not ego powder.

SNOWCAT
The snowcat was reasonably good and had plenty of power to get up the hill efficiently. Our snowcat cabin had seats just around the edge and only had 2 forward facing seats (when going uphill), unlike many other cat skiing outfits. With no seatbelts or handles or the like to keep you in your seat, we spent a bit of time sliding onto other guests, although I guess that was sort of fun. Other features that are common with gold standard cat cabins were also absent such as insulation from sound and fumes, hooks or other set-up for storage of drink bottles and gear, and easy steps to get in and out.

SAFETY & GUIDING
The lead and tail guides were very good and were cohesive with their communication, although considering there was negligible tree skiing per se, it wasn’t difficult for them to explain the run and to keep visual checks on all guests throughout the run. They re-grouped at appropriate locations and the tail guide did a great job at picking up the pieces of fallen skiers. Considering the disparate abilities of our group, they managed considerably well.

Undoubtedly they had safety aspects well covered although this wasn’t obvious to guests, such as the digging of snow pits or information provided about avalanche forecasting. As would be standard in North America, there was no safety briefing provided regarding the beacons, what to do in the event of an avalanche, or safety around the snowcat. Toto we’re not in Kansas anymore.

APRES SKI
Each of the 2 days of snowcat skiing was topped off with a gratifying stop at the après ski bar for beverages. It was situated in a shipping container so it didn’t take much for it to be packed with backcountry skiers, and on the first day we spilled outside to the tables and chairs to celebrate a great day.

LODGING
We stayed in a yurt for a night to get the quintessential Kyrgyzstan experience (unlike the full week cat skiing trips where guests mostly stay in the guesthouse). I probably wouldn’t want to stay in a yurt for a couple of weeks, but just one night was a perfect taste of yurting and a pretty cool way to get into the Kyrgz nomadic lifestyle.

I’d conjured up ideas of staying in a yurt camp that was “off-the-grid”. It was definitely very rural, but it wasn’t until we got there that we realised that the yurt tents were setup on the same land as the guesthouse and it wasn’t quite as isolated as I’d fabricated in my mind. The pros of this were that we had some mobile phone coverage, had power points for charging electronics in the yurt, and we had meals in the comfort of the guesthouse.

We had 7 of us sharing a yurt which was reasonably spacious. Some youthful giggling did ensue at times and it felt a little like we were back at school camp. The beds on the floor were very comfortable, and the yurt was well heated….maybe too well. “Bathing” was via use of the wood fired hot tub and/or sauna and then doing a bit of a snow angel. Our expectations had been set that we’d be using a drop toilet so that was fine, and it was just the right distance from the sleeping quarters, but the hole was excessively large and I’m surprised someone didn’t fall in! A seat or the like might have been a nice little creature comfort. Assumedly the week-long cat ski guests could just use the indoor bathrooms when staying in the yurt for a night.

It’s never good to segue from restrooms to food, but I’ll give it a try! Our eating needs were well looked after by the friendly hosts. After having dined in Karakol restaurants where the cuisine was somewhat international, it was nice to sample some good traditional fare. They had well-priced beverages for sale, and plov and vodka are a marriage made in heaven!

Jyrgalan is likely to look very different in a few years considering the development of the Ala-too Ski Resort. It won’t be the sleepy hollow anymore, but undoubtedly Ryce will find another little patch of paradise close by and I look forward to heading back to go cat skiing in the new location.
See our video here