I visited Keketuohai twice, once in March ‘23, and again in April ‘24.

I. Terrain
Main Resort Area
As the main review mentioned, trail ratings here should be taken with a grain of salt if you’re used to skiing in North America or Europe. Nearly all trails are completely groomed, and quite wide, mellowing out their difficulties. The trail marked as Trail 1 (the Keketuohai trail) on the map I’ve posted on this review is as wide as a highway, and actually does run the full vertical of the resort, which I believe actually starts at 1900m going all the way up to 3100m. Trail 18 is a beginner run that also runs top to bottom, something along the lines of 11km in distance, snaking its way through different areas of the resort, and skiing it is actually a good way to get a lay of the land in the main resort area.

Lift #2 is a two-stage gondola that is the resort’s main lift, as it runs from the main base area at 2100m up to the top. This one gets some heinous lift lines during holiday periods, and sometimes on weekends as well, although nowhere near as bad as what you’d find at a big Epic or Ikon resort in NA. Be prepared to fight for your spot in the queue, as cutting can be commonplace at times. A decent number of people offload at the mid-station, which allows for easier lapping of the Little and Big Wolf King sidecountry areas (xiaolangwang and dalangwang). Directly adjacent to Lift 2, lookers right, is an ungroomed area full of large rock formations, that with enough cover, create some very fun pillow lines. On the other side of Lift 2, adjacent to Trail 1, is an in-bounds off-piste area of tree skiing that is generally the first place to get mashed up on a powder day. I’d give it a pass.

Lift 3 serves beginner and terrain park areas that funnel back to the 2100m base. Lift 4 serves slightly steeper terrain that can be sneaky good on a powder day, especially between trails 8, 9, 10 and 11. Lift 5 only serves the “black diamond trail” (#17 on the map) that was mentioned in the main Powderhounds review as the steepest at the resort (not in China though). It’s ungroomed, and is another great powder day option for a bit more of a challenge.

Little and Big Wolf King
More advanced skiers will want to check out Little and Big Wolf King (xiao and dalangwang). These offer wide open, ungroomed, lesser-patrolled bowl skiing up high, and well-spaced tree skiing lower down. Access is from lookers right off the top of Lift 2 using a very wide, but bumpy cat track. Little Wolf is the bowl closer to the main resort, and is served by Lift 6, which doesn’t run all the time. It’s a very slow quad lift that starts just below the tree line that does however deposit you back to the mid-station of Lift 2. You can also choose to continue down past Lift 6, all the way down to Trail 18 below the main base at 2100m, although egress onto the trail may involve a short boot pack up a small embankment.

Continuing further along the aforementioned cat track brings you to Big Wolf King, which is more vast, more remote, and IF Lift 7 isn’t running (which is most of the time), requires a comically long and uncomfortable egress to a point along the resort access road. Lift 7, similar to Lift 6, is located part way down the Big Wolf bowl, and is your only slightly more comfortable way out of Big Wolf. It’s another slow chair that brings you to the ridge line separating Little and Big Wolf. From this ridge exists fairly steep, and somewhat hairy terrain even by foreign standards. From the cat track, the terrain is quite mellow, but with fewer tracks and more variety than Little Wolf. The terrain funnels into a VERY narrow egress track out, which can get skied off very easily. Once you reach the access road, generally the only way to go is to hitchhike back to the low car park at 1900m. Generally you’ll have a bit of company there at the side of the road, and folks heading up the road by vehicle are nice about hauling people up to the car park (usually either for free or for up to 30 RMB). Yeah, quite the adventure.

II. Snow
As the Powderhounds review mentioned, this place probably actually doesn’t get that much snow. Storm systems coming in from Siberia or from the West often run out of steam by the time they reach this Eastern part of the Altay range, whereas Jikepulin at Hemu, located further north and west, tends to get a fair bit more snow. I have seen some Chinese sources claim somewhere around 3-5 meters of snow per season for Keketuohai, which is a fairly paltry figure. With the combination of elevation and high latitude however, temps stay cold for long periods of time, ensuring consistent snow quality on the groomers.

III. Transportation
I’ll just mention some things that weren’t touched on in the Powderhounds review here. You can also reach the Keketuohai area by train, taking either a slow, overnight train or a faster day train from either Altay city or the provincial capital Urumqi. Cab drivers line up at the station exit, and prices will need to be negotiated beforehand. I would say no more than 200 RMB per head is reasonable. English is non-existent among cab drivers, but that’s nothing a translate app can’t fix.

The bigger issue may be transport from the Keketuohai town up to the resort. Yes there are on-slope accommodations at the resort, but quantities are limited, and they sell out fast. A large number of hotels exist in the village, but you will be reliant on buses to take you up to the lower car park at 1900m and back. Depending on road and weather conditions, bus rides may take up to an hour, not ideal. You can also take cabs or call a Didi (Chinese uber), but these can be quite expensive unless you go with a few others in the car. At least Lift 1 from 1900m up to 2100m is free, as lift tickets are purchased at the main base area at 2100m.

IV. Other Notes
The village is lively, with actually a fair bit of apres-skis going on late into the night, although don’t expect big, wide-open western style parties. The food is much better down at the village than at the resort, and I would recommending eating in town for dinner. Expect hearty pilaf, big plate chicken, and BIG lamb skewers, the usual staples of Xinjiang cuisine. One BIG pet peeve that I have about skiing in Xinjiang is that there is just about zero enforcement of smoking bans. Expect folks to light up in lift lines and inside gondolas, leaving cigarette butts all over the ground in places. Yuck. Lastly, do not expect that anyone can speak English among hospitality staff. Individual skiers may be able to help out, as skiers and riders in China generally come from wealthier, more highly educated backgrounds.

V. The Verdict
Keep your actual ski experience hopes low. Yes it’s a big resort, but the terrain is VERY tame, and advanced skiers will get bored here without freshies. I got lucky on my first visit with powder, but don’t expect that to be the norm. If you can keep in mind that just traveling all the way to Xinjiang is an adventure in and of itself, and you can appreciate the cool cultural experience that it is, with all that it entails (food, minority culture, incredible views that make you feel like you’re not in China etc), you will find a trip to Keketuohai worthwhile. For better terrain and snow however, I’d recommend Hemu much more.
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