Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains

Just to the south of Almaty, easily accessible by bus, rises the north slope of the Tian Shan mountains (which you may recall are called Ala-Too by the Kyrgyz people, and Alatau by the Kazakh people).  This range boasts the 16000-plus-foot peaks Semanov and Talgar, and so many glorious glaciers.  I knew that the Tian Shans held majestic high snowy peaks for days, but I somehow didn't even consider that I would see so many glaciers.  

Here's a shot that includes the Til Glacier (far left) 

and the Ayak Glacier (just left of center).  

I ended up on this hike accidentally.  I mean, I was aiming to do another hike in the same canyon but could not for the life of me find the trailhead.  Warning to potential Kazakhstan trekkers: there is very little signage in natural areas.  You kinda have to just know where the trails begin, wander, and end.  So I missed my intended hike, but stumbled upon a gondola, which I took....and it turned out that it was about a 50-minute ride up three separate lifts to the top of a ski resort!  And from that final tower, there was much, much hiking in various directions, up through the craggiest peaks above Shymbulak: Talgar Pass to Talgar Peak (5017 m / 16450 ft), Pioner [pioneer?] Peak (4031 m / 13225 ft), and my personal favorite, The Peak of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (4086 m / 13405ft--shrouded in cloud in the photo below).  So:  hiking-thwarted became hiking-thrilled, like magic!