Typical operating window
January–MarchThe seasonal snowpack normally develops from November, with midwinter providing the most reliable cold coverage.Verified planning context
Snow, weather and avalanche context
Historical patterns help you compare trips. They do not predict your week or replace the operator's daily decisions.
Strongest comparable snow evidence
542 mm SWE median · 494–603 mm interquartile rangeEast Kazakhstan Altai reference ERA5-Land grid cellTier C · modelled estimate · low confidenceSnow character
continentalLow temperatures favour dry snow, while wind and long cold spells can preserve weak layers.Public avalanche information
Kazhydromet weather and hazard warningsNo verified public regional avalanche bulletin was identified for the operating area.Weather and flight context
Cold continental air and orographic snowfall create marked valley-to-ridge differences.
- Extreme cold
- Remote weather observations
- Wind and low contrast
Meteorological reference area
Kazakhstan Altai catalogue locations
- Includes
- Kazakhstan Altai evidence near published programs.
- Excludes
- Almaty and Russian Altai or Caucasus regions.
- Elevation
- No verified operator-terrain elevation band is public. Each evidence value retains its site elevation.
Evidence pack
Measurements, claims and gaps stay separate.
Tier CModelled snowfall water equivalent542 mm SWE median · 494–603 mm interquartile range
- Site
- East Kazakhstan Altai reference ERA5-Land grid cell · 50.3000, 83.5000 · 5.1 km from East Kazakhstan Altai reference reference point
- Period
- Calendar years 1991–2020
- Completeness
- 360 monthly means; all 30 calendar years contain 12 values.
- Method
- ERA5-Land monthly mean daily snowfall accumulation was multiplied by calendar days and 1,000, then summed by calendar year.
- Limitation
- This reference area supports evidence discovery and comparison. It is not an operating-area or tenure boundary. This unadjusted 0.1° reanalysis grid cell is not an observation, snow depth, or terrain-wide total. Grid elevation and wind redistribution can cause substantial local bias.
- ERA5-Land monthly averaged data from 1950 to presentCopernicus Climate Change Service · accessed 2026-08-26
Monthly evidence
Each cell keeps its measurement type and unit. Reanalysis water equivalent is not snow depth. Text-only cells preserve a representative data gap.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68.4 mm SWE | 61.5 mm SWE | 65.1 mm SWE | 46.7 mm SWE | 9.4 mm SWE | 0 mm SWE | 0 mm SWE | 0 mm SWE | 8.3 mm SWE | 70 mm SWE | 97.4 mm SWE | 86.9 mm SWE |
Commercial operator assessment
Operator assessment process not independently verifiedThe operator must assess current snow, avalanche terrain, weather, aircraft limits, and rescue options. No private operational plan is inferred.
Sources and evidence notes
- WMO Climatological NormalsWorld Meteorological Organization · accessed 2026-08-25
- ERA5-Land hourly data from 1950 to presentCopernicus Climate Change Service · accessed 2026-08-25
- Weather and warningsKazhydromet · accessed 2026-08-25
- Published operator and trip inventoryHeliski International editorial team · accessed 2026-08-25
- ERA5-Land monthly averaged data from 1950 to presentCopernicus Climate Change Service · accessed 2026-08-26