фото: Medeo - The Highest Skating Rink in the World

Tore Khan • 03-09-2014  

Описание: The Medeo, is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley (Medeu Valley, or the valley of Malaya Alma-Atinka River) on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world. It has 10.5 thousand square meters of ice and utilizes a sophisticated freezing and watering system to ensure the quality of the ice. The mountain valley was named in honor of Medeo, a wanderer who lived in the last century and established own aul in this picturesque. site. Construction of the stadium began in the fall of 1949, and the first competition took place at the stadium on 4 February 1951. Medeu switched to its current system of artificial ice in 1972 by a team of Soviet engineers. The Medeu Dam, built in the late 1960s, stands immediately south of the skating rink, protecting it – and the city of Almaty itself – from potentially devastating mud flows. Viewpoints on top of the dam provide great views of the stadium. The dam has 3 successive altitude levels. Special water reservoir allows holding about 6 million cubic meters of water. Stairs known to city inhabitants and tourists consisting of 842 steps leads to the dam. Contests on ascension along this unique stairs are regularly carried out. Medeo maintains its status as one of the best-known tourist locations in Kazakhstan. The stadium is open to the public all year round, allowing visitors to skate at high altitude day or night. During night hours, skaters can enjoy music and lights in the stadium either from the ice, or from VIP boxes available for rent. While ticket prices were raised due to the reconstruction for the Asian Games, it still remains a popular destination for groups of friends or couples. In addition to this, the Medeu stadium and Dam remain the destination for Almaty's International Medeu-marathon. During this event, competitors run up from the city to this famous location, climbing almost 1000 vertical meters before returning to Almaty to finish. 2011 marked the 14th year of this challenging race, with over 150 runners participating.

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