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Season, month by month
What we expect, kept separate from what we have actually logged.
The question every pilot asks first is how many days they will fly, and the answer every operator gives is a number designed to close the sale. We split the two things instead, because a table that mixes an opinion with a measurement is worth nothing to the person planning a trip.
Two different kinds of number live in this table and we keep them apart on purpose. Expected is our operational judgement from running ground logistics in these valleys — it is an opinion, not a measurement. Observed is the count of days our own groups actually flew, filled in at the end of each season from the flight log and never overwritten by a deploy. Where Observed is empty, we have not logged that month yet and we are not going to invent it. Nobody in Kyrgyzstan publishes flyable-day statistics; building this table honestly is slower than making one up and it is the only version worth citing.
| Month | Expected | Good for | ✈ Expected | ✈ Logged by us |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | Chon-Tash and the south only. Snow still on the high launches. Thermals weak but clean; good for a first flight, not for distance. | first flights | 3–4 of 7 | not logged yet |
| May | Karakol opens. Unstable and showery — the month with the widest spread between a great week and a wasted one. | first flights | 3–5 of 7 | not logged yet |
| June | Suusamyr starts working. Strong air, early overdevelopment, tasks finish before 15:00. Good XC month for pilots who launch early. | pilots and first flights | 4–5 of 7 | not logged yet |
| July | The highest cloudbase of the year and the most violent afternoons. Big distances are flown in July and so is most of the drama. | pilots and first flights | 4–5 of 7 | not logged yet |
| August | Similar to July, slightly calmer. Peak tourist season on Issyk-Kul, so accommodation is the constraint, not the weather. | pilots and first flights | 4–5 of 7 | not logged yet |
| September | The month we would pick. Stable air, high visibility, thermals still strong enough for distance, the lake still warm, and the Alps are finished for the season. | pilots and first flights | 5–6 of 7 | not logged yet |
| October | First half only, and only at Karakol and Chon-Tash. Short working window around midday, cold at altitude, superb light. | first flights | 3–4 of 7 | not logged yet |
| November – March | No thermal flying. The Karakol lift runs for skiing and speedflying happens, which is a different sport with a different risk profile. | closed | — | not logged yet |
The part that hurts
The uncomfortable truth about this season: it is almost exactly the Alpine season. A German or Swiss pilot choosing Kyrgyzstan in July is choosing it instead of Bassano or Annecy, with a six-hour flight and a visa window attached. That is why September is the month we push hardest — by then the European season is closing and Kyrgyzstan is at its best.
Tell us your dates
Send the dates you are in the country and we will come back with the slots that have the best chance of usable air. A person reads it and answers within one working day.
Or just get the season report
One email at the end of each season with the flyable days we actually logged, and one more if the SIV course opens. Nothing else, ever.