LES Crew: Building a DIY Snow Scene in Kazakhstan

We sat down with the LES crew to get an insight into Kazakhstan’s evolving snowboard scene: from DIY parks to street riding and everything in between.

Tucked between the Caspian Sea and the Altai Mountains, bordering countries like China and Russia, lies a snow haven in Central Asia: Kazakhstan. With a long history dating back to the Paleolithic era, the culture here runs deep, and so does snowboarding. In Almaty, nestled in the heart of the country in the Alatau Mountains, snowboarding is thriving – the resort-focused kind.

While the vast majority are riding groomers, a local snowboard crew called LES is pushing for something different: a more community-driven way of riding. “We’re definitely building something new, and a lot of what we do could be labelled firsts in Kazakhstan.”

Today’s snowboard scene in Kazakhstan has two very different sides: the official, brand-driven one, and the underground. “Both sides kind of pretend the other one doesn’t exist.”

Driven by fun, creativity, and the freedom to build their own spots, the LES crew created a DIY park before they even knew what DIY meant. “Everywhere we rode, we would build a small jump or find a plastic pipe or a tree trunk to session.” And that’s how it all started.

Scroll down to read the full interview with the crew and watch their latest edit, BLESS.

All photos by Vasily Kotlyarov

Hey crew, and thanks again for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. To start, would you like to introduce yourselves and tell us how your crew came together?
We’re the LES crew. It originally started with three people who were looking for an alternative to ski resorts. When we began building our own DIY spot, other motivated people from the local board community joined in and helped us out. From season to season, people changed, but today LES is a crew of snowboarder friends who just want to ride in different ways and keep snowboarding interesting.

What does the snowboard scene in Kazakhstan look like right now? Have you seen it change over the years?
Today’s snowboard scene in Kazakhstan has two very different sides: the official brand side and the underground one. While brands and resorts are busy turning snowboard events into commercials for non-riders, the underground scene is trying to find fun in the streets, the backcountry, and DIY parks. Both sides kind of pretend the other one doesn’t exist, and they keep growing in completely different directions – while brands make events bigger and more global, inviting foreign bands and DJs, attracting people with different activities, and turning every snowboard event into a big open-air festival, the DIY community keeps improving our park, searching for good street and backcountry spots, and filming edits.

How would you describe the vibe in Almaty? Is it more street, resort, DIY, or a mix of everything?
Almaty is a city at the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, so we have three ski resorts within about an hour from the city. That’s where most skiers and snowboarders begin their journey. We also have a professional snowpark at one of the resorts, but because of mountain weather it usually works only one or two months each season. So, snowboarding is a pretty popular hobby in Almaty, but almost everyone rides groomed slopes.

Do you feel like you’re building something new there, or is there already a strong snow scene?
We’re definitely building something new, and a lot of what we do could be labelled “1st in Kazakhstan.” But we don’t have a mission to change the whole snowboard scene. We just want to have fun and show people that snowboarding in Almaty is much more than resort slopes. We have a strong snow scene that is mostly based around resort skiing, because it’s kind of a city tradition passed down from generation to generation. All of today’s resorts started operating back in Soviet times, so our grandfathers used to ski there when they were young.

What do you think makes riding in Kazakhstan different from other places?
We can’t really speak for all of Kazakhstan yet, but Almaty is unique because it sits right at the base of the mountains. That gives you options – you can ride street spots, local hills, or go even higher into the mountains.

Tell us about your DIY park “LES” – how did it start, and what made you want to build your own spot?
The idea of having our own park existed long before we even knew the word DIY. Everywhere we rode, we would build a small jump or find a plastic pipe or a tree trunk to session. Season after season, the spots got bigger, we kept changing locations, until we found the ravine where our park still stands today. That’s where the real DIY concept, our riding style, and the LES crew were fully born.

How important is DIY culture to your scene? Is it something you do out of necessity, or is it more about creativity and freedom?
DIY culture in Kazakhstan isn’t very developed – you can see that in the skateboarding and BMX scenes too. Only downhill riders consistently build new tracks in the mountains. We also never had a goal to “create a culture.” We were simply doing what we loved and dealing with whatever challenges came with it, because we didn’t enjoy riding only slopes or waiting all season for the resort park to open. So for us, building something of our own was more of a necessity – a place where we could spend weekends, have fun, create freely, and do it all for free.

You’ve filmed a lot in the streets of Almaty. What makes it a good city for street snowboarding?
Street riding in Almaty has both pros and cons. One big advantage is the city’s natural slope – a lot of spots are rideable without bungees or acceleration setups. But Almaty is a southern city, and even though it sits high above sea level, winters here don’t bring much snow. Snow stays in the mountains, but it melts fast in the city. Every winter is different, so it’s impossible to know in advance how many street days we’ll get each season. That’s why we often search for spots in the mountains, private neighborhoods, or recreation areas where snow lasts longer. At the same time, the season itself is pretty long – we usually open in November at our DIY park, ride street or park during winter, then head higher into the mountains in spring for backcountry spots and close the season in April.

What does the snowboard community look like for you in Kazakhstan? 
The snowboard community in Kazakhstan is still small, and we’re doing everything we can to bring more people into it. Right now, not many people are into this kind of snowboarding. But trying to grow the scene has created a lot of unique connections, and people are excited to become part of something bigger. That’s how graphic designers, 3D animators, and photographers end up in our circle.

And what does snowboarding give you personally?
Snowboarding gives us huge space for creativity. We can dream up a new feature and spend months building it. We can imagine shots we want to film, new places we want to ride, or a new video we want to make in a totally different way. We’re always creating something new, and that gives energy to our lives.

What do you think riders from other countries could learn from the Kazakhstan snow scene?
It’s hard to say, because we’ve never really gone on snowboard trips outside Kazakhstan ourselves, and we don’t communicate much with other communities besides the Russian one. But maybe the one thing we’d say is: never forget that snowboarding exists with or without resorts and parks. Snowboarding is simply about having fun with your friends.

And finally, if someone wanted to come out to Kazakhstan to film or ride, what tips would you give them?
We’d recommend hitting two cities on one trip: Almaty, plus one northern city like Ridder, Oskemen, or Astana. Northern cities usually have fewer snow problems and more untouched spots. You come to Almaty for backcountry, resort laps, and to link up with us and ride the DIY park. Everyone’s welcome!