Kyrgyzstan in February: where to go

February is the sweet spot of the ski season: the deepest, most settled snowpack of the winter, dependable cold, and none of the holiday crowds. Karakol's lifts run daily, Jyrgalan is in full freeride and ski-touring mode, and midweek you can have entire pistes to yourself. Outside the ski areas the country is dormant — passes shut, yurt lakes frozen out of reach, valleys brown and silent, Bishkek still under winter smog. It is also the cheapest month to travel: guesthouses stand empty, and by late February the light already stretches noticeably toward spring.