Xinjiang's fur skiers find fame in Asian winter games

The next morning, the pair set off early from home on horseback carrying fur skis borrowed from Azamat's uncle. The horses were covered with frost as temperatures dropped to more than -30 C. The animals had to tread gently in the snow, which was deep enough to cover their whole legs.

"When the snow gets deeper and even the horses are unable to walk in it, fur skis are the only means of transport to get around," Adalbek said.

Father and son made their way up a small hill where children from the village had already started to practice snowboarding. Adalbek gave Azamat some tips as they stood on top of the hill on how to slide down gracefully. Unsurprisingly, Azamat lost his balance and landed in an undignified heap as he tried to make his way down.

"He has a long way to go before he can become a fur ski pro who can take part in competitions," Adalbek said with a laugh. To preserve and promote Altay's heritage of fur skis, a series of races are held in the prefecture every winter.

The race courses involve both climbing uphill and going downhill. The skill sets needed to successfully complete such courses include endurance, technical climbing skills, and precise skiing ability, similar to the skills of ski mountaineering, which is a blend of alpine skiing and mountain climbing.