The mountains around Almaty in Kazakhstan have seen the installation of the country’s first ascent counter.
The automated ascent counter was installed on the summit of Big Almaty Peak at an altitude of 3,680 meters. Its purpose is to collect data on tourism activity by tracking how many people climb the popular peaks.
According to the city authorities, the weather-resistant device operates automatically and does not require human involvement, recording every ascent. The data collected by the counter will be used to analyze the load on routes and to improve navigation and safety.
«The tourism department asks travelers to take good care of the device and not to press the counter manually in order to preserve the accuracy of statistics,» the authorities noted.
Other countries with developed mountain tourism industries, including Switzerland, Austria and Norway, already use similar devices. The same ascent counters are expected to be installed on Kanysh Satpayev Peak (formerly Soviet Peak) and Molodezhny Peak before the end of October.
