Abzakovo is the busiest mountain resort in the Southern Urals, and it is built on a modest scale. A few kilometres from Beloretsk, in the hills where Bashkortostan meets Chelyabinsk Oblast, a cluster of chairlifts, hotels and wooden chalets climbs a forested slope, and from December to April, skiers and snowboarders come from Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk and Ufa, which are all within a couple of hours. In summer, it becomes a base for hiking, mountain biking and rafting, and the place has a lively, informal feel, with music from the cafés and the smell of grilled meat in the air.
The Urals are among the oldest mountains on earth, worn down by hundreds of millions of years into rounded ridges and long forested flanks, and the geology here is complex: folded rock, quartzite, and old copper and iron deposits that fed the region's industry. The surroundings are taiga, with spruce, fir, birch and pine, interspersed with meadows and rocky outcrops. In summer, the hillsides bloom, and in September, the birches turn gold, which is probably the loveliest time of year to visit. Wildlife includes elk, bears and capercaillie, though you are unlikely to see anything but small birds from the road.
The riding is good by the standards of the region, with curving roads that climb through forest and drop into valleys. The approach from Magnitogorsk, to the east, crosses open steppe before the mountains rise, and the final approach is a pleasant sequence of bends. Surface quality varies, with some patched asphalt and frost damage, and the weather is changeable, with fog or rain even in July. Traffic is heavy on winter weekends, when ski buses and cars crowd the road, and quiet in summer. Watch for ice and snow from October to April.
Fuel and food are straightforward enough. Book accommodation in advance for winter weekends.
Stay for the sunset if you can. The hills turn blue and then violet, and the woodsmoke drifts up.