 Poster: A snowHead
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A quick update on my trip skiing to Bulgaria. Going well so far, sun everyday but the snow is holding up pretty well. Skiing Vitosha which is the only resort in Europe beside a capital city (Sofia). Not the biggest resort in the world but has been really quiet compared to the alps. Mostly locals and school kids here during the week. Some nice runs here, have a private instructor all week between myself and my brother, learning a bit more but most benefit for me is the local knowledge our instructor gives us. Things are so cheap here, our ski pack with private lessons all day all week is 195 euro! Drink is from 90c per 500ml in the city also although clothes prices etc are similar to rest of Europe. Going to Borovets on Friday which is only 1 hour away, will provide a more detailed report when I get home.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 13-04-07 14:51; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just back from Sofia and Vitosha/Borovets. Vitosha is not a bad resort with a larger extent than I expected. The best run is the race piste on the left of the mountain the runs through the trees. There are some challenging but shorter steep runs on the right of Aleko hut also. Above about 2000m the snow stayed firm all week and was not subject to freeze/thaw cycles which made for some nice skiing on the piste. It was very warm all week except Saturday which was more overcast. This meant the runs became slushy quite quickly lower down (bottom lift 1600m) but still ski able. There is one restaurant on the mountain at the top of the gondola station at Aleko (1800m) and another smaller one at the highest point 2300m with food very cheap in both of them. All week it was pretty quiet and no real queuing at all, even on Saturday! There was a national skier and boarder cross event on Saturday, I tried the track after the competition, looked easy but definitely wasn't as pretty steep and icy with a lot of jumps and turns. Access to the mountain during the week is by a cobblestone road up from Draglevski suburb, I'm not sure does a bus go up but I think there is one. At the weekend there is a gondola from just off the ring road that costs 6 lev return and then the ski pass is 30 lev per day (1euro = 1.95 lev), ski hire 20 lev and poles 4 lev, limited stock of equipment compared to Borvets ski hire shops. We stayed in the Park Hotel Vitosha which in Studentskigrad in the SE of Sofia, only 7km to the centre of Sofia and about a 3 lev taxi ride to the gondola (we had transfers up the mountain each day so didn't need the gondola or taxi fares).
Spent Friday in Borovets, a very scenic drive there bar Samokov, only took an hour to get there, the queue for the gondola appeared long so went to the 4 man chair at Yasbrevets. No one there! All the runs on the side of the mountain were very quiet, snow was firm in the morning but very skiable. Got the gondola to the top from mid station and found some people over at the drags at the top! Busier here with softer snow but still not much problems with life queues. There was some nice melted snow off-piste between the runs up there but mostly novice skiers there so nobody going off-piste. In the afternoon had a brief stop at the new Yasbrevets Hotel and Spa for a bit of lunch, very nice place. The run down to the resort was rather bare and would scare any novice, with a nice ice sheet to contend with and then a cross county trek on a very bare forest track back to the gondola (if you have your own skis I'd suggest walking this bit).
In summing up really enjoyed Bulgaria, people were friendly, the lifts weren't too slow, there weren't any queues, the snow wasn't bad, didn't see many potholes and food and drink are really cheap. Sofia is a kicking city with lots to do there and would recommend a visit if you haven't been already. Granted there are some unsightly high rise buildings and traffic is a big problem but any big city has these issues. The city centre is impressive with some fine large streets with impressive buildings, churchs, shops, bars and restaurants galore.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Peter Ross, Always interesting to read about resorts not in France, Switzerland, or Austria.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Interesting report.
Sounds like a DIY job. No instances of crap food, or dodgy characters hanging around the hotels as reported from some package customers. How did you get on with the language ? Makes sense to hire skis in a place like that from the sound of it. If the skiing did not appeal it sounded as if there was plenty more to occupy you in the big city.
I would like to try the smaller resorts but I am prejudiced against Bulgaria. Romania even more so. In fact the whole of the former Ottoman Empire including Greece, although I had a couple of great Summer holidays in Turkey decades ago.
Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland - former Hapsburg Empire is probably more suited to me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Peter, good report and pics. On a side point "Skiing Vitosha which is the only resort in Europe beside a capital city (Sofia)" is not quite accurate. Sarajevo has two resorts within a half hour of the city centre. One of them, Bjelesnica, site of the 84 olympics mens skiing events is a fifteen minute drive from the airport and there is a advanced plan to construct a lift link from beside the airport to the slopes.
Latchigo - whats this with you writing of the entire old ottoman empire footprint as a place to ski????
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Latchigo, It was DIY, language was not a problem as in Sofia everyone we encountered spoke English, even taxi drivers. Borovets had a much better ski selection than Vitosha but I suppose that's because most Vitosha skiers are local and have their own gear. I found the people very friendly, had some great conversations on the ski lifts and the guy in the Solomon shop in Sofia was super, I looked at skis and bought a helmet, he really gave me sound advice, not like some experiences in some shops in the Alps where they either don't care or don't have a clue.
One thing I really enjoyed was the uncrowded pistes, although it was also pretty good that way last week in St Anton.
I was only in Borovets for a day and didn't really get down into the town, there may have been more dodgy characters there but didn't see them as too busy skiing.
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killian, Sorry I stand corrected.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| killian wrote: |
| Latchigo - whats this with you writing of the entire old ottoman empire footprint as a place to ski???? |
I like to see it as doing my bit to save the environment.
Turkey could possibly be the best place of the lot to ski in the Ottoman Empire.
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Peter, out of curiosity how did you fly to Sofia?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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killian, Bulgaria Air, it was a free holiday so price not an issue, they fly twice weekly from Dublin, Sundays and Thursdays
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Peter Ross, I never realised there was direct flights. And on good days for a weekend trip. I may do for next season. Thanks.
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