 Poster: A snowHead
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Anybody been/going?
Just wondering as always intrigued by the possibility of skiing somewhere new and novel.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was looking at these in the brochure at the weekend. Curious to know if anyone has been, doesn't look too appealing at this very early stage in the building of the resorts given the cost.
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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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| Representatives (Reps)There will be no Crystal representatives in Sochi, you will have the contact details for a company locally who will be available 24 hours a day if you should need any assistance. |
Sounds excellent...
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yep, the Alpika-Service area is closed for the entire 2011-2012 season. It had a creaking old 2-man chair that stretched over 2 very long sections (approx. 20 minutes from bottom to top) which is now being taken out and a new, modern lift being put in. Thank God - I'll try to dig out some photos if I can find the time to resize them. It was a 1960s contraption with 2 seat-belts!
Was there last year. Lots of construction in the village of Krasnaya Polyana, day and night. Mainly work on the new rail line from Adler (the international airport that you fly into) to Krasnaya Polyana (the village where you ski - in case you're confused, the city of Sochi itself is actually about 40 km away from the downhill skiing). Despite the huge Kamaz trucks and construction noise at village level, once up the mountains the skiing was good, if as yet spread out. By that I mean a bit limited in each area, but you can ski different areas for more variation. When we were there last March the women's and men's Olympic downhill courses were marked, so we got to try them, which was fun.
There are loads of off-piste and powder possibilities if that's your thing. The nearby sea makes the climate quite similar to Vancouver, i.e. huge dumps of powder, but bear in mind if you do go adventuring a guide is highly recommended - I imagine that by European/N. American standards the emerg/evac services are poor.
For on-piste types such as myself, the piste maintenance was just ok - a bit lacking by Western standards. Worst of all was the *really poor* etiquette by Russian skiers. That said, I did enjoy the skiing and will be returning this year in March. However (1) I live in Moscow and (2) I speak Russian, so not a problem to flag down a local driver and haggle a it to arrange a ride with any of the numerous local drivers for the equivalent of 3 to 5 quid from any centrally hotel in Krasnaya Polyana to any of the 3 areas. But we did see a few intrepid foreigners there (gnarly freerider types) who didn't speak the local lingo but seemed to be enjoying themselves. Life's what you make it - I assume they manged to get by with basic English and hand gestures!
Regarding Grand Hotel Polyana, there are a few more reasonable mid(-ish)-market options: the Golden Tulip Rosa Khutor and the Tullip Inn Rosa Khutor come to mind (afaik they're affiliated with the Dutch 'Golden Tulip' hotel chain), due to open this winter. Both are located at the base of the Rosa Khutor bubble, so walking distance and probably more reasonably priced than the Grand Hotel Polyana.
A bit more frugal, I'll be staying here in March: http://www.raiski.ru/ Small, looks nice, they have a dog...
This place also looks nice, but a bit more expensive: http://shalepolyana.ru/
I have no affiliation with or interest in either of these - just have done the legwork already, and they both look ok to me.
One contingency to consider if you do decide to go: Vlad the Almighty, wonderboy Dmitry and lesser government officials do ski there from time to time, so occasionally the road between the airport and the resort (there's only 1) can be closed off to make way for the cortege, causing delays. So if you travel there independently, make sure you've arranged your car to take you to the airport in plenty of time. In light traffic (e.g. late evening) it's about a 30-minute journey, in daytime traffic 45-60 minutes. If I were flying, I'd assume 1.5 hours just to be on the safe side.
If you can read Russian, the best website for ski info is www.riderhelp.ru (only a very limited part of the site is in English).
I'd better stop now - it's late, and I'm starting to feel like 'the Russian Luigi' 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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idlehands Ta for all that. Very informative. So are you saying that it's worth a trip from the UK then? Crystal's info is a bit scant re. 'resorts' - would I be right in thinking that they aren't fully built yet and that evenings are therefore hotel-based?
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Excellent idlehands.
Many thanks.
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'Worth the trip' is such a relative thing. I guess it would depend on the total cost for you and your expectations. As most people know, generally speaking Russia isn't very tourist-friendly - among other things, there's relatively little English spoken compared to Western Europe, very few non-Russian signs, and poor signage in general. But one would hope that going with a tour operator would solve most of that. There's really nothing much to see in the villages of Krasnaya Polyana and Esto-Sadok, and at the moment the construction work leaves things at village level a bit grim. But it is skiiing in a rather exotic and beautiful area, with a major trout farm in the village there's plenty of fresh cooked fish on the menu, and it's quite impressive to see palm plants growing at sea level in Adler when you arrive and yet 40 minutes away you're up in the snow covered peaks from which the Black Sea is visible on a clear day. As I said, I'll try to get around to resizing some photos from last year and getting them up here, but I'm busy at the moment as we're due to leave for Selva on Saturday, so it may be a couple of weeks...
Last year I was there for only 4 days, and we skiied Rosa Khutor and Alpika Service, i.e. 2 out of the 4 areas. So I can't comment on Gazprom or Gornaya Carousel, but we'll be trying those this year. I can tell you that the facilities on Rosa Khutor were scant - there was only one place to get a proper meal on the mountain, so it was obviously plagued by very large queues - and bad food (no old Russian stereotypes there). There was also another tent-style place where you could get a drink and small snack. In the village there is virtually no apres to speak of, as there's only the one disco in K.P. (the name escapes me, but I intend to visit this year - provincial Russian nightclubs can be quite amusing!) and a very small bar or two with little ambiance, so you're right - most people stick close to their hotel in the evenings. But I can poke around on the web and send a few suggestions if you do decide to go.
The large resorts, and indeed much of the planned new village, are still under construction. For a taste of what they're planning, look here: http://www.gorkygorod.ru/en/main/index/ At the bottom of that site you'll see "City +540" and "City +960". These are computer mock-ups to give an idea about what's supposed to be built - none of this exists as yet. 540 and 960 are the elevations in meters (it's a relatively low resort). It all looks a bit pie-in-the-sky to me, but then again who knows what can be achieved when the Gazprom billions go pouring in?
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 24-01-12 12:52; edited 1 time in total
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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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spasibo bolshoi, tovarishch idlehands. Rai Ski House looks good for B&B - from what I can work out they don't seem to tell you how much dinner is; I presume restaurants - if there are any - are a bit cheaper than Moscow/Petersburg?
http://kavkazskitur.com/eng/programma-heli-ski-redglade.html €160 per person per heliski ascent - €650 for the day.
Crystal state that you're not in fact "going with a tour operator", instead there is a local company to look after you. But I'd guess the receptionists in the big hotels they use will be bound to speak English.
Finally, what's the snow like in March? From what I can work out these resorts appear to be south facing, they're not very high up, and it's as far south as Rome.
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Ne za shto.
The more adventurous out there might also want to check out AlpIndustria, one of Russia's most reputable outdoor equipment retailers, which also organises mountain-climbing and ski trips, including heli-skiing. Info about various tours in English here (click on the Union Jack): http://www.alpindustria-tour.ru/
Yes, restaurants in K.P. are cheaper than the average in Moscow/St Petersburg, but choice obviously much more limited. We ended up eating the local trout most nights.
I've only been there once, so I'm not an authority, but I'd say the snow conditions in March are unpredictable. As you say, given the southern latitude and the fact that it's not a particularly high resort, I'd suggest not later than the first week of March in order to be on the safe side. Last year we were there March 5-8. We got a massive dump of snow the second day which left the top of Alpika Service a powdery paradise, but near the bottom of the run things were getting slushy by lunchtime.
Rosa Khutor's slopes are north-/northwest-facing, I believe.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Tue 24-01-12 14:13; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Also, if making arrangements independently, be aware that February 23 (Defenders of the Fatherland Day) and March 8 (International Women'ds Day) are public holidays in Russia, so accommodation might be a bit harder to find around either of those dates.
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