This week I
joined Martin and his mates on a week-long ski trip to Bansko Bulgaria.
Conditions weren’t looking great from the webcams and it hadn’t snowed
there for almost a whole months. Thankfully however they had snow
cannons so there was a fair bit of skiing to go at, though only 30% of
the runs were open!
As a result the
runs were exceptionally busy especially on the weekend with numerous ski
schools and hundreds of others on the slope. This proved to be a giant
slalom course of avoid the people. I managed well all week, except one
time when flying down 2m from the edge of the piste and rocks/trees of a
very steep blue section (probably should have been a red), when some
guy continued to head left and into my path. I pulled alongside to give
him time to turn though instead of doing so he ploughed into me,
resulting in my headfirst fall resulting in a slight busted nose and
lip. Asking if I was ok I nodded my head, which turns out to mean no
over there. He must have wondered what I was doing skiing off so fast. I
guess these things can’t be avoided with so many people of mixed
ability on a slope at once. The steep section of blue did prove to be a
You’ve Been Framed comedy gold slope, though some looked painful –
especially the double somersault I witnessed!
As the week went
on we did more runs and quite a few closed ones. There was enough snow
on these runs to get down them ok, and they proved to be the best slopes
in my opinion. The weather changed how icey the
slopes were which kept it interesting, especially on rental skis with no
edges to be able to turn well on. Finally on Thursday however there was
a big dump of snow making the runs much better. The blacks were
actually no longer sheet ice and provided a good source of entertainment
watching Dicky fall down them in various styles.
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| Having a great day! |
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| Starting a long walk! |
Friday saw us at
the top of the slope, with Martin messing about with his new skis on
some grinds. I continued up walking the 50 minutes to the top of the
slope for some waist deep powder to get down in less than five minutes! I
have never skied on deep powder before, but the feeling is sensational
and very satisfying to look behind and look at your track. All the
effort is definitely worth it. Martin and Stephen joined me for a second
run, though they did look like they wanted to kill me on the way up! It
was all worth it though; probably the most satisfying run I’ve ever had
on skis.
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| Laying some fresh tracks! |
The new town
itself had an interesting nightlife, a lot of touts and exotic bars, but
in between these were some nice restaurants and bars primarily playing
dance music and an apre ski environment. I cannot believe that every
restaurant is the best in Bulgaria though!
