Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Back from an excellent week's skiing in Bansko. Loads of new snow and superb conditions in the main so here goes with details.

Went with Neilson staying at the Pirin. Will and Naomi good reps and always on hand for problems. He skis she boards so plenty of advice available. We had an uneventful transfer to Bansko. You get pre-booked lift passes and vouchers for ski school and hire equipment on the coach. You need to give Will or Naomi 6 lev per person as a deposit for the lift pass so its a good idea to have a few lev with you although you stop at a petrol station halfway which has a shop, loos and an ATM. They have paid the deposit for you so want reimbusing as soon as possible. You get this back when you return your passes to the ticket desk at the gondola. We were advised to get to the hire shop at the gondola at around 8.30 the next morning when they open to beat the Balkan Holiday people who get there at 9. We have boots and only needed skis which we got in about 5 mins flat and were in the gondola and up on the slopes by 9. Very efficient. You get given a ticket with a number on it which corresponds with the number on your skis so when you finish your days skiing you return the skis to the shop and pick them up the next morning. This was excellent as it meant no lugging skis on and off buses.

The conditions that first morning were not good. Very murky with the wind blowing the snow around quite dramatically. Although intermediates we are always a bit wobbly the first day after a year's break. There is a button lift for a short easy run which we did a couple of times. We got up for the third time and as we went down guys on skidoos came up the slope shouting such things as "down" and "avalanche". We skied down and retired to the bar!! They ended up closing all lifts around lunchtime including the gondola so we skied down the ski road to the bottom. People who couldn't do that had to be taken down by bus. However the next day the sun came out and we had a great time up til Friday. The easiest blue is 6 going into 4 going into 1 which brings you back to the gondola. Red 8 looked nice but had slalom racing on it most of the week. We did red 7 the second part of which is seriously steep and verging on black. I made it down but hubbie fell over. This was quite an achievement for me as he is an ex dry slope instructor and I didn't learn until I was 40!!! On Thursday went up and did blue 5. The top part badly needs bashing as it is full of large lumps of snow making traverses seem like a rollercoaster ride. Ironically when you get down to the less steep bit it is fully pisted. Generally I would say that the skiing is more suited for Intermediates and above. I can't comment on ski school as we didn't go but we saw people at lunchtime with their instructors and everyone appeared happy.

Friday was hell as it was the Independence Day holiday and there was a rugby scrum to get onto the gondola. Once up on the slopes there were constant lift queues at both chairs so I did one run and then skied down to the bottom. Pity because I was looking forward to doing plenty on the last day and it didn't happen. Avoid this holiday like the plague in future. I know I will.

We liked the Pirin hotel very much. The ski and boot room has a heated rack for boots. What bliss to put on warm boots in the morning!! The room and facilities were all excellent. Breakfast was a hot and cold buffet with a good selection generally but sometimes things did run out and weren't replaced. Also the hot food may not be hot if it has been hanging around a bit. The evening meal was OK but a bit uninspiring and so after Sunday we ate out in the town.

The town is lovely. Lots of traditional mechanas give good meals or you can just go in for a drink. They are really cozy with log fires and beams and tables with red tableclothes making the whole atmosphere lovely. We found all the Bulgarians really friendly even if their English was limited. They tried their best at all times. We used to spend around 30 lev for a nice meal with wine. The Golden Fox is a more western bar/restaurant serving pizzas, steaks etc. We went there one night and had 4 rounds of drinks, 2 large pizzas, left a tip and spent 27 lev a tenner!! If you're a footie fan then I guess you'll be in the Lions Bar where prices are higher but you have to pay for Sky Sports I guess. Not our scene but the guy behind the bar was friendly the one time we did pop in out of curiosity. Our favourite bar was the Kafe Parfe which is in the main road up from the square and has round Red Bull tables outside. Here a quadruple gin or vodka is 1.40 lev and a half litre beer 1.20. The bars up on the slopes are more charging 3 lev for a beer. If you're not careful you can pay as much for a beer and a light lunch as you will for a really good dinner with wine in the town. We got caught once so you have been warned!! Not really expensive though. All in all we had plenty of drinks and good food out, brought back 2 bottles of gin, 1 vodka and our total cost was £200 or thereabouts. Not bad for a weeks holiday with 5 evening meals out. Oh and for all you hot blooded males out there the little bar opposite the Pirin has a slim barmaid with large t**ts. My hubbie couldn't keep his eyes off her. Sad really at 52!!

All in all a great week and will definitely go back hopefully next year. I will try and answer any questions you may have so fire away.

Cheers

Hi Val, been waiting for this one, sounds like you had a great time, i`ve been watching the webcams all week and can agree with the conditions, jealous or what!!! Unknown to me till saturday was the fact that i had two friends out at the same time, they also had a ball, one being a confirmed non-skier after his last experience of skiing who did actually ski the long blue back to the village, that must be testement to the conditions and to the ski school...
Take on board all you have said (especially the barmaid in the little bar), would i stand a chance (been told young looking 46 ???), can`t wait now, just twelve days to go (its my turn now !!!)
Cheers Val, great report...

steve c