Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Bansko is a good resort: if you are an intermediate or above skiier. As a resort it also has many fine points: it has excellent ski hire facilities, the gondolas are clean and efficient, views are stunning, people are friendly and helpful and prices are comparatively cheap.

However, there are drawbacks. If you are a new skiier and we were brand new, you will find that once you have learned the basics there are no easy runs to graduate onto. The runs are only marked blue, red and black. The easier runs, the blue ones, have steeper sections in them and are not considered suitable for beginners. Also, at the time we were there, because of a lack of snow, they were narrower than usual, edged with thick powder and scattered with rocks and stones. This caused serious overcrowding on the one nursery slope. At one point, toboggans, dogs, people barely capapble of standing on their skis, numerous queue jumping children and local visitors (some walking, some skiing) all jostled for space on the nursery run. This overcrowding led some to attempt runs that were beyond them and to leave the safety of their ski school instructors. One fatality occurred during the week to an inexperienced skiier and there were many small injuries (noses, fingers, ankles etc) on the nursery slopes.

So the overall balance is that it is good for more advanced skiiers but bad for beginners, especially absolute beginners! It may be better when there is more snow but we can only comment on our own experience.

Having said that, Bansko itself is a beautiful little town and we felt that we made friends in passing with many Bulgarians who seemed keen to welcome us to their home.

Michael

I said all of this in the Bansko report following my skiing holiday last season to the resort. I find it difficult to understand why some are no criticising Bansko for the lack of 'easy' advancement from the nursery slopes, when I did write a lenghty report explaining this.

As you have rightfully said, Bansko is beautiful, the people, the town and the views are second to none, and it really is a cultural winter wonderland.

My fiancee and I did find, as releatively new skiiers that Bansko is not the easiest place to ski at our level and we had copious amounts of snow during our 7 days last March

Regards,

YT

Gaz

You will enjoy learning to ski in bansko, although it is far from easy. Depending on how you progress will depend on when you are hitching for something a little more challenging.

This is where Bansko falters a little, from complete beginners to the next step is not easily distinguished in Bansko

You will enjoy the ski road back to village, that is excellent fun for beginners, snow permitting.

Above all you will have a great time. My fiancee and I spent the final afternoon on a gentle stroll around the Bansko town which was a great way to spend our final afternoon.

Have a great time and enjoy it - the best way to go, is with an open mind and make up your own mind

YT

Read my full report at: http://www.thisisthebarmyarmy.co.uk/bansko_report_2004.htm