Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Just got back from a week in Bansko. There was at least the two drags, the travelator, and the button lift working on the nursery slopes, and at least a T bar, another drag, and four chair lifts working up the mountain.

It was fine for beginners (me) who were kept on the nursery slopes all week. Busy, but OK, considering the lack of snow. The report from the rest of our group is that towards the end of the week condiditons up top were getting a bit icy and rocky apparently. But there are about 5 or so runs open, that I knew of, and I didn't really get up there that much. The snow cannons are working flat out. Although it says on here that the Tomba black run is closed, it was open almost every day - in the afternoons after it was all snow cannonned and groomed.

Bansko itself is a total construction site, but it was great. At least all the construction is providing a load of jobs. Just watch your step. Holes appear on the footpath where there were none the day before. As do pizza shops and traffic lights!

Beers are cheap (I think we payed as little as 1.30 lev in a restaurant.) Amigos bar saw us there every night, and has a great barman who juggles bottles, glass, sets stuff alight, etc, keeping the punters entertained. Sir Galahads was showing the cricket for the few days that it was on, and does a reasonable pizza to make a change from meat meat meat. We got patted down on entry at Amnesia, and it had a whole russian mafia feel to the place. Didn't go back! Happy End is a good place for a warmer after getting off the Gondola in the evening.

Ate some fantastic food, I seem to remember reading complaints about the food somewhere on this site, but we thought it was awesome! Good, cheap, and the chicken tastes like chicken should - it actually had flavour, not mass produced steriod and hormone fed. It was easy to get tired of meat though, as they are such big portions. The salads are brilliant, get a huge salad tasting plate to share amongst a group try them all out. Had some nice wine as well, lashed out on a couple of bottled on Melnik 'uniqato' and it was lovely. Even bought one to bring home!
oooh, and the donuts from the little donut shop just opposite the happy end on the road back down the hill to town is delicious... huge portions smothered with sauce and icing sugar, mmm, and hey, you've earned it after a hard day on the mountain!
Great coffee too, I was in coffee heaven. under a lev for an after dinner shot of espresso. If you don't like it so strong ask for americano.

Gondola queues weren't as bad as I thought, I had to queue only on the first day going up, and the last day coming down - which was scary - all the pushing and shoving to get through. Bulgarian kids (almost all the kids for that matter) are pushy little buggers, especially in the queues on the nursery slopes, I can't believe parents let them get away with it, elbowing and pushing through the queue with skis and stick flailing.

Got taken out three times myself by out of control skiiers on the nursery slopes, and our ski school group an average of about twice a day. For god's sake people, if you can't ski, at least get enough lessons to learn how to stop! Or at a bare minimum, apologize. Some people were so rude, they would barrell through us skis and poles flying, on their backs, at a million miles an hour, be helped up and ask if they were ok by our group, and then snort at us and walk off as if it was our fault they couldn't control themselves!! One of they guys in our school group has a nasty knee injury thanks to an out of control skier. It was amazing how many people just had no idea, or no instructor. I know everyone is a beginner at some stage, but get some lessons!

The instructors at Ulen ski school were good, ours was very very particular, and made sure we had everything perfect, and that we were very comfortable and competent with it all. She also spoke 8 languages. Amazing. If you want to perfect everything you learn, ask for Lydia, if you want to just get up the mountain as quickly as possible, then don't ask for her.

Didn't get taxis, we walked everywhere, but did hear from the rest in my ski school group that they payed anything from 4 lev to 18 from their hotel to the gondola, depending on the day and whether they taxi driver felt like ripping them off or not.

All in all, I fell in love with the place, and will definitely be back!