Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Author : hayley (---.dynamic.dsl.as9105.com)
posts : 57
Date : 02-05-06 17:21
I wil post this report everyday for a week for all those first timers, so it does not get lost.


Hi everyone here is my report for pamporovo week begining 28th january 2006.

journey
Arrived at sofia airport and awaited my 4 hour transfer.
Transfer was good and seats reclined on the bus, stopped off half way and had a snack and slept till we arrived at pamps.........take note we flew from birmingham, hence the reason we landed at sofia, normally you land in plovdiv and you only have a 90 minute transfer.

Arrived at the hotel about 12.30 am, staff were friendly and had even made a packed lunch for us as we had missed dinner. we were staying in the hotel pamps. Had a quick drink in the night club and then went straight to bed.

Quick breakfast the next day and then on to the ski depot.
We were put into groups and had our skis etc with in half an hour.
Tip for you all..........if the boots are hurting you , change them......dont be afraid to ask. I chnged mine 4 times until l they were right and the staff in the depot were fine about it.

Ski school
If any of you guys going out have Bobby as an instructer, then you are very lucky, he is a wonderfull teacher and if you see him tell him i said hi.

Nursey slopes at the bottom for the first 2 days and then onto the nursery at the top for the 3rd day.
Dont worry about getting on the lift , you will all be fine, its actually easier than you imagine. Shuffle forward and wiat for the lift to hit your legs (it doesnt hurt) and sit back and pull the bar down. If you are unsure shout beginner and the guys will do it for you.
For all those scared of heights like me, its not as high as you imagine, so relax. Please bear in mind that on the 3rd day you come back down on the 3 man lift so keep your camera handy, the veiw is amazing.

On the 4th , 5th and 6th you are on the green run, dont be tempted to go off down yourself , let the instucter take you first........the green run is very steep in some parts and you need to learn properly...if you dont learn the right way , you risk hurting yourself or others around you.

You will be filmed as you go through the week and you can buy the dvd for twenty pounds, at first eveybody is like bamby on ice and at the end of the week everybody is relaxed and very good.

At the end of the week you attend a diploma night where you are officially a non beginner, its a good night with plenty of wine. Dont forget to tip your instructer, we all tipped 10 lev each and put it in an envelope and gave it to him, he is shy but you could see he was very happy with this. Remember these guys are constantly picking you up and working hard.
food
I am a very fussy eater so i went with an open mind. The food in the hotels can be hit and miss although there is always something for breakfast. When you are out and about at resturants ASK. If you were in this country any you wanted a well done staek with no sauce, you would say so, bulgarians are not mind readers. If youn want it hot ASK. If you do this you will find the food is good, especially at the Murgavets bbq grill and in the snezanka
Tower. PS dont forget your 1Lev if you want to use the toilet on the slopes.........Do not use the toilet by the resturant that is by the one man lift station at the bottom, its like a cat litter tray with a hole in, use the one by ski depot 2 or at the top.

Another tip.
Just because you meet one miserable bulgarian, do not get annoyed........he/she probably cant understand you. for every miserable one you meet you will meet 100 smiling happy peoeple. Just watch the miserable bugger at the top of the 4 man, if you fall he wont help you . just smile and say W****R, he probably thinks its something nice.


Finally go to the ski instruters show it is FANTASTIC, but watch the icy steps on the way up and down.

Summary
I love skiing, I love bulgarians, I love bulgaria and i love Pamporovo.

Hotel pamps 9/10
Food in pamps 5/10
cleanliness of hotel 10/10
skiing 10/10
ski school 10/ 10
food in resturants 8/10
ski instructer 10/10
pamporovo 10/10
snow 8/10......needs some more although the snow at the top is good, but hey if you can ski on ice patches you can ski on snow anytime.

Last of all guys. Ski school is tireing , your legs ache and your arms hurt, remember you are working hard for 6 days, unlike those that are not in ski school you are at it constantly. I have lost weight and i have legs like a russian shot putter but as the week goes on it gets easier. Remember you are using muscles that you dont normally use so expect to work very hard the first few days.everybody in the group is in the same boat. Just grin and bear it.

Anyway i hope you all have a great time and if you have any questions please ask.
Hayley
An

Reply to this message
re: PAMPOROVO REPORT

All that i am saying is that you must do the green run with the instructer first or you will not know what to expect and you wont know if you can control yourself properly, i personnally think that is is an insult to desert your instructor after they have worked so to teach you. Especially when classes finish at 15:00 you can still take the lifts up untill 16:30. And trust me if you had stayed with your class you would have learnt and awfull lot more without picking up any bad habits that will stay with you throughout your skiing days...........and you will have missed out on a great laugh.
I am not picking on you personnaly but it just annoys me when instrutors are deserted as it looks very bad on them to the other instructers. bulgarians are very proud people and each instrutor takes pride in the teaching of his/her group.
So to all those beginners going out. please stay with you group, enjoy the classes and learn the right way, enjoy laughing at each other falling over and then the next time you have a ski trip it will all be worth that little bit of hard work that you put in.