Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Now we are in Feb, lets look at the season so far..
Snow ? pre-christmas, best i have seen in 10 seasons, Bansko opened with all runs complete with natural snow, then a real lull, very low temps allowing the cannons to run, but not a speck as such of real snow for a couple of weeks. A rise in temps (to much ??) saw the snow arrive, but all at a higher level, very intermittant, but cover being maintained on the mountain, the valley more like spring. Presently the skiing conditions on the mountain are just about perfect, off-piste being choppy. Predictions are for more snow, lets hope they are correct..
Visitors ? possibly the busiest christmas/new year, queues were huge, though the post new year did not see the massive influx of russians like last season, the situation now about normal.. half term looking busy, time will tell..
Prices ? increases around inflation in the town, still pretty good value, and now with more selection, perhaps more competition driving deals, the mountain saw the biggest increases, around 20% generally on food and drink (Seko now having to pay VAT) parking charges increased as well. Lift pass daily increased around 5%, season pass increased by 50% instructor pass by 20% Ulens monopolising of the ski instruction continues, the limiting of private schools and instructors, the discounting of packages for Balkan (Ulen) guests in Balkan (Ulen) hotels making it almost impossible for private enterprise to compete economically.. this has allowed for some fantastic deals through Balkan, flights, transfers, accommodation, passes, hire and instruction, coming under £300.00, that has benefitted some visitors, but little joy for any apartment owner trying to compete.
Complaints ? squarely aimed at the operator, i have never heard so many complaints about the mountain, some saying they will never return. The queueing issue coming to the fore at new year, 4 hours being experienced on new years eve. Many visitors returning their hire equipment to private shops demanding their money back (and most being rebated), the same experience not to be had at the lift pass offices, most being greeted by blank faces and the word 'no'...
Conclusions ? weather is fickle, but still has the chance of being a great season, prices are still being maintained to attract visitors, and still offers the best value overall of any resort in Europe, visitor numbers will possibly show a small increase, and generally most experience a good holiday.. the operator though has to be more compliant with the needs of the guest, there are things that could be done to relieve the queueing, and the general view that the mountain is a 'money cow' that can be milked endlessly will eventually be their undoing..
Time will tell, especially if competition rears its head, the news of a French operator having interest in the Rila, a resort of 175km with 28 lifts, around 1 hour from Sofia, could effectively mean the deathnail for Bansko if nothing changes.....

The situation with the gondola is at very busy times, Christmas/new year, and half term.. at the moment no real problem.. If they could open earlier for these periods, manage the mountain road better, and install lift pass machines, this would relieve the congestion somewhat... there are other things, but if these were adopted it would be a start...
The other issues regarding pricing etc are disappointing, but very Bulgarian but lift pass apart Bansko is generally cheaper than Boro, especially for eating and drinking... It just saddens me that opportunities to impress are being missed by the operator, putting projected profits before service and customer care... never a great long term plan...

Hi Steve. I know this is a Bansko thread but thought I would add what I had heard from the manager of Evridika Hills in Pamp yesterday. He said snow wise it was good and the pistes were in excellent condition although there wasn't the 3 metres of last year. The impressive thing was the occcupancy levels that were so far up 40% on last year. Now this is just for one development, and it's no doubt from a low base (in fact I know it is) but at least it's positive news. He also said there has been further investment in the infrastructure which was encouraging. I'm not sure how the management of the resort is different to Bansko but it seems like a more 'free market' if that makes sense?