Bulgaria Ski discussion board

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

Hello Hayley

I'm going to Pamporovo in March so I found your report very interesting. I have a few questions:

Lifts - on the nursery slopes are they button lifts or T-bars? You mention getting on the chairlift but I'm more worried about not being able to get off in time. Is it straightforward?

Is there a store for skis and boots on the slopes or do you take them back to the hotel each day? Our hotel is some way out of the centre and is linked by a shuttle bus.

Currency - it seems that travellers' cheques aren't recommended as the commission rate is high. Do you have to use a mixture of cash and credit/debit cards? Do they accept euros? Are hotels OK for changing money? We get there on a Saturday and banks probably won't be open until Monday. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

Anna

we have just come back
dont worry about anything all organised for you Haleys report is spot on
we were in a hotel and minibused in just dont leave going until the last bus in case it is full ditto on way home but we were there at i/2 term which was busy
Getting off the chairs is fine
lift the bar up when the notice on the support tells you to
as your skis meet the snow lean forward slightly and away you go, if in doubt shout help please and they will help you. Mind you i/2 the fun is falling, 2 out of 3 of us ended up in an inellegant heap the first time but not hurt and laughing! But we only fell once!
Just so you know, on the yellow single chair lift the safety bar is on your right and has to be pulled round in front of you and pushed down
boots etc all kept at depot overnight, just remember the number you are given. All the slots are numbered and you go to the same one each day
Money - take Bulgarian Levs and Stirling which can be changed up easily at the supermarkent in the main centre.
We jumped on a centre coach at the end of skiing, and then caught a cab back to our hotel (Evidika) It cost 10 levs about3.50 it was walkable but we were too exhausted and in need of R and R
Have a wonderful time we cant wait to go back
Glynis

Hello Glynis and Hayley

Just got back from an enjoyable week in Pamporovo (4th to 11th March) and your reports were very helpful eg Hayley mentioned the ski instructors' show which our rep didn't seem to know about.
I fell off the lifts when getting off for the first time but after that it was fine. At least with the 3 or 4 seater chairlift you can tell someone it's the first time and ask for help. The first time I went on the single chair I didn't know how to use the safety bar so sat there terrified clutching the edges hoping it woudn't tip forward.
Agree you about the buses as our shuttle bus tended to leave as soon as it was full (both ways) so relying on the last one is risky. Ski storage system worked well although I'm glad I didn't rely on the last morning bus just in case it was a bit busy with new groups being kitted out.
Snow conditions were very good and I think it's an excellent resort with a wide variety of runs for learning and improving (I was a 2nd timer). The level of the group on the first day was too difficult (at one point the instructor had to come and rescue me) but after changing groups it was much better. By the end of the week the instructor was taking us on sections of red runs and we could cruise from top to bottom, no longer being the slowest on the slopes. Some of the narrower sections sometimes got a bit crowded when several groups came past together but otherwise it was OK.
Hotel Belmont (near Finlandia) was fine. Drawback was the very isolated location as you were complety reliant on the shuttle bus or taxis. If there were enough people the hotel minibus could be used to go into the main town in the evening but then you were stuck to a set time.
I changed £100 into levs at American Express before I left and this lasted the whole week (partly due to isolation of hotel there weren't many opportunities for spending money). The choice of places for a drink or a meal on the slopes was good and prices seemed very reasonable.
Thanks again for your advice.
Anna