Heading for the hills in Bansko today ...

Arrived in Bansko today from Sofia on the 9.45am bus. Everyone boarded in coats and woolly hats but the driver turned the heat up and the bus got up to 28 deg C inside! By the end, parts of the bus were like a nudist colony.

I got to Bansko, dropped everything off at the excellent Dumanov Hotel and set off. I rented a ski set at Skimania and bought a 3 day lift pass for about £35 - it is cheap at the moment but is going up in 3 days time so they won't sell passes longer than 3 days. The skiing is excellent for me (intermediate) with the Snow Rd open (a long downhill run from the top to bottom of the Gondola plus vatious other runs. Blansko Town is empty of both people and snow at the moment but once you take the 30 minute ride into the hills to the top of the Gondola, all is well. Looking forward to an early start tomorrow and a few lessons to work on my technique. It's not the Alps but it is a great cheapy place to come to.

undermanager wrote:It's not the Alps but it is a great cheapy place to come to.

Well you've got fresher snow than much of The Alps at the moment so certainly got bragging rights there... 8)

Enjoy, and let us know how your week goes.

An excellent day today in Bansko. Bright blue sky, very cold and explored plenty of different runs. The two hour lesson was excellent so have signed up for a few more days. There were quite a few people today but never queued for longer than a minute at any lift. Bansko seems like a nice small ski resort town but it is a shame there is quite a large sleezy side to it - there are lots of exotic clubs and strip joints in your face and people whispering 'young girls' on the main street corners in the evening. They are all easily ignored but it's sad that a tourist town has allowed this to be such a prominent part of its existance.

Today in Bansko ...

Bansko update .... Another day skiing today in sunshine and blue sky. There are still very few people at the resort, either in town or skiing on the slopes so it is quiet during the day and evening but with Christmas week fast approaching, this may change. It's certainly got a lot iceier on the slopes today and there are still quite a few runs closed. It's much harder work to stay on your skis and not nearly as much fun as the first few days, when the fresh snow had fallen. With no snow forecast for the next three days at least, it's best not to expect too much over the coming week. The snow machines appear to be working very hard everywhere you look. Ski lift prices apparently are set to double from tomorrow but you couldn't add credit to your lift pass this afternoon as their computer system was down so no one is 100% sure what the price will be! With so many runs closed and the lower runs so icey, I'm not sure at all that Bansko is worth twice the current lift pass rate. It might be a good idea to book a hotel with some things to do in it, while you wait for better conditions, if icey skiing on lower runs isn't your thing.

I'm thinking of coming to Bansko at the end of January. How does it compare to Borovets. I went to Borovets a few years ago and it was OK.
I'm OK on Reds and easier blacks.
Malcolm

No idea. The reds were too icy for me today and I go to Bovorets for the first time on Friday for a week. With Bansko though there are millions of hotels and loads of ski rental places within 50 meters of the main Gondola, which takes 30 minutes to transport you to the start of the ski resort. Any hotel in Bansko is fine. I would wait until the last minute possible before booking though, to check there is good snow. If it is anything like today, I'd think about elsewhere but if there is good snowfall, it could be an excellent choice and easy on the wallet.

Thank you.
I appreciate the reply.
Malcolm