Today was a great day for skiing in Borovets, with groomed slopes, almost no wind in the morning and small lift lines. Over the last week, the weather was crazy and changing more often than a model changes outfits for a review. We got over 20cm of new snow, had some warm temperatures, followed by cold ones. Winds wreaked havoc in the mountains, especially on Thursday when most of the resort was closed for safety reasons. Friday was perfectly sunny and today only some cloudy overdraft prevented us from a second bluebird sky in a row.
The connection between the Markudjik 1 and 2 lifts
All lifts in the resort are open, except for the surface lift Markudjik 3. Even the 4 seat Markudjik 2 was working while the winds were quiet. The queue for the gondola at 8:45 AM was no longer than 20 minutes and we were on our way to the Markudjik Ski Center very fast. As today wasn’t a work day, many Bulgarians from Sofia and the area made their way to Borovets and the parkings were full early. Queues in the resort weren’t too bad either, the line for the Yastrebets Express lift was around 5 minutes, even though it looked like it would take longer.
The Haramia Ski Run
Snow conditions were very good on the groomed slopes. Last week’s snowfall helped refresh the snow cover and there were almost no rocks to be found. In the Markudjik Ski Center, only the Markudjik 1 ski run was groomed, with the 2 and 2A runs open, but not groomed. They are covered in moguls and suitable for experienced skiers who want to test their skill. You also risk hitting some rocks on those slopes. The green Suhar run is in perfect condition for beginners and the Haramia run has only a few rocks here and there. The Ski Road that goes from the Markudjik 2 lift, to Sitnyakovo is still closed and we don’t suggest you try going down it.
In the Yastrebets Ski Center, all runs were open and well groomed, except for the Yastrebets 1 run, which is groomed only to the gondola mid-station. The snow stayed fresh throughout the day and only started to deteriorate after noon. The resort management has started working on the beginner’s ski/board cross slope, which they implemented for the first time last year. This is a small series of jumps at the beginning of the Popangelov run, but for now, they are just big piles of snow and not shaped.
Today was World Snow Day in Borovets (it’s officially on the 16th, but almost every resort seems to make their events on the following weekend), so the Sitnyakovo Ski Center was full of people. Lift passes for children up to 12 years of age were 1 BGN and there were many fun activities for the kids. The most popular was the slalom race, where Bulgarian ski legend Peter Popangelov gave the children tips on how to ski better and the fastest got rewarded for their efforts. There was also a treasure hunt organized by BEFSA and some demonstrations in the snowpark. It’s is only a few boxes and PVC pipes for now but should be getting bigger for next week’s Stinky Socks Snowboard Demo.
Ski & Board Traventuria is a leading provider of lift passes, equipment rental, airport transfers and ski school for the Borovets area. To book your next ski vacation in Borovets with us, please check our website – www.skiborovets.bg
