Travelling from Bansko..

After the 2008 season in Bansko we hung around jibbing and playing on the tonnes of snow left over from the March dumps. Frustrated by the facts that the lifts were no longer working and the snow was still good, all the seasonaires nipped across the border to Greece, to Thassos for a well-earned vacation and to expose our pasty white bodies to the sun.
We then drove back to Spain for the summer - the journey went like this:

Leaving Sofia we crossed the border into Serbia, subjecting ourselves to a rigourous customs check and the mandatory 20 questions, as was the case at the Croatia border.
About the only interesting thing we saw were Mafia transactions in the middle of Beograd, stopping the rush hour traffic on the dual carriageway!

Once we reached Slovenia, the scenery started to change as we started to ascend the lower Alpes, which is where the fun began.

Checking out Venice was fantastic, a beautiful sinking city but the parking was astronomical! Around 25 Euros for 24 hours and you had to leave your vehicle unlocked with the keys inside - hmmm!

We then drove through Verona and the surrounding villages where I half expected Mercucio and his mates to come storming around the corner with their swords drawn. The region's winery's tasting sessions will leave you stocked up for a while and quite happy.

Just up the road is Lake Garda, undoubtedly one of the world's most beautiful glacial lakes. Home to literally hundreds of castles with age old history and short drive to Trento and the Dolomites ski resorts, where we decided to have a little explore and soaked up some of the stunning scenes. Picnics galore!

Passing Milan, we may well have taken a wrong turn or just not turned but we found ourselves in the city centre of Turin in the midst of a hardcore storm. Windscreen wipers couldn't cope, traffic lights were out so it was a bit of a free for all. As we were leaving we crossed the rising river and the place looked quite repressive - funny how a bad experience can influence your opinion of a place.

As we left Italy, mounting the Alpes again, we went through the longest, skinniest freakiest tunnel in Europe and rolled down to Monte Carlo - Pretty.

Monaco - Pretty Expensive but cool.

Cote Azure is great; the shear aristocratic nature and plastic opulence of Cannes kind of spoils it a bit but driving around in a beat up van doesn't make you feel any less well off when you are having a pint by the beach.

After that we pretty much made a bee-line for Valencia and home for Summer in Jalon.

With fuel, tolls, food, Venice and a night in a caravan park in Lake Garda it cost us around €1000 and took about 5 days. We are heading back in 3 weeks, but this time getting the ferry from Venice to Greece - we'll let you know how it goes...

Off Piste in Bansko

After finishing a season in Bansko I have decided that I will be going back.
I've boarded in Australia, Austria, NZ, France, UK and Spain and I can count the days of Perfect Powder on my hands. You know... those 'Bluebird Days' when all your feelings cry out "SWEEEEET"! Have you ever finished a run that took ages but that was over too soon? When you couldnt see your feet or board the whole time? You have got to the bottom with a huge smile on your face and you are laughing inside?
The people around you in the lift queue have no idea how you feel and somehow they look like robots or lemmings whilst you feel like a king.
I had several whole days like that in Bansko last season. Partly due to the abundance of beginners and short easy hikes to accessible off piste means that you can keep going all day.
The closest off-piste is pretty obvious to spot but the back country is a little more obscured. Snow shoes/skins and all the usual precautionary equipment is a must but the tree runs are fairly safe and the dwarf pines hold the snow quite well.
I don't reccommend going alone (who would film you?) so take a mate, your avie gear and go mental.... See you winter 2009!