Bansko video and pictures: snow forecast
Picture taken 4th February 2012. Banderishka Poliana (ski school meeting place)
Bansko town snow melting for a few days. Warmer temperatures in town of around 4 C have were feeling positively tropical. Here’s a video of the conditions. But read on for the amazing snow news.
But this should be only a temporary moment. It’s dumping snow hard in Sofia.
Whilst up on the Pirin the slopes are delivering. High winds closed the Plato area yesterday. My views on the The FIS Women’s and Men’s Ski World Cup events are mixed. It is frustrating that some slopes are shut until the end of the month. Short term sacrifice for the long term image and confidence for the development of Bansko’s facilities.
Snow forecast is…
picture taken 4th February 2012. Off piste
January was excellent and now February is already turning out to be very good too. We are set for three days of SNOW. Monday sees temperatures fall again and the town of Bansko made white again. Happy days.
There is a series of snow storms passing through. I am not sure I have seen such weather charts ever before for this region.
As I type this, it is already hard in Sofia and snowing up on the mountain. It is a series of storm depressions centring themselves near and over Greece. They will work their snowy magic on Bansko’s slopes.
My forecast: another 50cm of fresh snow falling between today and Wednesday.
There may be MUCH more snow than this. Possible over 1 metre will fall on Todorka.
The ski conditions by Thursday will be just fabulous. The week commencing the 13th February is now assured to be excellent snow conditions.
UPDATE : MORE SNOW ARRIVING ON SUNDAY 12th & MONDAY 13th. 30cm+!
Too much of a good thing
The downside is…
Closed plateau (Plato) lifts due to high winds again today. The isobars are close together indicating storm winds for the coming days. We’ll see.
The other concern are travel plans. Some flights may get diverted or delayed due to snow. Although I rarely hear for Bulgaria Air being diverted, but this week we saw 1 cm of snow in Heathrow cause disruption in BA’s schedule. Far more problems than 20 cm in Sofia.
The Bulgarian snow ploughs, tractors and gritters have been very visible in town. They are also doing a fabulous job keeping open the main E79 and the Predela pass road from Simitli to Bansko.
That said, I only just made it over the pass last week during a snow storm, some didn’t. Whilst high quality winter tyres make all the difference, snow chains may be required for packed ice and snow. Coming by car? Then chains in the boot that you know how to fit…
… Sapiens qui prospicit (Wise is the person who looks ahead).
Special equipment rental
Skimania’s WhiteDot skis continue to rent well this season — as well as the whole advanced range. Same goes for the VIP range; with a good choice of twin tips and all mountain skis and premium snow boards. Skiers should go wide for this fresh powder snow.
Ski package bookings now being taken for March, but lesson dates filling up fast, so do please book soon. Sorry, no more prepay lessons for February. Some dates for hire, lift passes and transfers available. Five working days notice required
Subscribe for food and drink updates and general Bansko news. My big find are two excellent acts iGroove and Taboo at Sing Sing piano bar. Bansko’s piano bars are well worth a try and Sing Sing is my favourite. 10% discount on a bottle of spirits . Mention Bansko Blog when reserving your table.
Truth about Bansko queues this week…….get to the Gondola queue by 07:45 or be prepared to wait 2 hours to get onto the mountain. Overcrowded and most lifts and runs closed due to the FIS. Bansko is not a good resort. People are rude, inhospitable and money focused. I wouldn't recommend it.
Aiden,
It has been bad time with UK school holidays coinciding with two World Cup events. Tuesday was 14th was very busy first thing. Unacceptably so. Later on it was fine and the same everyday this week. Today (Sunday 19th Feb) a 20 minute queue at 08:30. I comment on only what I see personally. It is far far from the perfect place. Pay more (Many years ago I really liked Verbier, Lech, St Moritz, Chamonix etc). More skiing kms and fewer queues for sure. But Bansko 2 lev beers, friendly people, good eating out and value for money make Bansko far more than the sum of its parts.
I receive many comments on how much people have enjoyed themselves and how wonderfully kind and hospitable the people they come across are here. Ski in Switzerland — it defines wallet emptying. Everything in life is relative. Sorry your experience has been quite so bad. I have a new and very comprehensive Bansko guide out soon that will help everyone, first timers and old hands get the most out of Bansko.