Let the season begin

The Bansko ski season will officially open on 15th December. Ski legends Herman Maier, Marc Girardelli and Peter Popangelov will be there. But the real question is…will we chipping away at a snow field trying to find treasure hidden in the snow, like last year? We’ll see.

Most importantly though, will the Bansko snow arrive like an early Christmas present?

The countdown to the winter ski season has begun. My thoughts are turning to cold morning starts, snow under foot and the glistening of the sun on the fresh snow. It is memories of those special moments that keep me going when the days are shorter.

But I know, from my corporate days, that living far away from the mountains means even more. If you’re like most people, you have just one week of ski season holiday booked. You, like me, probably are thinking about good Bansko snow times.

When commuting by train, underground or bus and when staring at an Excel spreadsheet you’ll be thinking of the prospect of those perfect moments riding in pow(der), carving a turn and then ending the day sipping a beer, or mulled wine, with friends.

Thoughts like these will see you clicking on flight websites and booking up one more trip.

Thousands of us in the northern hemisphere are thinking the same thing. That first outing on the snow covered mountain. Let the season start soon!

Winter preparations

October has seen me connecting with many more Bansko business owners. From real estates agents, hotels, restaurants, bars and property manager owners. For most, the preparations for the season are taking on renewed energy.

Even new shop units are being frantically constructed. These are located by the ice rink and the “Winter Supermarket”. Some bar renovations are also taking shape. More on these when they open.

The mood in Bansko town is optimistic.

In particular, restaurants and bar owners are being more creative. More imagination and more customer focus is being applied than ever before. Whilst there are still some glaring issues with unmade roads and unfinished buildings, there are improvements. I wonder if the plans for new lifts and runs will now happen. It would not surprise me.

Bansko Calendar 2013

In between answering questions on our early bookings for ski, snowboard hire, tuition, lift passes and transfers offer here (apologies for the shameless plug), I’ve been flicking through and shortlisting the many photographs, all taken in 2012 that will be featured in the Bansko 2013 calendar.

The pictures take on more meaning now, and I’m really happy that the Bansko 2013 calendar will be better than ever.  The calendar is free, only for all bookings here on BanskoBlog.com over €125/£100.

The calendar will be a similar style, from the same artist, as the Bansko town and Bansko piste maps.

Shuffling through a load of pictures it is clear that the summer shots, from my professional mountain photographer and journalist friend Colin Samuels, are totally original. The winter calendar photos are proving harder to choose. Most are taken by myself; so I’ll be leaving it to  the artist to decide which ones make it to print.

The calendars will be printed on recycled paper and will reflect what Bansko means to me, and I hope also, to you. They are also pictures that capture moments of what the Pirin mountains offer in both winter and summer seasons.

Dates for your diary

What the impact on lift and piste closures these events will have, I am not so sure. But I am disappointed to see FIS races in April. Typically, this is a good time for warmer spring conditions, and usually quiet pistes due to Orthodox Easter being late April.

21st January 2013 –  Atomic ski series

28th -29th  January 2013 – KAPPY Cup, FIS races with SL, 1 GS

18th-26th February 2013 – IBU European Championship Biathlon

8th-10th March, 2013 –  Bansko Snow Polo Wolrd Cup 2013

Here’s to the first sprinkling of snow.