Forum
Boarding in the caucasus
Hey Guys,
In Russia over Christmas and was thinking we might go down and check out the Caucasus mountains. Was thinking about Dombai but it seems like its a bit much to get to, not afraid of going on a mish but don't have a heck of allot of time, Sochi is easily accessible but seems a little too developed, the ski field is apparently pretty small as well - but then I've heard mixed things, has anyone done Sochi? Is it good or bad? Anyone done Dombai? Is it worth 3 hour flying + 7 hour bussing + 30 mins taxi to get to town? How easy was it to get a visa that near to Abkhazia and Chechnya?
I know that there are some fields north of St. Petersberg but that time of year there's only gonna be a couple of hours of light a day and they don't seem to have much vertical (hundred metres tops)
Anyone been to the Urals? We're looking for a place that has an airport nearby that we can train, bus, or mini bus from within a couple of hours. So far only Sochi fits the bill.
It's hard to find all this info, and for visa requirements we kind of need to know before we get there, any suggestions would be helpful.
Cheers
- Ryan
u could try gadauri in georgia..has a good rep for helisking.
best way to get a russian visa is to get a fake letter of invitation from a russian travel company..heaps cheaper than going thru a visa service.
i might be able to sift out the local agent i used when i went to siberia.
another possibility is ka,chatka (other side of russia thou) awesome heli skiing and volcano riding.
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u could try Mt Cheget / Elbrus too..apparently best powder in russia..5700m mountain too, so should be snow sure
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hypoxia sure too by the sound of it. 5700m!
*edited 03 Sep 2010 09:40
Thanks Freshie,
Already sorting out the visa's got a company in St. Petersberg to forge our invitations last time we went. I would love to go to Kamchatka - the Amur valley is as far east as I've been, but no time this trip, mainly visiting people around Moscow and in the Baltic countries. I've heard that the authorities are very strict on Visa's around Dombai and Mt Elbrus, any irregularities and they don't let you out of the airport - even with bribes. Understandable I guess when Grozhny is just over the range.
I found it pretty difficult to cross from Russia to China in the far east (was getting a ride over a frozen river) I'm sure crossing into Georgia in the current climate would be challenging especially when there's skiing on the same range in Russia, I've heard the helliskiing in the region is spectacular, and that's they only way to tackle Sochi really. It's a shame, they have a second ski field built for the Olympics -- apparently of similar size to Whistler, although from the trail maps I don't see it. But it won't open until November 2011.
Anyone had any experience helli skiing in the Caucasus parts of Russia or Georgia?
there is a field in the urals that is putins favourite! newer lifts etc.
have a look at www.worldsnowboardguide.com for details of the best spots.
apparently a couple on outskirts of moscow.
i have been to Chimbulak on the outskirts of Almaty in kazakstan (summer though), but looked like it would be awesome in the winter.
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Mr Splodge..mountain goes to 5700m, but think top lift is only about 3500m.
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krasnaja-poljana ^^..near Sochi.
think is open
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http://russianskiresorts.com/ [russianskiresorts.com]
should have all the info u need
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*edited 03 Sep 2010 13:30
*edited 03 Sep 2010 12:40
Cheers, yeah was looking for more practical advice. Some of those things are a little out of date. What is particularly vague is how to get to areas like Dombai, last time we went to Russia we only got to some of the places that we wanted to get to because a local overheard a conversation we were having and gave us a lift to airports which aren't on any maps, booked us tickets, told us about trains that aren't on any time tables, etc. I'm sure if we went there it would be easier than it seems from outside the country, I mean people must do this pretty regularly. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a local flight to a disused military airport which isn't mentioned anywhere, but time is precious this time and we don't want to muck around too much.
Krasnaya Polyana is the Sochi resort, it has 4 ageing lifts and is apparently quite crowded and expensive - but then I've read mixed reviews.
I guess that's where I'll be going though as it has its own airport, and multiple daily flights to Moscow.
Problem with the ones around Moscow and St. Petersberg is that there isn't much in the way of hill there, and so they only have an elevation of 100 metres or so. Plenty of snow, was there a couple of winters ago and you wouldn't believe the snow they had around the city. Went cross country skiing which is OK I guess but nothing compared to going down hill fast.
I was skiing in Kyrgyzstan - Karakol ski field earler this year. Only one lift but some awesome terrain.
Super cheap too -$7 for a day lift pass.
Yeah but look at the graphics on that trail map. It's strictly skiiers only and you'd better be a racer if you want to do black runs 
Kyrgyzstan!?
"There is high risk to your security in Kyrgyzstan due to civil unrest and we advise against all tourist and other non-essential travel. New Zealanders currently in Kyrgyzstan with concerns for their safety should consider departing if it is safe to do so."
If that's the word on your safety in the country as a whole, I wonder what their ski area safety plan looks like!
hmm..thats the official word, but theres very little chance a tourist would see any of that.
If tour companies are still going in there, it cant be too bad..just steer clear of the uzbek dominated cities would be my call.
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I did 10 days in Dombai in 2000; it is a great ski area. We went to Elbrus for a day too and I'd say Dombai is probably the better of the 2.
It is probably a little flasher now than it was in 2000 (it had just re-opened after being closed for most of the '90s post Glasnost).
Boarding in Russia is a very cool experience; the mountains are awesome (think Euro-style mountains with single & double chairs and an old cable car). The russians are awesome fun and we drunk heaps of vodka with them - I couldn't recommend it enough.
We flew in from Moscow to Min Vody then took a taxi from there. Back then things were still very active in Checneya, so we didn't see any other westerners over the 10 days and had to go passed armoured vehicles on the taxi ride - it was an awesome experience and good to see a snapshot of russia re-building.
Overall sweet terrain and if you had the $$$ the heli would be incredible.
Very cool budgiesmuggler unfortunately unlikely to travel to other countries will on be in European Russia and the Baltic nations which are mostly depressingly flat, would love to go and try Kashmir as I've heard its amazing.
Whitesmoke - how long was the taxi ride? Prices are probably completely different now but what was the cost? I'm pretty sure that there's also a bus service or at least a minibus service.
Just read somewhere online that it's 3 hours to dombai - don't know where I read it was 7 or 8, much more achievable for a few days boarding.
Looking at going to Russia in 2012 and just started research. Also thinking of adding Iran and Romania. Anyone been there?
Oh, and Canada/States on way back but that's pretty straight forward....Maybe get around the world ticket and start in Japan.....had better get a real job 
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reine de l'hiver
think romania is fairly low down, thou there isn a few fields. You could try lebanon as well, heard many good things about the Lebanon mountains.
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@Jude
I'll be hitting up Romania plus a few other Eastern Europe places in Feb next year, I'll let you know if it's worth a look
Slovenia looks awesome, dunno about boarding but looks like a sick place
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Europe 2011 - living the dream
^^^ Heard Serbia good and Lebanon too. Kashmir sounds a bit dodgy...politically and safety-wise.
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reine de l'hiver
Hey Ryan, I think the taxi ride was 2-3 hours. The driver was real good and stopped at a town half way for some sight seeing. From memory I think we paid US$50 for 3 of us to go one way in the taxi.
Originally posted by: Ride Against
@Jude
I'll be hitting up Romania plus a few other Eastern Europe places in Feb next year, I'll let you know if it's worth a look
Slovenia looks awesome, dunno about boarding but looks like a sick place
having been to Slovenia i can say the place IS awesome, and unmissable. There are several ski resorts there, but have an issue with snow levels.
Jude i think u would have more of an issue in iran than somewhere like Gulmarg.\
ive read that Slovakia is pretty good..places like jasna and on the gone boarding site, ppl always rave on about zakopane in poland. There also greece, turkey, ukraine, hungary that have snow.
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Don't forget Cyprus there's far too many options in Europe really. Have penciled in Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Bulgaria so far and many more to come on that list
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Europe 2011 - living the dream
While you're doing Lebanon don't forget Israel. I hear the Golan Heights can be "interesting". Just watch out for the guys in the white ski suits with the machine guns.
hmm..there is a ski resort in israel, thou not up to much.
Go to Morrocco if u want an "out there" place to ski (ski/surf same day)
Oh Ride Against..u can ski Corsica too
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Cyprus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsaGryQvDQY&feature=related [youtube.com]
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Corsica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfceDCpOVJU&feature=related [youtube.com]
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turkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o9UaDgeYiM&feature=related [youtube.com]
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Will be living in Cyprus for a bit but might have to go to Corsica for a bit to get the goods
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Europe 2011 - living the dream
*edited 08 Sep 2010 09:40
Cheers for that Whitesmoke, Dombai is looking more and more likely. Depending on what they are like with Visa's might decide between there and Krasnaya Polyana in a couple of months.
Anyone remember reading this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7086457/Chechnya-wants-to-be-ski-destination.html [telegraph.co.uk]
Pretty crazy. But then as I said they've built big resorts in Kashmir.
Apparently Serbia has had hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into its ski fields.
*edited 26 Jan 2011 17:41
Ended up going to Dombai, was freaking amazing - we were surprised to get there to see a brand new dopelmayer gondala and lift system. The place was pretty deserted as well, only lines for the Gondala but not for any of the on mountain lifts.
If anyone is considering going I heartily recommend it - the on mountain culture is great as well being caucasus its different from the rest of Russia. Lots of people suddenly breaking out in local dance. Eating freshly barbecued shishlicks and drinking mulled wine while 3000 metres up is some sort of paradise.
Getting there is quite difficult, we caught a train 36 hours (got off at the stop before Mineral Waters) then hitchhiked for an hour or so, then caught a bus for a couple of hours, then a taxi for half an hour. The way back was easier, caught a route taxi for five hours, a commuter train for an hour to mineral waters, and then a long distance train 36 hours back to Moscow. I can't remember any of the place names off hand. But if anyone wants to go, a general rule in Russia is that you can get anywhere with public transport (and it would have been easier for us if we were patient enough to wait a few hours for a bus) but its not immediately obvious how to get there and you can't book in advance, so its best just to start moving - you will get there eventually, although the further you get away from the city's the more you will require someone who speaks Russian to travel with you.
The other thing to mention is that most western governments consider the republic that Dombai is in (Karachay-Cherkesia) to be an extreme risk and will not offer any support in the case of kidnapping or other terrorist related activities, The Russian government is also weary of people travelling there without the correct paperwork (more so than other places), if you are travelling without the correct paperwork then its best to avoid police checkpoints - we also were lucky in that we weren't stopped at any of the borders. One guy I was talking to later on was kicked off his bus and had to go back to Moscow. Your travel insurance company will also be upset with you if you go and it may invalidate your insurance. I can only imagine that with the recent events in Domodedova airport that things will be even more strict in that part of Russia. With that warning over, everyone in Russia considers Karachay-Cherkessia to be safe, its only potentially dangerous because its in close proximity to some pretty nasty places.
mmmmm...shashliks
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Shashlik and Plov beats a pie and soggy chips any day.