Snowboarding in Gudauri, Georgia | The Journey Tester

When is the Ski Season in Gudauri?

The ski season in Georgia usually runs from December to April, with peak circumstances often occurring between January and March.

I went to ski Gudauri in February (hosted by Traverse Occasions and the vacationer board of Georgia), in order that they couldn’t have picked a greater time!

Highlights of a Ski Journey in Georgia

One of the crucial fascinating facets of snowboarding in Gudauri to me was the beautiful surroundings that surrounds you at each flip.

Nicely, off target that is determined by the visibility in fact! The primary day we arrived, I couldn’t see two steps in entrance of me, however fortunately the climate cleared within the subsequent days, so I used to be capable of shoot some spectacular pictures (see beneath).

One other spotlight, that I positively didn’t count on, was that the slopes had been crammed with… canines! There have been many (nicely looked-after) road canines in Tbilisi, however I didn’t count on them to additionally roam the snowy slopes in Gudauri.

They had been completely innocent and had been simply mendacity round within the snow, accepting all leftover meals, pets on the again and cuddles they obtained from the unusual people sliding round on picket boards and sticks, haha.

Map of Gudauri

Gudauri is a really compact ski resort (with round 75km of slopes and 14 lifts), and I used the Georgian MTA path map of Gudauri that you’ll find beneath.

I did discover that among the trails weren’t very nicely signposted once I was snowboarding round and one ski elevate was not really on the map, so I did take a couple of flawed turns and needed to ask individuals for the best way on the piste. Fortunately everybody was tremendous useful!

What I additionally discovered is that the map doesn’t make it clear that on the Kobi aspect of the mountain (mainly on the ‘again’ of the mountain you see on this map) is a improbable blue/crimson, 7km steady run that’s excellent for intermediate skiers.

I wasn’t certain if I might do it however once I heard the expertise from the others returning, it appeared it might have been nice. Actually, all of them mentioned it was probably the greatest runs they’d ever finished, so I used to be a bit bummed about lacking that chance as a result of the map simply wasn’t clear in regards to the degree of that run.

One thing else that stunned me in regards to the slopes of Gudauri is that there have been no timber in any respect, which meant that the slopes had been tremendous vast, but it surely was additionally fairly straightforward to go off-piste. That didn’t occur to me, however as a result of the slopes are fairly quick for blue runs, it’s good to remain alert.

I might say that if you happen to’re an absolute newbie, there aren’t many areas to follow (simply the Pirveli inexperienced path), however for intermediate skiers, you’ll have loads of routes to select from.

Ski lifts in Gudauri run between 10:00 and 16:30 on common. The altitude within the Gudauri ski resort ranges from 1990m (6529 ft) to greater than 3300m (10.827 ft).

How is the Après-Ski in Gudauri?

I’ve to say that I used to be fairly impressed with the choices when it got here to the après-ski within the pretty new Gudauri ski resort.

Certain, it isn’t the identical vibe as in Austria (there are such a lot of much less crowds right here to start with, which is nice on the piste as we by no means needed to queue, however you need to be those beginning the get together, haha), however there have been an honest quantity of bars on the backside of the slopes, in addition to some on or half-way on the slopes which can be nice to go to.

We beloved Escape, which was on the prime of the primary elevate (they even allow us to use the DJ set!). And we additionally visited Drunk Cherry (nice for indoor seating) and OlD MONKEY (I feel this was the identify, it was simply across the nook of the Drunk Cherry on the backside of the slopes, they usually had a DJ outdoors) within the New Gudauri space a couple of instances, leading to many good laughs and even a correct snowball struggle!

On one of many final nights, we joined the locals on the Black Canine Bar, which was a small, however atmospheric pub-like venue the place we had a fantastic evening!

We additionally spend one evening bowling on the Marco Polo lodge and had some drinks within the lodge bar as nicely. In order that’s additionally a very good possibility if you happen to don’t wish to ski again or stroll residence after a couple of drinks.

The place to have Georgian meals in Gudauri?

One of many issues that make snowboarding in Georgia so distinctive, is that you simply get to pattern conventional Georgian delicacies, for instance their scrumptious khachapuri (cheese-filled bread) and khinkali (meat dumplings, after some snowboarding.

We discovered a fantastic place for lunch on the slopes that we stored returning to for the week: Café Vitamin. You may get right here by elevate, so even if you happen to’re not snowboarding, then you’ll be able to nonetheless take in a little bit of piste-life. Right here additionally they served wonderful pizza and the employees was tremendous pleasant, so I extremely advocate it.

On common, we spend about $20 for lunch/drinks and beneath $25 for dinner every day. Whereas tipping just isn’t obligatory, it’s positively appreciated, so we left about 5-10% tip.

What are the Gudauri lodging choices?

Gudauri presents a variety of lodging choices, from budget-friendly resorts to luxurious ski resorts. It’s advisable to e-book your lodging upfront, particularly in the course of the peak ski season.

To ski Georgia Gudauri, I stayed (hosted by the vacationer board) at Gudauri Loft Resort, which was a primary ski-in-ski-out resort with a restaurant, spa and swimming pool. Different individuals from the journey stayed on the Marco Polo Resort Gudauri (with spa, pool, sauna and way more) and the Gudauri Lodge (with an enormous out of doors tub).

How a lot is ski rental in Gudauri Resort?

In case you don’t have your individual ski or snowboard gear, there are many rental retailers in Gudauri the place you’ll find all the pieces you want at cheap costs.

For 4 days Gudauri ski rental, I paid 205 GEL for ski’s, poles, and ski boots, in order that involves about $19/€18/£15 per day. I introduced my very own helmet and goggles, however you’ll be able to lease these as nicely. You may lease from most resorts or instantly subsequent to them, there are a number of choices.

In case you’re on the lookout for classes, you’ve gotten a number of personal or group choices. Ask your lodge or the gear rental store.

The Gudauri ski cross for the lifts, which we bought lined by the vacationer board, prices 300GEL for five days, which involves round $112/€104/£90 (they are often cheaper if you happen to e-book for an extended interval). You should purchase them from the ticket workplaces that you’ll find throughout the resort, for instance on the backside of the Pirveli elevate in Previous Gudauri, or close to the Goodaura gondola in New Gudauri.

Tips on how to get to Georgia?

I used to be one of many fortunate ones on my journey who bought a direct flight from Amsterdam to Tbilisi. Most cities, comparable to London, must make a stop-over first.

For instance, through Istanbul with Pegasus Airways or Turkish Airways. On the best way again, I flew through Paris to Amsterdam.

PLAN YOUR TRIP TO GEORGIA