Gudauri!

[jellyflake]

Just to be clear about that: just because things are different here compared to what I am used to does not mean that this is a negative thing. I am completely enjoying my days here!

Now, we are exploring the mountains here. Skinning a lot - which usually is not my number1 activity. But the runs are worth it.

 

[jellyflake]

Now, four days skied, three more to go.

Scenery is still unbelievable.

 

[bounceswoosh]

It looks awful. I'm so sorry you have to deal with such miserable conditions!

 

[jellyflake]

 

[jellyflake]

 

[jellyflake]

Day number five done!
I have never before skinned five days in a row.
Today I felt extremely exhausted, had tired, no: super-tired legs and did not feel very confident on ski.
So I took it easy, skied and skinned a bit and am enjoying a glass of Georgian red wine now

 

[Jenny]

Now, four days skied, three more to go.

Scenery is still unbelievable. View attachment 6313

Simply beautiful.

 

[VickiK]

What an amaaaaazing trip, thank you.

 

[lynseyf]

@jellyflake saw your pics on Facebook, looks amazing so jealous. Have you hired a guide?


Have fun, what are you skiing now?

 

[jellyflake]

@lynseyf - no guide. The 'real' guided tours (inclusing the heli skiing, unfortunately) only start in January.

What do you mean with what I am skiing now? The equipment?

So, heading to breakfast now. The hotel is getting more & more booked, so I need to avoid the crowd.

 

[jellyflake]

Good Morning!
Leaving day :(
We will pack our stuff, have breakfast, check out, ski for three more hours (yeah!), then jump onto the booked shuttle to drive to Tbilisi/Tiflis.
I hope to find a nice place for dinner there to have a great last night in Georgia.
Tomorrow early start to catch the flight via Istanbul & Munich back home. Office on Tuesday. Looking forward to resting my legs... ;)

The hotel last night:

 

[va_deb]

View attachment 6296 Sunny!

What a cool trip! And sorry for the dumb question -- but how are you ascending? Tracks others have skinned before?

 

[jellyflake]

Back home!

I just can't believe that everything went as planned

Now really tired so good night everyone!

 

[jellyflake]

What a cool trip! And sorry for the dumb question -- but how are you ascending? Tracks others have skinned before?

Hi Deb,

no dumbness
Some of the runs or faces were just obvious. You could see the ascent and the descent all from the lift. And although it was *sooo* obvious almost everything was untracked.
Except the pieces under the lift between the groomers - that was all completely tracked when we arrived. But somehow it seems to be too much effort for most skiers there to walk 20 minutes!? Very strange!
Some less obvious stuff we explored with a return strategy - AT bindings & skins. So we could have followed our tracks back to the resort. Fortunately that was never necessary as always found a good way back.

I think overall we have been extremely lucky with the conditions, the weather and the season. Resort only opened for the winter a few days before we arrived, it was pre-season so only very few people were around plus unusual amounts of snow for this time of the year and great weather without any wind. For a FULL week

If we had been less lucky with all of that I think we would have hired a guide to explore more of the backcountry. Maybe next time!

 

[jellyflake]

Some information:

Georgia and Gudauri are worth a trip!
Hospitality is great, so is food (might be an issue for people with a gluten or lactose story...) and Saperavi (local red wine).

Getting there is pretty easy - Tbilisi/Tiflis, the capital, has got good flight connections. From there you jump onto a shuttle (pre-book online, no problem) and it takes you 2 - 3 hours (maybe more depending on weather and street conditions) to arrive Gudauri. We paid USD 60 one way for a shuttle with a minivan.

Lift tickets are ridiculous. GEL (Georgian Lari is the local currency) 174 for seven days in low season (add roughly 30% in high season). 100 GEL are around USD 37 USD at the moment.

Accommodation can be booked online. Price range is very wide but a lot cheaper than in Central/West Europe.

Food and drinks are also not expensive. For less than GEL 10 you always get a Khachapuri that feeds you for a day of heavy skiing. Be careful. Addictive!!! And it really *is* a good idea to put cheese on more cheese that is stuffed with cheese.

Georgia sits between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and the Black Sea. After the last war with Russia (in 2008) there are still two regions that you should avoid. Political situation in general is stable today but check with your government whether there are any recommendations or restrictions.
With a German passport you don't need a visum.

I'll definitely go back - the mountains are just beautiful.

 

[jellyflake]

 

[bounceswoosh]

Again, looks awful. How could you stand it??

 

[jellyflake]

Again, looks awful. How could you stand it??

Yes, it was really hard. I was *so* happy to be back in the office today!

 

[bounceswoosh]