Bulgaria Feb 2022

February 2022

A 8-day adventure by S Read more

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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 12, 2022, 10:13pm
- ☁️ 0 °C
- Altitude: 1,285 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets 42.27408, 23.6003542°16’27” N 23°36’1” E
Day 1
Into Bulgaria...again!
February 12, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
6am alarm. 8.45am depart. 9.45am BHX...and coffee. 10.30am...huuuuuuuge queue for check in, followed by huge queue for security. 12.05pm Wetherspoons lunch. 12.55pm depart...actually...more like 1.30pm 🙄 a three-hour flight with some stunning views of the Alps had us into Sofia at about 6.30pm local time. 90 minutes to Borovets, all checked in just about 9pm. Bloody long day!

BUT! The hotel put late dinner on for everyone and free alcohol too... 🍷

Tomorrow we get kitted out early doors before determining just how bad an idea it was to forego ski school this year... 😳Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 13, 2022, 12:18pm
- ☁️ -2 °C
- Altitude: 2,386 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Deno 42.22047, 23.5763342°13’14” N 23°34’35” E
Day 2
Bambi legs on the Suhar
February 13, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ -2 °C
After an early alarm, we breakfasted at 7.30 before a short walk to the kitting shop. And to be fair...the day began with a whimper. Lack of signage and information from Crystal Ski about where we were kitting out, how it worked and similar, coupled with a queue of over 90 minutes to get kitted out was rather anticlimactic. Yes, it's half term...but they knew how many people arrived yesterday!

Nonetheless, we eventually got out shortly after 10.30am and dispatched an excited mum and Kev to ski school in a very misty nursery slope, before disappearing to the Yastrebets gondola 1000m up the mountain where we were greeted by blue skies and sunshine. A few nervous glances and some 'fuck it' attitude saw us down a short steep bit to get to the Suhar nursery slope to try and recall as much of our ski knowledge as possible. Three runs later...the skiing was looking tidier but everything was aching (!), so we broke for coffee as the blue sky clouded over to snow.Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 13, 2022, 3:36pm
- ☁️ -2 °C
- Altitude: 1,964 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Beli Iskur 42.22478, 23.5926442°13’29” N 23°35’34” E
Day 2
Musala Royal Run
February 13, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ -2 °C
After a few more runs down the Suhar, with the weather closing in, we braved a pint and then a blue run...the order of those is probably quite important! A few false starts on the blue run to find our legs and then we ran all the way down to the chair lift to do the loop again.

By the time we got back to the chair lift, we were knackered so ran the Royal Run down the mountain. I stacked it into a snow bank on a corner (hilariously all caught on camera) but the run down was beautiful if not painful after a full day skiing.

We met mum and Kev at the bottom of the Rila run, who'd just finished ski school and went to practice a bit more. We handed back our kit (in yet another long queue...and a bit of an argument over storage space 🙄) before walking back to the hotel.

Ben and I almost immediately decamped to the swimming pool (full of ill-parented children) to soak our muscles before dinner, a pint in the bar and bed.Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 14, 2022, 9:00am
- ⛅ -2 °C
- Altitude: 1,345 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.2645, 23.6070342°15’52” N 23°36’25” E
Day 3
Morning on the Rila
February 14, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C
Early morning for Day 2...breakfast at 7.30am and a walk in to the slopes...mercifully no queue for kit collection. We took mum and Kev up the button lifts on the Rila to practice what they learnt yesterday on the green run. We had a break for coffee after half a dozen runs before they departed to ski school for the morning.Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 14, 2022, 10:38am
- ⛅ -1 °C
- Altitude: 1,773 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.24809, 23.6099742°14’53” N 23°36’36” E
Day 3
Sitnyakovo King's Cottage Ski-Way
February 14, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ -1 °C
We departed the Rila for the Sitnyakovo Chair Lift, which itself is worth a trip even if not skiing. We were aiming for the King's Cottage, a very long and gentle green run that we only discovered on our last day here in 2017...and it was fabulous. Fewer vistas than the Royal Run but a nicer continous run with fewer steep bits. We stopped in for a warming fire and coffee at the bottom at the Silver Fox!Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 14, 2022, 2:03pm
- ⛅ 1 °C
- Altitude: 1,588 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.25607, 23.6067442°15’22” N 23°36’24” E
Day 3
Markudjik 1
February 14, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C
After two runs down the King's Cottage, we braved the Markudjik 1 Blue in the mist...successfully!
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 14, 2022, 3:52pm
- ⛅ 3 °C
- Altitude: 1,369 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.26287, 23.6043142°15’46” N 23°36’16” E
Day 3
Final King's Cottage
February 14, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
We met up with mum and Kev after they'd done some ski school and ventured for a third and final run down the King's Cottage with them in tow. The first new challenge was the chair lift which they braved, before traversing to the King's Cottage. It's a taxing run both in length and given the uphill bits but we ran it together as the sun began to set on the slopes. We rounded off with a well deserved pint back at the Silver Fox!Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 15, 2022, 10:14am
- ☀️ 1 °C
- Altitude: 1,605 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.25551, 23.6061542°15’20” N 23°36’22” E
Day 4
Early Morning Markudjik
February 15, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C
Another early morning and a day of glorious sunshine. After a very early night, we hit the slopes before 9am, with a few practice runs on the Rila. Whilst mum carried on practising on the Rila, Kev, Ben and I hopped on a chairlift up to the Markudjik 1 blue run. The views from the top of the mountain were spectacular. On the way down the final bit, I was spectacularly wiped out by a skier who suddenly turned 90 degrees across me and sent me barrelling despite all my best efforts. A bit bruised and battered, I went with Kev to run down it a second time from the very top, before a coffee break all together.

Mum and Kev joined ski school at 10am, what Ben and I did a couple more runs down the Markudjik, including me doing an accidental half of a red run by misjudging a right turn! After four runs down our legs were screaming so we stopped at Silver Fox for a restorative soft drink by the fire.Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 15, 2022, 12:42pm
- ☀️ 4 °C
- Altitude: 1,730 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Obshtina Samokov Borovets Martinovi baraki 3 42.2496, 23.611942°14’59” N 23°36’43” E
Day 4
Sitnyakovo 1
February 15, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C
Whilst in the Silver Fox, mum let us know thay her and Kev successfully navigated the King's Cottage run with no falls as part of ski school. Still feeling knackered, we skied over to the 4-man chairlift back up to the Sitnyakovo, where the King's Cottage run begins. But this time we took half the Sitnyakovo 1 blue run down to join it (cutting out a gruesome uphill bit on King's Cottage!). The blue run is a bit of a nemesis as the instructor we had five years ago was distinctly unimpressed with our performance on it. Nonetheless, we managed it with great success and continued down the remainder of the King's Cottage to the end under glorious sunshine. But feeling knackered and with our thighs screaming, we called it a day about 1pm and decided to indulge in some apres ski on the Terrace Bar in the Rila.Read more
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Traveler Bulgaria Feb 2022
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- Feb 16, 2022, 12:12pm
- ⛅ 3 °C
- Altitude: 2,342 m
- Bulgaria Sofia Deno 42.22508, 23.5794942°13’30” N 23°34’46” E
Day 5
Back to the top
February 16, 2022 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
Apres ski afternoon yesterday was followed by dinner, then bed! Today began out on a quick run down the Rila before getting the chairlift to the Blue Maraki 1 so mum could run it. Successfully completed once, we ran it again before they went to ski school, with Kev and I finishing on a red/blue.

Ben and I caught the gondola to the top of the mountain (for which there was quite a large queue!) and ran the loop around the Markudjik 1 and Suhar before descending on the long Musala Path. The weather at the top was pretty harsh - overcast, snowing and with the wind whipping the snow in your face!Read more
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