A Sochi Ski Holiday

Why go all the way to Russia for a skiing holiday? I mean, we live in a French ski resort. I’d have to say, it’s a reasonable question.

It goes back to a conversation I had with a friend on the funicular in Les Arcs during the winter of 2018/19. Thibaud is a ski guide and he was telling me how he takes groups out to ski in Russia every January, staying there for most of the month (find out about his trips here – The Endless Winter Experience). He was waxing lyrical about how much snow they get and how awesome the resorts are around Sochi, all brand new since the Olympics but not as expensive as the Alps. Steep alpine terrain but with less people heading off-piste. 

The Endless Winter Experience – Rosa Khutor

At the time I was in the process of planning a summer road trip. Previous summer holidays had all started in Bourg St. Maurice and headed east, getting progressively further each time. This years destination was Turkey and at the furthest point, we would be 4000 km from home on a different continent. The logical thing seemed to be to leave a van where we finished instead of driving for 4 days solid to get home again. The following summer we could fly back to the van and continue on eastwards.

And then I heard about Sochi.

A quick check of the map showed it was just a bit further up the Black Sea coast, past Georgia (in reality this short 250 km drive ended up requiring a 20 hour/1250 km detour via Tblisi but that’s a different story). It would be great to visit Georgia too of course and now I had a potential contact in the Sochi area. We could leave the van there and also pay a winter visit to check out the skiing. It all seemed to be falling into place.

Fast forward 12 months and we were landing in Sochi during one of the least snowy January’s in recent memory…

Comrade Lenin is always watching

DRY JANUARY

While our trip coincided with one of the driest January’s for sometime, the one redeeming factor was the conditions were exactly the same in the French Alps. Even Japan was experiencing one of its worst starts to a season ever. Obviously we’d been checking the forecasts regularly and it did look as if there was snow on the horizon, right around the middle of the two weeks we had booked. Buoyed by this hope we earmarked our first week for acclimatisation and ‘doing tourism’.

Reporting for duty

It’s worth mentioning right from the off that Sochi is actually a beach resort on the Black Sea. Confused? Sochi was the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics, where the ceremonies were held and home to the various ice stadiums, but all the mountain sports took place around the hub of Krasnaya Polyana, 40 km inland in the Caucasus mountains.

Sochi itself is well worth a visit. Regarded as the summer capital of Russia it’s had a thriving tourist trade since the 1950’s with all the usual stuff you could expect from a big seaside city (population half a million) plus the Olympic park, and the Formula 1 circuit, home of the Russian Grand Prix since 2014. 

Sochi harbour

Driving inland from Sochi airport towards the mountains you pass under the Skypark. This 200 metre high suspension bridge was built by the original bungy jump pioneer, AJ Hackett. Just walking across the bridge requires nerves of steel. The bungy jump itself looks frankly horrific (it’s one of the 5 highest in the world). Luckily it’s also pretty expensive so we were able to use that as an excuse to not have a go. Well worth a visit just to cross the bridge though.

Skypark – frankly horrific

THE RESORTS

As you continue onwards into the valley you notice the right hand side is considerably more mountainous. The peaks are higher and steeper and therefore it’s not surprising that three of the four Krasnaya Polyana ski resorts are on this side. Firstly Gorky Gorod, then Alpika and the jewel in the crown, Rosa Khutor. All three are distinct resorts with their own lift systems but they are neighbours and with a bit of effort it is technically possible to link them, though we did fail in our attempt to get from Gorky Gorod to Alpika.

There’s a nice bowl between the two resorts, which was closed off for some VIP’s to do cat skiing (using a caterpillar tracked vehicle to get back up the mountain – nothing to do with cats on skis). Gorky Gorod is Vladmir Putin’s favourite ski destination. No idea if he was up there skiing that day and to be honest we didn’t dare ask the two imposing bouncers who blocked our way at the top of the mountain!

VP

The terrain on this side of the valley is generally more suited towards intermediate and advanced skiers. The valley floor is around 500 metres in altitude and the highest lift access takes you up over 2200 metres so there’s a very respectable amount of vertical drop to play with. One of the hardest marked pistes in the area is the ‘Crazy Khutor’, a 5km long run that starts in a steep couloir. All three resorts on this side have ample off-piste options but you do have to be careful not to stray too far. Beyond the lifts on this side, there is only wild mountains until you hit the border with Abkhazia (a break away independent state, previously part of Georgia). As such the area is patrolled by the Russian army. Heading too far out of bounds here has far more serious consequences than it does in France!

On the opposite side of the valley you’ll find the small resort of Gazprom. The skiing here is pretty mellow. Ideal for beginners or people who are more interested in the apres. On the plus side you do have more opportunity to head out of bounds without having to worry about getting shot! The mountains are also less steep, opening up ski touring possibilities.

The four resorts combined offer over 150 km of pistes, serviced by 62 lifts. Not so different to a medium sized European resort. Being split up into four areas means the lift ticket is considerably cheaper – between 30 and 40 euros a day. All of the facilities are new, most having been built for the 2014 Olympics. There’s plenty of evidence of piste security and avalanche management and the experience is very similar to skiing in a modern resort in the European Alps. One glaring difference however, is that imposing military presence. I can’t think of any other ski resort where you have to walk through a metal detector before you get on the lift at the base of the mountain. This takes a little getting used to but very quickly loses its intimidation. The soldiers really are just part of the local infrastructure. When it snows they are all out in the streets armed with shovels, clearing paths and steps and generally making themselves useful.

Goggs putting a big turn in on the more mellow, Gazprom side of the valley

FOOD

Following the advice of Thibaud, we stayed in Estosadok, (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/29948607 – highly recommended) near to the base of the Gorky Gorod ski lift. This town is the best appointed in terms of bars, restaurants and shopping and it was perfect for us. As far as restaurants go, you have your pick. You name it, you can probably find it nearby and at half the price you would pay in the French Alps. Seriously, eating out was a massive highlight of the trip. There are even cheaper greasy spoons locally and fancy restaurants if you are feeling flush but the mid-range options more than fit the bill. One of our favourites was Dobra Burger, just 2 minutes walk from our apartment. Lovely friendly staff, excellent menu (much more than just burgers) and hookahs for after dinner. We spent a memorable evening in there playing cards by candlelight during a power cut!

Candlelight and a hookah. What could be more romantic?

DRINK

Being proper tourists we naturally felt compelled to sample as much vodka as we could. A half litre bottle of decent stuff costs around 5 euros in the supermarket. At that price point you have the choice of 15-20 different brands. We did our best to get through as many as we could, all drunk neat, straight from the freezer and with pickles. I’ll be honest, there wasn’t a huge difference between the varieties but we definitely acquired a taste for it. It offers a nice clean alcohol buzz and the whole ritual of drinking shots has a compelling social aspect to it. Sad to say, we didn’t see anyone else drinking vodka outside the confines of our apartment. Maybe it’s a pastime reserved for the home!

Two weeks hard work right there

What you will find in the local bars however, is an excellent selection of locally brewed craft beers. Certainly not something we were expecting. We particularly enjoyed the small and oddly named ‘Kak My Lyubim’ bar (translates to ‘As We Love’) where they serve a selection of guest beers, ciders and stouts straight from the cask. They also make decent pizzas and show snowboard movies. Ticking all the boxes really!

HOOKAH’s

Perhaps worth pointing out the important distinction here between hookah bars and hooker bars. Hookah refers to hookah pipes, elsewhere known as shisha, water pipe or hubbly bubblies. These are popular in Russia, as are hooker bars. We had both varieties within walking distance of our apartment. Hookah bars also serve alcohol and many serve food. ‘Hookah Place’ was a firm favourite with us. Can’t offer any recommendations on hooker bars unfortunately.

PEOPLE

Russians are well known for being serious and fairly blunt in their social interactions. At first this can be quite jarring to visitors from our side of Europe. It naturally gives the impression that they have no wish to talk to you. This is something you need to get over. They don’t hate you, it’s just the Russian way! Outward expressions of emotion are not the norm.

Once you get past this imposing front you’ll see we’re not so different. Watching parents play with their kids in the snow, the guard drops and you can see the delight on their faces. We found the place to be friendly and welcoming. One standout has to be the guys from Dagestan that we met in a mountain restaurant. They were pretty well oiled for lunchtime but just genuinely wanted to chat with visitors from outside Russia. One was a policeman and took some time to show me his photos from home including one of his boss, the chief of police before saying “Is dead. Shot. Bang, bang”! Before we left they paid the band to give us a recital of the Russian classic ‘Kalinka’ (if you don’t know it, it’s in the 1 minute video highlights reel below). It was a rousing scene with lots of clapping, shouting and table banging!

[intense_video id=”Back in the USSR” video_type=”youtube” video_url=”https://youtu.be/WleV4qkXp0A”]

POWDER

And then finally it snowed! The first week had given us plenty of time to tick all the tourist boxes and get a handle on the layout of the various resorts. When it snowed, and it did drop around half a metre, we were primed and scored decent powder days in all four resorts…

Got dumped

That first day we decided to hit the largest ski area, Rosa Khutor. It was pretty obvious that everyone in town had been hanging out for this. The place went nuts. It was a pretty incredible day with knee deep snow wherever you went. Catching lifts as they opened up, dodging under fences, face shots and everything else a good powder day should be. Rosa Khutor is spread over several bowls and is the only one with runs on the back side of the mountain. We rode until mid-afternoon, by which point we were shattered. Less vodka was drunk that night. 

The next powder day was cloudy so we opted for Alpika and lapped a forested area to the right side of the resort. Basically a traverse from the top lift and keep traversing a little further each lap to get fresh lines. We also rode all the way down to the valley despite the lack of base. The run was closed and no one else was doing it but we didn’t let that stop us and it turned out to be worth the risk!

Adventures in Gorky Gorod

As soon as the sun came out again we went looking for an adventure in Gorky Gorod. Some investigation on Google satellite view had suggested an accessible route off one side of the resort. This turned up trumps and we put some of the first lines down what was clearly a well recognised backcountry line into a neighbouring valley, ultimately finishing in a narrow gulley with a sketchy frozen river crossing before walking along a track back round to the main resort.

Up on the Plateau above Gazprom

For our last day skiing the sun was out and since most of the easily accessible areas were now tracked out we decided to go touring from Gazprom. From the top lift there is a very obvious route out and up onto a plateau. From here you have access to the mountains beyond which look absolutely stunning. There was a refuge nearby and it would definitely be interesting to spend a few nights there sometime. We dropped down into the completely untouched back bowl and then skinned back up to drop down to the resort. On the way we bumped into a local snowboarder called Vladimir who showed us a fun route back through the forest. We rounded the day off in a classy terrace bar sipping very expensive drinks that our new friend insisted on paying for. What a guy! And what a great way to finish the holiday.

Jelle and our new mate Vladimir

I would absolutely recommend Krasnaya Polyana to any half decent skier. You’ll find terrain that easily rivals that in the Alps but at around half the price. The infrastructure is as good as you’ll get anywhere in the world. The food, drink and scenery are all amazing and above all, it’s a chance to experience a country that is unashamedly different to western Europe. The only real drawback is having to apply for a visa but if you plan it well ahead of time this can be achieved relatively easily and without breaking the bank. I for one would love to go back again sometime. Little did we know that this would be the last chance for an overseas holiday before everything came tumbling down with the arrival of coronavirus. Happy to say it’s one I have found myself looking back on fondly over the last travel free 12 months!

Back in the days before 2020 became a dirty word