Gudauri Skiing,
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When we left Tbilisi in our warm clothes and ski boots in our bags, nothing seemed to indicate we would actually be able to ski. It was a sunny, almost warm winter day, and the drive to the mountains would not take more than a couple of hours. After we entered the valley of the Aragvi river, we started to see some snow on mountain tops far away. But when we climbed higher, the horizon grew always whiter. We would always get higher, and suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by walls of snow. When we finally reached Gudauri, we saw cars covered by snow and walking a narrow passageway took us to our simple hotel.
After a pleasant evening with a very friendly Georgian host and lots of typical Georgian fare, we headed to the slopes the next morning. We soon were on our way up, and started skiing down the almost empty slopes. After a few hours, we had seen all slopes, as there were not many. I tried some off-piste skiing, which is no problem here, but as it had not snowed for a week and the tracks in the snow were all frozen, that was not a very easy option. Otherwise, also the slopes were not always very smooth. The nicest slopes, I found, were the highest ones, where the snow was better, and the slopes a little more challenging.
The views over the Kaukasus were beautiful, especially in the morning the weather was perfect and the views endless. The snow deteriorated a little during the day and the intense sunshine. It was also interesting to ski with mostly Georgian skiers. There were plenty of food and drink stalls right in the snow, where you could buy all kinds of snacks, and also some schnapps. One remote mountains, we could see off-piste tracks, and we could see helicopters flying there, and back. This time, however, we sticked to the slopes of Gudauri.
