macedonia / northern greece beta/locals ?

[keksie]

A sudden decision to head south for some skiing. Most probably taking the ferry from Italy to Igoumenitsa, Greece on Sunday. If I have not understood completely wrong the general area over there has gotten some snow so far this season (at least during the last couple of weeks). This is a really short notice trip for us so if anyone knows locals in the area or has some previous experiences it would be nice to hear from you.

Probably trying to spend some time in the Pindos mountains (maybe Astraka refuge), maybe Mt Olymp area, then head north towards Macedonia (Popova Shapka and the nearby mountains).

We don't even have any maps/guideboks etc. yet, will hopefully find some in Igoumenitsa. The main problem seems to be that most of the ski resorts are not that interesting and don't offer decent access to the bigger mountains either.

The Pindos mountains and the area Olymp area seem to be somewhat known by at least German speaking spandex wearing skitouring people, unfortunately we don't belong to that group so much and therefore generally have no clue

[Alkares]

I know this is probably a bad/idiotic question..... (feel free to let me know) but are there any spots for mag tag-alongs...? I can pitch for some gas, and don't mind breaking trail.... I have a friend who knows the guy who formed the first ski patrol in Macedonia, I can give him a call and see where that connection leads.... Just throwin that out there.... Been interested in skiing this area for a while, after spending 2 months there this summer I'd love to get back....

[patxi]

I just left Popova Sapka yesterday afternoon. I am in Brezovica now. It is storming right now and is supposed to continue through the weekend. It seems that there is more snow the further north you go. Also, they have had a lot of wind the past few weeks so the snow up high is not so nice. Down low in the trees it is very good.

If you go to Popova Sapka, the local freeride place to hangout is D Haus which is down in the hole on the pistes. The resort itself is pretty much south facing and if the lift to the top is not running, your choices are limited. There are a few trees where you can make some good turns. A liftpass runs about 12 euros so it's ok for a few hours. If the top lift is open and there is visibility, you can hike out the ridge and find some better terrain/snow that is north facing. There is also the cat skiing operation there, Eskimo Freeride. They are good people and if the weather is good it can be a decent option. I stayed at the Hotel Bora which was 37 euros for full board. It is at the top of the road so access is a bit of a pain if the top lift isn't running. It is only about a 10 minute walk though from the main station. Friendly people run it but they go to bed early if there aren't many people around.

Brezovica, in Kosovo, looks like it has better snow as it is mainly north facing. Unfortunately the electricity has been cut for the past few days so there are no lifts running. It is too windy today so they probably won't open it in any case. Some friends have skinned during the past few days and found some fun stuff. They also found a local to drive their car so they could make some road laps. I watched a video last night and it looks very very good. There is apparently a good ski bum community here that you should run into. I am staying at the Woodland Hotel which seems to be the best place to stay around. There are also places you can stay for something like 10 euros a night. Access is a bit difficult as you need a snowmobile for the last 1 km or so. An avalanche also closed the road for a few days earlier this week and access was only via snowmobile. Doesn't seem to be an issue though. I showed up last night in a driving snowstorm. The taxi couldn't make it any further but the snowmobile showed up in a couple of minutes.

The locals in Macedonia and Kosovo are nice and helpful so I'm sure you will enjoy your visit regardless of the sketchy infrastructure.

[sqikunst]

Fuck I want to head to Macedonia as well!!!

[klar]

Brezovica, in Kosovo, looks like it has better snow as it is mainly north facing. Unfortunately the electricity has been cut for the past few days so there are no lifts running. It is too windy today so they probably won't open it in any case. Some friends have skinned during the past few days and found some fun stuff. They also found a local to drive their car so they could make some road laps. I watched a video last night and it looks very very good. There is apparently a good ski bum community here that you should run into. I am staying at the Woodland Hotel which seems to be the best place to stay around. There are also places you can stay for something like 10 euros a night. Access is a bit difficult as you need a snowmobile for the last 1 km or so. An avalanche also closed the road for a few days earlier this week and access was only via snowmobile. Doesn't seem to be an issue though. I showed up last night in a driving snowstorm. The taxi couldn't make it any further but the snowmobile showed up in a couple of minutes.

definitely a ski bum community around, very friendly, like to drink. we met them last season/, if you run into renato or gent tell them lea says hi

[freak]

Brezovica, in Kosovo, looks like it has better snow as it is mainly north facing. Unfortunately the electricity has been cut for the past few days so there are no lifts running. It is too windy today so they probably won't open it in any case. Some friends have skinned during the past few days and found some fun stuff. They also found a local to drive their car so they could make some road laps. I watched a video last night and it looks very very good. There is apparently a good ski bum community here that you should run into. I am staying at the Woodland Hotel which seems to be the best place to stay around. There are also places you can stay for something like 10 euros a night. Access is a bit difficult as you need a snowmobile for the last 1 km or so. An avalanche also closed the road for a few days earlier this week and access was only via snowmobile. Doesn't seem to be an issue though. I showed up last night in a driving snowstorm. The taxi couldn't make it any further but the snowmobile showed up in a couple of minutes.

if it clears and you get some stable conditions while youre there, take the lift (do they run more than one lift now btw? there was only one lift operating last year when we were there) and follow the ridgeline at the boarder to macedonia to either side, there is really cool terrain there (west is closer, east is even better but ~45minutes skin).
the stuff down to the road to prizren also looks fun and is probably doable with not so perfect conditions, we did not have enough snow for that, but that shouldnt be a problem now, youd need someone to pick you up and bring you back to brezovica...

freak~[&]

ps. we stayed in the hotel below the lift (big communist building) and payed ~10.- incl. breakfast. once we figured out to tell them we wanted scrambled eggs with bread instead of the normal stuff, everything was quite nice... and since you can always get some breakfast at the lift for ~2.- before they open (they never open before 10 anyways)...

[patxi]

definitely a ski bum community around, very friendly, like to drink. we met them last season/, if you run into renato or gent tell them lea says hi

Gent left a couple of hours ago. I skied with him for a couple of runs in Macedonia until we were placed under arrest for a few hours. Good guy. I'll keep my eyes open for Renato.

[Mike Pow]

+1 to all that's been written

Some great lift accessed skiing and lift accessed touring at Popova Shapka and Brezovica.

So too Kolasin and Savin Kuk in Montenegro.