Happy New Year and welcome to our first Snow Report from Bansko for 2020! Conditions are getting better, but it’s been a cold and dry season so far. Thankfully temperatures have been in the negative range for most of the season and the large network of snow cannons has made it possible for the resort to continue working, even with minimal natural snow.
Saturday was a sunny day on the Plato, the whole next week will be as well.
If you’re wondering how long the queues for the lifts are, we’ve got some good and bad news. The good news is that there are no lift lines on many of the chairlifts, but if you come to the gondola late, you’ll be waiting for quite a while. The biggest line is at the gondola, where you might have to wait over an hour to get up the mountain (about the same time it takes many people to get to work every day). Once on the mountain, you can pass waiting in lines by using the 6-seater Todorka lift, the Shiligarnika lift and the Mosta lift. With these 3 lifts you can ski almost all of the open slopes without spending more than 2-3 minutes queueing. The other big queue is at the midway station on the Bunderitza lift, which goes from the top gondola station at the base of the ski area, to the top of the mountain. There are also smaller queues at the Kolarski and Plato lifts as well, where you might have to wait 5-7 minutes before getting on the chairlift. Our advice is to be at the gondola no later than 8:30 AM, so that you don’t have to wait for too long before reaching the ski area, then you’ll have a few hours to ski without too many people on the mountain. After 11 AM the best choice is to use the 6-seater from Shiligarnika, that way you won’t wait in any lines and can ski 2/3 of the Plato ski run and the N.10 Shiligarnika run. If you can’t make it to the ski area before 10 AM, we advise using the Kolarski lift, instead of the Bunderitza lift, so that you can get to the Shiligarnika area and not wait in any more lines for the day.
The Chalin Valog ski run is located below the main ski area and looks to be almost ready.
Overnight we got a little bit of fresh snow on the mountain and the snow conditions were slightly better all around. Cold temperatures have allowed the snow cannons to work pretty much around the clock, so we’re expecting more slopes to open soon. So far only half of the resort is open, which caused a problem with the large number of people who came to Bansko for the New Years holidays, but the good news is we’re expecting fewer people from now and throughout January until the mid-term breaks come about in February. Since our last Snow Report, the Ski Road has also opened as is in perfect condition, which has eliminated the queues for the gondola at the end of the day when everyone wants to head back down. The Chalin Valog ski slope is also being prepared and should soon open, along with the Todorka and Balkaniada ski runs. We’re not too sure when the N.5 Shiligarnika will open, as many people have been skiing there and very large bumps have formed.
The queue at the Bunderitza lift midway station.
The best slope on the mountain is the first half of the Bunderitza ski run. This goes from the very top of the ski area, to the midway station of the Bunderitza lift. It’s a little shorter than the other slopes, however, it’s a red run, so fewer people are skiing it. If you want to do fast laps at higher speeds, that’s the place you want to go. Just make sure when you reach the lift at the midway station, to be on the skier’s left side so that you’ll be in the much shorter queue. If you go to the skier’s right side, you’ll need to wait in a 3-4 times bigger queue. For less advanced skiers, the best slope is the Plato at the moment, where there are fewer people than on the N.10, which goes from the bottom of the Plato to the Shiligarnika Ski Area. The N.5 slope, which is parallel to the N.10 is almost ready to be open but is still skiable for intermediate and advanced skiers, at your own risk. There there are big bumps in the first part and a few rocks here and there, so you should be very careful.
The N.5 Shiligarnika ski run.
Ski & Board Traventuria is a leading provider of lift passes, equipment rental, airport transfers and ski school for the Bansko area. To book your next ski vacation in Bansko with us, please check our website – www.skibansko.bg
