Borovets Day 4

Weather:

Cloudy, snowy, windy.

Snow, lovely snow, how beautiful are thee.

Instructor:

I got a 'you're more confident' from Mitko. Along with it came 'Now work on making less sharper turns'. I need to learn to turn gracefully, like a ballerina. 

I think this is the most productive skiing tuition I've paid for. There is a reason Bulgarian resorts are known for teaching.

Slopes:

The legs are very sore by now. It took me some time to get them out of bed. The shins ache from the ski boots. However, as soon as I hit the slopes, I inhale the pure mountain air and all pain is forgotten. I giggle as the wind hits my face and I pick up speed. I love skiing!

Due to the weather the gondola is closed. We, and the rest of the resort, are grounded at the Stinyakovo area. Again, the runs were crowded.

Xana decided to have a ski-free day. She went up the chairlift and walked the closed green Stinyakovo Royal Residence Ski Way. Untouched fluffy snow. She raved about the beauty of the route amongst the pine forest and past the old mountain residence of the Bulgarian kings. Further down the green run, now open, it crossed the reds and blues and became very icy. Xana was forced to do a bit of bum sleigh. Resort staff was positioned in 3 parts of the route which were very narrow and became icy very quickly due to the huge flow of people. They were helping skiers and snowboarders not to slip down the edge.

By mid-morning the snow and wind were intense and the main chairlifts were closed. We stopped for a hot chocolate. Half the resort must have quit because, when we re-started about 1h later, as the wind subsided and the chairlifts re-opened, the runs were less crowed.

We descended the toughest black in the resort: Martinovi Baraki 4. It was steep. It had some icy patches. It was long. It made the already sore legs ache. It was so rewarding! We returned after the lesson to do it a couple more times. It's a major confidence boost!

Lunch was, again, at the end of the lesson. Hungry, I decided to treat myself: chicken soup, stewed potatoes with garlic & dill and apple pie. Delish!

I really like the hotel bar: