Bulgaria’s mountain resorts gear up for 2023/24 winter ski season
Bulgaria’s mountain resorts are preparing for the 2023/24 winter season, with optimism about post-pandemic tourist numbers and with Bulgarian National Radio reporting weather forecasters as saying that “it is more than certain that we will have a white Christmas in the mountains”.
In Bansko, the cable car started operating on December 2 and 3, according to BNR, and it will also work on December 8, 9 and 10.
The official opening of the 2023/24 ski season in Bansko is on December 16, featuring Italy’s all-time top skier Deborah Compagnoni, a three-time Olympic champion in alpine skiing, and five-time World Cup winner, Austrian–Luxembourger Marc Girardelli.
Details of the opening programme for December 16 in Bansko are available at this link.
On February 10 and 11 2024, the best alpine skiers in the world will compete in Bansko in two of the most attractive disciplines – giant slalom and slalom, in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Bansko 2024.
The mountain resort of Borovets is “close to opening the slopes,” BNR said. Opening dates for the season in Borovets and Pamporovo have not yet been announced.
Borovets’s official website said that in celebration of the December 8 student holiday, the gondola will be in operation from 8.30am to 5pm on December 9 and 10, with summer prices, 30 leva for adults and 15 leva for children and those over 65.
Pamporovo will start the season with the commissioning of its new six-seater lift, with a capacity of 3000 people an hour, from Malina to Snezhanka.
The lift is a brand-new facility that uses modern technology enabling a significant reduction in noise, according to Pamporovo’s official website.
“The facility will allow passengers to get up to Snezhanka Peak in comfort and speed and is suitable for both novice and experienced skiers,” the website said.
As part of the long-term strategy to connect Snezhanka Peak with Smolyan Lakes, for the new season Pamporovo JSC is expanding the ski area in a southerly direction, restoring a favourite entertainment area that has been inactive for the past few years.
Twelve new snow cannon have been installed on the southern slopes to ensure a permanent snow cover, Pamporovo JSC said.
The FIS Snowboard World Cup Pamporovo 2024 is on January 20 and 21 and Pamporovo will host the European Snowboard Cup on January 23 and 24.
(Photo: Lance Nelson of Bansko App)
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