Snowboard Club UK (SCUK)
Abroad - Bansko
stew-t - Feb 19, 2010 - 08:25 PM
Post subject: Bansko
going there from the 27th Feb for a week. can't wait. 
anyone been? any reviews/places to go when not boarding? any recommendations on where to board also?
gangus1 - Feb 19, 2010 - 08:37 PM
Post subject: RE: Bansko
Hi mate.
I was in Bansko 2 years ago around about the same sort of time - think it was the first week in March. Good resort, not as extensive as many of the top resorts in the Alps, but then again, you are not paying those sky high prices.
If you are beginner/intermediate, you will have a good time. Plenty of decent blue and red runs, and a really good park. There are also some decent tree runs and a bit of off piste under some of the chairs. Not much by way of black runs but lets be honest, they aint as much fun anyway!!
You will find that most hotels are pretty modern, with good facilities. Cant really comment on the restaurants if you are eating out as we were half board and only ate out one night. COuple of decent bars but best places at the end of your day on the hill are the ones beside the main gondola station at the bottom - where you will finish at the end of the day.
Have a good time
polo - Feb 19, 2010 - 08:37 PM
Post subject: RE: Bansko
Cue winterfunman... 
winterfunman - Feb 19, 2010 - 09:05 PM
Post subject: RE: Bansko
hahahaha thanks polo ...stew-t there are to very long trheads on here about your topic.... you will be in good compan then as a few guys and instructor fromm cas r hitting bansko up again for fun frolic and beer ...if you want a good map you can get them of the whole resort from alot of good shops , pop into the furniture box shop just up from the gondola on the right and see stanford , tell him i sent you it has all the places on it, bars, clubs , bowling etc etc cost is 6lev , any specific info needed pm me , have fun i may be out there when you are
metal_snapper - Feb 19, 2010 - 11:21 PM
Post subject: RE: Bansko
stew-t, I was there last week and it was all good. We were soooo lucky with the snow that dumped on us one night. So we had powder heaven the next day.
I suggest getting there as early as poss to get in some good runs before all the Hoi Poli rock up and turn it into mogual hell.
Get up to the highest point and rip up the blue all the way down, was one of my personal fav's.
It gets quite busy and you will learn to stand your ground and not let them push in 
stew-t - Feb 20, 2010 - 09:44 PM
Post subject: RE: Bansko
guys, thanks for the replies. will remember all when i'm out there. can't wait
Winterfunman- thought i had seen on your profile you were listed as there. thanks for the info
stevengeelan - Feb 20, 2010 - 10:06 PM
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I'm heading for Bansko tomorrow afternoon. Woo!!
snow231 - Feb 21, 2010 - 08:04 AM
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stew-t, if you haven't sorted out your accomodation yet - I have a great penthouse apartment right next to the gondola with stunning views of Bansko and the surrounding mountains, sleeps 6, PM me if you are interested, I can offer you a great price as I'm usually not renting it out but I will have to leave it empty for a while.
winterfunman - Feb 21, 2010 - 11:30 AM
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snow231 which development is it in ??? as i have a list of ppl for next year already and its growing fast pm if you want
stew-t - Feb 22, 2010 - 01:52 PM
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snow231- we're all booked up. but i'll keep that in mind should we go again. thanks
SuperSoaked - Feb 23, 2010 - 10:41 AM
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I was there over christmas. Was very good bit icy and bust but it think that was because of the holidays. Ill be going back. 
Brado - Feb 23, 2010 - 11:05 AM
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I'm heading over to Bansko from March 3rd! A cheap and cheerful week off from the world! Cannot wait!!!
gingermonkey - Feb 23, 2010 - 11:49 AM
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i was in bansko 7-14th feb this year, snow was amazing! dumped it down all day and night on the wed! the bulgarians are miserable and dont seem to know what customer service is! it took us 2 hours to get our bags at the airport and was a 4 hour bus trip from sofia, but despite these set backs we had a great time. the food is pretty limited but go to the crown bar, great food and service and the drinks are cheap (50p tequila), also go to avalon, british run, great food and cheap, 3 course dinner for a tenner! the happy end bar is right at the bottom next to the gondola and is good for a bit of a party at the weekend, live band etc. would defo go back, had a blast, but bulgarians cheer up!
winterfunman - Feb 23, 2010 - 04:37 PM
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Brado i pm'd you and for my advice you now owe me( in keeping with tradition ) a zargorak lol in harrys bar , when your out hahah 
winterfunman - Feb 23, 2010 - 04:39 PM
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Avalon does a curry night on a thurs night , but you have to prebook as it get full very qwickly too , the older bulgs are grumpy but the middle / younger generation as ok , just need a bit more of a sense of humour
stew-t - Feb 23, 2010 - 07:40 PM
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Can anyone tell me how much a weeks lift pass costs?
winterfunman - Feb 23, 2010 - 08:08 PM
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all info is on wwww.banskoski.com under pricing , you can pre buy if its a week or so before from a few firms too , a bit cheaper but not alot
stew-t - Feb 24, 2010 - 04:09 PM
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Winterfunman, I think I know of Stanford through the Type R owners forums.
winterfunman - Feb 24, 2010 - 06:26 PM
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yep hes on that , hes a good guy , hes co owner of the furniture box www.banskoo.co.uk say hi to him and remind him i am still awaiting my price list for a list of electrical goods i left an order with him in december
stew-t - Feb 25, 2010 - 07:28 AM
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Shall do
DereksDontRun - Feb 26, 2010 - 04:31 PM
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WFM (or whoever) - how popular are cards over there?
someone suggested to exchange cash there in a bank, but I'm guessing that's on a mon. We arrive on Sat and need to sort out lift-pass (lessons and hire for gf and bro) and supermarket before mon... will lift-pass, hire and lessons be do-able on Visa, or need cash everywhere?
metal_snapper - Feb 26, 2010 - 10:46 PM
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I just took LEV with me. My bank really takes the piss on overseas transactions.
Cash is king
DereksDontRun - Feb 26, 2010 - 11:05 PM
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yeah, get paid on the 15, arriving there on the 13th... arse...
metal_snapper - Feb 26, 2010 - 11:13 PM
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ahh.....yep, problem there then!...lol
winterfunman - Feb 27, 2010 - 12:42 AM
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you can pay by card but some time the card machine at the gondoal doesnt always work 9 like alot of bulgarians lol ) so cash or lev is good , there i s a mini bank / hole in the wall next to gondola on side of Kempinski hotel
Snowscreen - Mar 01, 2010 - 03:06 PM
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Hi all
snow was a little sticky and slower today, but soft so that was cool
Staying in the lion, had some rain this afternoon assoon as you hit the ski road home, quite light rain but it carried on for a while, stopped now
managed to board the ski road all the way down without having to unstrap and skate though so its still pretty good
snows nice and soft which is cool, could do with a cold night though imo, doesnt look like it'll be tonight.
a couple of patches on some runs, red 8 and 1 or 2 others but nothing bad at all
Had a great 2 days so far!! and saw man utd win the cup in the friendly pub while having a great pizza so happy days
sorry only a quick update but so far its been really good and no real problems with snow cover, still plenty to get about on and easy to cut through as its soft
winterfunman - Mar 03, 2010 - 05:58 PM
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10cm of fresh pow last night , still a tad icey due to mssle over a few days , light snow foracst foer sunday follwed by heavier mon tues and weds whooooooo my snow dance worked , if it does as i forcast zargoraks on you guys
i leave in T M INUS 8 HRS
Brado - Mar 03, 2010 - 11:39 PM
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awesome news! i arrive when the snow looks like it will be falling! YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! : D
winterfunman - Mar 04, 2010 - 12:17 AM
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so does that mean i add you to my list of satified ppl who owe me a zargoraka or two in harrys bar ..hummm going to be a nice messy drunken holiday hahaha see you all very soon 2 hours
dane_stone - Mar 04, 2010 - 11:16 AM
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Sweeeeeeeeet I fly out Saurday so will be on the slope Sunday. Bring on the snow
Ashnewnes - Mar 08, 2010 - 11:01 PM
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and its still dumping..........
stew-t - Mar 09, 2010 - 11:13 AM
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ffs
Hairydavey - Mar 13, 2010 - 10:49 PM
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Got back this morning from Bansko, 4 days out of the 6 we had dumps and some great conditions though there were clear skies and bright sunshine as we flew out of Sofia at 11am.
Had a cracking time and some awesome off piste and tree runs to be had, but I don't think I'll ever go back.
I'm a bit of a dog lover and on the transfer to the airport I saw 2 dogs run over (I know they are wild but that's beside the point), and another 2 poor buggers badly wounded dragging themselves off the roadside. Using dogs as live speed bumps seems to be a Bulgarian pastime so I'm sticking with the Alps, the drivers didn't even bother to stop.
I'll take my money somewhere else.
stew-t - Mar 15, 2010 - 04:15 PM
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I noticed that about the dogs too. We agreed that we'd probably not go back. Was decent enough though.
Hairydavey - Mar 15, 2010 - 05:25 PM
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True mate, I won't deny the powder days were excellent and plenty of fun to be had along with great value for money, I'm just a sucker for animals and can't bear watching those scences again.
For some people though, they may well be able to overlook that and concentrate on the good which is fair enough
stew-t - Mar 15, 2010 - 05:54 PM
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i remember walking back to my hotel at silly o'clock and had my ipod on so didn't hear the dog sneak up behind me and start licking my hand...made me jump a bit...
winterfunman - Mar 15, 2010 - 08:51 PM
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stew standford says you took a dog home one night lol..but thats another story ........ the major and an animal association are looking into the whole dog situation ...but you gota remeber they are 10 years behind in alot of things ........... and hairy turn ya bloody phone on when away grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
stew-t - Mar 16, 2010 - 08:02 AM
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sh1t, how did he find that out...i thought i was very carefull to check that noone saw...oops.
Hairydavey - Mar 16, 2010 - 01:57 PM
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winterfunman wrote:
stew standford says you took a dog home one night lol..but thats another story ........ the major and an animal association are looking into the whole dog situation ...but you gota remeber they are 10 years behind in alot of things ........... and hairy turn ya bloody phone on when away grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Hi mate sorry about the lack of phone, that was bloody Vodaphone! I switched on international calls for my phone through their website then got to Bulgaria and...............................it was sodding blocked! 
Stoopid damn thing wouldn't even let me accept incoming calls!
For all I know mate, I could have been in the same Gondola car as you and not even known
If anyone is going to Bansko there's a friendly family of dogs (dad, mum, and 3 pups) halfway down Blue 1 where there's the little empty wood hut on the corner where another run joins Blue 1. Do us a favour and give 'em some attention
winterfunman - Mar 16, 2010 - 09:14 PM
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Dont tell stew he will pop back in the night no worries , and i usually fill my gondola car , plus i have my name on my lid board etc and my ski logos too so im sure you would of seen me ( got various comments on the logos from skiers , alot just laughed and called us all mental boarders though)
stew-t - Mar 17, 2010 - 08:21 AM
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hmmm, cheap flights to Bansko...