Just in time for the winter 2011/12 season, Igluski can now offer holidays to the soon-to-be Olympic ski area of Sochi (pronounced so-chee), Russia, thanks to Crystal Ski, one of our popular suppliers.
The village of Sochi, by the Black Sea, is currently undergoing one of the largest building programmes in the world, with $15 billion currently being invested in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Though there is no skiing in Sochi itself, the two resorts that will be featured are Gasprom and Rosa Khutor, with holiday makers also able to ski in the nearby resort of Mountain Carousel.
In a recent statement Crystal Said: "We are exclusively offering it to skiers and boarders keen to beat the crowds and try it out! With 100km of runs planned for 2011/12, very reliable snow and brand new lift systems you can see why the locals love it — this is set to become a world leading ski area, get there before the crowds!"
The resorts are between 40 minutes and an hour from Sochi Airport, with flights from Heathrow travelling via Istanbul. The runs are currently mostly blues and reds, and the vertical drop is a respectable 1,700m. The 100km+ of skiing for the coming season, the ski area is reasonably extensive and offers some decent back bowl skiing and off piste options.
Ian Davis, the Product Director of Crystal, said: "I went there last winter on a familiarisation trip and to help with the arrangements and it was a bit of a long journey to get there but the area has some great potential. The slopes look awesome with some good skiing."
When asked about the move by Crystal to include Sochi, Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the FIS, said: "That is great [news] and very innovative they are offering holidays to British skiers and snowboarders two years ahead of the Sochi Games. Next winter we will be running various World Cup and European Cup events that are tests for the Games so Crystal holidaymakers will be able to see those events too in the run up to The Winter Olympics "
So if you fancy trying out what is potentially going to be Eastern Europe's top resort before the crowds and the Courchevel-locals get there, then this season would be the perfect time to hit the Russian slopes.
Written by Charlie Hamilton-Beaufort
© Igluski