Most people on here know me for my trips reports to some of the more exotic ski destinations around the world. With COVID-19 still rampant and affecting the US and most other countries around the world, then planning for the upcoming season has been challenging. I was thankful that I was at least able to run a couple of trips to Japan in January but then on our way to Georgia in early March, we got shut down and had to turn around as the virus turned into a pandemic and the US started to shut down it's borders. This summer, I would normally be in Chile and potentially NZ, but those areas have obviously been off-limits to US travelers.
The past 6 months have been tough. I'm not confident that my regular trips to Japan, India or Georgia will be able to go ahead this winter. Japan is only allowing a handful of people in each day and I think it's unlikely that mainstream US and Western tourists will be allowed in, in time, for the upcoming winter. India's infection rates continue to increase and they might soon surpass the US in daily new cases. The Republic of Georgia has done very well at limiting the virus within it's own borders. As of today, they have reported 2,937 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and only 19 deaths. Georgia started to re-open it's international borders on July 31st, with citizens of 5 countries (France, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) allowed in without any entry restrictions. There's no word on whether or not US citizens will be allowed in soon. I think we'll know more after the elections in October.
This situation has forced me to get creative and goodness knows, I've had the free time to do it (but honestly, the motivation hasn't always been there as I was pretty mentally burned out from the events of last winter). So I started doing some research and there are currently 45 countries that US travelers can travel to (this list does fluctuate and not all websites have accurate or current information, so you have to be careful, but this site generally posts some insightful and updates regularly - https://thepointsguy.com/guide/places-americans-can-travel-internationally/). There's a lot of countries in the Caribbean and other tropical climes, but thankfully, there are a few countries on there with decent skiing, mostly in the Balkans.
I have been interested in skiing in the Balkans for quite a while. There was a great adventure ski travel series by the Snowmads, who filmed a whole roadtrip series in an old converted firetruck, skiing their way through the Balkans. That was a really inspiring series and if you haven't seen it, then you should check it out here at (episode 1 - ). Youtube is a great resource for gaining intel on new, potential destinations. I will search out video on resorts I'm interested in to see in more detail the terrain, snow and how busy the place is. Then I'll go on Facebook and try and find more information there and often that leads to being able to make those all important local connections.
So for this winter, it's looking more and more likely that the Balkans is where I will be heading for my adventures. I've been researching Kosovo, North Macedonia and Turkey. All of those countries currently allow for travel for US citizens without any restrictions. Turkey has proved to be the most illusive of the three, which is surprising given that it has the most resorts and developed infrastructure (around 20 ski areas with 10 of those being proper resorts and there is also quality heli-skiing, but it's expensive). It's been the hardest to research, most notably because my connections in Turkey are more limited, but there just isn't great information out there for powder-seeking freeriders like me (I like resorts that have great terrain and snow, with good access to the sidecountry, good backcountry closeby, have workable lift infrastructure, decent accommodation, affordable, I don't ask for much apparently!). Most of the video's on Youtube are from locals skiing the groomers and very few give you a good feel for the more advanced terrain, sidecountry and powder-potential. I did find a few intriguing shots, but given the lack of decent connections and local support (and how much easier it is for me to start putting together trips to the other two destinations), I'm putting Turkey on the backburner for now. I am intrigued though, I think there is potential and I will return to it again soon, but that will be a few more years away.
I know a good guide in Kosovo so I'm in the middle of setting up a trip with him. That will be a resort/sidecountry/pure backcountry trip (a nice bit of variety!) and we'll be exploring some of the best spots in Kosovo hopefully. I'm still putting the finishing touches to that trip so I'll add more detail a bit later. What I'm really excited about is the trip to North Macedonia. I have found a cat ski operator to work with and he is letting us hire cats with a minimum of 6 people in them (normally these cats sit 12 to 14 people, not including the guides/driver). That's an amazing offer. I know that like me, times are tough, so any kind of business for them will be welcome. I don't know if he'll be able to give us the same deal the following winter (assuming the world is somewhat back to normal). As much as I want to ski here in Colorado, I'm definitely concerned about the limitations that resorts will be placing and then what pressure that will put on the backcountry. Obviously I am extremely grateful that we are going to have some kind of ski season, it could be a lot worse. I do think that going somewhere quiet, for small group, private cat skiing, will be quite the tonic. I hope we'll get enough people to go.
So that's the plan for now. It could very well change though, we'll have to see. Fingers crossed I can pull some of this off. Here's a few photos of what cat skiing in North Macedonia looks like......
- Matt
The past 6 months have been tough. I'm not confident that my regular trips to Japan, India or Georgia will be able to go ahead this winter. Japan is only allowing a handful of people in each day and I think it's unlikely that mainstream US and Western tourists will be allowed in, in time, for the upcoming winter. India's infection rates continue to increase and they might soon surpass the US in daily new cases. The Republic of Georgia has done very well at limiting the virus within it's own borders. As of today, they have reported 2,937 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and only 19 deaths. Georgia started to re-open it's international borders on July 31st, with citizens of 5 countries (France, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) allowed in without any entry restrictions. There's no word on whether or not US citizens will be allowed in soon. I think we'll know more after the elections in October.
This situation has forced me to get creative and goodness knows, I've had the free time to do it (but honestly, the motivation hasn't always been there as I was pretty mentally burned out from the events of last winter). So I started doing some research and there are currently 45 countries that US travelers can travel to (this list does fluctuate and not all websites have accurate or current information, so you have to be careful, but this site generally posts some insightful and updates regularly - https://thepointsguy.com/guide/places-americans-can-travel-internationally/). There's a lot of countries in the Caribbean and other tropical climes, but thankfully, there are a few countries on there with decent skiing, mostly in the Balkans.
I have been interested in skiing in the Balkans for quite a while. There was a great adventure ski travel series by the Snowmads, who filmed a whole roadtrip series in an old converted firetruck, skiing their way through the Balkans. That was a really inspiring series and if you haven't seen it, then you should check it out here at (episode 1 - ). Youtube is a great resource for gaining intel on new, potential destinations. I will search out video on resorts I'm interested in to see in more detail the terrain, snow and how busy the place is. Then I'll go on Facebook and try and find more information there and often that leads to being able to make those all important local connections.
So for this winter, it's looking more and more likely that the Balkans is where I will be heading for my adventures. I've been researching Kosovo, North Macedonia and Turkey. All of those countries currently allow for travel for US citizens without any restrictions. Turkey has proved to be the most illusive of the three, which is surprising given that it has the most resorts and developed infrastructure (around 20 ski areas with 10 of those being proper resorts and there is also quality heli-skiing, but it's expensive). It's been the hardest to research, most notably because my connections in Turkey are more limited, but there just isn't great information out there for powder-seeking freeriders like me (I like resorts that have great terrain and snow, with good access to the sidecountry, good backcountry closeby, have workable lift infrastructure, decent accommodation, affordable, I don't ask for much apparently!). Most of the video's on Youtube are from locals skiing the groomers and very few give you a good feel for the more advanced terrain, sidecountry and powder-potential. I did find a few intriguing shots, but given the lack of decent connections and local support (and how much easier it is for me to start putting together trips to the other two destinations), I'm putting Turkey on the backburner for now. I am intrigued though, I think there is potential and I will return to it again soon, but that will be a few more years away.
I know a good guide in Kosovo so I'm in the middle of setting up a trip with him. That will be a resort/sidecountry/pure backcountry trip (a nice bit of variety!) and we'll be exploring some of the best spots in Kosovo hopefully. I'm still putting the finishing touches to that trip so I'll add more detail a bit later. What I'm really excited about is the trip to North Macedonia. I have found a cat ski operator to work with and he is letting us hire cats with a minimum of 6 people in them (normally these cats sit 12 to 14 people, not including the guides/driver). That's an amazing offer. I know that like me, times are tough, so any kind of business for them will be welcome. I don't know if he'll be able to give us the same deal the following winter (assuming the world is somewhat back to normal). As much as I want to ski here in Colorado, I'm definitely concerned about the limitations that resorts will be placing and then what pressure that will put on the backcountry. Obviously I am extremely grateful that we are going to have some kind of ski season, it could be a lot worse. I do think that going somewhere quiet, for small group, private cat skiing, will be quite the tonic. I hope we'll get enough people to go.
So that's the plan for now. It could very well change though, we'll have to see. Fingers crossed I can pull some of this off. Here's a few photos of what cat skiing in North Macedonia looks like......
- Matt
