The Highlight Land and People Skiing and boarding Program

Krasnaya-Poliana
                    Skiing on the Russian Riviera -
                                        steep and deep in the powder house of the Caucasus

The highlights
This is the place for powder skiing. The proximity of the Black sea gives the snow that unique texture, which sticks to the steepest slops without being affected by the wind. The broadleaf forest allows excellent tree skiing. The shape of the mountains provides a playground made for skiing. When flying is not possible, the ski resort provides good off-piste skiing.

Land and people
The Caucasus stretches for more than 1000 km from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. It is the border between Europe and Asia and also between Russia and Georgia. This mountain range has many summits above 5000 m, like Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe (5642m). Where the Caucasus Mountains meet the Black Sea, there are still imposing summits above 3000 meters. Tucked into this wild alpine environment we find the legendary skiing area of Krasnaya Poliana, the "nice valley"…
Historically, the Western part of the region has always been politically different, more international than other area of Caucasus. It started with the Greeks in search of the “Zolotoe runo” - maybe just a great legend - then came Armenian and Caucasian people like the Adygi, Ubykhi and Cherkessy who lived in this coastal area. From the 18th century, Russians came to explore this area and progressively became more and more influential. Today, it is the only entire Caucasian region in the Russian Federation.
From an economical point of view, the Krasnodar region is the most developed area of the Russian Federation. Most of the money is invested in tourism. The sea resort of Sochi is the most famous in Russia but the neighbouring mountain valley of Krasnaya Poliana becomes also very popular. Today there are lots of hotels, chalets and restaurants of modern western standards.

Skiing and boarding
The great proximity of the sea produces a characteristic snow that sticks to the steepest angles. Skiing and boarding here reminds of Whistler or Alaska! It is an incredible playground with some unique tree-skiing areas. As the trees have deciduous leaves, the snow is evenly spread and you can see far ahead while riding. The summits are around 2500 meters high and some of the runs end all the way down to the valley at around 800 meters. Our powerful MI 8 helicopter easily drops people on the ridges and on the summits. Runs between 800 and 1500 vertical meters give us plenty of opportunity to play in the best powder. It is only after the introduction of helicopter skiing, more than ten years ago, that a lift system has been built. This ski resort has a lot of interesting slopes, above and in the trees and offers runs up to 1500 vertical meters for when we cannot fly.

Program
From Europe, your flight takes around four hours to Moscow and a connecting flight to Sochi lasts another two hours. There, we will meet you at the airport and a final 30 minutes taxi ride will take you straight to our private hotel in the valley of Krasnaya Poliana.
After the mandatory safety instructions to tell you how to behave around the helicopter, on the terrain and in case of an avalanche, the following days will only be about enjoying wide slopes or steep couloirs. The choice is ours as there is hardly any limitation on the landing zones. Should the weather condition be not good enough to fly, we can use the lift systems which give us access to stunning runs with almost 1500 meters of vertical drop, above and in the trees. For the Après-Ski we meet in the Bar "Münchhausen", an excellent place to pick up some Russian habits such as drinking vodka together with the delicious local food.

PRICES & DATES

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