It’s hard to believe we reached the end of our Bakhmaro cat ski season. Where did the time go? Time flies when you’re having fun… and the fun hasn’t stopped this winter.
What a winter
After an unusually dry start to December, the weather gods decided to show up. And wow, did they show up. We got waist-deep powder for our first guests from Chamonix, then bluebird skies for the next couple of weeks. That pretty much set the pattern for the season: huge dumps of snow, making for some great tree skiing times, and then beautiful sunny days to ski the higher, open lines.
With a record 5-metre snowpack in February, Bakhmaro was buried in deep pillows of snow. Conditions have been epic for cat-skiing. Once again, Bakhmaro delivered. Could you ever doubt it?!
Great guests
Due to the access and remoteness of the area, there’s only a limited number of people at any one time during winter. But still, we’ve had more nationalities visiting than ever before… Swedish, Canadian, Australian, Swiss, British, German, French, Austrian, Hungarian, Latvian, Czech, Slovakian, Irish. All with different planks underfoot: ski tourers, snowboarders, split boarders, fat powder ski freeriders, telemarkers, monoskiers (yes, I know – a monoski!) … Did I miss anyone? We loved hosting you, swapping stories and experiences, and sharing a little bit of Georgia with you all. Most of all, we loved hitting the mountain with you folks – we’re still buzzing from those good times!
Freeride joy
I mean, how about those days in the forest, drowning in powder? And those cold, sunshine-baked days when we skied down from Sakhornia’s 2950m peak. We had some beautiful, mellow, powder-filled runs – but (guilty admission) I really love the combat skiing: I’m a sucker for James Bond ski tracks, awkward gullies and a bit of bush-whacking. I think our guests do too, as they threw themselves at everything; we saw some impressive jumps, drops, tricks, (attempted) flips and a few (very amusing) flops 🙂 Which also provided great entertainment for those who were taking a more leisurely approach to their cat-skiing or considering their slightly lower DIN settings.
Thanks, Team!
Our guides were complete legends – as always. They are all IFMGA-qualified Georgian mountain guides, so they have the same international qualification and high standards that you’ll be familiar with from your mountain guides back home. As well as making sure everyone was safe on the mountain, they led the way to the best lines and snow, styling it out down the mountain – with an occasional detour on the way home to stop in the underground Bakhmaro bar for some apres ski vibes. These guys were always professional but also super fun to be around; they really are the heart and soul of your time out here.
Also, we’ve got to give credit to all the snowcat drivers for creating safe, easy passage through the crazy amounts of snow and tricky terrain this year. Those snowcats worked hard to clear our way to some magnificent lines. And these drivers have some serious skills – it’s impressive to watch from our front row seats in their snowcat cabins.
Back at the lodge, Terrace Bakhmaro, the team kept us all warm, entertained and well fed. You won’t go hungry in Georgia, that’s for sure. Nor will you run out of chacha or reasons to make a toast. There were a few welcome additions at Terrace Bakhmaro this year, with the introduction of a sauna being the biggest hit with our guests. That wasn’t the only ‘first’ this winter: we opened up a new area to the south with some beautiful ski lines, we had Pistenbully parties, and sub-zero Swedish podium dancing. It’s been eventful. Our guests have become friends, and Bakhmaro has become a home from home for those of us from Georgia and for our international visitors. Holy smoke, it’s just been such a great season.
What next?
And now the weather is getting warmer here, it’s time for us to move on to other things. We’ll be ski touring in Svaneti, Guduari and Kazbegi to early May. And then it’s on to a summer of climbing the beautiful high mountain peaks of the Caucasus, looking down at the world from over 5000m.
So we’ll keep ourselves busy, but we’ll be dreaming of Bakhmaro powder days. Some of our guests feel the same, as they’ve already booked in for 2023/24! Our winter season in Bakhmaro typically runs from the end of December to mid-March. We extend the season if there’s early or late snow, for last minute bookings to take advantage of great conditions. Because why wouldn’t you? So you can also keep an eye out for those. Meanwhile, get in touch if you’re interested in finding out more or booking for next winter.
Till then, we’ll miss you and can’t wait to welcome you back to visit us again. Have a great summer, folks – see you for more winter wonderland fun soon!
