Although Georgia's relatively flat lowlands can soar into the 40s Celsius in summer, its winters in the high Caucasus mountains are long, snowy and cold enough to offer the winter sports enthusiast plenty of play choices. Four main locations dominate this scene, with plenty of variety and supporting infrastructure to give you both the activities and the rest afterwards.
Bakuriani and Gudauri are both close enough to Tbilisi to allow day trips. Due to this, they are very popular among people who don't have as much time to get away from the capital. Many years of popularity and operation have allowed them to build up the best selection of support facilities such as guest houses and hotels for every group, taste and budget. Upper Svaneti's Hatsvali and Tetnuldi round out the picture with newer and higher-altitude offerings of winter fun and plenty of infrastructure too, although they are far enough away from Tbilisi (until new roads are built) to require several days' stay in order to make travel there worthwhile. But the towers and museums of Svaneti, Georgia's ancient treasure storehouse, also beckon, promising a fascinating stay whether outdoors or in.
The town of Bakuriani, located about 30 km from Borjomi, is at an altitude of 1700 meters, with its highest skiing point at 2200 m. Aside from skiing and snowboarding, ice skating, tubing, snowmobile rentals and horse rides with or without sleds are available. Instruction is also possible for the snow and ice sports on a variety of levels. Recent news from this resort is the planning of a joint French-Georgian restoration of a track for biathlon, the Olympic sport combining skiing and rifle shooting, making this option available for the first time in 30 years in the country. This is a move to improve winter sports facilities with a view towards future Olympics hosting, which is definitely on Georgia's stated list of ambitions.
Gudauri resort is in the Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) region, 120 km north of Tbilisi on the historic Georgian Military Highway, and is 2200 m high. Its runs range from 1500 to 4200 m in altitude, 57 km in total length, with 7 lifts. Its offerings include the above mentioned slope sports (lit until 10 pm on Saturdays for night runs), along with tubing, heliskiing, speedriding and paragliding for a full package of high-end adventure possibilities.
Hatsvali, completed in 2010 and 8 km above Svaneti's capital town, Mestia, takes you up to 2347 m on its Mt. Zuruldi ski lift, with three runs varying in difficulty from beginner to advanced. Taxis are always available between Mestia and Hatsvali. It is open from late December to early April, and was a favorite winter sports location of former Georgian president Mikeil Saakashvili, who promoted it heavily and visited regularly. The restaurant at the ski lift's top is also currently Georgia's highest eatery. While the set of runs is more limited here, the views of Mt Ushba and the surrounding Caucasus are spectacular.
Finally, Tetnuldi, phase one of which opened in late 2015, is 15 km from Mestia towards Ushguli. Its height range is 2260 to 3165 m, and its longest current run is 9.5 km long, with 25 km of runs total at the moment. Its season is mid-December through late March. The second phase, still being built, will expand to make this the most attractive and activity-varied winter sports place in Georgia, provided that one has the time to spare to reach it! Both Ushguli (Europe's highest village) and Mestia (Svaneti's capital town) are within easy reach, and well worth including in one's itinerary for culture, as well as other less explored villages such as Mulakhi, Ipari and Adishi; all of these have quite a number of watchtowers, from 10 to 70. There are also reports of a planned new road up from Kutaisi, which would dramatically shorten the travel time there from that city or from Tbilisi, bypassing Zugdidi entirely. Tetnuldi, too, gives glorious panoramic views of the high Caucasus, including Mts Tetnuldi and Ushba and a number of villages.
In short, the well established and near future winter sports possibilities all across Georgia mean that one can easily find one's niche for price, location, time and activities. Don't be stuck indoors or in the city; do whatever you can to take advantage of the months of snow to see a whole different side of the country, beat the threatening winter blues into submission, get some exercise and enjoy life to the full!
Some useful links:
http://www.skigeorgia.ge/georgian-french-experts-designing-olympic-biathlon-track-bakuriani/
http://gudauri.gogeorgia.today/map-ski-pass
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/georgia/the-mountains/mestia/activities/winter-sports/hatsvali-ski-station
http://tetnuldi.com/tetnuldi-ski-resort/
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 1350 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri:
www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
Photo: www.thetravelersbuddy.com