finally the slopes
Georgia is trying to build a reputation as an alternative to the Alps. It may not be as elegant or well developed: GudauriGeorgia’s premier ski resort, for example, has a handful of chairlifts (and often not all of them work), compared to the dozens in, say, Zermatt. But lift tickets are about a quarter of the price, the mountains are so high, and part of the appeal is that they’re not the Alps. We met Israelis, Russians, Thais, South Africans, some Americans, Saudis, Jordanians, Indians, and many Europeans.
It’s a two-hour drive from Tbilisi to Gudauri, and as we progressed, the road became more winding and steep. The scenery was exquisite: ice-covered rivers, suspension bridges, ancient stone churches clinging to the cliffs, and beyond, the white peaks of saw-toothed mountains that cut into the sky. When we arrived, the clouds were throwing snow.
“We have been waiting all season for this snow!” a receptionist at the Gudauri Hostel saying. The hotel was a true ski chalet, ski in, ski out. Imagine mountain facing windows, an outdoor hot tub big enough for a ski gear, and a ground floor rental shop and lockers. In the morning, we could walk a few steps from our room and hit the slopes.
I woke up to the sound of barking dogs. “Dad?” Asa said, standing by our window. There is something out there. He looks like a bulldog but much bigger. And he has the thickest hair. I took a look and saw a pack of shaggy stray dogs scratching themselves in the middle of a ski slope.
At first, only one elevator worked; the others were closed due to high winds, a ski instructor told us, although it didn’t seem like it was that windy. We waited 20 minutes in line for the elevator, partly because the guys who operated it, who had cigarettes dangling from their lips and wore uniforms that said “Police,” sent chairs with only two or three people, instead of six.
