Why Georgia is the ultimate ski destination for thrillseekers – this is the title of an article The Independent has published on the Georgian town of Mestia that is located in Svaneti region.
The article author says that ‘the town of Mestia could easily have come straight out of a Game of Thrones set, with its ancient stone buildings and Svan towers’.
According to the article, ‘defensive structures that date back as far as the 12th or 13th centuries – giving a medieval feel to the place. Yet Tetnuldi ski resort, 15km to the east, is at the forefront of the modern freeride scene in Georgia.’
‘However, you’ve got to like travelling to get here,’ the article reads, adding that the four-hour flight from London to Tbilisi is ‘no big deal,’ but if the short connecting flight to Mestia isn’t operating – as is often the case given the region’s wild mountain weather – you’re looking at an eight-hour drive.
‘At least it’s scenic, taking you above inaccessible river gorges, through deep forests that are home to bears, wolves and lynx and beneath savagely steep mountains that are higher than anything in the Alps,’ the article says.
‘The potholed dirt road to Tetnuldi adds another half-hour to the journey, but when you eventually get there, you’ll be glad you made the effort if deep powder, fantastic mountain panoramas and empty slopes are your idea of a good time.
Despite having only four chairlifts, Tetnuldi offers some of the wildest and quietest skiing in Europe. That said, you’d get bored pretty quickly if you stuck to the modest collection of blue, red and black runs beneath the lifts, but the terrain off the side, which is forested on the lower slopes, is a freerider’s dream, and there are 900 vertical metres of it from the resort’s high point of 3,160m in the shadow of 4,858m Mount Tetnuldi,’ reads the article.
Tamta Kapanadze
News Author