Skiing at Mariborsko Pohorje
In the depths of February, five people decided to head to Slovenia and hit the slopes at Mariborsko Pohorje, Slovenia’s largest ski resort.
I had passed through Slovenia on a few occasions before, but had never stayed for more than one night, so I didn’t really know what to expect. To my great pleasure, Slovenia was a wonderful surprise, as I’ve mentioned in our Chronicles on the Road. We managed to make the most of our time there: skiing, walking around, sightseeing, you name it.
But let me get to the point: if you’re planning on skiing in Slovenia, there are a couple of things you should know.
Slopes
The slopes of Mariborsko Pohorje are neither extremely long nor very difficult. The ski resort is located at an altitude of about 1000 meters, so don’t expect extreme peaks and valleys. I hadn’t had skis under my feet in over 5 years, so my beginner self was okay with the conditions. We started out at Bellevue and went downhill from there. At first, we just whooshed on the easy slopes, but after a day of training, we gathered up the courage to go down all the way to the city of Maribor.
Unfortunately, since the slope was rather steep, my ride down into Maribor was a little slow; nonetheless, the challenge wasn’t too difficult. Victory was mine! Down in the city, you could feel spring in the air — or autumn, I’m not so sure. The only indication of a winter wonderland was the white slope that led directly into Maribor; everything around it was greenish, and the weather was a lot warmer than on top of the mountain. We missed out on some of the slopes because of a lack of snow, but from what I understand, they are similar in difficulty to the ones we used.
Lifts
In terms of lifts, the array of choices is pretty broad. If you’re staying in Maribor, there’s a cable car that takes you all the way up to Bellevue, basecamp. The ride is comfortable and warm, and the views are amazing. As for scheduling, keep in mind that the cable car is only available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; therefore, if you plan on night-skiing all the way down, you’re going to have to ‘commute’ up by chairlift.
Speaking of chairlifts, there isn’t one to take you straight from Maribor to Mariborsko Pohorje; but if you take 3 lifts you’ll get there in no tim — scratch that — in a lot of time. The first two seem fast, but the last lift takes about 8 minutes going up for a 3 minute ski back down. Nevertheless, you can keep yourself busy by taking pictures of the beautiful view over Maribor. The scenery is breathtaking, especially if there’s no fog. We were lucky enough to see it in all its splendour on our second day, although the rain/snow gave us a little trouble.
Ah, and let’s not forget the drag lift. Personally, I’ve never seen such a slow drag lift in all my life. However, there were some people who took it even though the distance was really short. Most of those who decided to take a moment to relax on the drag lift were at the very beginning of their skiing adventure, so I guess it seemed thrilling enough for them. The drag lift was only available for a tiny portion of the topmost, super easy slope.
Prices
If we’re talking money, I’ve gotta say that I thought Mariborsko Pohorje was reasonable.
I paid 25 EUR/day for the equipment (skis, boots, helmet), as I hadn’t brought anything from home. The day-pass for all the lifts and rides (including the cable car from Maribor) cost roughly 30 EUR/day if you were staying near the resort.
There was some sort of an après-ski at Bellevue where we had lunch two days in a row. It offered a lunch buffet with plenty of choices for everyone (including vegans and vegetarians), which made vegetarian Alexandra very happy. The food tasted really good, the options were varied enough, and the dessert was great. The whole meal cost 12 EUR/ person, drinks not included. But drinks weren’t too expensive: as far as I can remember, a glass of wine was around 4 EUR, so I’d say we were all good.
All in all, Mariborsko Pohorje was a good skiing experience for me. I really enjoyed the gliding, and although at times I really wished there were less rain and more sun-caressing-the-snow kind of weather, the trip was wonderful nonetheless. I would like to go back there, on the condition that I get to visit Maribor and Ptuj again. More on these subjects to come, I promise.
Have you skied at Mariborsko Pohorje? What did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Photo credit: Flavius Neamciuc
This story was originally published on www.easternchronicles.com.
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