Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SKIING
Skiing rivals hiking as the most popular recreational pursuit in Slovenia. On the basis of
written references that go back to the 17th century, many believe that skiing was actually
invented here, on the slopes of the Bloke Plateau in Notranjska. Today an estimated
300,000 people - some 15% of the population - ski regularly. Just about everyone takes to
the slopes or trails in season, and you can too on the more than two dozen ski grounds and
resorts of varying sizes listed in the Slovenian Tourist Board's useful
Ski Centers of Slove-
nia
.
Most of Slovenia's ski areas are small and relatively unchallenging compared to the
Alpine resorts of France, Switzerland and Italy, but they do have the attraction of lower
prices and easy access. The latest weather and snow reports are available from the
Snow
Telephone
(Snežni Telefon; 031 182 500, 041 182 500;
www.snezni-telefon.si
)
.
BEDDING DOWN ON HIGH
» A bivouac is the most basic hut in the mountains of Slovenia, provides shelter only.
» A refuge has refreshments, and sometimes accommodation, but usually no running
water.
» A
koča
(hut) or
dom
(house) can be a simple cottage or a fairly grand establishment.
» A bed for the night runs from €18 to €27 in a Category I hut, the most remote hut,
depending on the number of beds in the room, and from €12 to €20 in a Category II,
defined as being within an hour's walk of motor transport.
» There are some 60 mountain huts (41 of them Category I) in the Julian Alps, most of
them open at least between June and September; some huts at lower altitudes are open
all year.
» Huts are never more than five hours' walk apart. You'll never be turned away if the
weather looks bad, but some huts on Triglav can be unbearably crowded at weekends
- especially in August and September.
Gorenjska
»
Kranjska Gora
(810m to 1291m), has 20km of pistes, but the skiing here is fairly
straightforward and suited mostly to beginners and intermediates. Nevertheless, for foreign
