Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
warriors come regularly from Sarajevo for the challenging terrain, but there are only six us-
able runs. Beyond that, in the woods, the mines from the war haven't all been cleared yet.
The past few years have seen modest improvements at Bjelašnica. The resort finally
bought snowmaking equipment and built a 2.6-million-gallon water reservoir. Plans are un-
derway for a gondola that would run to the top of the roughly 6,800-foot mountain, which
offers about 2,600 vertical feet of skiing. Still, investment in the resort's infrastructure pales
in comparison with that going on at the base of the hill, where two new hotels and a group
of slick condos have already been built—second homes for Sarajevo's nouveaux riches. The
problem, Biogradlic tells me, is that the mountain is still operated by a cumbersomely bur-
eaucratic state company. “Except for a few decent guys, the whole organization is clumsy,”
he says. “Just look at what we have to go through to make some snow.” He sighs and gulps
his beer. “Let's check out the cannon,” he says. “Maybe there's enough snow already.”
There's not enough snow. When I return to Bjelašnica a few mornings later, rivulets of slush
and dirty snowmelt run down the terrain park. The thermometer reads 45 degrees Fahren-
heit. Though the rails and boxes are still in place, the large kicker at the finish resembles a
beached whale. Biogradlic and Vilić have been here all night, spreading artificial snow over
the slopestyle course. Biogradlic runs up and down the terrain park, a shovel in one hand and
a cell phone in the other. Vilić shapes the approach to one of the boxes, scrambling around
on his knees. A few riders from Sarajevo have come to help, including Vilić's buddy Nikola
Krneta, a 28-year-old Serb who is one of the founders of Madstyle and a member of the na-
tional snowboard team.
“I'm starting to believe that the lack of snow is the government's fault,” says Krneta, who
wears a black bandanna around his neck and a curved barbell in his left ear. He pops open a
beer can. “Two more days of sun and I'll switch to writing poetry.”
Just a month ago, Madstyle organized a huge jib contest, the Madstyle Games, in down-
townSarajevo.IttookthemmorethansixmonthstolandsponsorslikeToyotaandRedBull,
whothrewinafewthousanddollars.MadstyleinvitedridersfromSlovenia,erecteda35-foot
ramp, and littered the city with promotional posters. When the day arrived, the temperature
was 54 degrees. The event took place, thanks to a giant refrigerator truck that brought hun-
dreds of bags of snow from the mountains. But now we're
in
the mountains; there's no snow
to import.
“Ifthe temperature doesn'tdrop,we won'tbeable tomake snowtonight,” Biogradlic says
with a sigh.
While he and Vilić debate the options, six young snowboarders show up. They are far too
fair-skinned to be Bosnian.
