Last spring I ran into Leah Evans in the Creekside grocery store and after a few minutes of catching up, I had suddenly agreed to join her on a ski trip to Turkey in April. I went from buying ginger tea to planning an adventure. Not bad right? I have yet to blog on this trip and wanted to put a few pictures up of those beautiful 2 weeks.
Leah and I left Vancouver and planned to meet the rest of our crew in Istanbul, skier Jacqui Edgerly and photographer Gabe Rogel. With our group intact we flew to Erzerum, picked up our car (and by car I mean 18 passenger van complete with only Turkish speaking driver in a full business suit) and started our drive to Olgunlar. Who knew we’d end up in a deserted little village at the end of the road and the beginning of epic mountains. Check it!
We stayed at the Kaçkar Pansiyon owned by Ismail and his family. They actually opened the lodge especially for us. The village is empty in the winter when farming is done and people move to the city for other jobs. So we literally had the place all to ourselves. The area has beautiful mountains, unpredictable weather and wonderful people. So give yourself time and flexibility when it comes to planning a trip there. Here’s some pics.
Sorry for the lack of ski pictures. I guess I was too busy taking it all in. Now where should I go next?
