Thank you Pamporovo by Snowboardnewsonline.com

LETCHWORTH, U.K. - July 31, 2013 - PRLog -- In the grand scheme of things, with only 5 years of solid snowboarding under my belt and unable to grasp the simple technique of the ‘Olly’, I think it is quite safe to say that I am relatively new to snowboarding. But, as editor and chief of Snowboard News Online I felt it was only right that I help build a picture of my snowboarding excellence and share with you my experiences of learning how to board in the country that put the worlds 6th astronaut in to space, Bulgaria.

Pamporovo, Bulgaria isn’t world renowned for its snowboarding. With 5 blue slopes, 5 red slopes, 4 black slopes and 6 chair lifts it is easy to see why seasoned snowboarders are not flocking to take on “The Wall”, so called because it is the steepest and most intimidating run on the resort…. for the beginners, any intermediate or advanced boarders would look at it as the shortest black run on the planet. However, I was a beginner with zero experience and I found that Pamporovo was the perfect place to learn.

There are a whole host of free buses that run from the town up to the foot of the mountain were the ski/snowboard skool and the hire shop are located. Each day as I disembarked from the bus I was met with a plethora of local Bulgarian folk waving hand made bells in the air and repeatedly grumbling the words “Johny be good, very good price”. I have no idea what relevance the ‘Johny be good’ reference has, but needless to say I purchased one of those pesky bells on the final day of boarding for a ludicrous price of 5 English pounds.

After my first day of lessons, I felt like I had been taken to the top of a mountain, repeatedly beaten and then buried in icy cold snow by my “friends”. So when it came to going out to absorb the aprés ski atmosphere, the distinct lack of it was met with a brief burst of ecstasy, which provided a moment of relief, until it was immediately followed by the continuous screaming throb of my aching limbs. It is a fairly quiet, fairly basic little town.

I forget the name of the hotel I stayed in. It was a 3 or 4 story building that was owned by an ex member of the 1972 Bulgarian winter Olympics team. I’m not sure what event she specialised in, I am thinking, probably cross country skiing. The rooms were basic, 2 single beds, Bulgarian TV, WC and shower. I would describe breakfast as boiled eggs, oranges, raspberry jam on toast and cornflakes. Two words would perfectly describe the evening meal, these are Salad and Goulash. All this said, I absolutely loved this hotel, the crazy owners and the stuffed crack fox in the lounge area all provided a very comfortable stay for my first snowboard outing.

All in all, this is not a very glamorous place. But it certainly sparked something in me that will stick with me for the rest of my life, so I would just like to take this opportunity to say thank you Pamporovo. I am now and forever will be a snowboarding addict.