Skigebieden in Georgia

Georgian skiing sits in the Greater Caucasus, a range that is higher and more serious than the Alps and considerably less developed. Gudauri, two hours north of Tbilisi on the Georgian Military Highway, is the main resort: treeless, wide open terrain between roughly 2,000 and 3,300 m, modern gondolas installed over the past decade, and a snowpack that gets substantially more depth than most Alpine resorts.

The appeal is off piste and heliskiing rather than groomed statistics. Gudauri's marked pistes are limited but the open bowls, ridges and long descents accessible from the lifts are the reason experienced skiers make the trip, and the resort is a well established base for helicopter and cat skiing operations. Mestia and Tetnuldi in Svaneti, further west, are more remote, more spectacular under the Ushba and Tetnuldi peaks, and considerably harder to reach.

Caution is the right attitude. Avalanche control and patrol coverage are lighter than Alpine skiers will be used to, the terrain lures people beyond the ropes easily, and a local guide is genuinely worth the money rather than an optional extra. Off the mountain, Gudauri offers paragliding, snowmobiling and a road trip to the Gergeti Trinity Church above Kazbegi, and the sulphur baths and food scene of Tbilisi are close enough to build into the trip.

Georgian food is the strongest reason to visit the country and it survives the journey to the mountains intact. Khinkali, the twisted soup dumplings filled with spiced meat, are the mountain staple: you hold them by the knot, bite, drink the broth and leave the knot on the plate. Khachapuri, cheese bread, comes in regional forms, with the boat shaped Adjaruli version topped with a raw egg and butter being the most extravagant and the most appropriate after a day in the cold.

The wider table is built on walnuts, herbs and pomegranate. Badrijani nigvzit, aubergine rolls with walnut paste, lobio bean stew in a clay pot, mtsvadi grilled pork skewers, and chakapuli, lamb stewed with tarragon and green plums, are the dishes to look for. Meals are shared across the whole table rather than ordered individually.

Georgia claims one of the oldest continuous winemaking traditions in the world, with archaeological evidence of grape wine in the region going back roughly eight thousand years, and the qvevri method of fermenting in buried clay vessels is UNESCO listed. Amber and orange skin contact wines from Kakheti are the distinctive style. Chacha, the grape pomace spirit, is the mountain equivalent of grappa and is poured freely. The supra, a formal feast with a tamada toastmaster, is the cultural experience worth arranging once.

Skiing arrived in Georgia through the Soviet system. Gudauri was developed in the 1980s with Austrian assistance, with the first lifts built in cooperation with the Austrian government, and it served as a Soviet training and holiday centre before the collapse. Bakuriani, in the Lesser Caucasus, is the older resort, dating from the early Soviet era, and remains the centre of Georgian competitive skiing.

Bakuriani has hosted the Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in 2023 and has repeatedly featured in Georgian Winter Olympic bidding, and Soviet era nordic and alpine teams trained there. The country's investment in winter tourism since the 2000s has been substantial and has focused on Gudauri, Bakuriani, Goderdzi and the Svaneti resorts.

The mountain culture predates the sport by a long way. Svaneti's medieval defensive tower houses at Ushguli and Mestia, among the highest permanently inhabited settlements in Europe, are UNESCO listed and stand in villages you can ski above. Georgian mountaineering in the Caucasus has a serious pedigree, and the region's role on the Second World War Eastern Front, including the fighting for the Caucasus passes, is commemorated in local museums.