It is early morning in Novokuznetsk and time to sum up our skiing trip to Mezhdurechensk. We went to Mezhdurechensk by car on Monday with Tanya’s parents and it took about an hour to get there. Alexander, Tanya and I went downhill skiing in the afternoon and then Tanya’s parents went back to Novokuznetsk. Tanya and I stayed at an hotel in order to go skiing on Tuesday too.
The slopes can be described as beginner friendly but due to good conditions still enjoyable for someone who is above beginner level, in other words, perfect for Tanya and I. It was pretty cold but manageable, -23 degrees Celsius in the morning and then peaking at -13 during lunch time. It was slightly colder last year in Sheregesh so there is a nice trend đ
Mezhdurechensk is a young (founded 1955) industrial city (approx. 100 000 inhabitants) dominated by coal production. Meanwhile skiing at the centrally located mountain you sometimes hear the coal train coming with approx. 70 wagons which according to my calculations gives a weight of 7700 tons which sounds like a lot to me.
They do have decent facilities for crosscountry skiing, ski jumping, and downhill skiing. Since they have around 160 snow days per year it is a rather safe place to book if you want to be sure to enjoy the presence of snow during winter time đ
There is a new road to Sheregesh from Novokuznetsk which has reduced the travel time to two hours but Mezhdurechensk, only one hour away, is a good option. I hope there will be more trips in coming years.
Today there is a day largely devoted to ice hockey. I hope to get back with a report later on.