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The Nissan Russian Adventure 2010 got underway with the opening ceremony yesterday in Sochi. You can follow the event – blog, videos, photos and results are available – on the official website.

“Alpika Service” ski resort

ККД «Альпика-Сервис»

About:

“Alpika” ski lifts were first in Krasnaya Polyana. Today they have four queues of ski lifts servicing 1698 meters drop (from 540  до 2238 meters above sea level). First lift queue was built in 1992, and fourth in 2004.

Pros: great slopes, an location for skiing.
Cons: old and slow lifts. Also, many people complain about service and food.

How to get there:

From Adler’s Center:

• Bus № 135 — 50 rubles ($1.7)
• Minibus № 135 — 60 rubles ($2)

From Sochi (Central district) and from Airport:
Bus № 105 goes from central district’s bus terminal every hour, and makes a stop in the airport in Adler.

• from Sochi bus terminal – 64 rubles ($2.2)
• from airport – 50 rubles ($1.7)

There’s also minibus from from central district’s bus terminal – 65 rubles ($2.2)

“Alpika Service” is final stop for all buses and mini buses going to Krasnaya Polyana.

Taxi prices:

• from Sochi: taxi firms – 1300-1400 rubles (~$45), private – 2000 rubles ($68)
• from Adler: taxi firms – 1200 rubles ($40), private – 1000-1200 rubles ($35-$40)

Taxi rides to get around Krasnaya Polyana are 200-350 rubles ($8-$12). There are no taxi service firms in Krasnaya Polyana, you’ll have to catch a ride with private taxi cab.

Prices (2009-2010):

Ski lifts/passes (weekdays/weekends/holidays):

• adults: 1000 / 1200 / 1500 rubles ($34/$41/$51)
• children: 500 / 600 / 750 rubles ($17/$20/$25)

Rentals: 300 – 1500 rubles; open 8am – 5pm.

Read on to see trail map and photos Read the rest of this entry »

Since there’s still some time left in current skiing this season, I’ll post details on all ski resorts of Krasnaya Polyana the next few articles.

I recently stumbled on a Whitelines Snowboarding Magazine article about a snowboarding trip to Sochi’s Krasnaya Polyana published back in 2006. The authors’ feedback in this article about Russia, Russians, and Sochi is very negative. Nonetheless, it’s a view of a person who actually went to Sochi, and it has a right to exist. So, I’d recommend reading it to anyone thinking about going to Sochi, especially for a winter trip.

In spite of author’s disappointment with Russia, he does recognize and praise unique nature’s gift of Krasnaya Polyana. The article is rather long, so I’ll quote only some paragraphs about KP here.

on Krasnaya Polyana
…we hiked and rode all day. For large parts of it, I was out of my comfort zone – particularly as it was only my second day riding of the season. But it turned into one of the most memorable days riding I’ve ever had. Krasnaya’s incredible terrain helps to explain why so many people make the trip to this tiny, out of the way Russian resort. It is a serious mountain with serious dangers, but the rewards and scope for exploration for those with enough experience to handle it are limitless.

on living in Sochi (from Englishman living there)
How is it living here?
It’s great. In the winter I ski and ski, and in the summer it’s walking and mountain biking. It’s great here. There are actually more people here in the summer than in the winter. And there’s a yacht club 40 minutes away. So in the summer it’s fantastic, sometimes you can ski in the spring, and then in the afternoon you can take a yacht. It’s a great time.

on doing business (from the same Englishman)
So difficult is that to get off the ground? Is there a lot of red tape?
As soon as you speak the language, everything here becomes very transparent and open. You understand what’s going on. Without the language it’s pretty difficult. But I think our pub will be ready by the end of 2007.

… and conclusion
One thing is for sure: the secret is out about Krasnaya. How it develops from here is impossible to say, but it’s going to be interesting.

You can read the complete article here: From Russia with Love

Sochi Winter Music Conference 2010

The Fifth winter music conference SWMC 2010 is to take place in Sochi Marins Park Hotel conference hall on February 4 to 7. The conference is known as the most significant forum for both music industry professionals and electronic dance music amateurs. Its traditional format will comprise two-day business forum and rich three-day music program involving all Sochi club sites.

The conference will gather well-known show business figures, professional music journalists, showmen and DJs, producers, sound producers, promoters, night club and record company owners and managers, event managers, radio and TV presenters, booking agents, brand managers, festival organizers, and representatives of other spheres in music industry.

Dozens of special music events, planned to take place during the conference, will give a chance to colorfully spend the week-end in the form of a non-stop party and enjoy a great variety of electronic dance music genres. As part of SWMC extensive night program, around a hundred Russian and foreign DJs and musicians are meant to perform at the event. It is these parties that yearly attract electronic music and dance club culture amateurs from all over Russia and neighboring countries. Participants and guests gladly spend February first week-end at SWMC special parties and Sochi night clubs, which is a sure indicator of SWMC contribution to event tourism development in Russia.

Official website: www.swmc.ru

Population of Sochi has increased during this last year; around 411 000 people live in Sochi today.

Source: Sochi mayor’s report from December 21, 2009

Other facts about Sochi »

Grigor Matevossyan (Григор Матевосян) from Sochi, member of Russia Junior Thai Boxing team, has won gold medal in the Cruiser Weight category (under 86 kg) at the IFMA Muay Thai World Championship 2009 which took place earlier this month.

Links: International Federation of Muaythai Amateur. The official results card for male juniors. Photo: sochi-news.ru

Despite the great loss of 4000 tropical fish in September, the Discovery World Aquarium in Sochi -  now larget in Russia and one of few of this kind in the World – did open in time before the New Year.

The Aquarium located in Adler district of Sochi. There are 29 aquariums hosting around 4000 fish of 200 kinds, and it is expected to welcome 1.2 million visitors each year. I believe it’s reachable.

photos (c) Alexandr Valov

You can find more photos from the Aquarium and opening ceremony in Alexandr’s photo album.

New terminal of Sochi International Airport, which was under re-construction for over a year now, or maybe even two years, is expected to start operating in test mode in February, and to open in March of 2010. The International sector is expected to handle 500 passengers / hour, and triple that during the Olympics.

source; photo (c) D’82

Originally, when the building for this terminal was completed back in early 90’s, it was to be the domestic terminal, and the old (current) terminals, being much smaller were to be reconstructed to welcome international visitors. Now, it seems, they have different plans. I really hope this is not going to be terminal for international visitors only. Because Russian tourists, who visit this city in great numbers, who support it economically, who know and love the city, and who’s tax money are helping to bring the Olympics here, deserve comfort and convenience too.

* Gross income from tourism in Sochi in 2009 was $738 000 000 (22,5 bln rubles), which is two times higher than during last year.

* Sochi was visited by around 4 800 000 tourists in 2009.

Source: Sochi mayor’s report from December 21, 2009

Other facts about Sochi »

Sea storm that has been rocking the shore in and around Sochi has damaged part of new cargo port which is being constructed to support Olympic construction projects, flipped a construction boat that was used in building the port, and broke Moldavian cargo ship in half.

Following is a photo of the «Aras-I» cargo ship that broke in half.

(c) mmordasov

You can view the more photos of this at mmordasov.livejournal.com blog.

The couple of videos below show some of the destruction as it was happening.

Another video: Read the rest of this entry »

Spent whole weekend moving this blog and forum to another hosting company and upgrading scripts. Hopefully the new company’s servers have better uptime and less database interruptions.

This is a guest post about a trip to Khosta – district in Sochi and my home town – from Robert MacDonald, an American living in Russia since 2000. You can read another article about this trip on his blog: An October Summer in Sochi… 10 days away from St Petersburg rain and snow!

The other day I put on my many zippered vest as I was going on errands for my wife and needed many pockets for instructions, cell phone, roubles and kopeks change, and well as paper money and metro tokens!  It was then I found my lucky stone from the beaches of Khosta…around 5 cm across, black with green highlights, with white algae and cracks.  It is an ideal worry stone, that you can massage with your thumb when thinking.

Well, since then I have carried it with me, as I love collecting, cleaning, and examining stones, pebbles, and rocks.  Also, having a momento in my pocket takes me back to one of the very special trips of my life.  I’ve seen the New Jersey shore,Florida palms, the ideal climate of southern California, Mexico’s Acapulco, the Riviera, and Italy’s Amalfi Coast… but in my mind nothing can compare with Sochi!

So, what is so special about Sochi?  Read the rest of this entry »

Network of roads in the Olympic capital is 5 to 6 times smaller than Russian average – only 0.7 km per 1 sq km of territory. And only 25% of 2400 km or roads comply with modern safety requirements.
- Minister of Transportation of Russia

* Construction of the road parallel to the main – and the only – road through Sochi’s center – the Kurortny Avenue – has just been started. It is not the service road around the city. This road is one of the “Olympic” projects. The road will be 17 km long, 6 tunnels are planned (digging of the first starts in January), and total cost just under $1 bln. Estimated completion – year 2013.

* You can now enter center part of Adler from round-about near the rail-road crossing… under the rail-road! The railroad has been closed, at least for now.

This area has been under heavy construction since last summer, giving a lot of headache to local residents. But I hear some good feedback on this recent change from  my friends.

* Joint Transportation Management Center Will Be Established in Sochi (source)

“The new structure will be formed on a basis of the Olympic Transport Board, will reflect the current road situation in real time and alert Sochi inhabitants to the existence and whereabouts of traffic jams.”

The information about traffic conditions has long been available to the drivers in some larger cities in Russia, like Moscow and St.-Petersnurg, via Yandex Traffic online & mobile services. Now similar service comes to Sochi, but it will only be useful if the road network will greatly increase.