Sunny Saturday morning in late January. Two teams, one from Macedonia another one from Greece, hastily pack their skis, prepare their cars and take cameras ready to capture every moment of their adventure. They race to be the first one to leave a trail in the freshly fallen snow on Mount Kozuf, a magnificent mountain that spans the border between Macedonia and Greece.
The Greek team is called “Powder Hunters” consisting of Eleni, Liana, Stratos, Petros and Dimitris, and their brothers in extreme skiing from Macedonia are: Danco, Bojan, Borce, Ice and Vlade. What they have in common is their mad love for extreme skiing.
Both teams are ready for departure. The road to the favorite mountain of freeride skiing fans is not long, and in good company it can be a lot of fun.
The team that starts from Skopje is 210 km from the ski resort Kozuf, and it takes an hour and a half to get to the ski slopes. The Greek team is closer, but it isn’t such a big advantage. It is about 130 km from Thessaloniki to the mountain, but it takes them about ten minutes less than the Macedonian team, certainly if one takes into account the time spent passing the border. Still, it doesn’t matter who arrives first because the mountain is big enough for everyone to enjoy freeride skiing and feel that they were the first to make the snow “dirty”.
Freeride skiing is going down the mountain where there are no marked trails and where everyone explores their own paths. The snow is deep and brings all sorts of surprises, often dangerous for skiers. This way of skiing is a real attraction for adrenaline rush addicts such as are our ten adventurers. Their quest for excitement ends on Kozuf. The mountain is a real paradise for all freeride fanatics.
Dimitris us says Kozuf is a mountain that has won the hearts of not only those who have seen it with their own eyes, but also of those who have seen a picture or video of its beauty. He has nothing but words of praise for it calling it “a magical place for freeride skiers and snowboarders.” The Greek team “Powder Hunters” have posted dozens of videos of Kozuv on social networks, where it is obvious they’ve got really addicted to the mountain they’ve been visiting in recent years.
Our adventurer Danco Gjorgjijevski is not at all surprised because Kozuf is a modern ski resort that has the potential of becoming St Moritz on the Balkans.
Vast slopes covered with fresh snow are particularly appealing for racing and competing who will be the first one to “sign” their name in the snow. The ski resort offers perfect conditions for freeride skiing fans. If you add impeccable service by the staff, modern equipment as well as unusual wooden bungalows then each visit to Kozuf turns into an unforgettable experience. All winter sports fans simply must add Kozuf to their map – says Danco.
Our ten adventurers rush to reach Kozuf but when it’s time to leave we see a different picture. Prolonging each moment, asking for a minute or at least a second to say goodbye to the mountain.
Enjoy the photo gallery of Kozuf ski adventure, until we meet again i.e. ski again.
Photo: Bojan Petkovski
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