Ski Sunny Azerbaijan

Often in the Middle east you get to share
the cabin with falcons.  I assume
that these guys were off for a long weekend
of hunting in Azerbaijan







Lucy was back in Dubai after her trip to visit her friend in Vancouver and, after recovering from her wisdom teeth removal, we were able to schedule a quick ski trip to Azerbaijan. This was part of my mission to, within reason, ski what is available in Central Asia.  



















Add that to a list of regional risks.
Attacked by a falcon at the baggage carousel


There are some places that are too risky or too hard but Azerbaijan didn’t fit in either of those two categories. The good thing about the skiing is that it takes me to some places that would not otherwise be a priority for travel.














Looking to the eastern edge of the Caucasus
from the plain on the western side of the Caspian Sea 


Azerbaijan’s largest skiing area is in Shahdag on the eastern end of the Caucus range.  It is a new resort that was constructed during the oil boom which also funded much of the recent construction in Baku, the capital city.














The plain was barren but the hills were full of apple orchards


Investment in a ski industry was aimed at regional economic investment and to also allow Azerbaijan to bid for the winter Olympics, although the crash in oil prices has probably made the Olympic objectives unwise.













Hotel Pik Palace. Very luxurious and with great
customer service but a little lacking in local culture




The transfer from the airport took us from Baku and along the coast of the Caspian sea.  Honestly, the section along the coast was dry and desolate and the coastline was uninspiring.  The scenery only improve when we turned inland.


















Lucy enjoying the groomers.
A well coached but somewhat reluctant skier
when younger, she was skiing well despite a long time
away from the slopes




Shahdag is new, with first class lifting infrastructure providing access to a limited selection of groomed runs.  There are expansion plans for an additional lift, already included on the ski trail map.   It is easy to be fooled by the online information that the area is much larger.




















Lucy enjoying a latte at the base.
The shooting range is in the bottom of the building in the background


The base has normal facilitates for day trippers - a large car park, ski hire, restaurants and an indoor shooting range.  Okay, maybe squeezing off a few bursts of automatic fire from an AK 47 after hiring a fluro ski suit is not commonplace!














The skiing was good for families and kids.  There are plans to push the
lifts higher which will improve the ski options



 Halfway up the ski area and to one side are three hotels that provide the bulk of the accommodation options.  They surround a small square that contains an ice skating rink and all the hotels are up market but affordable by Western European standards.  We stayed at the Pik Palace and the rooms, service and food were of a very high standard. 
















Old and new.
The Wall of the old town with the Flame Towers in the background
That said the whole arrangement was very soulless and it in no way reflected any aspects of Azerbaijani culture.  You couldn’t even order any local food in any of the restaurants.  I was riding a gondola with a Finn and a Bulgarian (I know this sounds like the lead into a bad joke) who lived in Baku. Both had skied in Georgia and I commented on the greater access to local culture through the ski experience in both Georgia and Kazakhstan. In their experience all development in Azerbaijan sought to reflect what was provided in the “West” without any adaptation or customization to reflect local influences.






A moderate Islamic nation, the old town features
Islamic architecture typical of the region.


After two days skiing we returned to Baku and we had a couple of hours wandering around the old city which was interesting and picturesque. Beyond the old city, there appear to have been two bursts of development.  
The first was in the late 19th century and there are many building that were constructed during that period that could have been lifted straight from Budapest.  This culminates in the Baku Boulevard, a classic European style boulevard that runs east along the Coast from the Old City














Maiden Tower
The latest burst of development has occurred in the last 10 years where the oil boom has led to a number of architectural show case structures.  This is epitomised in the striking Flame Towers and the SOCAR building.

 At the other end of the spectrum is the Maiden tower which some experts believe is an example of Zoroastrian construction and pre-dates the influence of Islamic architecture in Iran and Azerbaijan. Some believe that the tower was used as an astronomical observatory  due to the fact that 30 hewed stone protuberances on the tower's lower section and the 31 protuberances on the upper section, linked with a stone belt, correlate to the days of the month.













A view along the boulevard next to the Caspian Sea 
from the Maiden Tower


In summary, the skiing was okay but I wouldn’t go back. There are two many better places to ski in the region. However, I would be more than happy to go back for a long weekend to better explore Baku.











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