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Close to the Russian border, Georgia offers adventurous skiing and cultural experiences you won’t find anywhere else in Europe.
As I hurtle down a vast, curved mountain bowl, I realise the snow is up above my knees. Thick, soft and fluffy, and flying up into my face, this must be the deepest white stuff I’ve skied in my entire life. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.
Mind you, I’ve worked hard to get here. This is the Lesser Caucasus mountain range, in Georgia, not far from the Black Sea. Guest of a company called Catskiing Georgia, I’ve been invited to join a group of back country skiers and snowboarders in the mountain wilderness close to a tiny village called Bakhmaro. During the winter months it’s completely abandoned, except for the isolated lodge where we are staying.
This is an hour from the nearest main road, and over three hours from the nearest ski resort, so there are no ski lifts to transport us to the mountain tops, most of which stand well over 2,000 metres above sea level. Instead, we’ve ascended the steep hillsides inside a snow-grooming vehicle, known as a snowcat, or piste-basher, as we call them in the UK; hence the name of the sport, ‘catskiing’.
With our skis and snowboards strapped in a trunk on the outside of the vehicle, we sit inside a large steel box mounted on the rear of the snowcat, fitted with seats and windows. In our backpacks are avalanche kits and airbags, just in case. A trained snowcat driver finds the best routes to the higher slopes.
Once disembarked, it’s then a case of following our guide as he leads us through the deepest of snow fields, high mountain meadows, wide open bowls, gullies, chutes and occasionally glades of beech trees. I’m the least experienced of the group and I don’t mind admitting I find it all very challenging.
But also deeply rewarding. The adrenalin you get after negotiating a ten-minute descent through knee-deep, fluffy snow is addictive. The views are breathtaking north over the Greater Caucasus Mountains – with Europe’s tallest mountain peak, the 5,640-metre Mount Elbrus, just visible across the Russian border. And looking west, I can see the Black Sea gleaming below me.
It’s this Black Sea that is responsible for the fluffiness and enormity of Georgia’s snowfall. As weather systems arrive from the west, they pick up moisture from the sea, which later precipitates as thick snow on the Lesser Caucasus mountains.
It all makes for the perfect winter playground. At the end of my third day of catskiing, as our snowcat rumbles back to our lodge, I realise that what makes this place unforgettable isn’t simply the depth of its powder. It’s the rare feeling of wilderness: the idea that we had the mountain entirely to ourselves.
That’s a luxury no ski resort could ever offer.
Resort skiing in Georgia
For the less intrepid, there are five ski resorts dotted around Georgia. While they have limited infrastructure, and ski-hire equipment risks being sketchy, they are far cheaper than the alpine resorts of western Europe.
Combine this with the Georgian food, wine, culture and hospitality on offer, and you have a ski holiday totally different to anything you can find in the Alps.
Gudauri
This is Georgia’s largest and most popular ski resort, usually open from December until April, with plenty of hotels and restaurants available. Just 75 miles north of the country’s capital, Tbilisi, it is perfect for beginners, families and more advanced skiers. Night skiing, heliskiing, ski touring and a snow park are also available. It can get very busy at weekends.
Pistes: 28 across 76kms
Lifts: 17
Altitude: 1974m to 3279m
Hatsvali
This tiny resort is close to the medieval town of Mestia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With creaky chairlifts and surrounded by thick forest, it’s not ideal for beginners. For back country skiers, however, it offers great tree skiing.
Pistes: 7 across 7kms
Lifts: 4
Altitude: 1428m to 2348m
Tetnuldi
Occasional host of the Freeride World Tour, this resort, also close to Mestia, is renowned for its freeriding and back country skiing. Heliskiing, ski touring and cross-country skiing are also available.
Pistes: 9 across 12kms
Lifts: 5
Altitude: 2270m to 3165m
Bakuriani
110 miles west of Georgia’s capital, on the northern slopes of the Trialeti mountain range, this is Georgia’s oldest ski resort, built in the 1930s. It’s generally cheaper than the others, offering plenty of non-skiing activities such as skating, tobogganing, horse riding and amusement parks. There are three ski areas in all.
Pistes: 25 across 33kms
Lifts: 12
Altitude: 1641m to 2702m
Goderdzi
The most western of Georgia’s ski areas, this tiny resort is close to the Black Sea, ensuring plenty of deep, fluffy powder when conditions are right. The season sometimes extends into April.
Pistes: 4 across 8kms
Lifts: 2
Altitude: 1724m to 2364m
Thanks to Catskiing Georgia. For more info, visit Georgia Travel. Dominic Bliss was fitted with ski boots courtesy of Snow+Rock which offers customised boot fittings.
March 24, 2026
