Bosnia: a ski-touring appetizer!

As the climax of the ski-touring season and a dignified farewell to my "unmarried" status, I spent an exciting week with the boys exploring the remote Balkan mountains. On the first day we visited Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital that was heavily bombarded during the war; however has a very nice and lively sceanery. Leon and Kebr decided to celebrate the city's atmosphere by drinking late through the night. Besides a close encounter with the hotel staff, this joyful activity had additional punishment next morning, when it was time to wake early and attack the nearby mountains.

Bosnia does not have the highest mountains; however, they are still quite interesting and can offer very good skiing possibilities. There are many areas in the country, where mines are still not completely removed. Luckily, winter is almost completely safe, especially when more than a meter of snow is covering the ground. First we decided to tackle Subar (cca 1800m), and since morale was high and the weather was good, we also climbed Veliko brdo (cca 1880m). The highest mountain of the group is Vito (1953m) with a very long ridge, so it will have to wait for the next time. The snow conditions were nearly perfect, as we enjoyed light powder, which you can usually find in December or January. This was something nobody expected in the middle of March, and especially not hundreds of kilometers south of Slovenia. We spent the night at Bjelaščnica, an Olympic but rather "outdated" ski resort above Sarajevo.