Back to Zabljiak



A few weeks ago I managed to make it back to the mountain town of Zabljiak. When I last went it was autumn, and was able to enjoy the first snows of the season. This time, however, the snows were deep and plentiful and the ski runs were in high swing.

getting there was kind of a trick. I took a bus, which was a fine option until we actually reached the snows. Towering banks of the stuff hung over the sides of the road, and the single lane plowed clear was adrift in swirls of whistling white. Flurries of crystalline powder would be swept into the headlights and it seemed the driver proceeded by luck rather than anything like visibility. Of course, that didn't stop him from driving like any other Montenegrin motorist lunatic - the bus barreled ahead into the swirling white void at breakneck speeds around the hairpin turns until, as must have eventually happened, the bus slammed into one of the banks at the side of the road and we were stuck. It was a matter of some miraculous fortune that, just at that moment, a bulldozer came clanking down the road from the other direction, plowing the road afresh. The driver tied a rope to the bulldozer's prow and, in a few minutes of tugging, we were free to enjoy the rest of our harrowing course up the mountains.

After that initial bit of excitement, the trip was relatively calm. I stayed with some families from the school at the same, pleasant chateaus we had enjoyed before. Altogether, a nice escape from Podgorica with good people. The kids enjoyed sledding down the nearby hills, and we took a nice walk back to the Black Lake - frozen over, this time.


The skiing wasn't what one might expect. Equipment was rented out of car boots in the parking lot, which was convenient I suppose but the quality was rather car-boot-esque. I was enrobed in some orange and brown vinyl 70's throwback bodybag of a ski outfit that made me noticeable on the slopes, for sure, but in a hideous way. Still, they did have snowboards, so I was happy.



There were two ski runs on the mountain. One was very simple and mild, with hardly much of a downhill grade to it at all. What made this run difficult though was the pulley system that was employed to pull skiers up the mountain. Snowboarders basically had to hook this plastic anchor into their crotch and hold on for dear life. It took me a few tries to get it. The other run was accessed by a ski lift and was much steeper at places, though almost flat in others. It was a fun day, and I was glad to have gone snowboarding again, but would have perhaps enjoyed more variety in the runs.





Nevertheless, for Montenegro it was fantastic to be able to go out skiing for a weekend, especially considering that - the weekend before - I had gone to the sea and walked barefoot on the sand amongst the lapping waves. The incredible diversity of terrain really makes the natural splendor of Montenegro something special, and - when one is abler to get out of Podgorica - life here full of extraordinary possibilities.