When city authorities can’t cope with snow any more, and walking becomes slippery and driving dangerous, all that’s left to do is relax and try to enjoy it.
In this spirit, the Kyiv Post is offering a couple of our best kept secrets with you for a little fun in the snow.
In Kyiv
Kyiv is a hilly capital with few opportunities for skiing. The Protasiv Yar complex, some 10 minutes drive from the city center, will suit the needs of both amateur and advanced skiers, as well as snowboarders, right in the city.
It’s crowded on weekends, so beware of clashes with beginners and long lines in front of the ski lifts. So with the slopes open until 10 p.m. and proper lighting, we advise to come here after work. You can always check the snow condition and number of people online, via the complex’s video camera.
There are two slopes, both 70 meters high: One is long but flat for beginners, and the other is steep but short for professionals. You can rent all the gear right there for Hr 80-90 for two hours.
A lesson with an instructor would cost Hr 130 per hour. For more adrenaline, climb inside a big rubber ball called zorb and enjoy tumbling down at your own risk.
23A Protasov Yar, marshrutka 495, 450 or trolleybus 40 from metro Respublikansky Stadion, www.gora.com.ua
Snowboarding is a way to keep fit and chase the winter blues away. (Courtesy)
Cross country skiing and snow gliding
If you like long, exhausting marathons in frosty air, cross-country skiing is possible in virtually any Kyiv park. However, finding a place where you can buy or rent the right gear may be tricky.
One of the most picturesque places to ski is Holosiyvsky forest, near Didorovka Lake. There is also a small slope with a t-lift, but it is under reconstruction now. In Druzhby Narodiv Park, next to the Moskovsky bridge, you can find a cheap ski rental for Hr 30 per hour.
It’s open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, except Monday. It has some 400 hectares of virgin snowy routes. Once you are there, don’t miss snow cabling. Strapped to a cable rope, you’ll glide in your skis or a snowboard over a frozen lake for some Hr 30 per 10 minutes.
Holosiyivsky forest and Didorovka Lake are located near the Kyiv Agrarian Academy at 27 Generala Rodimtseva St. Take minibus 212 from metro Lybidska.
Druzhby Narodiv Park and X-traction club is a short drive from Petrivka station by any minibus heading to Troeshchyna, www.wake.com.ua.
Near Kyiv
One of the best sites for snowboarding and alpine skiing in the Kyiv suburbs is in Vyshgorod. During Soviet times, Vyshgora was the training grounds for bobsled racers. Now it’s open for everyone. An hour drive from the center of Kyiv, the complex has a good choice of pretty new equipment available for rent.
A pair of skis or a snowboard with boots costs Hr 100 for two hours. There is also a modern ski lift, which makes it almost impossible to fall from, and a small slope for beginners. You can also go snow tubing, which is like sledging in a doughnut, and costs Hr 80 per hour during weekdays and Hr 100 on the weekends.
If you make it all the way to Vyshgorod, you better try another extreme sport: gliding in an ice-yacht over the frozen Kyiv artificial lake.
For Hr 200 per 30 minutes, you’ll be supervised by a member of the sailing club whose members built these yachts themselves. Check the weather forecast before heading for this yacht adventure as you do need thick ice and some wind to be able to sail.
Vyshgora is open till 10 p.m. on weekdays and stays open till 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
To get to Vyshgorod, take minibuses 397 or 398 from metro Geroyiv Dnipra or Tarasa Shevchenko to the last stop Complex Vyshgora, details at www.vishgora.com.ua.
For ice-yachting, you need to get to the Vyshgorod town beach. Head towards Kyiv Hydro-Electric Station, and then another kilometer along the Dnipro River bank. You are there once you see a lighthouse and Vodny Kordon restaurant.
Ice-yachting is a way to glide across ice-covered lakes.(Viktor Lyashuk)
Kyiv Post staff writer Kateryna Panova can be reached at [email protected]
