As beach season opens on southern coasts, “mountain skiing” is being experienced in Erzurum
As the beach season opens on the southern coasts, the thrill of “mountain skiing” is being experienced in Erzurum. A group consisting of trainers, instructors, and skiing enthusiasts gathered in the snow-covered peaks of the city to promote this sport.
In Palandöken, one of Turkey’s prominent winter tourism centers, the ski season starts in November and ends at the end of April. However, teams of professional mountain skiers continue to ski on the snow-covered peaks of Palandöken.
A team of six trainers, instructors, and skiing enthusiasts met at 3,185 meters altitude in the Konaklı Mahallesi area of Palandöken Mountain, 22 kilometers from the city center on the Erzurum-Çat highway, at the first light of the morning. The team ascended to the summit using special materials attached to the base of their skis to navigate the steep, snowy slopes.
Their adventure was captured by an Anadolu Agency team using a drone as they slalomed down the steep slopes with their skis.
Yıldırım Beyazıt Öztürk, a Mountain Skiing and Mountaineering Trainer from the Turkish Mountaineering Federation, said that they climbed the snowy mountains every year after the season closes. Öztürk, who has been skiing for about 23 years, stated, “The snow is very nice. We do mountain skiing for both fun and training purposes.”
Öztürk emphasized that they wanted to increase the awareness of mountain skiing and described their climb to 3,155 meters and descent as a high-adrenaline activity.
“While people in the southern provinces of our country are swimming in the sea, we did mountain skiing here today,” he added.
Mountain skiing trainer Rahman Murat Türkmen mentioned the great pleasure they get from climbing and skiing down. Türkmen, who has been involved in mountaineering and mountain skiing for about 12 years, said, “Today we carried out a nice activity. Especially while people in the southern provinces of our country are swimming in the sea, we did mountain skiing here today.”
Türkmen noted that the air got colder as they climbed higher, highlighting the importance of increasing the popularity and continuity of mountain skiing. “It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to climb the stage. There was ice at certain points which made it challenging for us. Our descent took about 15 minutes. We are in the season for swimming, while everyone is experiencing spring, we are skiing here, which is a great privilege for us,” he said.
“One side of the ski center is green, the other side is covered with snow,” said ski instructor Selami Kütüker, who has been climbing mountains whenever possible for about six years. He mentioned that the activity was a training session for him before the Fathers’ Race to be held in Palandöken.
Kütüker said he enjoyed the climb and added, “We do it because we love and enjoy the sport. We climb and ski in a place where the white and green covers meet. We performed a nice activity here.”
Gülşah Tosun, a 24-year-old participant with her snowboard, expressed her love for skiing and mentioned, “There has been excellent snow quality in Erzurum since November. Whenever we find sunny days, we do mountain skiing. Today was one of those enjoyable days.” (TRT HABER)
