Balkan beats in North Macedonia

What am I supposed to do with my free "carnival week"? Celebrate carnival, or as they say here "Fastnacht"? No way! I pack my seven things into my "Kampfer" (that's the name of my camping bus, a nickname given to it by my Polish friends because of my German-Polish heritage). I didn't actually want to mention the subject of war in this article. Just a small excerpt: My Polish grandfather fought against the Nazis in Kielce (Poland) in 1939 and my German grandfather was drafted into the Waffen SS in 1945 at the age of 17 to defend Berlin, my home town. Both survived the Second World War. I have no words for the current situation in Ukraine. Hopefully this war will end soon.

Back to our beloved mountains with the white sugar. Szymon and Misiek are calling. They're in the Zillertal, the snow is supposed to be great. I get into the "Kampfer" and set off. I'm not convinced by the snow, so we decide to drive back to the High Tatras. On the way there, Misiek's Toro Rosso (red Opel Vivaro) breaks down somewhere behind Bratislava. Tools fetched and repaired. We're all tired and want to hit the powder, but where should we go? Szymek calls Meto (Sharoutdoors) in North Macedonia and asks if there's still a place for me at the freeride camp. The Freeride Academy was there for the first time last year. I am excited! In Zakopane (High Tatras) we repack all our things. A second bus with Bartek, our photographer, is also on board and we travel via Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia to North Macedonia.

Starting difficulties...

Marek Victor Klimczak

Szymon Styrczula-Maśniak

Even the journey there is an experience. I am told that the Chinese built the motorway we are driving on. About 70 kilometres before the border with North Macedonia, the landscape becomes a little more mountainous. The Chinese clearly didn't skimp on concrete and cement to stabilise the slopes. We are in Serbia on a Chinese motorway and want to "freeride" in North Macedonia - am I dreaming? No, we are actually here.

Arriving in Skopje, I see the Šar Mountains (Šar Planina) for the first time, which stretch across the border area between Kosovo and North Macedonia. The highest mountain in this mountain range is the Tito Vrv at 2747m. The Sharoutdoors base is in the Hotel Scardus in Popva Šapka at around 1700m, which means it is relatively snow-sure. There are four piste groomers in total, two of which they have reserved for us. We have travelled here with 20 Polish freeriders and are full of expectations. The conditions on site proved to be challenging, as the weather gods unfortunately didn't spoil us with snow. During the obligatory welcome by the head guide from Sharoutdoors, Meto, in the evening a briefing on "cat freeriding" takes place. We discuss what the safety checks look like, who our guides are for the week and the area is shown to us on a screen.

The Šar Mountains cover an area of approx. 1600 km2, half of which lies in Kosovo and half in North Macedonia. The terrain is very varied, from alpine character to mellow tree-runs. I haven't counted the valleys, but you can compare it to the Arlberg, only without lifts. And you're allowed to go up everywhere on a snowcat! We spent a total of four days in the Šar Mountains with our snowcat. Every day was wonderful. Even in poor visibility our guides found beautiful runs for us in the forest. See for yourself in the pictures, which give you a great insight into the terrain!

Kora Mountains — Corab Mountains

Bartek Pawlikowski

The Hotel Scardus has nothing to hide behind Western European hotels. The Macedonian cuisine, with lots of regional vegetables, is highly recommended. Of course, we treated ourselves to the all-inclusive option. The hotel also has a swimming pool and two saunas, which we used extensively. We had lunch either in a mountain hut or directly on the mountain between the piste groomers.

Has catskiing convinced me? Yes and no. The descents are spectacular, you get to the bottom and then you're off again for the next run. Every day we had descents of between 3000 and 4000 metres in untracked terrain. However, the piste groomers are loud and smell a bit like diesel. I feel caught out when I think about climate change. Are we doing mountain sports or motorsport here? I don't just ask myself that when I'm catskiing, but also when I watch the caravans travelling over the Fernpass during the weekends...

Back to North Macedonia, because the highlight of our trip is yet to come! On the last day, we want to climb the highest mountain in North Macedonia by our own power. The Korab (2764m) is located in the border region between Albania and North Macedonia. To be more precise, we will climb Korab II, or as we have christened it: "Capybara". The mountain resembles the back of a capybara. Two splitboarders and ten ski tourers set off together. Yes, splitboarders accept skiers and vice versa! First we have to take two buses from Popva Šapka to Trnica in the Mavrovo National Park, about 75 kilometres away and a 1.5-hour drive. Meto surprised us there once again. The hotel "Korab Trnica" exceeds our expectations. The dinner is so extensive that we mistook the starter for the main course. Only the tiger (Misiek) ate everything. That's why we had good weather the next day!

In the morning (6:00 a.m.), we can expect a climb of around 1300 metres. However, we first have to drive up a road in the border area in off-road vehicles to reach our starting point. This is located in a wild gorge surrounded by imposing cliffs. The road was closed due to falling rocks and had only been reopened the day before. In 2018, Adam Ondra mastered the first 9a+ route, "Czech Trip", in this gorge. We are excited. We pass a police station where our passports are checked before we start our tour in the Korab Valley. It's a glorious day with picture postcard weather. We are lucky again! The tour is long, we use our crampons and ice axes on the final ascent to the summit and are rewarded with a breathtaking panorama. We see the Šar Mountains with the Tito Vrv (2747m), Lake Mavrovo and look towards Kosovo. Meto tells us that some of these "lines" are still virgin and nobody has skied or snowboarded on them yet. We definitely want to come back here again. Ahead of us is a descent with 1300 metres of good powder. North Macedonia has found its way into our hearts. The Macedonians have welcomed us into their circle. I miss them already. Thank you!

Travelling from Germany:

The best way is by plane from Frankfurt am Main to Skopje, then by bus transfer to Popva Šapka.

Costs:

€1500 for 6 nights, 5 days of catskiing incl. guiding, hotel and full board, plus travel and drinks