UNIQUE DRAGOBRAT
Hello, dear fellow skiers! And also to everyone who is not indifferent to such a wonderful sport and recreation as SKIING!
My name is Alexander. I am 35 years old. I come from the city of Lviv. By profession, a simple engineer (communicationsman).
Until recently, I was indifferent to skiing, friends. Even laughed at those who love to ride them. BUT… Everything has changed. And it's great! I met a beautiful girl who became my wife. And Lida - not just LOVES, but LOVES skiing. And without me, she categorically did not want to ride. For the sake of my beloved, I am ready for anything, and therefore, for the second season, winter for me is not just a season that must be endured (with the only outlet for the New Year and Christmas), but quite the opposite - SKI TIME! With a lot of pleasant emotions, impressions, and of course good health!
That's basically all I want to say about myself. Everything else will be dedicated only to DRAGOBRAT and SKIING. My wife and I visited there in mid-February of this “apocalyptic”, as some people are inclined to believe, 2012 year. We dreamed about it and that's how in one famous old song - "dreams come true"!
The Dragobrat tract is located in the Rakhiv district of the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine, 14 km from the village of Yasynya. The Rakhiv region is famous for the fact that it is here that the highest peaks of Ukraine - Hoverla (2071 m) and Petros (2020 m), as well as the geographical center of Europe (located near the village of Delovoe) are located. And, of course, another famous ski resort in Ukraine - Bukovel. But, sorry, I digress from the topic.
Although so many interesting places are concentrated here, to my surprise, in terms of transport, Yasynya somehow deserves, as for me, the title of "dead corner". Only 3 trains go to Yasyn: two local ones - Ivano-Frankivsk-Rakhiv and Kolomyya-Rakhiv, and one "almost long-distance" route - Lviv-Rakhiv. The first comes to Yasynya early in the morning, the second - in the afternoon, and the third - late in the evening. Other options for getting there are buses "Ivano-Frankivsk-Rakhiv" (this is more expensive), there are people who are engaged in private transportation from Ivano-Frankivsk in the same direction (even more expensive). Well, it's who, as they say, can afford it. One thing is the same for all options - you need to get through Ivano-Frankivsk.
Of course, I won't tell you about the troubles before the train, the "suitcase" mood. I can only say that the owner of the ski rental in Lviv, a very worthy person (in the past an excellent skier who had seen Elbrus and Chiget), having learned that we were going to Dragobrat, said “how I envy you! ”. This, of course, only added to our good mood.
We got to Yasyn by the most reliable means of transport - by train.
And then, to Dragobrat, there is only one way to get there - our glorious "Soviet jeep" UAZ-469. Or a “tablet” - UAZ-3151, will also go uphill without problems. You won't get to Dragobrat, as well as to Trostyan in Slavsk. They were already waiting for us at the station - the owners of the “hut” we had chosen ordered the car for us. I must say that we booked accommodation 1.5 months in advance - and this is normal for those places. People flock there. And rightly so!
The road from Yasynia to Dragobrat is really difficult, the climbs are steep, only a powerful car will pass. It was early in the morning (we arrived in the same Ivano-Frankivsk-Rakhiv diesel engine), and therefore there were no oncoming cars, as, however, no one was driving ahead of us or behind us. Don't worry, there are passing lanes on this road. The driver, Pan Yosyp, a local Carpathian, in his unique "Carputian" language, entertained us all the way with various interesting stories of local origin. I remember, in particular, that a lot of wild deer live in the Dragobrat area, and they are not so shy (due to the ban on hunting, of course) that they go out to the road to look at cars and people.
At the "base", as I like to say in such cases, they were already waiting for us. It is called - "Prolisok" or "Hut (house) of Zvizdaryuk. " The owner, Pan Ilya Zvizdaryuk, as we were told, was a good skier in the past, a ski coach, and then the head of a ski school. Looking ahead, I will say that nowhere else have we met such cordiality, courtesy from the owners and their staff. About what about what about housing on Dragobrat and how it is there and what is there, I will tell below.
I apologize for the somewhat long introduction, but it was necessary.
And now let's go directly to Dragobrat.
Dragobrat is not only a wonderful ski resort, but also a unique corner of the Carpathians. You go up to the top of Stog (this is the main slope of Dragobrat, all the lifts are located there, there are also mountains Bliznitsa and Gendarme, but you can only do freeride there) on the lift, and from there you look and say to yourself, like the hero of one good old and funny movie - “Oh , what a beauty! Lepota! The views there are just amazing! Get tired of taking pictures, guys!
We spent a whole week on Dragobrat. One of the days we “fell out” due to the fact that the whole day there was such a blizzard, which had not been there for several years (according to the locals)! We rode on all the tracks, except for one, even where there are no ski lifts - we were brought there by a snowcat (there is something like that there - on the very mountains Bliznitsa and Gendarme).
What can I say about the main objects in any ski resort - slopes and lifts?
Let's tell you, friends, one thing - you have to be very fastidious in order to leave Dragobrat dissatisfied!
Here you will find tracks for every taste, from the simplest to those that are not inferior in complexity, for example, to the central track (or just the “center”, the track for athletes) on Trostyan, in Slavsk, whoever knows it will understand .
There are 3 large ski lifts on Dragobrat (No. 1 - length 1000 m, No. 2 - length 1100 m, No. 3 - 920 m) and 2 chair lifts, "second-hand", manufactured by Leitner, 1500 m and 1250 m long (installed in 2010-2011). There are small ski lifts - "multi-lifts", 300 m each, there are only 4 of them. Ski lifts No. 1.2 belong to the tourist complex "Dragobrat", No. 3 - to the tourist complex "Top of the Carpathians". The "Top of the Carpathians" also owns the best (in terms of the complexity of the tracks) "chair" (1250 m), the second gentle "chair" (1500 m) belongs to the tourist complex "Carpathian Chaika". There is also a rope tow, which belongs to the recreation center "Oaza" (length 840 m), we did not ride there.
On the very first day, we directed our steps to the nearest lift "Carpathian Chaika". But we were not going to ride there, because this track is “green-blue”, and there is much more green than blue.
Without moving off to the end, we turned in the right place (the duty officer at the upper station of the "armchair" suggested) and moved to the main slope of Dragobrat to the ski lifts and the second "armchair". There we rode all week, and preference was given to the “armchair”. The slopes on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd ski lifts are “red”, and on the “Top of the Carpathians” there is a good “cool”, its color is “black”, of course. The week has not passed, but flew by! Well, why is it always like this? ! It’s all right according to the old Russian proverb: “Cause is time, fun is an hour”...
Routes of ski lifts and "armchairs" "Carpathian Chaika" are compacted by snow groomers. And under the "armchair" "Top of the Carpathians" the snowcat does not go, because there is expanse for those who like to "survive" on the track. And it’s also very cool there (this is the same “black” track like the “center” on Trostyan). So be careful friends! Although, “psheprasham”, he started talking - it was I who “survived” there, and Lida enjoyed it! Or, as she said - just "got high"! After all, she skates masterfully (it was not at all easy and simple for her - she studied for a long time and diligently). On one of the Internet sites about Dragobrat, this slope was called "Circus" - it seems! Indeed, it is a kind of "bowl" of the amphitheater.
And below the "Circus" goes into the "Pipe" - this is a hollow between the 3rd yoke and the "armchair" "Top of the Carpathians", its width is from 30 m at the beginning to 10 m at the "mouth", the length is somewhere 250 m, you go, “swing” back and forth like a pendulum. Not bad!
True, there is a danger of colliding with someone there, because many people go there sideways from the ski lifts, bypassing the dangerous "Circus", and there are always enough people there. By the way, we have not seen so many bordists anywhere else as on Dragobrat, except maybe Bukovel. True, there were few masters among them, mostly there were guys who wanted to learn, you see, with the least losses - after all, it’s much more pleasant for them to fall on Dragobrat, because snow falls immeasurably more here.
You can drive into the forest from the "Armchair" "Top of the Carpathians" - make turns between the Christmas trees and pines. Although, in fact, this is prohibited - this is evidenced by a formidable warning at the turnstiles about a fine of 2000 UAH. I’m not sure, however, that at least once someone paid this fine, because we saw the ski patrol only once on Dragobrat in a week - an elderly uncle came in to drink vodka in a cafe and that’s it. And the instructors work only at the bottom, in gentle places, with beginners, we didn’t see them on the “cool” one.
This is so short, almost businesslike, I described the slopes and lifts to you.
As for emotions, there were a lot of them!! ! And almost all positive! The unique beauty around, wide slopes (as I myself say - “our answer to Austria”), a healthy climate, clean air, the absence of “flying” skiers (as in Bukovel, where now everyone is forced to wear helmets due to the threat of collisions with them). Here is just a small part of our impressions of Dragobrat.
We rode on a variety of tracks, almost everywhere; Most of all we liked the cool "Circus", and we almost did not fall there (all the falls fell on me, my wife has been riding for more than 15 years, this is very rare for her).
I loved to go into the forest, to make "bends" between the trees. In the "Pipe" is also very "not bad" you can "swing a pendulum" about 250 meters that way.
It wasn't very interesting for us on the yokes - you move out easily and quickly, as soon as you accelerate, you start to have fun, and already the end of the track.
As for various problems on the slopes, somehow - problems with lifts, the negligent attitude of the staff to their duties - I will say that it was. Not without a “fly in the ointment” for a “barrel (huge! ) of honey”, what to do. The ski lifts stopped during our vacation once so 5 for 5-20 minutes. on average, due to the lack of current. And one day, February 15.2012 (on this day Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Candlemas), we generally fell out due to the fact that the whole day there was that snowstorm! So the next day, when the wind died down and the snow stopped, comrade workers of the "armchair" "Top of the Carpathians" undertook to clear the lower and upper stations from snow late. We lost an hour and a half because of this, because we didn’t roll out the taken cards, although later we managed to sell them (with the remaining 2 lifts out of 20) to people from Kyiv. They took my word for it, they said that I had “honest eyes” - it became so pleasant! Maybe they, that delay and the hassle of waiting, were worth it to hear such kind words about themselves.
And the blizzard was notable! You could say it was a mini-storm. It was snowy for the whole day, so that without ski goggles it was not visible on the street. And there was a lot of snow! On that day, we just walked back and forth, went to the ski lifts, of course, well, and walked between Dragobrat’s “huts”, warmed up along the path with mulled wine. We couldn't sit at home and watch TV. And we weren't the only ones. Many fellow skiers rented sleds and other similar equipment and had fun like children on slides! And then only multi-lifts worked from the lifts (there are only 4 of them, the length of each does not exceed 300 m, they are for beginners and children). We took a lot of photos then - after all, “nature has no bad weather”, “it’s right, it’s right”?
And the next day - it was something with something! A real freeride! "Virgin" snow everywhere; you go and the soul sings!
The one who knows how to freeride, of course. At first, I remembered this snow and this blizzard to myself with a “kindly quiet word”, until I finally got used to it and it didn’t dawn on me what a class it was - so ride!
By the way, the very top of the Stog is sometimes shrouded in passing clouds and the wind there is very strong - up to 25-30 m/s!
Regarding the prices for lifts - one lift on a tow bar costs 10-15 UAH, on a chair: 20 UAH. on a weekday, 25 UAH. - on a weekend. You can take cards here and there for a certain number of ascents. For example, on the "armchair" "Top of the Carpathians" 10 lifts will cost 160 UAH. on a weekday, 180 UAH. - on the weekend, and on the 1st yoke, 5 lifts will cost 55 UAH, 10 lifts - 85 UAH, 50 lifts will cost 400 UAH. There are daily subscriptions on the "armchairs", on the "Top of the Carpathians" it costs 220 UAH. on a weekday, 250 UAH. - on a weekend. The same is worth 20 lifts - there, on the steep "Circus" more for a day of work of the lift and you will not move out. By the way, the cards are valid until 2014 inclusive. We didn’t want to keep those “non-rolled out” ones, because we didn’t know if we could go there in the near future; now such a “life” has gone that it’s stupid to think beyond 1-2 months in advance, as for me.
Well, now a few words about how we spent the "non-skiing" part of our stay on Dragobrat.
That is, about housing, food and other important things.
We lived in the private estate "Prolisok" ("Zvizdaryuk's Hut"). It is located almost next to the chair lift "Carpathian Chaika" (120 m of not very burdensome walking in ski boots up the mountainside). You can get to the ski lifts (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and the "armchair" "Top of the Carpathians" in 15 minutes. walking-riding (on skis, of course) along the paths between the other hotels.
We lived in a spacious, comfortable, warm room with a complete set, as they say.
Everything is made of wood, as, indeed, the whole "Hut". From the window - a view of Hoverla and Petros.
In the room in which we lived - comfortable furniture, a nice clean spacious bathroom. There were no problems with hot water. Here, obviously, one tank for all, but we always had time to use warm water. True, one evening the hostess asked everyone to save water (use only for the washbasin and toilet); We didn't get to the bottom of the problem. The rooms have satellite TV - there are 12 channels. We didn’t watch it much - we almost don’t spend this time during our “ski” vacation.
The staff is very "nice", surrounded us with care from the moment of arrival, fulfilled all our requests during our stay.
Since the "Zvizdaryuk's Hut" is built of wood, like all the other similar housing on Dragobrat, the audibility of what was said in the neighboring rooms was very good. But for us it is so - little things that are not worth attention; it didn't bother us.
Of the owners, we had the honor to communicate only with the daughter of the owners, Alexandra. It was easy and pleasant to talk to her. We saw the owner, Pan Ilya, several times during that week. We rarely saw him, he was always busy with something. When he came, he was polite with the tenants. The hostess, Pani Maria, alas, did not manage to see. We communicated with her only by mobile, when in early January 2012. booked accommodation.
We boldly say about food - they feed well, the portions are not small, but not huge, they give exactly as much as they need. So, at least it was for us. If you still want to "eat" - they give an additive (up to a whole serving) for free. In food, and we ate twice - at 9.00 and at 19.00, there was a pleasant variety of dishes, even once or twice we tasted something that we had not eaten in our lives.
Regarding additional services that are not included in the payment - they have a sauna, one visit costs 150 UAH. And they also had an announcement that they could bring their guests by bus from Ivano-Frankivsk to Yasynia (or back). But we did not use all this.
They also have their own mini-rental of ski equipment. Prices - 70-80 UAH. per set (skis, poles, boots) per day. In other rentals of Dragobrat, the prices are the same.
Price of accommodation - 200 UAH. per person per day (if the bathroom is in the room), if the bathroom is shared, in the corridor - 160 UAH.
These are the "conditions".
What else to add to all of the above?
From Yasynia to Dragobrat drive 14 km by UAZ, 40 minutes (and it costs 200 UAH per car). The road is not easy, steep.
Some of the local drivers make so much more in a day than in a whole month at their main job (the guy who drove us back a week later works as a foreman in the local forestry).
Of course, we helped other people on the "Circus" - the guys fell, rolled down head over heels, we brought them skis down, because it would be long and difficult for them to climb up for their "ski equipment". But I don’t see anything special in this - people need to be helped, and not only on the ski slopes. By the way, falling from skis on Dragobrat is not at all painful and not scary. With a 1.5-meter layer of snow - it's almost a pleasure! I’ll also say that you can ride there in May - the same distributor from Lviv said, this is from his personal experience.
Regarding medical assistance - thank God I didn’t have to check on my own experience that it’s hard there (you have to go to Yasynya for this). Knowing in advance (from the Internet) that there is no pharmacy on Dragobrat, we stocked up on medicines on the road, but fortunately they remained unclaimed.
And "non-skiing" entertainment on Dragobrat is only a couple of discos in hotels like "Votavilyu" (works also at night), "Kremin" and somewhere else, I don't remember where. We do not know the prices for these pleasures - we did not look there. There is also a ski school at the lower station of the 1st ski lift - so they have table tennis tables there, they rent rackets, it costs 40 UAH per hour per table.
That's basically all I can tell you fellow skiers.
And then decide for yourself.
My wife and I will be glad if this information is useful to someone.
Come to Dragobrat - you will have a wonderful experience! I promise you!
Have a nice holiday!
SEE YOU, DRAGOBROT! WE WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK!
Alexander, Lydia
Lviv
March 2012
