In the sports and tourist complex "Mountain Carousel" (part of the mega-popular resort "Gorki-Gorod"), both professionals in this sport and amateurs, as well as beginners, come to relax and ski. For each, trails of different difficulty levels are provided. The reputation of this year-round resort is impeccable, and the quality of the tracks is not inferior to European.
STK "Mountain Carousel": description
The picturesque village of Esto-Sadok in the Adler region is notable for its mountainous terrain and the differences from subtropical to continental climate. In this place is located the sports and tourist complex "Mountain Carousel", which is one of the best ski resorts in our country. It is easily accessible from Sochi or Adler, and can also be reached by train to the Esto-Sadok station. The skiing period lasts from January to the end of April, but at an altitude of 2,200 m above sea level, you can enjoy skiing until May.
Positive changes occurred here during construction work for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The tracks (length 12 km) were updated, the lifts were improved, the infrastructure was improved and reinforced. Now the complex includes more than 10 comfortable hotels, an extensive network of cable cars "Mountain Carousel" and three zones of different difficulty levels for skiing, snowboarding. The number of skiers per day in the high season (January holidays) is about 6,000 people.
Accommodation and meals
It is most convenient to stay in hotels adjacent to the Gornaya Karusel sports and tourist complex, of which there are more than 10. For example, Katerina Alpik, Arcadia, Bridge Mountain Villas and many others. You can book both a room of economy category and elite accommodation in the villa. An even more affordable option is offered to vacationers in the private sector of the village.
Many skiers say that after hours of skiing they experience a strong feeling of hunger, literally to the point of dizziness. In the sports and tourist complex "Mountain Carousel" took into account the load on the body of vacationers, for this purpose created numerous bistros and cafes where you can eat. At the top station of the cable car there is a great restaurant. Here you can not only have a tasty and high-quality meal, but also enjoy an unforgettable view from the panoramic windows and stained-glass windows.
The complex has rental equipment for snowboarding and skiing of any complexity, souvenir shops. It is proposed to ride with an instructor or guide and on your own.
Ski and ski lift network
The launch pad begins at an altitude of 540 m. From here there are three cable cars with gondola-type lifts. "Carousel-1" reaches a height of 940 m - this is the first stage. "Carousel-2" rises to a height of 1,460 m and "Carousel-3" - up to 2,200 m (correspond to the second and third cable lines). Several roads with chair-type lifts end right and left at the foot of the Black Pyramid Mountain in the circus-2 and circus-3 ski areas. For convenience, information and viewing platforms are located on the territory of the Gornaya Karusel sports and tourist complex. For beginners, training rope is created.
Trails have 4 main difficulty levels and are traditionally marked on the map in different colors. The simplest one has a length of 1,800 m and is marked in green: elevation differences of not more than 180 m. Most of them are riding on the tracks of the Gornaya Karusel sports and tourist complex of medium and difficult levels. The middle (blue) level is 2,000 m with differences from 200 to 340 m, the difficult level (red) is 1,100 m long and the differences are 385 m. The tracks of the highest difficulty category are marked in black, the height difference is 1,360 m , and the total length is 9,000 m.
Sports and tourist complex "Mountain Carousel" is very popular among freeriders. There are many untouched areas off-piste. Officially, such skating is prohibited, and rescuers have the right not to respond to the rescue signal, but fans of freeriding are every season.
Summer vacation opportunities in the complex
The territorial proximity of the "Mountain Carousel" to the Caucasian Nature Reserve allows you to organize fascinating trails along the routes of ecological tourism. Tracking or mountain hiking is gaining great popularity every year.
One of the types of summer vacations in the sports and tourist complex "Mountain Carousel" are sightseeing tours on the gondola lifts to the mountains. Mountain biking enthusiasts also gather here. Opportunities for mountain biking in the STK "Mountain Carousel" abound.